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What's the point of having power, if you aren't using it in any meaningful way that can
help you? You're sick of being "reined in". You're going to do what you've been wanting to do for a long time.
You prepare to march an army of undead to the Brot Kingdom. The demons and mortals stationed at Aftermath are wondering what's going on though since most of them know you're mainly used for defense.
"Where do you think yer goin'?" a demon solder steps up to ask you as you're about to leave the city gates.
"I'm gonna go conquer the Brot Kingdom, got a problem with that?"
"Me? No, not at all. Just didn't know Velzix let you off your leash." The demon soldier grins.
This remark is met with a negative energy blast to his face, completely ripping the flesh off and revealing the still grinning skull underneath. As the rest of this body falls to the ground, you feel the need to make a speech to the gawking onlookers.
"I am not on anyone's fucking leash! Nobody tells me what the do! Now what's going to happen, is I'm going to leave and lay waste to the Brot Kingdom. The rest of you are going to defend this place while I'm gone! And when Velzix comes here, like I know he will I'LL handle it. The rest of you can cower before that fucker, but I ain't the one."
Having made your thoughts known, you return to your undead army, which obediently still stands only awaiting your commands. As the way things should be. The way ALL things should be.
After a few days you eventually reach the Brot Kingdom. You start by decimating the small border villages and then quickly raising the peasants you slaughtered. You've moved on to larger towns before the Brot military manages to start opposing you. Their military is weak though. Most of them see your horde and run in terror before the fight even begins! Those are the smart ones. The rest soon become just more fodder for you to raise. You actually feel more powerful after your conquests, which is odd given the amount of energy you've been expending. You can only take this as a sign of this being what you were meant for!
Within the week you've single handedly taken control of the Brot capitol and most of the Kingdom in general. Much of the royal family has abased themselves before you in an attempt for you to spare their lives. You laugh and grant this request, after all someone has to still run this territory. You've successfully subjugated your first territory. In fact, it's the first "real" territory conquered since Velzix took over the Tulan Kingdom. Tivadol's petty victories haven't even compared to what you've done.
When you return to Aftermath, you're half expecting to be met by Velzix, who has undoubtedly heard of your actions by now. It's only now that you realize you may be in more trouble than you thought! However, you're surprisingly met by Sesisek instead who sits in your study.
"This place is as dead as my status among demonkind." He says looking at the many skeletal structures and decorations.
"It's a fucking necropolis, I'm a necromancer, and what do you want? I figured Velzix would be here meeting me."
"Oh he's on his way, and from what I've heard, he's quite pissed about you playing the role of conqueror. He's just a little more preoccupied with the Grand Alliance army that's currently attacking him directly right now, which probably explains why you met little resistance at Brot. Congratulations on your victory, I'm sure Tivadol won't be too pleased with accomplishing something he couldn't either."
"Yeah, yeah, so why are you here?"
"I'm here to help you get out of this shit pit you've stepped in and are quickly in danger of sinking further into. You've showed entirely too much ambition, too soon, my mortal friend."
"What of it? Like I'm the only one plotting against Velzix? Hah! Tivadol makes no pretense of his goals."
"Ah yes, but you're not taking some things into consideration. Tivadol is still a demon and you my mortal friend are not. We are not fond of ever being bested, but to be bested by a mortal is even more repugnant to us. Tivadol is also a predictable loud mouth brute who is never going to achieve his goal. Velzix knows exactly how to manipulate him. Perhaps the day will come where he'll have to kill him, but that day is far off in the future. You on the other hand are still new and he's still learning about you. Velzix probably thought you could be manipulated and cowed into submission by his sheer strength and magic abilities alone, but it's apparent that you aren't afraid of such things. I could've seen that though. Necromancers embrace death; fear of it won't be a factor. Though there are worse things than death... "
"Guess you're proof of that." You mock.
"Hmm, your pointless barbs at me are quite unproductive and are in fact hindering you. I am offering to help you, I'd advise that you take it before you meet Velzix."
"Offering me help huh? I seriously doubt you're doing this out of kindness."
"Of course not. I'm doing it because I see an opportunity for revenge and quite frankly, you are the only one that will be able to help me achieve it. However, I assure you that we will both profit greatly from this, if you listen to me. If you don't want my help though, I shall leave."
"Okay I'm listening, what are you suggesting?"
"Ha ha, no my mortal friend. I would be quite the fool if I told you how to handle Velzix before I got your word that you are in fact accepting my help. ARE you accepting my help?"
Sesisek looks at you expectantly.
> refuse his help
You're not going to be anyone's puppet. You can handle Velzix yourself.
"Get out of here, I don't need your help! In fact I'd say dealing with a loser like you would put me in a worse position. Go scheme elsewhere."
Your words cause Sesisek to give you a look of mixed disapproval, disappointment and disgust. He quite obviously doesn't like your insults, but he was also hoping that you'd help him. All he can do now is attempt to save what little pride he has and leave.
"Very well little necromancer, you think you know best, I'll leave you to it. You'll never be one of us though and that's why your pitiful lifespan here will be even shorter than normal. Enjoy your victory, it will be your last." He remarks and leaves you.
You dismiss his warnings and attempt to prepare yourself for Velzix's visit. You come up with how you're going to explain your actions to Velzix. A couple days pass and you hear about The Grand Alliance army breaking off their siege. Velzix will be coming soon.
Velzix arrives and you're readying every spell and summoning you can think of. If it does go down, you'll have to act quickly. You're actually surprised he's coming down here instead of summoning you to his fortress instead.
"So little necromancer, I hear you have been taking matters into your own hands and acquiring territory yourself. I am displeased that you have done this. The Grand Alliance has been attacking and you've been squandering my potential reinforcements elsewhere. What if they had succeeded in breaking through my defenses? I would've had no troops to support my position, and much would've been lost."
"Well if that had happened I guess I would've had to take over."
That remark wasn't the best one you could've made, but you can't contain yourself for some reason. By Velzix's statement alone, you're sensing weakness in him, weakness that you could take advantage of. Why should you have to explain your actions? In the meantime Velzix is barely containing his anger at your arrogance.
"Tread VERY carefully mortal! Do not presume that you are not expendable! You are NOT a demon, do not attempt to play this game in which you are ill equipped to play. You are under MY command! Normally I would kill you for your insolence, but your recent victory has been a great one from what reports I have heard. However, it is MY territory! Not yours! Do not think that you are going to build up some power base to betray me later, because that is not going to happen if you value your existence! So you better just put such thoughts out of your mind right now and fall in line!"
Velzix hasn't raised his voice too much, but there is definitely a very real threat there. The temperature of the room is much hotter as you can feel the heat from his body rise with his anger.
If you're going to make a move, you better do it now.
> kill Velzix
You make the first move...
A huge battle ensues, you summon up shadows and wraiths to your aid while Velzix attempts to rip you limb from limb. Soon the others in Aftermath are drawn into the fight as well, most of the demons side with Velzix, the mortal troops tend to just get out of the way, while your undead are loyal as always.
This battle causes damage to Aftermath not seen since the Dark Order attempted to take it over. You certainly have the upper and hand, and Velzix realizes that you're more powerful than he thought, but unfortunately for you, he manages to get away.
"LITTLE MORTAL YOU HAVE NOT WON THIS DAY! YOU WILL SOON COME TO BEG FOR DEATH WHEN I HAVE YOUR BROKEN FUCKING BODY BROUGHT BEFORE ME IN CHAINS!" he bellows before flying away.
You're left with a city in shambles, but at last free of any ideas of servitude, as well as a large portion of territory yourself. You now have some breathing room. Of course you now have more enemies, but you're confident that you'll be able to handle the troubles ahead.
Four years pass...
Five years have passed since you took control of Aftermath, and now that's coming to an end.
After your treachery against Velzix, he was so consumed with rage over it that he ordered constant attacks on you even at the expense of his own defenses. This not only weakened your position, but his as well, allowing the Grand Alliance army to break through and retake the Tulan Kingdom. Velzix and his cohorts were all slain. After this occurred, most of the demons fled into the wilderness only to be hunted down and killed. A few even ran to you, you accepted them since you needed all the help you could get at that point.
After taking care of Velzix, The Grand Alliance wasted no time in attacking you. You tried to maintain your holdings, but ultimately you lost your grip on the Brot Kingdom, when the royal family there once again switched alliances (Though to no avail as the Grand Alliance took them all into custody and had them executed for treason) Soon you were just left with Aftermath. When the Grand Alliance wasn't trying to break down the gates, you had vampire assassins attempting to kill you.
In fact right now, you are dying from several deep blade wounds from their latest attack. The last bastard must've used some sort of assassin's blade that doesn't allow you to heal, because you're bleeding out like a hemophiliac. Oh well, at least you killed him.
The Grand Alliance is also outside. Damn vampires probably set this up so you really wouldn't be able to escape. Funny that you worried about Velzix and his crew killing you for so long, and it was some bloodsuckers that got you.
Things are getting dark now; you can hear Grand Alliance troops breaking down your fortress door. Well they'll never take you alive that's for sure.
You wonder exactly what went wrong and if you could've done things differently. You curse your lack of proper planning and regret your choices as they have ultimately lead you to ruin.
You lie on the floor, you see armored troops stand around you; one of them is your sister. She looks at you sternly with her sword at your throat, which is pretty pointless considering that you're obviously near death already. Looks like she has a higher rank than you last remember. Good for her, at least one of you made something of your lives.
"... congrat... on your... promotion... " are your last words before she finishes you off. |
You're not going to be anyone's puppet. You can handle Velzix yourself.
"Get out of here, I don't need your help! In fact I'd say dealing with a loser like you would put me in a worse position. Go scheme elsewhere."
Your words cause Sesisek to give you a look of mixed disapproval, disappointment and disgust. He quite obviously doesn't like your insults, but he was also hoping that you'd help him. All he can do now is attempt to save what little pride he has and leave.
"Very well little necromancer, you think you know best, I'll leave you to it. You'll never be one of us though and that's why your pitiful lifespan here will be even shorter than normal. Enjoy your victory, it will be your last." He remarks and leaves you.
You dismiss his warnings and attempt to prepare yourself for Velzix's visit. You come up with how you're going to explain your actions to Velzix. A couple days pass and you hear about The Grand Alliance army breaking off their siege. Velzix will be coming soon.
Velzix arrives and you're readying every spell and summoning you can think of. If it does go down, you'll have to act quickly. You're actually surprised he's coming down here instead of summoning you to his fortress instead.
"So little necromancer, I hear you have been taking matters into your own hands and acquiring territory yourself. I am displeased that you have done this. The Grand Alliance has been attacking and you've been squandering my potential reinforcements elsewhere. What if they had succeeded in breaking through my defenses? I would've had no troops to support my position, and much would've been lost."
"Well if that had happened I guess I would've had to take over."
That remark wasn't the best one you could've made, but you can't contain yourself for some reason. By Velzix's statement alone, you're sensing weakness in him, weakness that you could take advantage of. Why should you have to explain your actions? In the meantime Velzix is barely containing his anger at your arrogance.
"Tread VERY carefully mortal! Do not presume that you are not expendable! You are NOT a demon, do not attempt to play this game in which you are ill equipped to play. You are under MY command! Normally I would kill you for your insolence, but your recent victory has been a great one from what reports I have heard. However, it is MY territory! Not yours! Do not think that you are going to build up some power base to betray me later, because that is not going to happen if you value your existence! So you better just put such thoughts out of your mind right now and fall in line!"
Velzix hasn't raised his voice too much, but there is definitely a very real threat there. The temperature of the room is much hotter as you can feel the heat from his body rise with his anger.
If you're going to make a move, you better do it now.
> capitulate to him
As much as your desire is there to kill Velzix, your caution overtakes you. You do exactly what Velzix requests.
"... the territory is yours ... I have no control over it." You say and even make a little bow. You feel disgusted with yourself for even doing that, but Velzix is quite pleased. He's broken you a little.
"Yes it is, and I'm glad to see you've gotten with the program. The less pride one has, the more likely one is to survive and in the end, that's what it's all about. Now, we shall never have another incident like this again I trust?"
"... no... "
"Good, now I think the best place for you, would be directly by my side where you can be more useful."
"What?!"
"Sure, I could shore up my defenses in the heart of my realm, and place more elite troops on the front lines. Plus I think it would be a good idea to keep a closer eye on you. Just to make sure you don't forget your place."
Meekishly, you travel back with Velzix and become a permanent fixture in his fortress Fury. You really hate it there as you're watched constantly; it's unbearably hot all the time and have to put up with more demons than you did in Aftermath. Predictably they're all hostile towards you, "loyal" to Velzix and set your zombies on fire for laughs regularly.
Four years pass...
It's been five years since you made your alliance with Velzix and you fucking hate it even more than ever.
While you've managed to still carve out a niche for yourself, your position is increasingly becoming in danger of being obsolete. Velzix has been successful in keeping infernal portals open longer which is allowing more demons to come in. The Grand Alliance has been hard pressed to hold the line and it seems like more and more mortals each day are willing to bend before demonic might.
Your undead troops aren't even necessary for defense too much anymore. Because of this you've been forced to broaden your magical horizons and tap into the infernal plane. It's only due to the fact that you've been delving into darker necromantic magic and fusing it with infernal powers to create potent unnatural abominations that you're still serving your purpose.
However, this type of magic is highly experimental and you're probably the first one to even attempt it. It's beginning to take a toll on your rapidly deteriorating health, because as they say, you don't change hell, hell changes you. Everyday you're in pain and probably losing what little of your black soul you have left. If this keeps up, you won't be around long enough to see Velzix achieve his goal of opening up his permanent portal which looks like is might be soon.
You haven't heard anything of your family, except you know that your sister is a captain of a Grand Alliance army and your Dad's mercenary company has been hired to launch on going raids to harass and hinder Velzix's efforts. Your Mom is probably saddened by your actions.
You're just another mortal submitting to demonic supremacy. It's a long way from what you originally envisioned for yourself and it's probably too late for you to do anything about it now... or is it?
Recent reports have spoken of another assassination plan on Velzix. It's known that the vampires have been sending their own, but haven't gotten anywhere close to him. A few "heroes" from the civilized governments have been sent as well, but none of them have been successful either.
However, if you could locate one of these groups and try to help them get to Velzix, maybe you could at least get some sort of satisfaction. You don't really have anything else to lose at this point.
> help one of these assassin groups
You failed to kill Velzix when you had the chance five years ago when this alliance was being proposed, then again four years ago after you conquered Brot, maybe you can make for lost time. And as they say, third time's a charm.
You have no idea how you're going to accomplish this though, it's not like you have some sort of contacts then it hits you; why not go see Sesisek? You know he's still harboring desires of revenge and he's supposed to be returning to Fury soon
You wait a week attempting to plan for this proposal, but you know its really going to come down to "Hey Sesisek, I'm going to kill Velzix, do you want to help or not?" In fact that's exactly what happens, when you catch him in an empty hallway. He looks at you with a smirk on his face. You almost expect him to think that you're setting him up, but he can tell by your pitiful state that you're speaking the truth.
"Sooo, finally wised up eh? You know, you wouldn't be in this condition had you taken my help four years ago. I dunno. I've got my own plans, why should I involve you in them?"
"Because I do still have power. Power that can help you take out Velzix and regain respect among your own kind. You're talking to a desperate man here, I don't even care if I die at this point, I just need to get my own revenge on Velzix."
"You and multitudes of others. You're not special. However, you are desperate. And you are powerful. Dangerous combination. Very well, I'll talk with you further, but let's go some place less likely to be listened in on."
You and Sesisek speak in your study. He is very open about his plan to you and explains that he has been in contact with Lord Rostov and working out a deal with the Vampire Clans that will be beneficial to him. This deal could be extended to you as well, provided you are helpful enough. Another group of vampire assassins have managed to make their way into the heart of Velzix's Realm, but if they are to strike they need to do it now, before Sinthinia's internal security forces sniff them out once again. Sesisek's job was to sneak them into Fury without too much opposition, given that you're in on this plan now, you could do a better job since your necromantic magic could mask the vampire assassins' movements. He mentions he will set up the plan and while you and the bloodsuckers are heading to Velzix's chamber, Sesisek says he will be dealing with Sinthinia personally. It will also provide a diversion.
A day passes and you're preparing yourself for the battle of your life. You memorize every powerful spell you can think of and strengthen up your undead minions. When this goes down there is no turning back, so you're just going to order all of them to attack the moment Sesisek's attack on Sinthinia becomes known and an alarm is raised. Hopefully the added chaos will help.
Another day passes and Sesisek sees you fairly early in the morning. He mentions that the assassins will meet you by the dead forest nearby when darkness falls. He hopes you've prepared yourself, because it was very hard to convince them in this change of plans.
When darkness comes, you take a few of your hellish undead abominations with you and make your way to the dead forest. Once fairy folk and the like frolicked here, now it's just a group of desiccated tree husks waiting to be taken away to build more war machines. Your powers in necromancy aren't quite as pure as they used to be thanks to the tainting of hellish magics, but you can still sense the assassins are close by. You aren't taken by surprised when they materialize around you. Indeed you have your abominations to act if they try anything.
"So, you're Velzix's little necromancer eh? You don't look like much." One of them says.
"Maybe, but you ain't getting in that fortress without me. You think Sesisek could've snuck you in? Please. The moment you entered, you would've been detected. Sinthinia's got magic detection up the ass in that place. Fortunately I can mask your presence, just make sure you all stay invisible until the right time."
"Don't worry about us, you just hold up your end and get us to Velzix, necromancer."
You make your trek back to Fury, without incident with your hidden friends in tow. You take a deep breath before entering the gates where upon you half expect the demon guards to stop you, but nothing happens. You've succeeded. Your next move is to get as quickly as possible to Velzix's inner chambers.
You don't get far when an alarm is raised, you think it's for you at first, but you soon realize its Sesisek doing his part. You hope it's enough of a distraction, but if it isn't...
You mentally call out to your undead minions to attack anything living.
"Come on! Secrecy is over! We gotta haul ass to Velzix!" you exclaim.
While chaos is reigning in the fortress, you and the vampires easily dispatch those that would attempt to stop you. When you get to Velzix's inner chambers where he's attempting to open up a portal to get reinforcements.
"Treachery! I expected this from Sesisek, but I thought you learned your place! No matter, you will learn pain instead, and your blood leech buddies won't be able to help you either!"
Velzix's portal opens and a swarm of demons come pouring out. The vampire assassins waste no time and begin their work with deadly efficiency. Your abominations have less finesse, but they get the job done.
Velzix unleashes horrible infernal magic that causes a couple of the assassins to liquefy. You're just trying to stay out of the way of most of the fighting and attempting to keep a control over your troops, but you soon realize you're going to have to play a direct role in his death and unleash your own negative energy bolts at Velzix.
The battle is brutal, and dead bodies soon litter the chamber. You've suffered a mortal wound, but it hardly matters now. Deep down you didn't expect to survive this. Velzix isn't either though. Sesisek arrives just in time to slam an axe in his back while he was finishing off the last vampire assassin.
Velzix roars in pain, but falls to the floor where upon Sesisek pulls out a second weapon, a sword and severs his head from his body.
It's done. Velzix is dead and you don't feel too much different. You're still dying and you're not hopeful that Sesisek is going to help you out.
"Ha ha! Vengence is mine! Velzix and that bitch are both dead!" he yells in triumph
"Uh huh, great... "
"Yes... well it looks like you're hurt pretty badly there. I don't think I can do anything for you. In fact I need to make my escape. I think you'll understand if leave you here. After all you would only slow me up and I may have lied about my deal being extended to you anyway."
"... yeah... I sorta figure that... " you say holding on to your bleeding side.
"Besides, you got your revenge and that is what you wanted right? I can honestly say though I couldn't have done it without you."
"I can honestly say something too... I'm still nobody's puppet."
You hit Sesisek in the face with a negative energy blast. He screams as it strikes his eyes. He collapses on the floor blindly reaching for a weapon yelling about how he's going to kill you. You smile though as more demons come to the inner chamber and butcher Sesisek while he's on all fours like some sightless dog.
You then give way to the release of blessed death. |
As much as your desire is there to kill Velzix, your caution overtakes you. You do exactly what Velzix requests.
"... the territory is yours ... I have no control over it." You say and even make a little bow. You feel disgusted with yourself for even doing that, but Velzix is quite pleased. He's broken you a little.
"Yes it is, and I'm glad to see you've gotten with the program. The less pride one has, the more likely one is to survive and in the end, that's what it's all about. Now, we shall never have another incident like this again I trust?"
"... no... "
"Good, now I think the best place for you, would be directly by my side where you can be more useful."
"What?!"
"Sure, I could shore up my defenses in the heart of my realm, and place more elite troops on the front lines. Plus I think it would be a good idea to keep a closer eye on you. Just to make sure you don't forget your place."
Meekishly, you travel back with Velzix and become a permanent fixture in his fortress Fury. You really hate it there as you're watched constantly; it's unbearably hot all the time and have to put up with more demons than you did in Aftermath. Predictably they're all hostile towards you, "loyal" to Velzix and set your zombies on fire for laughs regularly.
Four years pass...
It's been five years since you made your alliance with Velzix and you fucking hate it even more than ever.
While you've managed to still carve out a niche for yourself, your position is increasingly becoming in danger of being obsolete. Velzix has been successful in keeping infernal portals open longer which is allowing more demons to come in. The Grand Alliance has been hard pressed to hold the line and it seems like more and more mortals each day are willing to bend before demonic might.
Your undead troops aren't even necessary for defense too much anymore. Because of this you've been forced to broaden your magical horizons and tap into the infernal plane. It's only due to the fact that you've been delving into darker necromantic magic and fusing it with infernal powers to create potent unnatural abominations that you're still serving your purpose.
However, this type of magic is highly experimental and you're probably the first one to even attempt it. It's beginning to take a toll on your rapidly deteriorating health, because as they say, you don't change hell, hell changes you. Everyday you're in pain and probably losing what little of your black soul you have left. If this keeps up, you won't be around long enough to see Velzix achieve his goal of opening up his permanent portal which looks like is might be soon.
You haven't heard anything of your family, except you know that your sister is a captain of a Grand Alliance army and your Dad's mercenary company has been hired to launch on going raids to harass and hinder Velzix's efforts. Your Mom is probably saddened by your actions.
You're just another mortal submitting to demonic supremacy. It's a long way from what you originally envisioned for yourself and it's probably too late for you to do anything about it now... or is it?
Recent reports have spoken of another assassination plan on Velzix. It's known that the vampires have been sending their own, but haven't gotten anywhere close to him. A few "heroes" from the civilized governments have been sent as well, but none of them have been successful either.
However, if you could locate one of these groups and try to help them get to Velzix, maybe you could at least get some sort of satisfaction. You don't really have anything else to lose at this point.
> continue doing what you are doing
You've given up on hope or anything else a long time ago. Even if you could contact one of these groups, Sinthinia would probably sniff out the attempt due to her constant internal security measures, and you're being watched a lot anyway.
Nope, you've resigned yourself to a fate of subservience.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since your deal with Velzix, and you've lived long enough just in time to see the world being slowly turned into a demon's playground due to him finally opening up a permanent portal to his infernal realm. Already he preparing to use the resources and conquests of this world to attack other demon lords in his home plane.
You won't be alive for too much longer though. You're no longer necessary to Velzix for one thing, and the second is that your hellish dealings have finally become fatal; even now death is very near. The only thing that's kept you going this long is your unnatural ties to necromancy that have steadily grown weaker over the years. You can only wonder what might've been had you been allowed to let them grow to full bloom. You think back to when you conquered the Brot Kingdom by yourself. Ah, that was a good time. There was purity in the death you caused there. Since then you've seen much more death, but rarely have you had any hand in it yourself.
Your Dad died during an attempted raid on Velzix's fortress. Sinthinia had her guards butcher him and his company before he even managed to sneak inside.
Sesisek was killed when it was discovered he had come to an "arrangement" with the vampire clans and was collaborating with them in an assassination attempt. During his last pain filled moments he revealed their location and Lord Rostov and his vampire clan were slain in their secret fortress by Velzix himself
Not long ago the capitol of the Zalan Empire was razed to the ground by Tivadol the Destroyer. A place you once called home. You heard your sister died attempting to defend it. You can only assume your Mom died during the attack as well. The Grand Alliance has been broken, all that remains now are pocket of resistance that do little to stop the demonic onslaught. At this point most mortals find death a more promising outcome as it is surely a more merciful release to the torments that the demons bring. You wish you could grant it to them.
You regret you set out on this dark path. It's brought you nothing but fucking misery and you didn't even get what you wanted. Well you might not have lived how you wanted, but you sure can choose to die like you want.
You order a few of your skeletal guards to end your suffering. The pain wracking your body has become too great and you're not going to wait around for it or demons to kill you.
Following your last orders your skeletal guards strike you down with their swords. Their work is efficient and swift. You fall to the floor and soon your minions of death join you. |
Chapter 3: One Foot in Hell
One year has passed...
It's been one year since you made an alliance with Velzix, and so far it has paid off. With your combined might, you both have successfully held off the Grand Alliance. You haven't gained too much ground, but that's looking like it's about to change.
Everyday Velzix has somehow been managing to attract "free demons" from other nations to join him, though its not as if they have too many other options as mere suspicion has turned into hatred and they are to be rounded up and killed as possible enemies. Though again, thanks to mortal failings and greed, there are those few nations that are still letting their small demonic populations run free. Not surprisingly Velzix has been attempting to convince the leaders of these governments into joining him in exchange for even greater power. Velzix has also been attempting to open portals to his own infernal realm on a permanent basis. Right now he can summon in a few reinforcements to replace battle losses, but nothing on a major scale.
As for you, things could be worse, but they could be better. All your potential "acolytes" reverted back to being demonologist when the merge came, though many of them were purged by Velzix himself, as he still remembered their attempts to imprison him before during their days in the Dark Order, not to mention if they were so quick to change allegiances so quickly, then they obviously weren't to be trusted.
Your magic powers in other branches of magic have somewhat improved, though this might be due your infernal dealings. Necromancy is still your area of expertise obviously and as it stands, you're the only true necromancer allied with Velzix. You sort of hold a unique position, but you question its importance in the scheme of things. You've been basically put on defense duty. Your undead troops are nothing more than meat shields for the most part, and while that is what they are there for, you'd rather they be YOUR meat shields than some asshole demons, (or worse mortals). You feel like your talents are being wasted to a degree, like you've got a lot of untapped potential that's dying to get out.
However, open rebellion against Velzix isn't likely to happen, but there's nothing stopping you from setting the stage. You still have Aftermath under your control, even if you do have to put up with the demons and mortals stationed there now. One night in your study while you're contemplating how to go about all this, you figure there are two ways.
You've actually got a lot of troops at your immediate disposal. You believe you could probably take over the nearby Brot Kingdom by yourself without any help. They have a weak military and most of the Grand Alliance armies are busy elsewhere. You could build up a bigger power base. You might piss off Velzix by doing this by yourself, but you could take the chance that he might over look it if you're successful as it's also increasing his own territory.
The other option is to remain doing what you're doing and engage in a more secret assassination conspiracy against Velzix. You already know that tons of others are probably doing it, why not you? The problem is, individually most of you are fairly weak against him; though together you'd be more successful. Of course getting a bunch of demonic assassinating liars to trust one another is probably even more difficult than the attempt itself.
> engage in conspiracy
You decide that military conquest would be too risky and would draw too much attention to your desires for power. You need to be sneakier about it.
After thinking on it, you decide to go for Sinthinia. She's in the best position to help you, so you send a message telling her that you need to see her since it's an important matter vital to security.
A few days later she arrives in Aftermath with a small group of guards. Of course the pair of you talk in your study in private. Her attitude is one of interest and playfulness.
"Brrr, it's really cold in this place. It's not nice and warm like in other parts of Velzix's Realm. See how hard my nipples are?"
"Yes, I see. Perhaps I can warm you up after we discuss business."
"Mmmm, I like the sound of that, but only if this business is worth my time. So what is this security matter?"
"Assassination."
"On who?"
"On Velzix."
"Well it was bound to happen eventually, though I'm surprised I haven't heard about this yet. Who is planning it and how did you come across this information?"
You take a deep breath.
"I came across this information quite easily because it's me."
Sinthinia is silent for a moment before giving a little chuckle.
"Ha ha, very funny."
"I'm serious."
"I know and that's why I find it funny. You do not have the means."
"I know that's why I'm proposing an alliance between us to set Velzix up."
"I see... and you believed that I would just go along with this?"
"Well it's a gamble. But I KNOW you truly have no loyalty to Velzix, surely you must already be plotting against him."
"And even if I was doing such a thing... hypothetically speaking of course. I fail to see why I'd need your help to do so."
"Because somewhere deep down Velzix fears me, I know it. He wants me as an underling to take advantage of my powers. But he doesn't allow me to do too much since he wants to keep me weak and have an eye on me. I have more power than he's willing to admit and if I unleashed it completely on him, he'd be hurting. I dare say I might be able to kill him. I just can't fight all of his minions obviously. I would need your help."
Once again Sinthinia is silent for a moment before speaking.
"... I must say you have always intrigued me mortal. You do have a lot of desire in you to come to me like this with such a plan, knowing that I could turn you in and have Velzix deal with you... fortunately for you I have no such plan." Sinthinia says and begins to get closer to you. Her movements begin to grind up against you.
"So tell me, do you really feel you have that much power?" she asks.
"Yes."
"More power than Velzix?"
"Yes."
"Then show me lover." She says and the pair of you fall to the floor in a zealous embrace.
While you're enjoying Sinthinia's sexual skills, she begins to get more aggressive. In fact she begins to get abusive. You tell her to stop, but at this point she's transformed into something a lot less appealing, and you're lying underneath her helpless as she pins your arms down and begins sucking out your life force.
"Yes, mortal you DID have much power within you. It will certainly come in handy for Velzix's eventual overthrow." She growls and you become nothing more than an empty husk. |
While these Dark Orderites haven't completely impressed you, you remember that Serena mentioned you would need allies and they could serve that purpose. From what you can tell, you're a better necromancer than the rest of them and this city would be an excellent beginning of your career especially since you don't have any better ideas in mind. You know that even if this event plays out well for you, you're going to have a whole shit load of trouble ahead of you so you better get a few people on your side now even if they need to be "disposed" of later...
"Alright, I'll help out, but I'm not doing this for you or following your orders, I have my own agenda!" you say flat out to Sebastian.
Before you leave Catalina speaks to you.
"So, come a long way from Enchantment class huh?" she says.
"... I thought I recognized you... and yeah I have. I finally found a branch of magic I'm really good at." You say finally realizing who she is.
"Just remember, as good as you are, you aren't the best."
"We'll see." You retort and leave.
The march towards the university where on the west side of campus you see and hear explosions. That must be where Mr. Demar is. You wonder how you'll have to deal with him after you take care of this Quayle problem.
When you get to the east campus, Sebastian was right, you see a lot of weird things going on, nearby plants are growing older and younger before your eyes, buildings are indeed disappearing and reappearing. It's a mess.
You see a small gray building that doesn't seem to be suffering any effects; you bet that's where Quayle is.
You march over with your horde only to start feeling very ill. You try to shake off the effects so you can keep control, but it doesn't matter as you begin to see your various undead troops go through weird changes. You watch them either accelerate in rot and disintegrate, or even stranger actually turn back into their living selves until they eventually become babies and then nothing.
You're only halfway to the building and you begin to worry that you're going to suffer the same fate, but manage to get in the Gray building which contains a simple auditorium like classroom. You must be back on campus. At the front of the class you see a strange man surrounded by a white glow. This must be Quayle.
"This is not the way... you have lost... you may win... it's all so fascinating... " he says in an echoed voice.
You have no idea what the hell he means, all you know is you need to kill this guy before he fucks everything up. You're having a hard time concentrating still though and once again you begin to feel very sick. That feeling becomes stronger when you see grotesque creatures pop into existence. They have writhing masses of tentacles and give off an aura completely hostile and alien. Not even the demons you've had contact with give off anything like this.
You have no time for spells you'll have to do this the old fashioned way. You run towards the front of the class where he sits and just narrowly dodge another tentacle beast appearing suddenly in front of you.
"... stop... stop it... you must stop... "
You tackle Quayle and something completely unexpected and disgusting happens. His body literally breaks like a fragile glass vase and all manner of insects and maggots come crawling out, mostly on you.
"EEEEYEEECAAAGH!" you yell trying to get them all off of you, completely ignoring anything else. Fortunately for you, whatever you did has stopped the temporal disturbance. The creatures disappear and everything else seems to go back to normal.
After stomping on some centipedes you notice Quayle's head has rolled into a corner. Surprisingly it's still alive.
"You have won nothing... " his head says before it just simply disappears.
You shake your own head at all of this. As much as you've seen during your short time raising the dead, you've never seen anything like this.
You can't hear anymore explosions; you wonder if Mr. Demar has won. You exit the building and begin to walk over to the other side of the campus where the explosions were coming from.
You arrive to burning buildings and ruins of towers. Once again you see Sebastian, he's sitting outside holding his head in his hands. He looks like he's sobbing.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" you ask.
"It's over! It's all over!"
"What are you talking about? It looks like the city is ours."
"But for how long? All our so called demon allies took off! By the time I got here Mr. Demar had already been severely wounded and his second in command Trelik had betrayed him. Catalina and I managed to kill Trelik, but Catalina fell in the battle! The Dark Order is over and I dunno what's coming next, we're all in a lot of fucking trouble! Trouble that I wasn't prepared to handle! I'm not really a leader. Mr. Demar was a leader! Oh man why did I choose this path!?"
Sebastian is having a complete mental break down and it sickens you. It's unbecoming of a necromancer.
"Where's Mr. Demar?" you ask.
"He's dead in the library!"
"Good, saves me the trouble."
"Huh? What's going on?"
"I'm in charge, that's what's going on and I'm not going to tolerate whimpering weaklings like you." and you blast Sebastian with negative energy to his face, killing him.
Yep, you're in charge.
A month passes
The "Nuro Incident" as it came to be known was a shock to the civilized world. Nobody had anticipated such a thing occurring despite all preparations. Certainly not to Nuro given it's near "invincible" reputation. You've renamed the city Aftermath.
The Grand Alliance was immediately formed to retake the city, but fortunately for you, you weren't the only problem they had.
Velzix, a demon lord who the Dark Order summoned to help them, soon left Nuro during its attack, and managed to unite the rest of the demons that felt the need to break their contract with the Dark Order. They turned their attention to the Tulan Kingdom. Right now he's established his own rule, enslaving the population and is most likely planning further conquest assuming he can keep his own troops from fighting each other long enough.
As for you, you've already managed to hold off one Grand Alliance attack quite successfully due to your preparations. The first thing you did was command all the surviving Dark Order members to become necromancers. They're mediocre at best though, they might be better if you took a more direct hand in training them, but you're too impatient and you have so many other things to take care of as well.
You haven't heard anything from your family; you can only wonder what they think of all this and you don't really care.
While things are somewhat quiet now, that's not going to last. The Grand Alliance will keep attacking and they may very well overwhelm you in time. You can't just sit in your throne room and prepare for the next attack and you need to be proactive about this threat, but the big problem though is, you're basically doing all of this yourself. There isn't anyone anywhere near your equal, let alone anyone you can trust to handle important things.
As much as you loathe thinking of it, you could ally with Velzix, granted he's an untrustworthy demon, and not fond of the Dark Order for imprisoning him, you were never a member of the Dark Order and may be receptive. You soon send messages to him asking for an alliance. Eventually you get a response, and it's a positive one. Velzix even says he'll meet you in the city of Aftermath. Apparently he isn't worried about you.
When he arrives he gets right to business.
"Nice decorations... so, you wish to make a deal with me?"
"I've come to propose a pact between us yes. We have a common enemy."
"Yes, but what does this pact entail exactly?"
"Simple, we don't attack one another and we coordinate our attacks to be more effective against the Grand Alliance."
"And I suppose while my attention isn't on you, and I waste my valuable resources, you build up strength and attack me eh? Heh heh, I know you little necromancer. I see the desire to murder the entire world in your eyes. I even respect it, but if you think I'm trusting you, you're as brain dead as those corpses you raise."
"What?! You're a fucking demon and you're accusing ME of being deceitful?"
"Of course. Who better to see treachery than one who is an expert at it? But assuming you genuinely mean for us to be best buddies forever and ever, I still don't see what you can do for me in your current state."
"What are you on about now?"
"I'm saying as a military power you ain't shit that's what! Your necromancers are barely competent enough to hold your defenses of that little necropolis you rule. It's mostly you doing all the work, and while you've got a little power, it still ain't enough to attack anything in a meaningful way."
You hate the fact that Velzix is right, but you hate it even more that he's so damn smug about it. Which makes you wonder why he called you out here... in fact you're starting to prepare yourself for trouble.
"Alright then what the hell are you proposing?" you ask.
"I propose a... merger rather than an alliance."
"You're proposing that I let YOU take over Aftermath and I just become your bitch."
"Not exactly how I worded it, but if you prefer that designation... "
"NO! I don't prefer it!"
"Okay then how about this? I say you'll last maybe another year tops if you stay walled up in this little city of yours just letting the Grand Alliance constantly beat down your gates until they finally succeed. Then assuming you don't die during that final attack, I predict that you live a ragged existence on the run for maybe a couple years afterwards at which point you'll end up getting hunted down and killed hiding in some cave somewhere."
"And that's what you see?"
"Seen it happen to more powerful mortals than you. BUT! It doesn't have to be that way. Joining with me can be more beneficial than you think. You don't think I don't see the power in you? You would be a very valuable asset to my plans. Your ability to control the dead is very strong and quite frankly it would be nice to actually have not just troops that aren't fighting among themselves, but a great general as well. Think about it! You'll gain more power and you could still bring death to thousands and not have to worry about all the bullshit of ruling, because as I'm sure you know, it isn't as fun as it should be most of the time. You will prosper, if you continue to prove yourself worthy and useful."
> decline his offer
Never. You'll never submit to anyone else's rule. You'd rather die first. But if you can help it, maybe you can eliminate one rival right now.
You don't answer Velzix's offer, you immediately attack! You blast Velzix, with a beam of negative energy. Your nearby undead soldiers rush at Velzix, and your necromancers provide some back up.
Velzix somewhat expected your attack though, and he blocks your beam with a magic shield and then flies through the wall of your fortress burning your corpse soldiers in the way.
"Short-sighted little dead wizard! You've sealed your own doom!" you hear him shout as he flies away back to his own realm.
You aren't impressed by his threats however, you order your wall to be fixed, while you plan your next move...
A year passes...
The Kingdom of Tulan has finally put the sword to every last demon infesting the area. You laugh when you hear how easily Velzix was defeated, however this celebration is soon short lived.
The Grand Alliance attempts another siege of the city and this time they succeed. You barely manage to escape. You try to establish some sort of rule elsewhere, but the Grand Alliance isn't letting you get dug in again.
You begin your long road of hardship and keep to rural areas; many times you barely survive attacks from barbaric orc tribes. Fortunately your skills in necromancy protect you (as well as scare the hell out of the orcs)
Two years pass...
You hear them coming for you, there is no more running. This is your fate. To die in this cave. You think bitterly about Velzix's all too correct prediction about your fate. You wonder if you'd been less prideful and accepted his offer, you wouldn't be in this state you are right now.
You shake your head to this however. No point in regrets. You've made your choices and now you make one last one.
You leave the cave to face your enemies and prepare to die for your heinous crimes...
Such is often the fate of a necromancer. |
You've been doing pretty well by yourself so far, so you decide to continue that trend. Still you do wonder what Mr. Demar's Dark Order is up to.
During the night you head out of the city and into the nearby wilderness. After checking around, you're sure nobody else is around and you begin to cast your spell.
Soon it happens. You've summoned several ghostly figures to your side. The strain to control them is much greater, but you manage. However you don't want to push your luck so after a few brief commands you dismiss them. You've satisfied your desires for awhile.
Another month passes and you go about your life more or less. Soon classes will start again, but you have no idea what you're going to take. How can you? You're sitting on all this forbidden knowledge that you seem to be extremely good at while the "acceptable" magic is stuff you can't perform worth shit. Doesn't seem fair somehow. Still you're going to have to at least put up a front of normalcy if you're going to not arouse suspicion.
You're convinced you were born in the wrong time period. You should've been alive during the time of the Great Lich Lord. Ah how exciting those times must've been!
But as you soon find out, today's times can be just as exciting...
As the first week of classes start rolling around you finally decide on taking something easy and head towards the registrar offices as a late arrival. As soon as you step out of your apartment building, you hear screams, sounds of battle, explosions and general sounds of chaos.
Portals are opening up all over the city and demons are pouring out of them! Amidst the bedlam you notice a few young wizards directing the demons. Demonologists. They have to be part of the Dark Order and this has to be some kind of plan of their to take over the city. You wished you'd joined up with them after all, but you think perhaps it might not be too late to get in on the action.
You're about to do so, when you feel your whole body going in slow motion. Apparently you're not the only one, but it doesn't seem to be affecting the demons or Dark Order members. They must have someone also dabbling in temporal magic (A practically forgotten branch of magic which is also illegal, and obviously for good reason!)
It would seem that The Dark Order certainly has their shit together as far as this attack is concerned.
You're not going to be deterred, but you know you need to be cautious. You slink back into your apartment building and back into your room. Remembering your spirit summoning from last month, you decide to try it again. You need defenders and ghosts are probably going to serve you better for as long as this slow spell lasts.
Once again you succeed and with your ghostly bodyguards you march outside a little more confident.
You find that the city is one big killing zone. Demons are really running amok through the streets, a few of them attack you, but your ghost protect you. It would appear that they don't see you as an ally.
Sensing the need for even more protection, you raise some of the many dead bodies that now litter the streets. A few of Nuro's mage guards attempt to stop you, but you easily defeat them and add them to your ranks. It's so easy for you. Soon you're commanding a small army and it's barely taking any effort from you at all.
"HEY! Who the hell are you? You're not in the Dark Order!" a voice calls out to you, and you turn around to see another necromancer. He's rather non-descript looking and isn't controlling nearly as many dead as you are. No ghosts either.
"I'm not. I'm what you call... independent I suppose."
"Oh is that right eh? Well if you ain't with the Dark Order, you're against us!"
You attempt to ask if you can come to some sort of arrangement, but he's not hearing it, he orders his horde to attack you.
So much for making allies...
He and his troops are going to be faster, even if you do outnumber him, so you decide to do something else.
You enforce your will upon his advancing horde, and with a little effort you're successful. They stop in their tracks, and then they turn around in his direction.
"Hey! Stop that! You can't do that! You're supposed to listen to me!" he shouts totally losing his cool, not to mention his control.
Instead of trying to regain it, he attempts to blast you with a bolt of negative energy, but at this point you're well protected by meat shield of corpses, who seem to be moving faster...
The slow spell! It's gone! Or at least it's not affecting you anymore. You smile wickedly at the enemy necromancer. Now you can show him real power! He doesn't get a few inches from his position before he's overwhelmed and killed by your forces.
Besides the effects of the slow spell being gone, you also notice many of the demons jumping over the city walls, or otherwise leaving Nuro. You hear demonologists shouting at them to come back and once again you shake your head. It would appear that Mr. Demar and the Dark Order didn't have their shit as together as you thought.
"Pah! This is what Mr. Demar had to work with? I guess I was lucky not to have hooked up with such fools!" you say to a nearby zombie who doesn't answer.
You march through the city truly exercising your power for the first time, soon you come across two more necromancers attempting to destroy city hall where the last bastion of resistance resides in the city. An ugly man and a woman. Naturally it's the ugly guy who calls over to you.
"Hey Irwin glad you... hey you're not Irwin! Who are you?"
"I'm the guy who can probably save your ass from this fiasco you Dark Orderites call a take over."
"Huh and I suppose YOU could've done a better job?" the woman sneers.
"Better job than you're doing. Look at you, you lost your demonic support and you can't even take out the first citizen and his weak ass mage guards." You retort.
"Hey Catalina stop fighting! We got enough problems!" he says to the woman before addressing you. "Look, my name's Sebastian and if you want to help out I'm not going to turn you away because you're right, we could use it! I'm sure Mr. Demar is having no problems taking care of the dean and the other professors, but I'm more concerned with Quayle!"
"Who's that?"
"He's the guy that was responsible for that slow spell you were probably feeling the effects of earlier. I don't what's gone wrong with the spell, but some demonologist came by here a minute ago saying that the whole east side of campus is fucked up. Like it's phasing in and out of existence or something. Someone needs to go check it out or stop it before we're all killed!"
> leave the City
You weren't impressed with these losers before and you're still not impressed with them now.
"Yeah, well I got my own plans. Thanks for the heads up on the city though, guess I'll leave this shithole." You say.
"Hey! Come on! Where do you think you're going to go? Staying here is your best shot at survival, we just gotta... "
"Let him go Sebastian, we don't need the likes of him helping us!"
With those last words ringing in your ears, you march out of the city with your undead horde ready to take on the world.
Your first stop is some little town on the outskirts of the Brot Kingdom. You're merciless. You slaughter all those that oppose you, leaving none alive. Your army grows and you march on to other endeavors, but not really having any kind of plan other than mindless slaughter...
One month passes
The Incident at Nuro has become well known knowledge and while the take over was a failure, much damage was done. A temporal disturbance in the heart of the city has made the entire area unstable as buildings phase in and out of existence. Mr. Demar and most of his Dark Order were killed though a few managed to escape and go into hiding. Demons have been running rampant through the countryside and seem to have taken an interest in the Kingdom of Tulan.
You're a well known threat due to your actions in Brot Kingdom. Already mercenaries are on your trail. You have to keep to the rural parts of the countryside where you come in conflict with several barbaric Orc tribes. You of course add these to your army when you're done massacring them.
One year passes
The Kingdom of Tulan has finally put the sword to every last demon infesting the area. Most of the demonologist have been caught and hung for their crimes as well.
You now have the Grand Alliance's attention and they hound you at every turn. You refuse to give up. They will know your full power, just like your Dad did when you utterly destroyed his mercenary company that attempted to stop you.
How you laughed when he attempted to still grab his sword to strike you even though he had been separated from his lower half at the time. You put the old bastard out of his delusions when he gurgled to you that no good would come of your path. Hah! Like he knew what it's like to be a "good man."
Still you always wondered what Mom thinks... but then you don't want to know what she thinks of you. A twinge of sadness strikes you, before you erase it entirely from your thoughts.
You press on further north.
Two more years pass
Nuro has completely collapsed in on itself due to the temporal disturbance leaving nothing but a gaping hole there; a war breaks out in the nearby area.
You suffer four attacks from the Grand Alliance and several attacks from various other forces. Your sister was leading the last Grand Alliance attack, and you barely escaped. You're the last "problem" from the Nuro Incident that needs to be eliminated.
You're growing weaker from the lack of rest, and you turn to eating dead flesh to survive.
Survival, that's all you care about now.
Two more years pass
You can hear them coming, you curse the fact that you left yourself no retreat. You're magically spent and exhausted. Fuck it.
You walk towards your pursuers and prepare to die for your heinous crimes...
Such is often the fate of a necromancer. |
Chapter 2: Hellbound
Serena's advice might've pointed you in the right direction, but as far as you needing the help of others you're going to take a pass on that. You don't need anyone else except yourself. That's the way it's been for a long time and that's the way it's going to stay.
That leaves you to go where various other students have gone when they want to get something illegal and keep it to themselves. "Big Red".
Technically Big Red isn't actually all that big, in fact for a demon he's probably on the smaller size, but like most demons he likes to think he's very important. Big Red typically hangs around in the seedy parts of Nuro, but he also hangs around the park area on campus late at night. His presence in Nuro is barely tolerated, but he's been known to acquire things for high ranking officials and provide important information that is beneficial to Nuro security.
Oddly for all his mercenary criminal behavior he's tight lipped for a demon and will only tell on someone if asked directly and only then for the right price. Given how low profile you are, it's unlikely anyone's going to ask about you, let alone what for. Chances are if anyone does see you with Big Red they'll just think you're another college student looking to get high.
You wait until night and then stalk the campus park area looking for Big Red, but instead he finds you, catching you off guard.
"Y'know you'd look less guilty if you weren't lurking around like a damn dark elf assassin. Haven't seen you around before, I guess that explains why you're coming to me AFTER finals are over. Most students come and get the answers before hand y'know."
"You sell those? Damn, I didn't have to fail my nature test final after all."
"I could probably fix that too, for a price of course."
"... maybe, but what I'm looking for is uh... a little different."
"Ah, so high exactly do you want to get?"
"No, not that... "
"Well, I'm not selling sex slaves if that's what you're looking for... well at least not here."
"No! I'm looking for something different!"
Big Red gives you a strange look.
"Okay, what kind of freak are you exactly then?"
"I'm looking for something on Necromancy."
Big Red throws you up against a tree when you make that remark and begins to whisper to you in a harsh tone. You can feel (And smell) the brimstone emanating from his breath.
"You fucking little mortal pissant, you trying to get me killed? I don't sell that shit! Get the fuck outta here!" he says before throwing you on the ground and walking away.
Now it may be that he's telling the truth, but he may be more worried that you're trying to set him up. You're determined to find out regardless of the consequences. You run back to him, but stay out of his immediate range.
"Look, I know you're a guy who can get a hold of lots of things and I also know you're available for a price. I'm not a spy, I'm not gonna rat you out, I'm not working for anyone, I just have a... need... "
Big Red turns back towards you and walks in your direction, you think he's going to attack and you nearly run, but chances are he'd catch you first anyway. He's looking around in all directions and speaking in a low tone.
"Alright. Look. Since you're obviously new and not hip to how this works, I'm inclined to believe you're not working for someone. Someone undercover wouldn't be so obviously clueless as you seem to be, at least not to catch the likes of me. Plus I can sense the darkness around you... it's a neat ability we have and again let's us tell who's a goody two shoes and who isn't. You don't seem to be either though just yet. You seem to be more confused and curious than anything which is almost as bad."
"So you can't you help me?"
"It's not that I can't, it's whether I should. This isn't selling you some Hobgoblin Hashish so you can go get high and wind up naked the next morning with a Dwarf in your ass."
"Um... what? Excuse me?" you stutter at Big Red's odd scenario outcome.
"This is serious shit, if word got around that I was selling information on the Dark Arts, let alone books on it, my ass would be strung up and killed. And to have some dumb ass college student fucking around with something as dangerous as that is asking for trouble since YOU'RE probably going to get yourself caught, which will then lead to possible questions before they kill you... which can then link to me. And that can't happen."
"I'm not going to get caught."
"Hah! Heard that one before from people getting busted for less. I dunno, I don't see you as a good risk and even if I did consider this request my price would be VERY high and I don't see you as having that kind of money to spend."
Big Red's denials of your request are actually making you want what he has even more. You KNOW he can help you. In fact you're beginning to get irritated. Why the hell is he denying you this? He's a fucking demon who sells illegal shit! He shouldn't care at all! You're desperate for his help though so you tell an outlandish lie.
"Look my parents are rich! I can get the money for you, just gimme your price and I can get it... it might take me awhile, but I can get it."
"Oh you can huh? Alright then I'll play your game. He's my price." Big Red pulls out a little pad of paper and pencil and writes something on it and then hands it to you. You read the astronomical price while Big Red's face turns into a smug demonic grin. He probably did that for dramatic effect.
There's no way you can pay this, even if you somehow managed to convince your parents to give you money to support your grossly illegal studies in necromancy. You're not going to let it stop you though.
"Wow... that is high... okay. I can get this, but it'll take me a few days." You say feigning a mixture of shock, but calmness too. Big Red himself looks surprised that you agreed. He begins to write down something on his pad again and gives it to you.
"Well alright money bags, we got a deal. You come meet me at this time and location in a week. If you ain't there, then you can forget about coming to see me for anything ever again. If you come and you don't have the money... well I don't think I need to stress how bad that would be. So my advice is if you don't have it, don't show. See ya."
"Hey wait, you said you can fix my grade too." You suddenly remember.
"Don't you think you've spent enough money tonight? Alright then maybe you ARE made of gold after all, so what's the class?"
"Nature magic."
"Oh yeah, you said that. Yeah, that's definitely doable, mainly because the professor is, I just need to slip the deviled ham into her and she'll be willing to pass anyone."
"I thought she was a lesbian."
"Feh, not when it comes to Big Red. It ain't just a name ya know. Alright, my price for this task is two hundred gold pieces. Normally I might charge less, but hey you got the money right?"
Indeed, but you don't have much now after forking it over to Big Red. You were hoping the gold you brought was going to go towards a necromantic tome, but instead it's just going to cheating.
"Thanks, and as appreciation for your generous business tonight, I think I'll go take care of that grade situation of yours right now, if I'm lucky maybe she'll have one of those little elven bitches with her. Ha ha!"
As Big Red leaves you, you head back to your apartment to scheme for the rest of the week. You go through a wide variety of emotions: fear, anger, desire, anxiety, obsession, etc. None of it really means anything though since you don't really have too much in the way of choices now. You're either going to have to kill Big Red when you go to meet him, or just forget about this necromancy stuff and go home for vacation.
> go home
Once again you have second thoughts. You can't do this. You can't become a necromancer; it's not going to make your life any easier and is only going to make it vastly more difficult. You figure with your mediocre grades and magic skills, you can probably get a job working at children's parties or something after you graduate. That least if you make a mistake it'll be "funny" and just be part of the act. Your Mom probably won't be too disappointed since she also works with children and you give a shit what your Dad thinks.
Yep, that'll probably be your "life".
You don't go meet Big Red and instead take the next carriage home to visit your family for vacation. Your Mom is happy to see you and makes the appropriate fuss. Your sister is okay when she stops by between her duties. In fact for awhile you don't feel so bad about your life. Sure it'll be dull and not very glamorous, but you can deal with it...
After a month of your visit, your Dad finally comes back from one of his mercenary jobs. He's in a typical asshole mood and gives you a bunch of shit as soon as he walks in the door. He belittles what few accomplishments you have, compares you to your sister and is a general dick to you as usual.
While your Mom attempts to rein him in, you leave the house and curse your Dad. He always spoils everything for you. You can't wait for classes to start again just to get away from the old bastard.
You almost wished you'd taken that risk and attempted to kill Big Red and get that necromantic book. The powers it must've contained... you know you would've been able to master them. The more you think about this, the more you think that might be what you'll do when classes start again.
After two more months of putting up with your family, you're heading back to school. Once again your "feelings" have died down again. You're not going to kill Big Red or any of that, you're going to go to class and struggle as usual.
You're going to be less than an average nobody. You're going to live the rest of your life like a halfling.
But not for long...
About a week after classes start, something terrible happens in the city of Nuro. Portals suddenly open up all over the city and demons come pouring out of them. Loud explosions take place and there's a strange feeling of "slowness" occurring to you and most others.
You're in class at the time when this chaos begins. It's obviously an attack of some sort, but nobody knows from where or who, right now everyone is just trying to escape.
Demons run amok through the streets and campus gleefully killing people. Running while suffering the effects of this aura of slowness is proving very difficult so you try to stay hidden most of the time.
Demonologists direct this attack, you even recognize a couple as students you went to class with. Apparently you weren't the only one with the dark arts on your mind.
Eventually you get closer to the city gates and that's when you see a horde of recently raised corpses lingering around it. You think maybe you can make it. The dead aren't known to be fast after all.
You make your run and the group of corpses and skeletons notice you and shamble in your direction. Normally if you weren't slowed, you probably might make it, but instead they manage to surround you and cut off escape in any direction. In desperation you cry out for this to stop and wishing that somehow they would stop attacking you.
And for a moment, they do. They just stand there obediently. You can't believe it; you just stand there in shock, not taking advantage of the situation.
Did you really have a natural gift for necromancy after all?
Unfortunately, you'll never know because they quickly resume attacking and strike you down before moving on.
As you lie in the street dying from your wounds, you laugh at the absurdity of it all.
"Ha ha... I coulda... (cough) been... the next Great Lich Lord... " |
Chapter 1: Dark Beginnings
Well, you did it again. You slacked off all semester and didn't study for your finals. There's no way you're going to pass your nature magic test tomorrow. Those things are always killers. You don't even know why you enrolled in that class; you aren't even interested in being a nature mage. You don't even like the damn outdoors!
Oh wait, you know why, it's because you saw a cute witch taking the class, so like a dumb ass, you signed up for it. Naturally the moment you tried to impress her with some sort of cantrip, she laughed at you and said even if she was straight, she wouldn't go for a half assed hedge wizard like you! You really should've known better, half of those witches are lesbians anyway. That whole Mother Earth Goddess worship caters to the rug munching. (And no, there aren't any MALE witches, any self respecting man would call himself a WARLOCK, not a damn witch!)
(Sigh) Like your little sister's B'ar'b Dolly once said "Magic is hard!" Indeed. Sometimes you curse the day your mother passed her magical elven blood on to you.
Still, you're here now, so you need to make the best out of your life. You're already going to hear it from both of your parents of how you've been nothing but a disappointment to the both of them. Your Dad will probably do a little more than say that, he'll probably personally ride up to the University and beat the hell out of you for wasting his hard earned pillaging money to send you there in the first place.
Arrgh! You just wish you were good at SOME kind of magic! You have the ability; you just don't have the focus! That's always been the problem with you. Your sister has it easy, she took after Dad. Narrow minded focus on killing someone with a blunt instrument doesn't take too much effort. Of course you had to be the one that greater things were expected of.
You've tried all the schools, evocation, conjuration, illusion, divination; all of them. You can't excel in any of it. You can only get so far and then the words and gestures and well all of it just becomes too fucking confusing for you.
However, you haven't tried the "darker arts", but your Mom would definitely never approve. (Your Dad probably wouldn't care, but if you upset your Mom, it's a warhammer upside the head) In fact it's illegal to study any of them. They caused too much trouble in the past and nearly destroyed the world at one time. All who are known to even dabble in such arts are immediately taken into custody and executed.
You don't think you'd want to be summoning demons anyway; even the few "friendly ones" that work on campus are fucking assholes to the Nth degree. You can only imagine how bad the ones who haven't been living among mortals are.
However there is another dark art which you have to admit you've always had a bit of curiosity about.
The art in question is necromancy.
At this point you're willing to at least see if you're good at ANYTHING, so for shits and giggles you decide to blow off your test which you're going to fail anyway and go see if you can find out more about this outlawed dark art.
Though being a lazy sort you decide to try the library first.
> what kind of world is this? (A little history)
History is it? Well you were never really good at that either, however you did manage to maintain some knowledge of the subject, which is probably more than what can be said for your magic abilities!
> The World
Your world is a strange mixture of magic and technology. While magic exists, it isn't used by everyone as naturally most people don't have the aptitude for it. (You being on the borderline!) and of course there are laws concerning the use of it under most governments. Technology such as gunpowder weapons and other things like steam engines exists to a limited degree. Only the rich nations such as the Zalan Empire can afford to place money in such experimental things.
Most of the world is "civilized" in that parts of it have governing bodies to rule it. Though large stretches of untamed land do exist and "civilization" can be relative in the case of some nations. Many different races exist, though how they get along is another matter.
The landscape on your world is quite varied ranging from deserts, to grasslands, to snowy mountains. But as far as anyone knows, only one large mass exists on your world. Many sailors have attempted to find other possible land masses, but all attempts have yielded nothing. The oceans do not contain any known sentient creatures, though large sea serpents have been sighted in the deep ocean by a few sailors that have barely come back alive from their circumnavigation around the world.
The underground is home to some races, though not as many dwell down there as one might assume. Nor is it a place where evil lurks, (though it can be) the underground is merely another place where some choose to live. Nobody ever chooses to live too deep underground however as the deeper one goes the more unlivable and inhospitable it is to make into a home.
The skies are clear. At one time there were a few large floating fortresses in the clouds, but during the Dead War, powerful magic cast by the Great Lich Lord caused these to crash to the ground and kill millions. After such an occurrence, it was decided that the risk was too great to have that happen again. The last of the dragons also died during the Dead War.
As for where you're located in the world, you're enrolled at Nuro Magic College.
The Nuro Magic College is located in the City State of Nuro imaginatively enough. In fact the college basically IS the city given how large a part it plays in it.
Nuro maintains its independence due to its neutrality and large magic surplus that would make even the largest of empires feel the pain if it was ever attempted to be invaded.
However, invasion is unlikely by any current nation as its Magic College is the best and is open to ALL citizens of other nations, provided they can pay the tuition costs. This also makes Nuro fairly prosperous.
Practically anything you could want is in Nuro, and if it isn't it can easily be acquired due to magic. |
History is it? Well you were never really good at that either, however you did manage to maintain some knowledge of the subject, which is probably more than what can be said for your magic abilities!
> your Family
Your birth was an unusual one, which is a kind way of saying "accidental". You were born of a union of an elven mother and a ruthless human marauder whose own ancestry probably has ogrish blood.
How they met was quite beautiful though. Your Dad was storming an elven castle and after putting several pointy ears to their deaths he came across your Mom who was being held in a special tower to ensure her purity for her eventual marriage to a High Elven Prince. She was raised and conditioned to be a perfect wife and even had spells infused into her being to forge a bond with her potential mate. Of course your Dad didn't know all that, he just saw a fine piece of elven ass and naturally after all that killing, your Dad was in the mood for some lovin...
Normally after such actions he most likely would've killed her or passed her over to the rest of his men where upon one of them would've killed her after they had their fun, but something unexpected occurred. Rotten ol' Dad fell in love, possibly for the first time in his life. The reasons are somewhat unclear, though you believe that it strongly has something to do with the magical aura of your mother's conditioning. (Which also explains why she stayed a bastard who had basically raped her and killed her family) Instead of killing her he felt like doing stupid stuff like being nice to her and giving her sparkly things of great monetary value. He even carried her carefully out of the burning castle.
Of course this didn't go over too well with the usual bunch of cutthroats he hung around with at the time, and he was severely taunted, mocked and even challenged. All of that soon stopped though after he killed everyone and married your Mom. The Elven Prince she was originally supposed to marry actually breathed a sigh of relief when it was discovered, since as it turned out he thought girls were "icky" and it was only to be a political marriage in the first place.
Soon your father found that he now had actual responsibilities beyond his own selfish pleasures. Not only did he now have a wife, he had a baby on the way. Your mother's influence was taking more of a hold on him as well. He agreed to give up his banditry and marauder ways, and instead became a mercenary in which he could at least somewhat legally justify any misdeeds he might be involved in. Your mother who had been sheltered for so long became enamored with city life, so they both moved into a nice house in the Zalan Empire where she became a school teacher for young children.
Soon you were born and your father hoped that you might follow in his footsteps (At this point he was eager to show his "offspring" all the cool ways to kill people) but it was obvious that you took more after your mother even if not the talent.
While your Dad might've become a "changed man" due to your Mom, he didn't change that much. You had to hear the verbal abuse and endure a lot of physical hardship (Such as him taking you out to the wilderness where he wanted you to learn how to survive for three day just wearing a loincloth!), before he finally "gave up" on making you into a warrior. Still, you probably did learn how to fight better than most wizards, but of course you're FAR from being a "real" wizard! Fortunately Dad wasn't at home for long stretches at a time since his mercenary work often kept him busy. You don't mind saying about how sometimes you wished he never came back at all! But the old bastard was just too damn tough to die. Even in that rarity when his entire companies have been killed, he'd always somehow manage to come back more or less in one piece.
The man still can inspire fear in you, even though you've moved away and are an adult now. He's the one mainly paying for your education, so it's probably good that's he's still alive despite his threats and past abuse.
Your Mom of course is nicer, and fortunately did try to shelter you from some of your Dad's wrath. However she's been pushy in her own way. The moment your Dad gave up on you, she immediately stepped in and took over. From that point she was bound and determined to groom you to be that great wizard that she KNOWS you're going to be. Sometimes you wish she wouldn't place so much faith in you, because quite frankly you don't have that much aptitude and you don't understand how she can't see that, though you're guessing that she purposely ignores that little fact. In her mind, you're going to be a great wizard no matter what, so after high school you were to be sent to the Magic College in Nuro.
Besides Mom and Dad, there's Sis who was born shortly after you were. Sis is your Dad's favorite. When it was apparent you weren't warrior material, he noticed how your younger sister would always watch you and he spar. So he threw a sword to her and told her to show him what she had. Of course being very young at the time, she could barely hold the weapon, but it was obvious genetics favored her as a warrior and had natural ability. He might've even taken her on mission with him, but your Mom wasn't having that. She did of course in time hone her skills to a great degree. So much so that she would become the youngest candidate to ever join the Zalan Empire's Elite Guard. Though your Dad wasn't exactly ecstatic with that decision as he'd much preferred her to be a mercenary like him, rather than a governmental "pawn" (as he believes) but he can respect the battle skill.
As for your relationship with her, she sometimes bullied you when she got a little more skilled with fighting techniques, though sometimes it really helped to have a warrior sister to have your back at times, like when you got jumped by some Orc youths who were attempting to rob you. She single handedly defeated them all using only her fists. Of course when you both got home SHE took your money anyway! However, she eventually was nicer to you after she developed her sense of justice.
As far as families go, you probably could've done worse. |
This is no way to live.
Working on a barely profitable rundown farm with far too many family members to feed. It's a damn good thing you're an excellent hunter. However, lately there's even been a shortage of game to thwart your efforts.
You didn't really want to be working on the farm your whole life in the first place, you wanted to see the world but when dad died, things got a lot harder for the family and you had to take over as "man" of the house and stay put.
Something is going to have to change.
While you'd like nothing more than to go through with your childhood dreams of becoming a traveling bard without any responsibility you don't have that luxury. Hell, you barely have time to play your lute anymore in the small amount of free time you do have. You doubt if you'd even be good enough to make a living for just yourself doing it.
But you need to get away, but what can you do that won't allow you to completely abandon your mom and all your brothers and sisters?
You suddenly think of the choice that many in your desperate position have thought of many times before.
The army.
Its not exactly ideal, but you be traveling and seeing the world so to speak. You'd also be making enough money that you could send to your family. Your own living expenses would be provided for by the army.
Of course there's all that fighting that usually goes along with it that you're not to keen on. Not that you aren't a stranger to battle as their have been the occasional bandits or kobold thieves that have attempted to steal from the farm in the past, but you prefer not to fight if possible, especially not up close. The bow has always been your weapon of choice. There's also the matter of mass combat on a grand scale that usually accompanies army life. A lot different than chasing away some thieves in the chicken coop.
As you're thinking about this, you also realize that there is another option. There's a small mercenary company passing through the area. They've been hanging out at the local tavern for a couple days. They don't seem to be the noblest sort from what you can tell, but fortunately they seem to have kept their revelry confined to the tavern. Who knows how they act away from "civilization" though.
Still, it's something to consider. There probably is less attention to discipline and a little more relaxed on rules and regulations. You probably wouldn't be fighting in some mass land war that governments are fond of waging. Mercenaries travel a lot and tend to make more, however they tend to get hired for a lot weirder jobs, usually ones that the employer doesn't want people to know about or ones that nobody else seems to be able to handle.
> enlist in the army
Well, as much as you're going to hate the whole uniform thing, you'd rather there be some sort of guidelines. The mercenaries look like a rough bunch. You get the impression
you'd have to be watching your back as much as your enemies if you signed up with them.
You explain your decision to join the army to the family one night at dinner. Your revelation comes as a shock. Your smaller brothers and sisters don't want you to go, your
brother Mallack really doesn't want you to leave since he'll be next in line to take the brunt of the manual labor!
Your mother surprises you as much as you surprised everyone else. You expected her to be the most vocal about you not leaving, but she sees that this would help out the family. She gives her blessing.
Before you leave the next day with your packed belongings, your whole family comes to say goodbye to you. You almost hesitate to leave, wondering if it would actually be better for you to stay, but your mother urges you on.
"Don't worry! Mallack is old enough to take over your responsibilities on the farm. He's not quite as skilled of a hunter, but he'll be able to do it. I've always known that you've had a desire to travel. The army isn't an ideal life I hope you realize though." Your mom says.
"Yeah, I know, but I've thought it through."
"Very well, you're old enough to make your own decisions and live your own life, though I'm glad to see that you still want to help the family as opposed to just leaving in the middle of the night."
"I'll start sending money as soon as possible. I'll also try to write and visit when I can."
"I know... okay, you best get going. It's still quite a walk to the capitol."
You begin to leave the farm as your family wave goodbye to you in the distance.
Soon you're on the road to your nation's capitol. You've been to Zal once before a long time ago with your dad when he was trying to sell some kobold eyes to an alchemist there. You remember being overwhelmed with how many people lived there and how big it was. You always did want to go there again one day; you just didn't think it would be to enlist in the army.
Eventually you arrive at Zal. The place is even bigger than the last time you came here. So much has changed and you're a little overwhelmed. You don't have any knowledge of the city so you ask the gate guard who is giving a watchful look to everyone coming in and out.
"Excuse me... "
"Whadda ya want peasant? I'm busy! Market square is three blocks down as soon as you get inside the gate here!" The guard snaps.
"No, I was wondering where I could enlist in the army."
The guard seems to change his tone to a somewhat more cordial tone.
"Oh I see. Well, as soon as you go through the gate, take a left, and walk two blocks. The recruiting office is on the right hand side across from a general store."
You thank him and proceed, but you can't help overhearing the guard laughing to his buddy as you walk away. You don't make out all of it, but "Dumb fucking hayseed peasant." was definitely in there.
At last you arrive at the recruiting office. The man sitting at the desk looks bored at first, but perks up a bit when he sees you.
"Well now, this is a nice break in the monotony. Have a seat."
"I want to enlist in the army."
"Well of course you do son, why else would you be here? To join the Zalan Empire's best right? Okay, but before we start I need to ask you some questions just so we can get a feel of where we think you'll best serve in the Emperor's glorious army."
"Uh, okay."
"Good, so where are you from son? You certainly don't look like you're from the city here. You look like a farmer."
"Well I sort of am sir. My family owns a farm a couple miles from the city, I decided to enlist to help my family monetarily. Times are hard on the farm."
"Mmm, noble of you. Your sense of duty will also serve you well too. Any combat experience?"
"Some, but nothing major I'm afraid. A few bandits. Kobolds in the chicken coop. That's about it."
"Don't worry you'll learn to be a killing machine, but your past experience are more than some we've recruited. Any other talents?"
"Besides farming? Um... I'm a good hunter, I use this bow all the time!" you say and show the recruiter your worn bow.
"Good. Good. We can always use good marksmen. But you'll get the chance to use a better bow than that old thing you've been carrying around. What's that other thing on your back?"
"Oh this? Well this is my uh lute."
"Lute? Ha ha! You a bard or something?"
"Well not really, but... "
"You planning on charming the enemies with your music?"
"Uh... " you say begin to get a little anxious.
"Hah! Settle down son, I'm just messing with you. But I'm afraid whatever your musical hobbies may be you'll most likely be abandoning them. Can't be picking your lute while an angry ogre is charging at you or you're storming a castle. This is the army, not an entertainment company!"
The recruiter at this point begins to look through some papers and grabs one after looking it over.
"Ah. Here it is... you know how to read and write?"
"YES!" you say indignantly for the first time.
"Okay, okay, don't get testy. Its just most of you peasant farmer types don't. Anyway just sign here and we'll get you started on your basic training."
You take the paper, and give it a pointless look over like you actually understand all the legal mumbo jumbo and sign. The recruiter takes the paper from you and then shakes your hand.
"Congratulations son! You're in the Zalan Army now! The best damn one in this world!"
Somehow he's more enthusiastic than you are...
> it's boot camp for you!
6 months pass...
Six months of the most grueling physical training you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with! However you fared better than some of your fellow cadets. Guess all that farm living paid off.
You've certainly improved what combat skills you had, but your marksmanship has improved greatly. You know that Drill Sergeant Kosser has been paying special attention to your abilities. You're not sure if that's a good thing of not.
In any event you're being told where your first assignment is going to be. Most of those in your group are being sent to Tulan border. Not the most pleasant assignment. The fighting is getting worse there.
What started as a minor border dispute has turned into a series of battles with neither side making too much progress. Even before you joined the military you'd heard stories of the greedy king who runs the Tulan Kingdom. You heard from traveling merchants about how he allows a few demons to walk around in his lands! Utter madness in your opinion. The Zalan Empire might be a little strict on the rules and regulations, but better that than demons letting walking around, in your opinion they should all be killed on sight regardless on whether they're obeying the "law" or not, they're evil.
You sit anxious on your bed in the barracks as name after name gets called off. Finally Kosser calls off your name, and you fully expect to get sent to the Tulan border.
"I want to talk to you in private." Is what you hear instead.
This makes you even more nervous. What's he going to do? Send you on? A mission to assassinate the Tulan King?
After everyone else has gotten there assignments you follow Kosser back to his office. He sits down and speaks direct.
"Alright farmboy, I'm sure you've noticed me watching your marksmanship skills. You're one of the best ones that have come in here for awhile. You have a natural talent and you've only improved it through training. It would be a blessing to have someone like you up at the Tulan border. The gods know we could use anything to help break the stalemate there."
"... but?" you ask hoping that there is one.
"But... your skills might be better served in a place that has a better mortality rate, yet still needs taking care of."
"Where's that sir?"
"Here." Kosser points to a map to a nearby location. It's the Retlad Kingdom. You can't imagine what's going on there, since as far as you know, you're Zalan is at peace with them.
"Retlad? I thought we're at peace with them?"
"We are... in fact rumors are saying we'll probably incorporate them into the empire in the near future. I dunno how much you know about politics out there on the farm, but Retlad is basically a bankrupt kingdom. Their dumb ass royalty spent a shitload of their treasury on building ships in some vain attempt to find more land mass on this world. Hah! Doesn't exist! We learned than centuries ago! Anyway now they don't have enough to pay for a proper military and their kingdom is being overrun by hostile Quillar tribes. They want us to help. Begging us practically and we have, but it's a pain in the ass. Quillars are fast and as their name suggests shoot multiple sharp quills at their enemies. I've seen them go through plate armor."
"That doesn't sound good."
"No, it's not good. The Retlad knight orders got decimated within two months of the first invasion wave. We're taking a better approach. We need to have equally quick troops that can at least match the fire power. We've sent a couple of war wizards, but most of them are serving on the Tulan border. Gunpower weapons are a little too slow for this sort of thing, so we're looking for people good with a bow. Quick enough to at least get a few shots off from a distance and run. Because hit and run tactics are what the Quillars excel at, so you'll have to do likewise."
Kosser pauses his talking for a moment. You take this opportunity to interject a question.
"And this assignment you say has a lower mortality rate?"
"Well, we haven't sent as many people there yet, but so far we've made a little more progress there than at the Tulan border. But of course I won't say it's a safe assignment. Those Quillar bastards are vicious and merciless. Up to you farmboy. You're getting a bonus here. You're actually getting to choose your assignment. Not many that get out of boot camp get that privilege."
Some "privilege"
> go to the Tulan Border
You don't like the sound of the Quillars and it doesn't really sound all that much safer. You decide that at the Tulan border you'll at least be with a few people you already know from boot camp and you'll be fighting something less scary. (Or at least human)
"I'll take the Tulan Border assignment sir."
"Hm, I'm surprised. Hope your skills come in of some use there. Here's your first month's pay, I suggest you live it up here in Zal, for the couple of days you have off before you leave."
You take the small bag and look inside. This will certainly help your family. You take a few coins for yourself and then ask if arrangements can be made to have your payment sent to your family from now on. He tells you yes, but asks that surely that you will still want some of it. You agree to just taking 10% of it. You don't need much.
"Sheesh, living bare minimum huh? Don't you want to eat anything other than military rations every once in awhile?" Kosser questions again.
"Nah. If I need extra food, I'll just hunt."
"You know there aren't many luxuries on the border, but when a traveling merchant shows up, you might regret not having enough money. You sure you don't want more?"
"Nope. I'll be fine. My family needs that money more than I do."
"Alright then, family man."
You exit the barracks and wander the city a bit. You find it very interesting. You sort of wish you could stay longer to take in more sights. However one thing catches your eye. A small store and in the window is a lute. Looks almost like the one you had before it was taken away from you in basic training. You haven't gotten a chance to play in six months and you'd really like to...
Hey you're a soldier now, you've proven yourself. You figure you can take one personal belonging with you to Tulan as long as you keep them packed properly. You enter the store and with the little money you have you buy the lute. You spend the most of the day and the next practicing it. You didn't forget as much as you thought. You also finish up writing a letter to your family and give it to a Zalan messenger carrier.
Finally the third day arrives for you to move out. A couple of officers arrive to take all of you. You're stopped though as you're picked out.
"Hold up you. What's that?"
"It's a lute sir."
"A lute? What the fuck do you think this is? An acting company? Get rid of that thing, you won't be needing that where you're going!"
"But... "
"You disobeying me soldier?"
"No sir!"
"Alright then, get rid of it!"
You sadly get rid of your lute which you never got to play and basically wasted your money on. You don't know what you were thinking anyway. You're in the damn army. You're going to be doing a lot of fighting and all of that, not playing some stupid instrument. You should've realized that the first time it was taken away from you in boot camp.
You've made this choice; you need to just put these dreams of being a "musician" out of your head right now. You weren't meant to be one, and all those years of deluding yourself in between real work were just fleeting dreams of a teenager. Time to grow up.
While you resign yourself to this mindset, you aren't particularly happy with it. When you get to the Tulan Border you're even less happy. Your first battle is filled with all the bad stuff that usually accompanies such things. It's definitely not a fun assignment and your only consolation is that you know your family is getting more financial aid for you doing this.
After a few months, you're absolutely miserable. You don't have your music to keep your mind off of the conditions and everything is bad here. The fort you're currently stationed at supplies only the bare minimum of living, no magical back up, the captain is a real asshole and the rest of those you serve with aren't too much better. Though so many are killed everyday that you never really grow to dislike (or like) anyone that much in that department. More are sent in and more die, it's like an ongoing cycle, everyone's so expendable in this ongoing border war that gets worse with each passing month.
It doesn't even come to your surprise when the day comes that you're mortally wounded while on patrol. One of the new soldiers tells you to hold on and that he'll get help, but you know he won't get any in time and it wouldn't matter anyway.
As you lay dying, your only regret is that you didn't get to play music like you always wanted to, and now you never will. |
6 months pass...
Six months of the most grueling physical training you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with! However you fared better than some of your fellow cadets. Guess all that farm living paid off.
You've certainly improved what combat skills you had, but your marksmanship has improved greatly. You know that Drill Sergeant Kosser has been paying special attention to your abilities. You're not sure if that's a good thing of not.
In any event you're being told where your first assignment is going to be. Most of those in your group are being sent to Tulan border. Not the most pleasant assignment. The fighting is getting worse there.
What started as a minor border dispute has turned into a series of battles with neither side making too much progress. Even before you joined the military you'd heard stories of the greedy king who runs the Tulan Kingdom. You heard from traveling merchants about how he allows a few demons to walk around in his lands! Utter madness in your opinion. The Zalan Empire might be a little strict on the rules and regulations, but better that than demons letting walking around, in your opinion they should all be killed on sight regardless on whether they're obeying the "law" or not, they're evil.
You sit anxious on your bed in the barracks as name after name gets called off. Finally Kosser calls off your name, and you fully expect to get sent to the Tulan border.
"I want to talk to you in private." Is what you hear instead.
This makes you even more nervous. What's he going to do? Send you on? A mission to assassinate the Tulan King?
After everyone else has gotten there assignments you follow Kosser back to his office. He sits down and speaks direct.
"Alright farmboy, I'm sure you've noticed me watching your marksmanship skills. You're one of the best ones that have come in here for awhile. You have a natural talent and you've only improved it through training. It would be a blessing to have someone like you up at the Tulan border. The gods know we could use anything to help break the stalemate there."
"... but?" you ask hoping that there is one.
"But... your skills might be better served in a place that has a better mortality rate, yet still needs taking care of."
"Where's that sir?"
"Here." Kosser points to a map to a nearby location. It's the Retlad Kingdom. You can't imagine what's going on there, since as far as you know, you're Zalan is at peace with them.
"Retlad? I thought we're at peace with them?"
"We are... in fact rumors are saying we'll probably incorporate them into the empire in the near future. I dunno how much you know about politics out there on the farm, but Retlad is basically a bankrupt kingdom. Their dumb ass royalty spent a shitload of their treasury on building ships in some vain attempt to find more land mass on this world. Hah! Doesn't exist! We learned than centuries ago! Anyway now they don't have enough to pay for a proper military and their kingdom is being overrun by hostile Quillar tribes. They want us to help. Begging us practically and we have, but it's a pain in the ass. Quillars are fast and as their name suggests shoot multiple sharp quills at their enemies. I've seen them go through plate armor."
"That doesn't sound good."
"No, it's not good. The Retlad knight orders got decimated within two months of the first invasion wave. We're taking a better approach. We need to have equally quick troops that can at least match the fire power. We've sent a couple of war wizards, but most of them are serving on the Tulan border. Gunpower weapons are a little too slow for this sort of thing, so we're looking for people good with a bow. Quick enough to at least get a few shots off from a distance and run. Because hit and run tactics are what the Quillars excel at, so you'll have to do likewise."
Kosser pauses his talking for a moment. You take this opportunity to interject a question.
"And this assignment you say has a lower mortality rate?"
"Well, we haven't sent as many people there yet, but so far we've made a little more progress there than at the Tulan border. But of course I won't say it's a safe assignment. Those Quillar bastards are vicious and merciless. Up to you farmboy. You're getting a bonus here. You're actually getting to choose your assignment. Not many that get out of boot camp get that privilege."
Some "privilege"
> go to the Retlad Kingdom
You've never even heard of Quillars before, but they still sound less dangerous than the Tulan Border, that place is only going to get worse, you know it.
"I'll take the Retlad assignment sir."
"Hm. Smart. Here's your first month's pay, I suggest you live it up here in Zal, for the couple of days you have off before you leave."
You take the small bag and look inside. This will certainly help your family. You take a few coins for yourself and then ask if arrangements can be made to have your payment sent to your family from now on. He tells you yes, but asks that surely that you will still want some of it. You agree to just taking 10% of it. You don't need much.
"Sheesh, living bare minimum huh? Don't you want to eat anything other than military rations every once in awhile?" Kosser questions again.
"Nah. If I need extra food, I'll just hunt."
"You know even the booze and brothel girls in Retlad aren't THAT cheap. You sure you don't want more?"
"Nope. I'll be fine. My family needs that money more than I do."
"Alright then, family man."
You exit the barracks and wander the city a bit. You find it very interesting. You sort of wish you could stay longer to take in more sights. However one thing catches your eye. A small store and in the window is a lute. Looks almost like the one you had before it was taken away from you in basic training. You haven't gotten a chance to play in six months and you'd really like to...
Hey you're a soldier now, you've proven yourself. You figure you can take one personal belonging with you to Retlad as long as you keep them packed properly. You enter the store and with the little money you have you buy the lute. You spend the most of the day and the next practicing it. You didn't forget as much as you thought. You also finish up writing a letter to your family and give it to a Zalan messenger carrier.
Finally the third day arrives for you to move out. A couple of officers arrive to take most of your other fellow cadets. Mostly to the Tulan border, however, it would appear you have a different escort. A young man in loose robe approaches you. He looks like a wizard, but you wonder for how long since he seems about your age.
"Hey, are you the one going to the Retlad Kingdom?" he asks
"Yeah, who are you?"
"I'm Wessel. And don't you dare get cute and call me weasel, or I'll have to blast you with a lightning bolt."
"I wasn't planning on it." You say which causes Wessel to start laughing.
"Geez, I was just fucking with you. Don't be so serious! So you ready to go?"
"Yeah I guess, are you my superior officer?"
"Huh? Oh no. Look I got our horses waiting outside; we can do all this getting to know you stuff on the way."
You and Wessel get on the horses and ride towards your destination. It would appear that you're the only one from your group to be going, but of course you were the only expert marksman.
Wessel begins to tell you more about why he's with you. In fact he doesn't really let you do much talking at all. He says he's a native citizen of the Zalan Empire, but he just graduated from the esteemed magic university in the city state of Nuro. Wessel goes on to and says that when he heard they needed a few wizard over in Retlad, he decided to volunteer to test his skills and get paid while doing it. He explains that the pair of you will be following the orders of a Captain Vhalat.
Everyone knows about Nuro. It's very famous, and you always wondered what kind of magical wonders existed there, so you're eager to hear more and he's all too happy to tell you. Despite Wessel's primary focus on himself, it sounds like a place you'd want to visit one day.
Eventually you arrive at the border and so far the Retlad Kingdom doesn't look very well kept. The road begins to show evidence of disrepair and the sign posts are broken. You begin to keep your eye out for a possible attack at any second.
"Look! Over there! It's a village and it's under attack! Come on!" Wessel yells and rides towards the village in the distance. You try to tell him to wait, but he's already well on his way, so you ride after him.
You've never seen a Quillar before, but the closer you get to the village, you start seeing humanoid creatures covered in sharp spikes running around at a fast speed which could only be them. They are indeed fearsome looking. You also see a lot of the people running from them, and even a few people dressed in protective gear similar to yours... not that its doing them much good.
"Alright you prickly bastards here's something for ya!" Wessle shouts riding into the village with one hand raised in the air for a lightning blast attack. He shows no fear. You have no idea if all wizards are like this, but he's either got to be brave, stupid or just suicidal. Of course he could be all three. Up until now you always thought wizards were supposed to be meek types that didn't charge into battle and preferred to kill from afar. You guess you were wrong.
> stay with him to back him up
This reckless idiot is probably going to get himself killed if you don't stick by his side. You ride quickly to catch up with him in the village, and draw your bow.
Surprisingly for your first battle, you manage to keep calm and focused on the enemy. Hard to do considering the Quillars aren't the easiest of foes. They're quick and they're firing their quills faster than you're firing your bow.
The problem though isn't the Quillars, its Wessel. He's having such a "good time" blasting the Quillars, that he's causing a lot more collateral damage in the process. During one of these moments, your own horse gets spooked by the incredibly close fireball blast and rears back causing you to fall off of it.
You're still shaking the cobwebs when one of the Quillars unleashes more quills and hits you with several of them. You collapse in pain, as the Quillar charges at you. It doesn't kill you though. Wessel makes sure of that when he throws a bolt of lightning at it.
Unfortunately the Quillar happens to have grabbed you just as its hit by the lightning. Your current pain is increased severely as the electrical current passes through your body, but not for long and your fried body eventually stops its deaths throes.
Wessel has a hard time explaining that the other transfer was hit by "friendly" fire. |
You've never even heard of Quillars before, but they still sound less dangerous than the Tulan Border, that place is only going to get worse, you know it.
"I'll take the Retlad assignment sir."
"Hm. Smart. Here's your first month's pay, I suggest you live it up here in Zal, for the couple of days you have off before you leave."
You take the small bag and look inside. This will certainly help your family. You take a few coins for yourself and then ask if arrangements can be made to have your payment sent to your family from now on. He tells you yes, but asks that surely that you will still want some of it. You agree to just taking 10% of it. You don't need much.
"Sheesh, living bare minimum huh? Don't you want to eat anything other than military rations every once in awhile?" Kosser questions again.
"Nah. If I need extra food, I'll just hunt."
"You know even the booze and brothel girls in Retlad aren't THAT cheap. You sure you don't want more?"
"Nope. I'll be fine. My family needs that money more than I do."
"Alright then, family man."
You exit the barracks and wander the city a bit. You find it very interesting. You sort of wish you could stay longer to take in more sights. However one thing catches your eye. A small store and in the window is a lute. Looks almost like the one you had before it was taken away from you in basic training. You haven't gotten a chance to play in six months and you'd really like to...
Hey you're a soldier now, you've proven yourself. You figure you can take one personal belonging with you to Retlad as long as you keep them packed properly. You enter the store and with the little money you have you buy the lute. You spend the most of the day and the next practicing it. You didn't forget as much as you thought. You also finish up writing a letter to your family and give it to a Zalan messenger carrier.
Finally the third day arrives for you to move out. A couple of officers arrive to take most of your other fellow cadets. Mostly to the Tulan border, however, it would appear you have a different escort. A young man in loose robe approaches you. He looks like a wizard, but you wonder for how long since he seems about your age.
"Hey, are you the one going to the Retlad Kingdom?" he asks
"Yeah, who are you?"
"I'm Wessel. And don't you dare get cute and call me weasel, or I'll have to blast you with a lightning bolt."
"I wasn't planning on it." You say which causes Wessel to start laughing.
"Geez, I was just fucking with you. Don't be so serious! So you ready to go?"
"Yeah I guess, are you my superior officer?"
"Huh? Oh no. Look I got our horses waiting outside; we can do all this getting to know you stuff on the way."
You and Wessel get on the horses and ride towards your destination. It would appear that you're the only one from your group to be going, but of course you were the only expert marksman.
Wessel begins to tell you more about why he's with you. In fact he doesn't really let you do much talking at all. He says he's a native citizen of the Zalan Empire, but he just graduated from the esteemed magic university in the city state of Nuro. Wessel goes on to and says that when he heard they needed a few wizard over in Retlad, he decided to volunteer to test his skills and get paid while doing it. He explains that the pair of you will be following the orders of a Captain Vhalat.
Everyone knows about Nuro. It's very famous, and you always wondered what kind of magical wonders existed there, so you're eager to hear more and he's all too happy to tell you. Despite Wessel's primary focus on himself, it sounds like a place you'd want to visit one day.
Eventually you arrive at the border and so far the Retlad Kingdom doesn't look very well kept. The road begins to show evidence of disrepair and the sign posts are broken. You begin to keep your eye out for a possible attack at any second.
"Look! Over there! It's a village and it's under attack! Come on!" Wessel yells and rides towards the village in the distance. You try to tell him to wait, but he's already well on his way, so you ride after him.
You've never seen a Quillar before, but the closer you get to the village, you start seeing humanoid creatures covered in sharp spikes running around at a fast speed which could only be them. They are indeed fearsome looking. You also see a lot of the people running from them, and even a few people dressed in protective gear similar to yours... not that its doing them much good.
"Alright you prickly bastards here's something for ya!" Wessle shouts riding into the village with one hand raised in the air for a lightning blast attack. He shows no fear. You have no idea if all wizards are like this, but he's either got to be brave, stupid or just suicidal. Of course he could be all three. Up until now you always thought wizards were supposed to be meek types that didn't charge into battle and preferred to kill from afar. You guess you were wrong.
> circle around the village
Just because he's acting reckless doesn't mean you're going to, you're going to play upon your strengths and keep as far away as you can.
You ride your horse around the outskirts of the village, readying your bow the whole time. When you can, you fire at the Quillar attackers. As quick as they are, they aren't really paying attention to you and you manage to get in some good shots. A couple of head shots even.
At first they don't realize where the all the arrows are coming from, since Wessel is giving them a hard enough time with the chain lightning. You're sort of glad you decided to stay on the outskirts. Wessel is having such a "good time" blasting the Quillars, he's probably causing a lot more collateral damage in the process.
Eventually the Quillars start to retreat. This is when you get into a little more trouble as you happen to be right in the direction of where they're running! They still look scary and they get even moreso as they get closer. The worst has to be their shrieks. It's unpleasant to hear to say the least.
You ride out of the way, but your horse isn't fast enough and is peppered by quills. You catch a few in the leg yourself and you're thrown from the horse as it reels in pain, before collapsing.
Feeling the pain you scramble for cover behind a nearby rock. Fortunately the quills don't penetrate that. Most of them are content on just running away, but one straggler decides to try to get one more kill before leaving. That kill of course happens to be you.
The Quillar makes its high pitch shriek as it runs towards the rock. You don't have time to ready your bow before its high jumped over the rock and on the other side of you. You quickly draw your weapon and swing it blindly as you turn around. Luckily your blade catches the side of its head, killing it. At last you collapse from the pain in your leg.
While you're pulling out quills, Wessel and another Zalan soldier come to meet you. Wessel doesn't look any worse for wear, but the soldier looks very tired and obviously has wounds of his own.
"There you are, lying down on the job I see." Wessel mocks.
"Are you alright?" the other soldier asks.
"Yeah... Agh. I've gotten bitten in the leg by a Kobold before. Feels nearly the same except these quills go in a lot deeper."
"Glad you guys came when you did. We were just doing a routine patrol when these quill bastards came out of nowhere! They're getting bolder and attacking in greater number, we need more reinforcements."
"Yeah, well good luck with that. The Tulan border is the primary concern. Besides I'm here now, I predict that this infestation will be over soon now." Wessel boasts.
"Any... way. My name's Tylir. I'd introduce you to the rest of my squad, but they're all dead now. Even though it was the heat of battle, I couldn't help notice how well you picked off several of those Quillars with one shot. That was pretty impressive."
"Thanks."
"Hey! What about me? I'm the one who noticed you getting attacked in the first place! I'm also the one who saved your ass!" Wessel interrupts again, he's starting to get annoying at this point, but Tylir doesn't seem bothered by him.
"Everyone did their part. Okay, since I'm here I'll take you to see Captain Vhalat, I'm sure that's who you were sent to report to, oh and wizard while your skills may be appreciated here, I'd advise you to cut down on the boasting. Captain Vhalat isn't fond of it, and to be quite honest the other two wizards we had here were more experienced and they still got killed."
"Hmm, well perhaps they lacked the natural skill that I of course possess."
At this point you and Tylir just roll your eyes and get moving.
You travel through a couple of other villages and it's pretty depressing. You see stacks of bodies being buried in mass graves while most of other Retlad citizens look thoroughly defeated. A few look in your direction, but don't look too much, it's like they don't really expect you to succeed. Not exactly inspiring.
Soon you arrive in the town of Glaf. It would appear that the Zalan contingency sent here is staying in one of the bigger Retlad towns rather than the capitol. Ryan also says that the Quillar infestation is worse around here too, so the captain suspects that whatever lair they're crawling out of is nearby and can hopefully located and cleansed.
The town itself resembles a small Zalan fort rather than a proper Retlad town, as a sturdy wall has been erected around it. The people seem to look a little more hopeful though. Tylir goes on to say that he thinks that the Retlad citizens are actually starting to prefer Zalan presence especially since their on government has been pretty ineffectual about the whole invasion. The Retlad army has only focused on defending the capitol. The Retlad royals appear to find their lives more important than anyone else's.
Eventually you're brought before Captain Vahlat himself. He looks up from the map he's inspecting and addresses you and Wessel.
"Ah, I see the Empire has seen fit to send me reinforcements... wow, twice as many as I thought I'd get. Private Tylir where's the rest of your squad?"
"Um... dead sir."
"Of course. (sigh) So what's your problem private? Why is your leg wrapped up?" Vahlat asks you.
"Got into a fight with the Quillars sir." You answer.
"Oh?"
Tylir at this point interrupts and tells of what happened. Wessel looks like he wants to expand upon his deeds, but Vahlat's appearance is a little imposing and he was already warned once, so he keeps his mouth shut. Vahlat soon addresses you again.
"Well it would seem you two have already proven yourselves useful. A lot more useful that what passes for the Retlad army, but of course that isn't hard. Wizard, I certainly hope you don't intend to use this place as a chance to show off all the skills you learned in your fancy Nuro college. One of your predecessors did that as well, and as you can see he's no longer here. As for you, I hope that you can do a better job of keeping out of the way of the quills next time. Most don't get a second chance. Alright that's all for now. Our group is being housed for free at the Inn down the street. Free food as well, but don't go overboard, its being rationed. You want more food or anything else you'll have to pay like everyone else. I suggest though that you don't do any heavy carousing. This is a high alert situation and we could be going to battle at anytime. Dismissed."
You, Wessel and Tylir all leave at this point. Tylir goes on to show you where the Inn is and a couple of other places, but after today you just want to rest and retire to your room early. You rest your leg and begin practicing your lute. This puts you in better spirits.
6 months pass...
The Quillar invasion has nearly been eradicated. Most of the major lairs have been located and cleansed and you certainly contributed greatly to this effort. Besides your combat abilities, your tracking skills definitely came in handy a lot.
You've become somewhat recognized among Retlad citizens due to your actions and the lives you've saved. The word "hero" has been used a few times though you definitely don't think of yourself as one. In your free time you spoke with the citizens, a lot more than your fellow soldiers though. A few of them even convinced you to play for them when they noticed your lute. It took a little prodding, but eventually you gave in fully expecting to get booed, but to your surprise, you got applauded instead. Your playing didn't just boost your spirits it seemed. Whenever you could you played a little bit for people in what little free time you had. Never did you think that you'd be playing for any kind of audience, let alone an appreciative one.
It definitely hasn't been all sunshine though; you've seen a lot of people die. More than you ever wanted to actually. You'd made friends with Tylir shortly after your first meeting and he died only a couple months later. You'll be glad when every one of these Quillar creatures are all dead though, all they've done is cause misery.
You've got them on the run now though. You're preparing for an attack on another one of their lairs, when Captain Vahlat calls everyone to see him, he doesn't look enthusiastic about whatever it is he has to tell you.
"All right I'll be brief. As much as I hate leaving a mission unfinished, we're getting pulled out of here effective immediately. Major news is that Nuro has undergone a fucking disaster that needs to be put down like yesterday! All governments friendly to the City State of Nuro that can spare the manpower are to send help. We would be one of those. I hope the Retlad army is just competent enough to finish up what we started in their own country."
Wessel immediately pipes up upon hearing about this revelation.
"What happened in Nuro? What's going on?!"
"What's going on? From what I've been told a whole bunch of your kind raised a shitload of undead and unleashed a bunch of hostile demons on the place! The entire city was overrun. Reports are already stating that small packs of demons are running around the nearby countryside. Most likely in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom. Not sure what that means with our border war with them, but I only see it getting bloodier around there. In any case, our job is to head to Nuro, before the undead start following suit. I hope you're all ready for this, because this is going to be a lot different that fighting Quillars."
You look around and see a lot of fear wash over faces and rightly so. Necromancers have a bad history on your world. When you were little you still remember hearing the tales of the Great Lich Lord that existed centuries before you were even born. He almost took over the world. Those stories gave you nightmares as a kid. The possibility of having to face something remotely similar even on much smaller scale doesn't make you feel too well.
> desert the army
You don't want to die and you know if you go, you will. You regret that you won't be able to help your family out financially anymore, but you really don't want to die.
You pack up all your stuff in the middle of the night and sneak away from the town your company is stationed in. You figure their orders are urgent enough that your desertion won't immediately cause a full scale hunt, at least not by them.
The first order of business is to change your identity as much as you can. And head to a place where you can play for an audience, but the probability of someone ratting you out is low if you're recognized.
The question though is where to go. You can't linger in the Retlad Kingdom too long, in fact you'll probably have to move around.
You decide your first stop will be at the Garwold Confederacy. It's a relatively peaceful nation made up mostly of Halflings and Gnomes, with lush green fields and flowers. They tend to stay out of wars and they're also known to appreciate the simpler things in life.
Eventually you make a place for yourself there in one of the small villages. You make a living playing at the local tavern there. Most of the patrons sense that you have some sort of past that you're trying to hide from. But just like you thought, they don't bring it up or say anything about it and just enjoy your music.
A few months pass and you're happy. You even meet a pretty Halfling girl to be with, and now you're even thinking about just settling down here, since nobody's come looking for you; however there are alarming events occurring in the rest of the world.
The assault on Nuro was a complete failure. Everyone was killed from your company. It makes you glad you didn't go, but the fact that there is now an undead city state has everyone worried. It doesn't help that there was also an outbreak of demons. One particularly nasty one called Velzix has conquered the Tulan Kingdom.
Due to these events a Grand Alliance of nations has been created to stop these threats. The Garwold Confederacy normally stays out of such things, but they have agreed to send a militia as part of the aiding effort.
You don't worry too much about it at first, but as a couple more years go on, the war gets worse and more and more Zalan Empire troops are passing through the area. Normally you'd move on, but now you're married and you can't bear to abandon yet another one you love. You still haven't completely forgiven yourself for the first time.
You attempt to keep a low profile, but one day a Grand Alliance solider passing through, sees you in a tavern and recognizes you. Apparently he's a citizen of Retlad and remembers you when you were stationed there.
"HEY! I know you! Man, it's good to see ya! How did you get out of the army? I thought the Zalan Empire had a twenty year requirement plan! You still play that lute really well?" he bellows for all inside to hear. Unfortunately one of the other Grand Alliance members with him is from the Zalan Empire who's a real stickler for rules and regulations.
"I know who you are too! You're wanted for desertion! I'm placing you under arrest!"
You try to escape, but you don't get far. You haven't been keeping up on your physical training since you deserted, and coupled with your Halfling wife's rich cooking you're not in great shape anymore. The Zalan soldier on the other hand has been battle hardened in the recent months. He easily catches you and beats you into submission.
You're taken back to the Zalan Empire in chains much to the protest of your wife, but its no use, you're going to trial.
Your family is made aware of your discovery, but none of them come to try to help you. You abandoned them long ago and didn't even try to contact them; as far as they're concerned you died years ago. You attempt to explain things in letters to them, but you're never answered. Eventually you give up.
The trial is brief and the judgment final. You're sentenced to death as an example of all those who would attempt to desert their duty during war.
As you sit in your cell counting the days for your hanging, you find out from sad visits from your wife that things are getting really bad. Dead armies conquering kingdoms, demons running amok. You almost wonder if your execution isn't a blessing from the horror that seems to be eclipsing the world.
The day comes when the noose is placed around your neck...
"Any last words?"
You have none; you just hum a little tune and close your eyes before the trapdoor swings open, and your neck snaps. |
Just because he's acting reckless doesn't mean you're going to, you're going to play upon your strengths and keep as far away as you can.
You ride your horse around the outskirts of the village, readying your bow the whole time. When you can, you fire at the Quillar attackers. As quick as they are, they aren't really paying attention to you and you manage to get in some good shots. A couple of head shots even.
At first they don't realize where the all the arrows are coming from, since Wessel is giving them a hard enough time with the chain lightning. You're sort of glad you decided to stay on the outskirts. Wessel is having such a "good time" blasting the Quillars, he's probably causing a lot more collateral damage in the process.
Eventually the Quillars start to retreat. This is when you get into a little more trouble as you happen to be right in the direction of where they're running! They still look scary and they get even moreso as they get closer. The worst has to be their shrieks. It's unpleasant to hear to say the least.
You ride out of the way, but your horse isn't fast enough and is peppered by quills. You catch a few in the leg yourself and you're thrown from the horse as it reels in pain, before collapsing.
Feeling the pain you scramble for cover behind a nearby rock. Fortunately the quills don't penetrate that. Most of them are content on just running away, but one straggler decides to try to get one more kill before leaving. That kill of course happens to be you.
The Quillar makes its high pitch shriek as it runs towards the rock. You don't have time to ready your bow before its high jumped over the rock and on the other side of you. You quickly draw your weapon and swing it blindly as you turn around. Luckily your blade catches the side of its head, killing it. At last you collapse from the pain in your leg.
While you're pulling out quills, Wessel and another Zalan soldier come to meet you. Wessel doesn't look any worse for wear, but the soldier looks very tired and obviously has wounds of his own.
"There you are, lying down on the job I see." Wessel mocks.
"Are you alright?" the other soldier asks.
"Yeah... Agh. I've gotten bitten in the leg by a Kobold before. Feels nearly the same except these quills go in a lot deeper."
"Glad you guys came when you did. We were just doing a routine patrol when these quill bastards came out of nowhere! They're getting bolder and attacking in greater number, we need more reinforcements."
"Yeah, well good luck with that. The Tulan border is the primary concern. Besides I'm here now, I predict that this infestation will be over soon now." Wessel boasts.
"Any... way. My name's Tylir. I'd introduce you to the rest of my squad, but they're all dead now. Even though it was the heat of battle, I couldn't help notice how well you picked off several of those Quillars with one shot. That was pretty impressive."
"Thanks."
"Hey! What about me? I'm the one who noticed you getting attacked in the first place! I'm also the one who saved your ass!" Wessel interrupts again, he's starting to get annoying at this point, but Tylir doesn't seem bothered by him.
"Everyone did their part. Okay, since I'm here I'll take you to see Captain Vhalat, I'm sure that's who you were sent to report to, oh and wizard while your skills may be appreciated here, I'd advise you to cut down on the boasting. Captain Vhalat isn't fond of it, and to be quite honest the other two wizards we had here were more experienced and they still got killed."
"Hmm, well perhaps they lacked the natural skill that I of course possess."
At this point you and Tylir just roll your eyes and get moving.
You travel through a couple of other villages and it's pretty depressing. You see stacks of bodies being buried in mass graves while most of other Retlad citizens look thoroughly defeated. A few look in your direction, but don't look too much, it's like they don't really expect you to succeed. Not exactly inspiring.
Soon you arrive in the town of Glaf. It would appear that the Zalan contingency sent here is staying in one of the bigger Retlad towns rather than the capitol. Ryan also says that the Quillar infestation is worse around here too, so the captain suspects that whatever lair they're crawling out of is nearby and can hopefully located and cleansed.
The town itself resembles a small Zalan fort rather than a proper Retlad town, as a sturdy wall has been erected around it. The people seem to look a little more hopeful though. Tylir goes on to say that he thinks that the Retlad citizens are actually starting to prefer Zalan presence especially since their on government has been pretty ineffectual about the whole invasion. The Retlad army has only focused on defending the capitol. The Retlad royals appear to find their lives more important than anyone else's.
Eventually you're brought before Captain Vahlat himself. He looks up from the map he's inspecting and addresses you and Wessel.
"Ah, I see the Empire has seen fit to send me reinforcements... wow, twice as many as I thought I'd get. Private Tylir where's the rest of your squad?"
"Um... dead sir."
"Of course. (sigh) So what's your problem private? Why is your leg wrapped up?" Vahlat asks you.
"Got into a fight with the Quillars sir." You answer.
"Oh?"
Tylir at this point interrupts and tells of what happened. Wessel looks like he wants to expand upon his deeds, but Vahlat's appearance is a little imposing and he was already warned once, so he keeps his mouth shut. Vahlat soon addresses you again.
"Well it would seem you two have already proven yourselves useful. A lot more useful that what passes for the Retlad army, but of course that isn't hard. Wizard, I certainly hope you don't intend to use this place as a chance to show off all the skills you learned in your fancy Nuro college. One of your predecessors did that as well, and as you can see he's no longer here. As for you, I hope that you can do a better job of keeping out of the way of the quills next time. Most don't get a second chance. Alright that's all for now. Our group is being housed for free at the Inn down the street. Free food as well, but don't go overboard, its being rationed. You want more food or anything else you'll have to pay like everyone else. I suggest though that you don't do any heavy carousing. This is a high alert situation and we could be going to battle at anytime. Dismissed."
You, Wessel and Tylir all leave at this point. Tylir goes on to show you where the Inn is and a couple of other places, but after today you just want to rest and retire to your room early. You rest your leg and begin practicing your lute. This puts you in better spirits.
6 months pass...
The Quillar invasion has nearly been eradicated. Most of the major lairs have been located and cleansed and you certainly contributed greatly to this effort. Besides your combat abilities, your tracking skills definitely came in handy a lot.
You've become somewhat recognized among Retlad citizens due to your actions and the lives you've saved. The word "hero" has been used a few times though you definitely don't think of yourself as one. In your free time you spoke with the citizens, a lot more than your fellow soldiers though. A few of them even convinced you to play for them when they noticed your lute. It took a little prodding, but eventually you gave in fully expecting to get booed, but to your surprise, you got applauded instead. Your playing didn't just boost your spirits it seemed. Whenever you could you played a little bit for people in what little free time you had. Never did you think that you'd be playing for any kind of audience, let alone an appreciative one.
It definitely hasn't been all sunshine though; you've seen a lot of people die. More than you ever wanted to actually. You'd made friends with Tylir shortly after your first meeting and he died only a couple months later. You'll be glad when every one of these Quillar creatures are all dead though, all they've done is cause misery.
You've got them on the run now though. You're preparing for an attack on another one of their lairs, when Captain Vahlat calls everyone to see him, he doesn't look enthusiastic about whatever it is he has to tell you.
"All right I'll be brief. As much as I hate leaving a mission unfinished, we're getting pulled out of here effective immediately. Major news is that Nuro has undergone a fucking disaster that needs to be put down like yesterday! All governments friendly to the City State of Nuro that can spare the manpower are to send help. We would be one of those. I hope the Retlad army is just competent enough to finish up what we started in their own country."
Wessel immediately pipes up upon hearing about this revelation.
"What happened in Nuro? What's going on?!"
"What's going on? From what I've been told a whole bunch of your kind raised a shitload of undead and unleashed a bunch of hostile demons on the place! The entire city was overrun. Reports are already stating that small packs of demons are running around the nearby countryside. Most likely in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom. Not sure what that means with our border war with them, but I only see it getting bloodier around there. In any case, our job is to head to Nuro, before the undead start following suit. I hope you're all ready for this, because this is going to be a lot different that fighting Quillars."
You look around and see a lot of fear wash over faces and rightly so. Necromancers have a bad history on your world. When you were little you still remember hearing the tales of the Great Lich Lord that existed centuries before you were even born. He almost took over the world. Those stories gave you nightmares as a kid. The possibility of having to face something remotely similar even on much smaller scale doesn't make you feel too well.
> stay in the army
Despite your fears, you've always had a sense of duty and responsibility, something that probably won't ever completely go away due to how you grew up. You're not running away, you did join to help provide for your family after all.
Before your company packs up and leaves Retlad, you write a quick letter to your family and hand it off to a messenger. Many of the Retlad citizens aren't too pleased to see you leave, but they don't really have any say in the matter, just like you don't. There isn't much talking on the trip, though, everyone is pretty silent. Wessel however is doing enough for everyone.
"I can't believe something like this happened! Nuro was a beacon of enlightenment and well prepared for situations like this! I... can't believe this didn't occur without some sort of demonic influence. I'll bet that Mr. Demar had something to do with this! I remember taking his class and he was always a creepy bastard. Before I could graduate I had to take his conjuration 101 class and he didn't like me because I had made several logical arguments to as why that branch of magic should be outlawed altogether. And it's obvious by what happened recently that I was right! Nevertheless I did all the required work in the class and I still got a B! Way to fuck up my perfect record! I get the same grade as some bumbling idiot who summoned up a Nurk Beast that he lost control over and bit off someone's hand! Where is the fucking justice?"
Once again, Wessel has turned the topic to focus on himself. Happily Captain Vahlat tells him to shut the fuck up.
You'll be near Nuro soon and your company makes camp for the night. While all of you are on edge from what will come tomorrow, someone finally says something.
"Hey farmboy, play us a song on that thing."
"... what did you want to hear?" you ask, not expecting to be called to play under these circumstances. In fact it just occurred to you that you've never played for anyone in your company! You assume that they all knew that you did, but they just were never interested enough to stick around and listen to you before.
"I dunno, play whatever it was you used to play for the Retlad citizens... it seemed to make them happy."
You pull out your lute and take a deep breath and start playing. At first you're just concentrating on the strings and making sure you don't mess anything up, but when you look up, you can see that everyone in the camp is listening intently to your music, even Wessel. Tensions seem to have decreased. It's like a wave of calmness has struck the camp. You never believed your playing could have that much of an effect on people. Eventually the song ends and the Captain tells everyone who isn't on watch to get some sleep. He then takes you aside.
"Heard your playing... damn shame that you're here. You really should be doing that instead." Valhlat remarks.
"I know."
"Hm. I know you joined mainly to help support your family."
"Yeah, I just hope I get to see them again."
"Bah, don't start talking like that. I've seen you with a bow, you pluck that thing even better than that lute. You've been in battle before and survived, I see you doing it again."
"I sure hope so, its just I dunno... the undead... I've heard stories."
"Yeah, everyone's heard the stories, but stories tend to be exaggerated. Now I dunno about what happened centuries ago, since I wasn't there, but I HAVE fought the undead before. One of my first assignments was taking care of some minor undead incursion in a little village. Some asshole stumbled upon an ancient scroll and started reading the goddamn words on it out loud. They look a lot worse than they actually are. Most of the time they're incredibly slow, and easily dispatched. Its mainly a psychological advantage from all the stories people have told about them that cause this quaking fear in most folks."
"Well I suppose, but what about the necromancers?"
"Feh, they're wizards and just like all the rest their arrogance is their undoing. Most of these so-called necromancers are half-assed ones that get killed by their own undead troops. Anyway, get to sleep; you want to be fully alert for tomorrow's battle. It still won't be a walk in the park, but it's not going to be a death sentence."
You take the Captain's words into consideration, but in the back of your mind before you go to sleep, you're thinking "But they can't be that half-assed, they successfully took over Nuro... "
The next day arrives and you finish your trip to Nuro and that's when you see the city for the first time. You always wanted to visit it after hearing about it from Wessel, but even from this distance it doesn't look like anything he described.
"By the gods... what... " Wessel slowly whispers.
The stench of death is thick in the air. You see thousands of bodies outside the city gates and they aren't lying down either. They aren't advancing either though. There just standing there like... well zombies.
Your company isn't the only one here though, there are a few others awaiting orders. You see one from the Brot Kingdom and another from the Azi Republic. Thankfully there's another Zalan one as well to boost your numbers.
The respective captains acknowledge each other's presence, a short meeting is made and then the inevitable comes. The attack.
At first things seem to go well. All ranged troops are ordered to fire upon the enemy who are still just standing there. Arrows pierce zombie brains, gunshots destroy skeleton bones, spells blast at walls and it seems very easy.
Then from the battlements of Nuro a few figures begin casting a few offensive spells of their own. It's at this point a charge is made towards the city.
"When you get in range aim for the fucking wizards! Don't fear these rotting meat sacks! We're the fucking Zalan army! We don't lose!" Captain Valhlat shouts.
Fine words, but they do little to uplift your impending sense of doom. It doesn't help that the sky goes completely dark while you're marching towards a bunch of undead and at the same time hoping you don't get hit by a wizard's spell. In the distance you briefly see a cleric from the Azi Republic riding a horse by himself. He appears to be calling upon some sort of holy might from whatever god he worships since a blue protective sphere appears around him. The next moment he's hit by a black ray that goes straight through the sphere and his life is gone. Not even his god could protect him.
As you get closer, you see that the undead soldiers still haven't moved, but there are significantly less of them as they continue to fall from ranged attacks. However, now other undead pop up on the walls of Nuro holding bows of their own.
"SHIELDS!" Captain Valhlat shouts.
More of your side falls and now you're so close you can smell the death in the air. The undead troops are now finally moving to do battle with your side. You attempt to target the robed figures on the battlements, but of course it's very difficult in all this chaos and your fear.
You mostly only get the undead archers. Wessel is a little more successful is downing an enemy wizard.
"Ha ha! Don't you realize I graduated top of my class?!" you hear him shout.
The gates of Nuro are being broken down and despite the horror you've already seen, this battle still seems hopeful.
Then a black cloaked hooded figure sudden appears on the battlements. You see him merely raise his arms briefly and that's when you get the very real feeling that hope is lost.
Ghostly spirits come through the walls of Nuro making worse shrieks than when you fought the Quillars. At least they were living creatures. These drain lives at but a touch and there isn't enough magic to fight the incorporeal creatures properly. You see the Brot Kingdom's company break and run, but unfortunately for them and you, your possible retreat has been blocked. All the soldiers on your side that fell have now suddenly been raised, the undead soldiers that were killed have been raised as well. You're fighting in the front, from behind and in some cases from within. It's chaos.
"Shit, I'm going to die today... " you whisper to yourself.
Captain Valhlat is knee deep in the dead, but this figure who's apparently changed the tide of battle hasn't escaped his attention. He points to the figure and barks orders at the top of his lungs.
"KILL HIM! SHOOT THE FUCKER! DO IT! NOW!"
> attempt to shoot the figure
You're scared shitless, but somehow you manage to maintain your composure and aim for the hooded figure on top of the battlements.
You let an arrow fly and your aim is straight and true, but unfortunately it's blocked by some sort of magical shield. Even Wessel's spell dissipates before it.
Now you see that all hope is lost and you attempt to escape, but the precious few seconds you spent aiming your bow on a fruitless killing attempt has resulted in you being surrounded and overwhelmed.
You feel the rusty steel of a sword plunge into your side, followed by extreme pain. You turn to strike down the grinning skeleton warrior who's just limited your life span. You strike a couple more corpses before you're brought down by an axe to the skull, splitting your head open and causing your brains to leak out uselessly into the now blood soaked battlefield.
You fall and die, only to rise again as just another zombie drone for the growing undead army. |
Despite your fears, you've always had a sense of duty and responsibility, something that probably won't ever completely go away due to how you grew up. You're not running away, you did join to help provide for your family after all.
Before your company packs up and leaves Retlad, you write a quick letter to your family and hand it off to a messenger. Many of the Retlad citizens aren't too pleased to see you leave, but they don't really have any say in the matter, just like you don't. There isn't much talking on the trip, though, everyone is pretty silent. Wessel however is doing enough for everyone.
"I can't believe something like this happened! Nuro was a beacon of enlightenment and well prepared for situations like this! I... can't believe this didn't occur without some sort of demonic influence. I'll bet that Mr. Demar had something to do with this! I remember taking his class and he was always a creepy bastard. Before I could graduate I had to take his conjuration 101 class and he didn't like me because I had made several logical arguments to as why that branch of magic should be outlawed altogether. And it's obvious by what happened recently that I was right! Nevertheless I did all the required work in the class and I still got a B! Way to fuck up my perfect record! I get the same grade as some bumbling idiot who summoned up a Nurk Beast that he lost control over and bit off someone's hand! Where is the fucking justice?"
Once again, Wessel has turned the topic to focus on himself. Happily Captain Vahlat tells him to shut the fuck up.
You'll be near Nuro soon and your company makes camp for the night. While all of you are on edge from what will come tomorrow, someone finally says something.
"Hey farmboy, play us a song on that thing."
"... what did you want to hear?" you ask, not expecting to be called to play under these circumstances. In fact it just occurred to you that you've never played for anyone in your company! You assume that they all knew that you did, but they just were never interested enough to stick around and listen to you before.
"I dunno, play whatever it was you used to play for the Retlad citizens... it seemed to make them happy."
You pull out your lute and take a deep breath and start playing. At first you're just concentrating on the strings and making sure you don't mess anything up, but when you look up, you can see that everyone in the camp is listening intently to your music, even Wessel. Tensions seem to have decreased. It's like a wave of calmness has struck the camp. You never believed your playing could have that much of an effect on people. Eventually the song ends and the Captain tells everyone who isn't on watch to get some sleep. He then takes you aside.
"Heard your playing... damn shame that you're here. You really should be doing that instead." Valhlat remarks.
"I know."
"Hm. I know you joined mainly to help support your family."
"Yeah, I just hope I get to see them again."
"Bah, don't start talking like that. I've seen you with a bow, you pluck that thing even better than that lute. You've been in battle before and survived, I see you doing it again."
"I sure hope so, its just I dunno... the undead... I've heard stories."
"Yeah, everyone's heard the stories, but stories tend to be exaggerated. Now I dunno about what happened centuries ago, since I wasn't there, but I HAVE fought the undead before. One of my first assignments was taking care of some minor undead incursion in a little village. Some asshole stumbled upon an ancient scroll and started reading the goddamn words on it out loud. They look a lot worse than they actually are. Most of the time they're incredibly slow, and easily dispatched. Its mainly a psychological advantage from all the stories people have told about them that cause this quaking fear in most folks."
"Well I suppose, but what about the necromancers?"
"Feh, they're wizards and just like all the rest their arrogance is their undoing. Most of these so-called necromancers are half-assed ones that get killed by their own undead troops. Anyway, get to sleep; you want to be fully alert for tomorrow's battle. It still won't be a walk in the park, but it's not going to be a death sentence."
You take the Captain's words into consideration, but in the back of your mind before you go to sleep, you're thinking "But they can't be that half-assed, they successfully took over Nuro... "
The next day arrives and you finish your trip to Nuro and that's when you see the city for the first time. You always wanted to visit it after hearing about it from Wessel, but even from this distance it doesn't look like anything he described.
"By the gods... what... " Wessel slowly whispers.
The stench of death is thick in the air. You see thousands of bodies outside the city gates and they aren't lying down either. They aren't advancing either though. There just standing there like... well zombies.
Your company isn't the only one here though, there are a few others awaiting orders. You see one from the Brot Kingdom and another from the Azi Republic. Thankfully there's another Zalan one as well to boost your numbers.
The respective captains acknowledge each other's presence, a short meeting is made and then the inevitable comes. The attack.
At first things seem to go well. All ranged troops are ordered to fire upon the enemy who are still just standing there. Arrows pierce zombie brains, gunshots destroy skeleton bones, spells blast at walls and it seems very easy.
Then from the battlements of Nuro a few figures begin casting a few offensive spells of their own. It's at this point a charge is made towards the city.
"When you get in range aim for the fucking wizards! Don't fear these rotting meat sacks! We're the fucking Zalan army! We don't lose!" Captain Valhlat shouts.
Fine words, but they do little to uplift your impending sense of doom. It doesn't help that the sky goes completely dark while you're marching towards a bunch of undead and at the same time hoping you don't get hit by a wizard's spell. In the distance you briefly see a cleric from the Azi Republic riding a horse by himself. He appears to be calling upon some sort of holy might from whatever god he worships since a blue protective sphere appears around him. The next moment he's hit by a black ray that goes straight through the sphere and his life is gone. Not even his god could protect him.
As you get closer, you see that the undead soldiers still haven't moved, but there are significantly less of them as they continue to fall from ranged attacks. However, now other undead pop up on the walls of Nuro holding bows of their own.
"SHIELDS!" Captain Valhlat shouts.
More of your side falls and now you're so close you can smell the death in the air. The undead troops are now finally moving to do battle with your side. You attempt to target the robed figures on the battlements, but of course it's very difficult in all this chaos and your fear.
You mostly only get the undead archers. Wessel is a little more successful is downing an enemy wizard.
"Ha ha! Don't you realize I graduated top of my class?!" you hear him shout.
The gates of Nuro are being broken down and despite the horror you've already seen, this battle still seems hopeful.
Then a black cloaked hooded figure sudden appears on the battlements. You see him merely raise his arms briefly and that's when you get the very real feeling that hope is lost.
Ghostly spirits come through the walls of Nuro making worse shrieks than when you fought the Quillars. At least they were living creatures. These drain lives at but a touch and there isn't enough magic to fight the incorporeal creatures properly. You see the Brot Kingdom's company break and run, but unfortunately for them and you, your possible retreat has been blocked. All the soldiers on your side that fell have now suddenly been raised, the undead soldiers that were killed have been raised as well. You're fighting in the front, from behind and in some cases from within. It's chaos.
"Shit, I'm going to die today... " you whisper to yourself.
Captain Valhlat is knee deep in the dead, but this figure who's apparently changed the tide of battle hasn't escaped his attention. He points to the figure and barks orders at the top of his lungs.
"KILL HIM! SHOOT THE FUCKER! DO IT! NOW!"
> run away
There's undead all around you, fear coursing through your body and all you can think of is escape. You see a few others following orders, but their shots do nothing. Apparently the Necromancer has protected himself behind a more powerful magic shield than the cleric you saw die had. Even Wessel's spell dissipates before it.
You ignore your orders, you ignore your fellow soldiers, you ignore the attack on Nuro, and you run and you're not a bit ashamed to put your survival first.
The chaos of the fighting is bewildering and you don't really pay attention to what direction you're heading, you're just making a beeline to any destination not completely filled with zombies, ghosts, and skeletons. You look back, only to see more death. The hooded figure on top of the battlements calls down some sort of death cloud that begins to envelop the area you were previously in. The screams of the distant victims are horrible.
You feel like you're living a nightmare as you constantly bump into corpses, both moving and unmoving. Defensive chops with your sword do nothing to kill the unnatural creatures and only temporarily push them out of your way. It is only by sheer luck that you get away without getting killed.
You run further, leaving the carnage behind. You look back again to see if anything is in pursuit, but nothing is to your relief. Still, you're not comfortable and you continue to distance yourself until you can run no further and you must stop to rest.
It is at this point, you wonder what you're going to do. You wonder if going back to report to the nearest Zalan commander would be wise. Will they punish you for running away? The situation was hopeless, surely they couldn't...could they? And even if they don't, then what? Send you back in? That's definitely not appealing given what you've seen.
At this point you're really regretting your decision to join the army. You wish you could just leave. You want to go home.
Going AWOL back in Retlad wasn't really an option; you would've been hunted down. But now? You probably would be listed as a casualty. You could theoretically disappear and attempt to live anonymously and do what you wanted to do in the first place. Just travel and play. Your family would even be compensated for your death, but still... you'd hate to put them through the grief of it, if it isn't true.
Before you ponder your future options any further, you suddenly feel a pain in your side... you look down and see that you're bleeding. Apparently you were stabbed and didn't even realize it due to the adrenaline. You're feeling the pain now though and you attempt to stop the bleeding as much as you can.
Regardless of what you're going to do in the future, right now you have to find civilization to at least get fixed up. The problem is that you don't know where the hell you are. You look around for some possible landmarks, but you're not seeing anything familiar. Lacking any other ideas, you start walking in the general direction of where you think the Zalan Empire is located.
You walk for a few hours and the pain is getting worse. You start thinking that you might not get the chance to worry anymore about your potential future, but a farm house in the distance gives you a little hope and you press on.
You get close to the front porch and that's when you stop. The front door is broken off its hinges and a few windows are also broken. You also notice a leg lying in the grass near you. Worse, whatever did this is apparently still around judging by the loud voices you're hearing from inside.
"Ha ha! Human women are such squealers! Not as much fun as elven women though!"
"Oh that's real original. Why is everyone always got such a fucking hard on for elven women? Too damn fragile if you ask me."
"Go fucking rape a troll girl then."
"Huh. Easier said than done my unimaginative friend. I tried that once and almost got married."
"HAHAHAHA! See I told you this would be more fun than following Velzix... hey you smell that?"
"Yes, I did sense the smell of fresh human blood in the air. Do you suppose we missed one?"
"Only one way to find out!"
At this point you start to back away as quickly as you can. You can't even run due to the pain, but you try your best. Your best isn't good enough though, as the dwellers of the farmhouse have exited and seen you.
And as with everything that's been fucked up today, the ones that just exited the farmhouse happen to be demons. One is a bigger brutish looking sort, while the other is smaller yet definitely still more muscular than you.
"Well what do we have here? Wounded meat? I say he gets to that rock before you can catch him and pull out his heart."
"Hah! I'll take that bet!"
The bigger one starts to walk towards you, but will undoubtedly quicken his pace soon.
> try to outrun the demon
Fear griping your heart, you struggle and push yourself to run as fast as you can in your condition.
Soon something else is gripping your heart.
You look down at your chest and see your bloody still beating heart outside of where it is normally supposed to be. The demon fist holding it squeezes your heart a bit first before crushing it completely before your eyes. You die soon afterwards.
"Hah! I told you I could reach him before he got to the rock!" the demon laughs as he lets his arm slide out of your dead slumping body. |
There's undead all around you, fear coursing through your body and all you can think of is escape. You see a few others following orders, but their shots do nothing. Apparently the Necromancer has protected himself behind a more powerful magic shield than the cleric you saw die had. Even Wessel's spell dissipates before it.
You ignore your orders, you ignore your fellow soldiers, you ignore the attack on Nuro, and you run and you're not a bit ashamed to put your survival first.
The chaos of the fighting is bewildering and you don't really pay attention to what direction you're heading, you're just making a beeline to any destination not completely filled with zombies, ghosts, and skeletons. You look back, only to see more death. The hooded figure on top of the battlements calls down some sort of death cloud that begins to envelop the area you were previously in. The screams of the distant victims are horrible.
You feel like you're living a nightmare as you constantly bump into corpses, both moving and unmoving. Defensive chops with your sword do nothing to kill the unnatural creatures and only temporarily push them out of your way. It is only by sheer luck that you get away without getting killed.
You run further, leaving the carnage behind. You look back again to see if anything is in pursuit, but nothing is to your relief. Still, you're not comfortable and you continue to distance yourself until you can run no further and you must stop to rest.
It is at this point, you wonder what you're going to do. You wonder if going back to report to the nearest Zalan commander would be wise. Will they punish you for running away? The situation was hopeless, surely they couldn't...could they? And even if they don't, then what? Send you back in? That's definitely not appealing given what you've seen.
At this point you're really regretting your decision to join the army. You wish you could just leave. You want to go home.
Going AWOL back in Retlad wasn't really an option; you would've been hunted down. But now? You probably would be listed as a casualty. You could theoretically disappear and attempt to live anonymously and do what you wanted to do in the first place. Just travel and play. Your family would even be compensated for your death, but still... you'd hate to put them through the grief of it, if it isn't true.
Before you ponder your future options any further, you suddenly feel a pain in your side... you look down and see that you're bleeding. Apparently you were stabbed and didn't even realize it due to the adrenaline. You're feeling the pain now though and you attempt to stop the bleeding as much as you can.
Regardless of what you're going to do in the future, right now you have to find civilization to at least get fixed up. The problem is that you don't know where the hell you are. You look around for some possible landmarks, but you're not seeing anything familiar. Lacking any other ideas, you start walking in the general direction of where you think the Zalan Empire is located.
You walk for a few hours and the pain is getting worse. You start thinking that you might not get the chance to worry anymore about your potential future, but a farm house in the distance gives you a little hope and you press on.
You get close to the front porch and that's when you stop. The front door is broken off its hinges and a few windows are also broken. You also notice a leg lying in the grass near you. Worse, whatever did this is apparently still around judging by the loud voices you're hearing from inside.
"Ha ha! Human women are such squealers! Not as much fun as elven women though!"
"Oh that's real original. Why is everyone always got such a fucking hard on for elven women? Too damn fragile if you ask me."
"Go fucking rape a troll girl then."
"Huh. Easier said than done my unimaginative friend. I tried that once and almost got married."
"HAHAHAHA! See I told you this would be more fun than following Velzix... hey you smell that?"
"Yes, I did sense the smell of fresh human blood in the air. Do you suppose we missed one?"
"Only one way to find out!"
At this point you start to back away as quickly as you can. You can't even run due to the pain, but you try your best. Your best isn't good enough though, as the dwellers of the farmhouse have exited and seen you.
And as with everything that's been fucked up today, the ones that just exited the farmhouse happen to be demons. One is a bigger brutish looking sort, while the other is smaller yet definitely still more muscular than you.
"Well what do we have here? Wounded meat? I say he gets to that rock before you can catch him and pull out his heart."
"Hah! I'll take that bet!"
The bigger one starts to walk towards you, but will undoubtedly quicken his pace soon.
> stand and fight
Demons are a lot faster than the undead and you're wounded, no way are you going to be able to outrun them. You turn around and draw your bow, trying to ignore your pain which is overriding any fear you have at this point. Your weakened state is causing you to have a hard time aiming.
"Uh oh, better be careful, looks like this one is going to put up a fight. I'd say by his uniform that he's a soldier."
"Hur hur. Good. Hey human, better stop wobbling if you're going to aim that thing properly."
You miss the demon completely.
"Hah! You want me to walk slower human?"
"You sure you should be playing with him like that? Don't you remember what happened earlier today?"
"Shut up! I told ya, that bitch musta had some magical powers because... OW!"
You hit the demon in the chest, but it doesn't seem much damage. He pulls out the arrow and now begins to quicken his pace. The other demon starts to walk towards you as well.
"See, I told you to pay attention."
"Bah! If this is the extent of what his little pig sticker can do, I'm not concerned. Hey human, don't you know they're doing great things with gunpower these days? RAAAAGH!"
The big demon suddenly charges you, and you let your arrow fly. Right in the eye.
"Perfect." You whisper.
The demon bellows, but it doesn't slow him down. You narrowly dodge his charge. You roll on the ground and shoot two more arrows in his back. He turns around snarling and bellowing for your blood. More arrows fly into the creature, but at last the demon has reached you and smacks you to the ground. Your bow flies from your hand, and while crawling on the ground you try to draw your sword, but a crushing blow hits you on the back. This might've caused a lot more damage, but miraculously the lute that's still in your pack "softens" the blow. The crunching of wood signifies that it's broken though.
"What the fuck, that's a weird noise... what is this? HA HA HA! Hey! You gotta be shittin' me! A fuckin' lute? Check this out! He's carrying a fuckin' lute! What's a fucking soldier doin' with a lute?" the big demon shouts to his acquaintance while he holds up your broken instrument.
"Don't talk you idiot! LOOK OUT!" his acquaintance shouts, just as you recover long enough to shove your sword straight into the demon's groin. You push the sword upward in an attempt to do more damage and you succeed. Blood is flying everywhere and the demon howls in pain from the grievous wound. You pull your sword out and then proceed to repeatedly stab the demon until it falls backwards on the ground, dead.
You're exhausted; you used all your remaining strength killing the thing. Unfortunately the other demon grabs you by the scruff like a helpless kitten and lifts you up off the ground a few inches. He knocks your sword out of your hand and looks at his fallen comrade.
"Hmm, can't say I didn't warn him. Oh well, more meat for me. This may hurt a lot... "
Fully expecting the death that you've managed to avoid for so long, you once again evade it when a gunshot rings out and part of the demon's head splatters in your face. You're dropped immediately. The demon's body is still standing though.
"Shoot the bastard again!" you hear a gruff voice shout and this time the next shot hits chest and the demon falls.
You lay motionless on the ground, looking up in the sky when your saviors come up to you. It's a group of dwarves armed with gun powder weapons.
"By the gods, get doc out here! We need to fix this man up! Hey lad, you'll be alright, don't worry... are you a Zalan soldier?" one of the dwarves asks you.
"... yeah... Nuro... lost... all dead... " is all you utter before fall into unconsciousness.
A few days pass before you're somewhat back to a coherent state. You find yourself in a military outpost and at this point you don't care. You're just happy to be alive.
It would seem that during your escape from Nuro, you ran in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom, the dwarven scouts that found you were from a small neutral kingdom trying its best to stay out of the dispute between Tulan and Zalan, but the new threat of demons running all over the nearby countryside caused them to increase patrols. They fixed you up, but dropped you off at the closest Zalan Fort. The Zalan fort that you're in right now is called Virtue and it's on the Tulan border. It seems relatively calm though. Not at all what you thought it would be.
When one of the healers comes in to check on you, you begin to ask questions which she tries to answer to get you up to speed.
The Tulan Kingdom is currently under attack from the demons now. They've been assaulting the place and even gaining help from some of the evil populace there. The demon citizens there have reverted back to their "bad behavior" and thrown their lot in with the invaders as well. That doesn't surprise you. The Tulan Kingdom pulled back some of their military from the borders so the fighting hasn't been as bad and Zalan's made a little more progress during this time, but the military minds are being cautious not to over extend. There is extreme concern over the recent demon invasion, not to mention the incident at Nuro. Word has already spread about the unsuccessful siege there.
The healer also tells you that a few Zalan "high ups" are eager to speak to you soon, as they want to know what exactly happened at Nuro. You're somewhat of an important survivor since as far as anyone knows; you were the only one to successfully escape that killing zone. There's also talk of a "Grand Alliance" being created to counter these new threats.
While the healer talks you end up drifting back to sleep wishing you could just escape it all.
One year passes...
You're still at Fort Virtue and it doesn't look like you'll be leaving the army anytime soon.
You couldn't have been more wrong on your belief that you'd get executed for cowardice. You got promoted to sergeant instead, which in light of the current situation, is nearly the same thing.
Your promotion came after several Zalan officers spoke to you about Nuro. You even got a medal.
Stories and rumors creep around about how against all odds you survived an undead onslaught and fought off a bunch of demons as well. Your past "reputation" from your time in Retlad is exaggerated as well. It doesn't help that the citizens there remember you and are all willing to add to the exaggeration.
All of these stories have been woven together in such an elaborate way to make you seem like some kind of hero most likely for propaganda purposes. And you know you're not hero. In fact you try to explain you aren't a hero to people, but they think you're just being modest, eventually you give up.
Your assignment at Virtue hasn't been uneventful. There's fighting, but now it's mainly demon commanded enemies rather than Tulan ones. Some demon lord called Velzix killed the royalty there, completely conquered the area and made it his realm. The border war continues under new management except now it's more than just a border that the enemy is looking to take. Your superior, Captain Eckard reminds you of Valhlat except with a different name. You suppose there is a certain "cookie cutter" that occurs within the Zalan army that causes people to act the same. You've briefly wondered if you ever make that rank, you'll act the same way. You then usually laugh at the very fact that you ever would.
Fort Virtue hasn't suffered a really bad attack yet, and it's mostly skirmishes, but it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You routinely go on patrols and give orders which you didn't think you'd be good at, but you think back to how you used to order your brothers and sisters around and perhaps you always had a bit a leadership skill, you just didn't want it.
You thought that you'd be able to at least visit your family, but of course due to recent events, you're ordered to stay put. Your family at least is getting more money from your pay increase. They even send a new lute for you after you told them of the unfortunate event that resulted in the destruction of your last one. This gives you a little pleasure in a relatively joyless assignment.
All in all, you still prefer it compared to being in the unsuccessful assaults on Nuro. The Grand Alliance that was formed hasn't been too successful as every one has been a slaughter from what you've heard. You already went through that once. You don't relish the idea of going through it again.
One day while you're spending your free time practicing a new song, some new soldiers come into the fort. They look like they've just seen a vicious battle and are here to restock. One of them sees you and gives you a disapproving look. It's a woman with striking good looks, but definitely carrying an air of leadership about her. Her rank signifies her as a captain... yep same cookie cutter, just a little prettier.
"You there! What are you doing playing an instrument? Shouldn't you be on watch or doing something more constructive with your time soldier? And you're a sergeant? You should know better!"
"I'm not on watch duty right now and... "
The woman doesn't even let you finish your explanation. Other soldiers that were sitting in your area are now slowly creeping out of the fray. Even her own soldiers are creeping away. They probably know all too well of how she acts.
"So? You think evil is going to wait around for you to be ready for battle? Where is your superior officer? I can't believe they would allow such a relaxed attitude around here considering the importance of this fort! If you were serving under me, I'd have you flogged for your lack of discipline!"
> point her in the direction of your captain
Shrugging your shoulders you point her in the direction of Captain Eckard to which she immediately marches off to. You don't think anything will come of it though. You do your job and Eckard's always been alright with you for the most part. At most you'll get him yelling at you for getting into a conflict with a superior officer.
Your thoughts are wrong however.
When the female captain confronts Eckard, she and he end up getting into a greater argument. Apparently they've been minor rivals in the past and this "lack of discipline" displayed by you just fuels her arguments that he isn't a fit for commanding a fort.
She eventually leaves in a huff with her men, but still arguing with Eckard and saying that she'll see that he's relieved of his command and replaced with someone more competent.
Captain Eckard is also now pissed at you for bringing this on him, he takes your lute away, breaks it and tells you that you won't be playing anymore and if he catches you doing it again he'll have you whipped.
A few months pass as normal, but then the other boot finally drops. Whatever connections the female Captain had she's used them, and Captain Eckard is demoted and transferred out of the fort along with some of the others who seemed to be "disciplinary problems". Guess who's name showed up on that list?
You're all transferred to areas where the fighting is a lot worse. You are sent to the Nuro front much to your dismay. Once again you're fighting hordes of undead on a mass scale. Never having fully gotten over your first conflict at Nuro, your nerves and well being in general is always on the verge of breaking with each skirmish and battle. You don't even have your music to keep you in a calm state of mind anymore either. It's actually amazing you survive.
You soon hear about how the Grand Alliance outsted a necromancer called Trelik from the Brot Kingdom. That makes you feel somewhat better, but that hopefulness is soon brought low when you hear about the successful attack on Brot that happens soon afterwards. A Necromancer from Nuro reportedly conquered the entire Kingdom with undead giants.
Your morale is further lowered when you hear that your company is being sent to help the Grand Alliance take it back again.
When you actually see the dead monstrosities, your fragile will shatters completely.
When the battle commences, you're just about useless in battle. Your dumb luck also runs out and you're unable to fight or even retreat your way out of this one. The undead giants might be big, but they're also faster than what they appear to be.
One of them charges into your company line which at this point is trying to get out of the way and swings his club striking several. You being among them.
You eventually land several feet away from the main part of the fighting, broken and bloody. You're unable to move and just quietly moan in pain until you bleed out and die from your extensive wounds. You're not even useful for the Necromancer to raise for his ever growing army. |
You know that this is most likely a losing battle, but some hope might be gained, if you can somehow draw out the knights and specters and get them by themselves. As powerful as they are, they're very hard to control even by necromancers and get easily agitated by living creatures.
You can't do it alone though. You take your best archers and a couple of your best wizards and mention your plan. You don't ask for volunteers, you just assign. You're in charge and you have to make the hard decisions, even if it might mean you'll die. They don't look enthused, but you aren't either.
You tell everyone else to hold their ground while you and your small platoon ride towards the horde.
"Ready those blessed silvers men, and you robe wearers melt those dead tin cans!"
You get close enough and you unleash as many blessed silver arrows as you can at the Blood Specters. You kill a few. The wizards don't do quite as well with the knights. However, both attacks are enough.
You see the Specters and Knights making whatever unearthly noises they do and begin to advance towards you far ahead of the slower yet steady moving horde. It apparent that the necromancer controlling them is attempting to bring them back under control, because they begin to squirm back and forth which gives you some more time to kill a few more during their confusion. Eventually the necromancer must give up total control because they stop squirming and advance upon you once again.
You ride back as quickly as possible with the Specters and Knights in full pursuit. You didn't expect those Specters to be so fast. A few of them manage to catch up to some of your men with grisly results. You yourself almost get smacked upside the head by a Death Knight mace. When you get back in range the rest of your awaiting army deals with your pursuers. More blessed arrows fly into the Blood Specters before they can do anymore harm, and eventually the Death Knights are brought down as well.
There is no time for a reprieve though, as the main horde is now almost upon you. You order a regrouping as best you can, and face the enemy, telling if possible for someone to aim for the necromancer in all of this rotting mess.
Bones and limbs from both sides are broken and hacked off. A zombie skull is smashed, splashing maggots, blood and brains all over you and you're not even thinking about it. You just have a tune in your head to take yourself away from the massacre. Somehow in all of the chaos, you single out the necromancer leading this army, he stands a far piece away from the main fighting, but he's arrogant enough to be close enough for you to hit him with an arrow.
And you have to hit him now. You see a Grand Alliance soldier who just took a fatal blow to the chest begin to rise...
Not many arrows left and not much time, you just load up and shoot, hoping you hit the bastard.
Your shot is straight and true. It strikes the necromancer in the stomach, causing him to fall back, which in turn causes the undead horde to momentarily stop their vicious attacks, giving your side a chance to turn the tide a bit.
Then you shoot another arrow when you see the necromancer attempt to get back up, which turns the tide completely in your favor. Zombies and skeletons fall. Ghouls flee at the loss of leadership and any remaining undead are quickly dispatched. You don't take chances though. You walk up to the corpse of the necromancer and shoot your last arrow directly into his head and stab him a few times.
You then start laughing.
"If this was the Great Lich Lord, I'd be a real hero right now!"
You quickly sober up from this macabre outburst when you hear shouting from some of your men and you look up.
It's another horde. Just as big. You look behind you and see that your own numbers are completely insufficient. The Garwold citizens are either mostly dead or demoralized at this point.
Even when you win... you lose.
Having no real options, you sound a retreat to fall back to the Zalan border and suggest that the Garwold citizens do likewise as there is nothing more for them here.
The Garwold Confederacy is now just one more loss for the living. The Zalan Empire won't be far behind.
Three years pass...
Ten years since the Nuro incident and The Grand Alliance is nearly just consisting of the Zalan Empire now, which in turn has had to adapt a siege mentality. There is no "going on the offensive" anymore. You're purely on defense.
Your brother Mallack died two years ago. Transferred to a location with more fighting due to lack of manpower. Like it matters. Didn't even get to say goodbye. You can only hope he didn't become one of those things... but you know he probably did.
You've been urging your family to run where it's safer, but of course they won't budge. The undead have been penetrating deeper into Zalan territory, you know it's only a matter of time before the Great Lich Lord decides to stop toying with you and makes his full scale attack.
Sure enough it happens. Town after town is taken; you're pushed back further and further, and you know there's nothing you can do to stop it.
An order is given to everyone to fallback to the capital and help defend it from an upcoming attack, but at this point you're just wondering if the rest of your family is still alive.
> go to your family
Really, it's the only thing that makes any kind of sense anymore. This war is lost there's not even any doubt about it. Hope is fleeting and if this is truly it, then it's going to be with the ones you did this for in the first place.
Your small groups of soldiers wonder where you're going and you flat out tell them, in fact you tell them more than that.
"I'm going home, and I suggest if any of you have any family you go to them as well. This is it folks, there's no happy ending here. It's been a pleasure serving with all of you."
You then ride home as quickly as possible.
The farm is scattered with undead. They attack and in some cases eat the livestock, while attempting to get into your house. Dead Zalan soldiers can be seen, except they aren't properly dead like they should be. The farmhouse is being attacked and you can see your sister firing her pistol at the zombies from one of the broken windows. You trample a couple of the zombies with your horse and kill couple more with your bow, but eventually you dismount and chop up the remaining ones near the farm house, since you want to save your arrows for anything potentially more dangerous.
"Quick get inside through this window, the door is barricaded." your sister Randi shouts when she sees you.
"No! It's a death trap to stay now! This place is lost! You all have to come with me!" you shout back, keeping an eye on the advancing zombies.
"Can't Mom's hurt pretty bad. Got stabbed by one those corpses. We can't move her. Help's gotta come soon... "
"NO, it won't Randi! The capitol of Zalan is being attacked as we speak! I came home to get your guys! This is the fucking end! We've lost! We just gotta... "
You're interrupted when you have to cut down an advancing zombie. Your sister fires a shot at another one. Suddenly a scream from the house is heard, followed by another. That has to be Calwin, and Makana. Randi rushes from the window and you cut down another zombie before bashing the door down with relative ease.
More screaming is heard along with growling this time. You look around and run down the hallway where Randi is standing motionless. She's dropped her pistol.
You push her aside and see your other sister Makana dead on the floor and then a quick scan to the left and you see your mother eating Calwin.
She's one of those things...
You act where Randi failed and give a killing blow to the thing that was once your mother.
"I'm sorry." You whisper and her blood splashes across your face.
Now you're ready to get the hell out of the house, but Randi is still standing there motionless.
"COME ON! WE GOTTA GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" you shout.
"Yeah...okay... " Randi says and begins to move like she's in slow motion and picks up her flintlock.
You run past Randi in the hallway who's still moving slowly.
"Randi get your ass mov... "
You hear a gunshot behind you. Followed by the slumping of a lifeless body. You don't even turn around, you don't want to see.
When you get outside, surprisingly the undead haven't become unmanageable yet, and you cut down another couple with relative ease. Your horse unfortunately has run off, you're on foot from here.
You don't even know where to go. Where is it going to be safe? Nowhere, but you lack any other ideas, so you just head for unclaimed wilderness.
After about a day of running, hiding and maneuvering, you're in a relatively safe location and that's when you finally allow yourself to grieve for the loss of your family. You weep.
You've lost everything now. Everything you did was basically for them, and now they're all gone. You don't know if you can even continue. What would be the point? The world seems to be doomed anyway.
But then after you think about it, you decide that if death is taking over the world, you're not going to make it easy. Death has already taken everything away from you except your life, and you're going to hold on to that as long as possible. You're going to live for your family and all the others that can't any longer.
You're going to survive, because ultimately that's what you've always done. You've cheated death more than once already and you'll continue to do it. Death itself is going to have to hunt you down if it wants your life.
After reaching this conclusion, you try to think of where you should go next. Going to any type of centers of civilization is out of the question now. You'd only have to move again, them being targets now.
So it's the life of wanderer now. The question is where would be best? The forests aren't exactly safe, but you're more familiar with surviving in them. The mountains might be a little safer, but living in them is going to be a lot harsher.
> stick to the forests
Running from the undead, only to die of starvation and the cold in the mountains isn't your idea of survival. You're sticking to familiar terrain. You travel further away from civilization and ultimately deeper into a large forest. You're not exactly sure of where you're at, but you know you've left the Zalan borders. You're probably in the unclaimed area north of the Retlad province. You never patrolled that far when you were stationed there, so you're unsure of what to expect. You'll certainly have to be alert though.
A few weeks pass and you've got the hang of it. A few close calls with an Eberaw Hunter, but you've managed to make somewhat of a home for yourself. You mainly sleep in the trees. You get water from springs and small streams and as for food, well you always were good at hunting.
You pass the time playing your mandolin and just basically keeping watch. As the days pass by though, you get the impression that someone is watching YOU.
It's not any undead though. You haven't seen any in weeks. You haven't come across any living creatures of higher intelligence either, but then again that doesn't mean they aren't around...
"Hello stranger. Do you like our forest?" you hear a small voice say.
You look around, but see nothing. You guess who ever it is, is invisible, and you nearly go for your weapon.
"Please, no need for that. You are among friends here, musical one." The voice says and then you see your unseen host appears before you. She's very small and probably only comes up to ankle. You've heard of fairies before, but you've never seen one.
"Are you a fairy?" you ask.
"We go by many different names. Technically I am a pixie, but if you prefer, fairy will do. We heard you playing over the weeks and I thought it was about time we told you our appreciation for it. We didn't know you big people had gifts for it. You are human are you not?"
"Yes, and thanks."
"So, what brings you out here? Are you a ranger perhaps? You seem to have skills about you that are useful in this environment."
"No, not a ranger. Just trying to escape death like everyone else I suppose."
"Hmm, you realize as beautiful as this forest is, it's not without its dangers. Death is here as well, but I'm sure you know that."
"Yes, but its at least reasonable. There aren't zombies and wraiths terrorizing the place... well at least not yet... "
"What are you talking about stranger?" the pixie asks quizzically, you look a little surprised yourself.
"The Great Lich Lord of course. He's destroying everything, and I dunno how he's going to be stopped. I don't think he can."
Your words immediately make the pixie's cheerful demeanor change immediately.
"... he's returned?! But he was killed centuries ago! My clan has told the stories for generations!"
"Well, he's back, or someone like him... you really didn't know? I mean this war with him has been going on for years now. Ten to be precise. Don't you leave this forest?"
"You must understand stranger, we have everything we want here. There is no need to leave. We also live in illusions, what you see now, is not necessarily what is. We remain hidden in our illusions so nobody may ever harm us and we can live our lives in relative isolation. It is only on rare occasions that we reveal ourselves."
"But I've heard stories about your kind being elsewhere or even in cities." You say.
"Well we are not the only fairy folk you know! Perhaps the others you heard of were sprites, or brownies or even a different clan of pixies. I can only speak for my clan and as far as I know we are the only fairy folk that live in this particular forest. There are other denizens of course, but thanks to our illusions we stay safely hidden. Even the occasional human or goblinoid that has wandered in here has not disturbed us. Quite frankly, you'd be the first person in centuries that we've revealed ourselves to."
"There aren't any elves in this forest?" you ask, sort of figuring that some might have retreated or made a home here, forests being their natural homes and all. Your question is met with slight annoyance.
"Most certainly not! This place has been elf free for millennia and hopefully stays that way! I'll speak no more of this elven nonsense!"
You don't press the issue, but up until now you figured fairy folk and elves were all friends, guess not. The pixie changes the subject since she wants to know more about this Great Lich Lord business and says her name is Qweet. Qweet tells you that she will return with the rest of her clan, as she will not reveal their home of course. In a somewhat playful yet firm tone she also warns you not to try to follow her, though as good of a tracker you are you doubt if you could anyway since she turns invisible again.
While you wait, you still can't believe she and the rest of her clan don't know anything about what's going on; you almost envy them for living in blissful ignorance for the last ten years. You also feel like you've ruined things for them.
Eventually more pixies return and you tell them what's been going on. They are saddened, but maintain a confident demeanor. They are certain that they will survive this plague due to their illusions. They explain that if need be they can hide the entire forest, which with the new grim information you gave them they are very inclined to do. They still have to discuss it.
In the meantime they say they hope you'll stick around for awhile as they still enjoy your playing and you aren't destroying the forest. You're just glad you've met some friendly people that aren't trying to kill you. It's a nice change and after what you've been through recently, you welcome it.
One year passes...
Your time in the pixie forest has been relatively safe. Other than the occasional aggressive forest beasts, you haven't had to do much combat. It's been a relief. You've enjoyed the company of the pixies as well.
However, your natural curiosity has gotten the better of you on occasion and you have made a few trips outside of the forest.
You travel as far as the Retlad province and the first obscure village you stumble across is completely decimated, with undead roaming around. The scary part about it is this is very recent looking, which means they're starting to head your way.
It'll start with the occasional zombie or skeleton wandering in. Then more will come. How long before an army arrives? Again due to your information, Qweet and the rest of her clan have made the final decision to hide their forest entirely. They tell you that they would like you to stay. You would even be allowed to see their true home. The only stipulation is that you would not be able to leave. The illusion wouldn't just hide the forest, but it would create a barrier preventing entry or exit. You can't imagine how it would look to those on the outside of the forest.
Appealing to be sure, but as much as you like the company of the pixies, you don't think it will be safe to dwell in their forest for too much longer, illusions or not. The Gnomes back in the Garwold Confederacy had some excellent illusionists as well, and it didn't help them.
> stay in the forest
This is probably the most satisfied you've been in a long time. Why bother running anymore? You're not going to be any happier elsewhere as you eek out an existence. This is a place where you can play your music and have a regular appreciative audience. Perhaps the pixie illusion will fail, perhaps it won't, but this is your home now.
"Queet, I'm staying."
"That's wonderful!" she squeaks.
The pixies go through with their plan of hiding the entire forest. They explain that for everyone else it will look like a rock mass and the magic shield will prevent entry in case someone bumps into the "rock". Creatures inside will only see more forest outside the barrier and will probably be baffled to as why they can't go any further, but will probably not make any serious attempt to do so even if they could.
The pixies also allow you to enter their little village. Naturally you're much bigger, but a special arrangement is made so that you can stay nearby and they build you a tree-house of sorts and provide meals and drink for you.
Life with the pixies full time is relatively nice. Of course a few are prone to play jokes on you sometimes, you don't get mad about it and they usually make up for it later. A few years pass and it gets to the point where you almost forget about what's going on outside the forest since almost everyday is a pixie party filled with merriment and music. There's one particular time when there was a brief magical disturbance in the illusion, but the pixies managed to correct it. It does cause you to get concerned, but the pixies still insist that you not worry.
After fifteen some odd years pass, the forest begins to signs of unnatural decay, and forest creatures seem to be dying way before their time.
Some of the pixies have made comments of not feeling themselves, which is very odd since being fairy creatures they don't normally get sick. You haven't been feeling up to your usual standards either. You at first chalked it up to age, but you know that it's more than that. The Great Lich Lord's influence has finally penetrated the illusion. Death is creeping in.
The months pass and the illusion begins to break down despite attempts to keep it up. At last for the first time in years you see the "outside world" again. It's desolate and bleak. The Great Lich Lord has been thorough in his conquest of the world and with this new found green patch, it won't be long before it becomes as dead as the rest of the landscape.
Perhaps because they're magical creatures of nature, the pixies cannot withstand this death aura as well as you can, and they begin dying. Their illusions and happy lush world utterly destroyed.
"Wh... why is this happening?" are Queet's last delirious words before she expires.
One by one they all die. You weep as you can do nothing for them. Nobody can. Once again you've lost another family. You wish you'd left the damn forest long ago just so you hadn't deluded yourself and gotten so attached to the pixies only to watch them die.
However, you decide that this place will be your last stand as well and you're too tired to run even if there was anywhere safe to run to anyway. You fight off undead creatures for a couple months as you attempt to survive in this now dying forest, but ultimately you're overwhelmed and killed.
Sadly, unlike your pixie friends, you are not allowed to rest in peace as you wander the landscape in search of the last remnants of life to destroy in the Great Lich Lord's service. |
Running from the undead, only to die of starvation and the cold in the mountains isn't your idea of survival. You're sticking to familiar terrain. You travel further away from civilization and ultimately deeper into a large forest. You're not exactly sure of where you're at, but you know you've left the Zalan borders. You're probably in the unclaimed area north of the Retlad province. You never patrolled that far when you were stationed there, so you're unsure of what to expect. You'll certainly have to be alert though.
A few weeks pass and you've got the hang of it. A few close calls with an Eberaw Hunter, but you've managed to make somewhat of a home for yourself. You mainly sleep in the trees. You get water from springs and small streams and as for food, well you always were good at hunting.
You pass the time playing your mandolin and just basically keeping watch. As the days pass by though, you get the impression that someone is watching YOU.
It's not any undead though. You haven't seen any in weeks. You haven't come across any living creatures of higher intelligence either, but then again that doesn't mean they aren't around...
"Hello stranger. Do you like our forest?" you hear a small voice say.
You look around, but see nothing. You guess who ever it is, is invisible, and you nearly go for your weapon.
"Please, no need for that. You are among friends here, musical one." The voice says and then you see your unseen host appears before you. She's very small and probably only comes up to ankle. You've heard of fairies before, but you've never seen one.
"Are you a fairy?" you ask.
"We go by many different names. Technically I am a pixie, but if you prefer, fairy will do. We heard you playing over the weeks and I thought it was about time we told you our appreciation for it. We didn't know you big people had gifts for it. You are human are you not?"
"Yes, and thanks."
"So, what brings you out here? Are you a ranger perhaps? You seem to have skills about you that are useful in this environment."
"No, not a ranger. Just trying to escape death like everyone else I suppose."
"Hmm, you realize as beautiful as this forest is, it's not without its dangers. Death is here as well, but I'm sure you know that."
"Yes, but its at least reasonable. There aren't zombies and wraiths terrorizing the place... well at least not yet... "
"What are you talking about stranger?" the pixie asks quizzically, you look a little surprised yourself.
"The Great Lich Lord of course. He's destroying everything, and I dunno how he's going to be stopped. I don't think he can."
Your words immediately make the pixie's cheerful demeanor change immediately.
"... he's returned?! But he was killed centuries ago! My clan has told the stories for generations!"
"Well, he's back, or someone like him... you really didn't know? I mean this war with him has been going on for years now. Ten to be precise. Don't you leave this forest?"
"You must understand stranger, we have everything we want here. There is no need to leave. We also live in illusions, what you see now, is not necessarily what is. We remain hidden in our illusions so nobody may ever harm us and we can live our lives in relative isolation. It is only on rare occasions that we reveal ourselves."
"But I've heard stories about your kind being elsewhere or even in cities." You say.
"Well we are not the only fairy folk you know! Perhaps the others you heard of were sprites, or brownies or even a different clan of pixies. I can only speak for my clan and as far as I know we are the only fairy folk that live in this particular forest. There are other denizens of course, but thanks to our illusions we stay safely hidden. Even the occasional human or goblinoid that has wandered in here has not disturbed us. Quite frankly, you'd be the first person in centuries that we've revealed ourselves to."
"There aren't any elves in this forest?" you ask, sort of figuring that some might have retreated or made a home here, forests being their natural homes and all. Your question is met with slight annoyance.
"Most certainly not! This place has been elf free for millennia and hopefully stays that way! I'll speak no more of this elven nonsense!"
You don't press the issue, but up until now you figured fairy folk and elves were all friends, guess not. The pixie changes the subject since she wants to know more about this Great Lich Lord business and says her name is Qweet. Qweet tells you that she will return with the rest of her clan, as she will not reveal their home of course. In a somewhat playful yet firm tone she also warns you not to try to follow her, though as good of a tracker you are you doubt if you could anyway since she turns invisible again.
While you wait, you still can't believe she and the rest of her clan don't know anything about what's going on; you almost envy them for living in blissful ignorance for the last ten years. You also feel like you've ruined things for them.
Eventually more pixies return and you tell them what's been going on. They are saddened, but maintain a confident demeanor. They are certain that they will survive this plague due to their illusions. They explain that if need be they can hide the entire forest, which with the new grim information you gave them they are very inclined to do. They still have to discuss it.
In the meantime they say they hope you'll stick around for awhile as they still enjoy your playing and you aren't destroying the forest. You're just glad you've met some friendly people that aren't trying to kill you. It's a nice change and after what you've been through recently, you welcome it.
One year passes...
Your time in the pixie forest has been relatively safe. Other than the occasional aggressive forest beasts, you haven't had to do much combat. It's been a relief. You've enjoyed the company of the pixies as well.
However, your natural curiosity has gotten the better of you on occasion and you have made a few trips outside of the forest.
You travel as far as the Retlad province and the first obscure village you stumble across is completely decimated, with undead roaming around. The scary part about it is this is very recent looking, which means they're starting to head your way.
It'll start with the occasional zombie or skeleton wandering in. Then more will come. How long before an army arrives? Again due to your information, Qweet and the rest of her clan have made the final decision to hide their forest entirely. They tell you that they would like you to stay. You would even be allowed to see their true home. The only stipulation is that you would not be able to leave. The illusion wouldn't just hide the forest, but it would create a barrier preventing entry or exit. You can't imagine how it would look to those on the outside of the forest.
Appealing to be sure, but as much as you like the company of the pixies, you don't think it will be safe to dwell in their forest for too much longer, illusions or not. The Gnomes back in the Garwold Confederacy had some excellent illusionists as well, and it didn't help them.
> leave
The pixies have almost made you forget about what's really going on in the rest of the world... but you still know it's going on. Perhaps it's easier for them, as they have not had to experience the tragedies you've faced, but you know the destruction that's eventually going to come. You don't see any hope in their plan and if you stayed, and you still would never be able to completely relax. You could possibly be trapped as well.
However, you have no wish to bring more despair to these people. Let them live in illusions for as long as they can,
You wish you could.
It is with great regret that you tell them that you cannot stay. They attempt to convince you to do otherwise, but you've already made up your mind. Finally they accept your decision, but insist on repaying you for all your musical entertainment. They give you a small magical amulet. They tell you it can make you invisible for short periods of time.
You thank them and assure them that it will most definitely come in handy.
You leave the forest and head further away from the undead plague.
Nine years pass...
Twenty years of surviving this living hell.
Living in a cave in the mountains isn't as easy as it was in the Pixie forest, but it's probably a lot safer as far as undead are concerned. The biggest threats you've had to face are a few Cragmaws and Mountain Trolls. Once you ran into a couple of dwarves, so you assume that there may be an underground settlement somewhere in the area. You attempted to speak, but they just shot at you with their crossbows and told you to go away, saying that humans were the cause of the problem going on right now.
Your use your amulet when you can as it seems that the living have been just as willing to kill you as the undead. Then again, that's nothing new.
Every now and then you travel and scout around the area taking in the untainted countryside. You figure you should do it now before it's claimed eventually. The living exist here, which means death can only eventually follow. You just wonder how long it will take.
Sometimes you walk along the shore that's nearby. You look out past the vast blue and begin to wonder if there are any other places out there. You briefly entertain the idea of building a boat. You know that the globe was thoroughly charted centuries ago and that this is the only continent, but still you wonder if something wasn't missed. Of course you're probably just holding on to the false hope that you could theoretically go someplace else where death wasn't everywhere.
But there isn't such a place.
Lately something very odd has been happening and you have no idea what it is. You could swear that the landscape has been subtlety altering itself from time to time. Not permanently, but it seems to look "wavy" or "warped" briefly.
You initially chalk it up to your prolonged isolation and seeing things because of it, however you soon find out that it's more than just your mind playing tricks on you.
One day after you've done some hunting and bringing your catch back to your cave, you start noticing a severe slow down in your actions.
"What the fuck... " you say to yourself, except it comes out a lot slower. You don't experience for long, but the worst is yet to come.
A portal opens up in the sky and you immediately feel ill. You see a creature that you've never seen before and it's huge but it feels incredibly unnatural and it definitely isn't of this world. The dead animal that you're carrying suddenly melts into a black goo like substance. You jump back and nearly fall off the side of the mountain, which now feels like jelly under your feet rather than sturdy rock.
You don't know what's going here and you don't want to know. All you know is reality is starting to be seriously warped and you're ready to puke.
The tentacled creature doesn't seem to notice you, it's just surveying and floating in the air as the area around and beneath it changes. That still doesn't mean it won't attack eventually when it does notice you.
You immediately attempt to use your amulet, but nothing is happening. The creature or something else is nullifying your magic item.
Right now you're caught out in the open, your cave is close, but you're still not sure if you can get there in time and even if you do, would you be any safer? The other alternative is to make you way back down the mountain and try to escape that way. The problem with that plan is that everything is very wobbly right now and you're not feeling very steady.
> run to your cave
The creature is too big to fit in the cave if it tries to attack and you need to hide as soon as possible.
You make a run for it, gagging and stumbling the whole time. Eventually you do get to the cave. You don't think the creature even saw you.
You continue to fumble around in the dark cave that you call home. You can still hear weird noises coming from outside and you're desperate to drown them out as you feel like its doing something to your mind. In fact, you're feeling a little deranged.
"WHAT?! WHAT?! UNDEAD WEREN'T ENOUGH?! NOW THIS?! HAHAHAHA! YOU CAN'T KILL ME! I'LL SURVIVE! I SURVIVE EVERYTHING! Who am I here? Who goes there?"
You look around the cave and start seeing the rocky walls transform into writhing masses of worms. You grab your sword and start hacking away, only to fall to the ground half laughing and half crying.
"You don't understand... I've lost it all... (sob) why? WHERE ARE THE GODS? WHY HAVEN'T YOU STOPPED THIS?! DAMN YOU FUCKING ALL! Ha ha ha ha!"
You look into the small fire that lights your cave and see it change into a blue color. You begin to think you see faces in it.
"Randi? Is that you? I'm sorry... I could still save... "
You burn your hand badly when you shove it into the flames in some misguided attempt to save your sister who is not there. It's at this point; you realize you're losing your mind. You didn't survive this long just to lose that. You start trying to block out the sounds, but it's relentless.
And that's when you see your mandolin on the floor nearby. Music. It always takes you to another place. A better place. You can't play it right now with your burned hand, but your music is always with you. In your mind.
You begin to focus on one particular song in your head. You close your eyes think of yourself playing. The tune is nearly drowned out by the noise, but eventually the music gets louder and the creature's noise is getting quieter, until finally that's all you can hear.
You have no idea how long you do this for, but eventually you open your eyes again, and everything is normal. The walls are rock, the fire is red. Your hand still hurts, but it will heal.
You stay in the cave for days, unsure of what to make of all this. Ultimately you leave to explore cautiously, and everything outside seems normal as well. There is no sign that the creature was ever around. You don't know if it moved on, disappeared, or what.
Did you go temporarily insane? Did all of this really happen? You do know you burned your hand, so you're pretty sure it did on some level. In any event, you never want to encounter anything like that ever again. Death almost seems preferable than complete madness.
You're still shaken up by the experience for months to come but eventually you get over it. Just like you have with every other hardship you've faced.
Twenty years pass...
Forty years have passed and you feel death closer than ever. Old age has been taking its toll and while you're somewhat fit for your age you can't stop the ravages of time.
Still, it's not just that. It's the world in general. The place has slowly become a dead world, quite literally from what you've seen during your travels.
Eventually you abandoned your cave in the mountain when the dead began to congregate in the area. The dwarven settlement was probably attacked. You don't know, you didn't stick around. You continued to stay on the move.
After a few years of wandering, you noticed dead trees. Not unusual in the lands of the Great Lich Lord, but you were sticking to places at least on the outskirts of his domain. But it didn't seem to matter. His influence was obviously extending. The magic in your amulet no longer works, and you briefly thought of the pixies. You know they didn't survive.
Soon grass was no longer growing. Hunting was becoming scarce. Animals were dying out. It almost reminded you of when the farm was going through a rough patch, but this time there would be no recovery. You walked along another shoreline and saw fish and other sea creatures washed up dead in massive quantities.
You've had to fight undead monsters at almost every turn, always having to stay one step ahead before you're overwhelmed.
Even the air itself feels like it's harder to breathe no matter where you go.
Right now you're very far north, where nothing ever existed save ice and snow. You're living in yet another cave, but you're pretty sure this one is going to be your tomb. You haven't eaten in days, as you haven't spotted a living creature in days. You haven't seen another intelligent living creature in years.
It's very cold, and all you want to do is sleep now. You think you might have one or two more days left tops.
However, you're not allowed to leave just yet...
While you're drifting in and out of consciousness in your weakened state, you suddenly see a dark hooded figure by the fire. You know who it is.
"So... you've come for me personally? I didn't think I was important enough." you ask.
"You aren't really. Let's just say that I have a lot of free time and with less and less living now, I take a more personal approach whenever I can. Besides, given how remote this place is, I doubt if any of my necromancers could've found you anyway. That is if I hadn't killed them all."
The Great Lich Lord's voice doesn't sound anything like you thought it might. It's actually not very scary at all. Almost calm.
"Heh. I killed a necromancer once... " you say.
"You have my thanks then, one less treacherous fool that I didn't have to deal with."
"You didn't really need to come all this way you know, I think I was dying before you got here."
At this point the Great Lich Lord begins walking around your cave looking at your meager possessions. He immediately notices your very worn mandolin and picks it up.
"Please feel free to take it. I won't be needing it anymore." You say.
"Not sure what I'd do with it. I'm not musically inclined at all. I'm pretty much only good at killing things as you can tell."
"Yeah, you're great at that."
"My mistress Catalina likes music though; perhaps she might find it interesting. This looks very old, where did you get it?"
"Oh in a town that the demons destroyed when they lost their leader Velzix."
"Hah. Demons. I think everyone was glad when I got rid of those assholes." The Great Lich Lord remarks.
"That thing probably saved my life when I found it. Some weird ass vampire called Warnov wanted me to play for him. Said you were after him or something... "
"Yes. Vampires weren't my favorite people. Arrogant creatures. Well they're dead now. Excuse me, but did you say Warnov?"
"That was his name. Yes."
The Great Lich Lord is silent for a moment and then speaks again.
"I know who you are. I can't believe it's you, but I know who you are. I remember before I tracked down and killed old Warnov, he stated that he was glad he heard you play before he died. He also said that if I ever encountered you that I should insist that you play for me before I killed you. Something about your playing being beautiful or something. You also served in the Zalan Empire army. Weren't you supposed to be a hero or something?"
You laugh weakly.
"Mostly or something." You reply.
"Hm. I wonder if you ever met... " the Great Lich Lord then pauses for a moment. "... nevermind. It's the past and that no longer matters. So can you still play this thing?"
"Well of course, but... "
"Good. We're leaving this place then, got a job for you."
Before you can speak another word, you feel yourself teleported.
> One last song...
You find yourself in a very ornate yet definitely dark chamber. All manner of symbols related to death exist here. You could only be in the Great Lich Lord's tower in Nuro. You never thought you'd ever be here. The last time you were anywhere near Nuro was forty years ago and things were much different.
"Welcome to Aftermath, my musical guest. As I said, I'm not much for music, but Catalina is and I'm sure she would love to hear you play. She... " The Great Lich Lord pauses again. "She hasn't been feeling well lately and I think this would help out. Just take seat in that chair over there. Here's your mandolin."
This almost surreal. You didn't expect your last moments on this world to be like this. Lacking any other ideas you slowly go over to sit on the chair, while the Great Lich Lord goes to get his mistress Catalina. They better hurry up because you feel like you've done more than knocking on death's door; you're quite literally in his home. The proximity of being so close to the Great Lich Lord is speeding up your death.
The Great Lich Lord soon arrives with Catalina and you look upon her. She's very beautiful. You had heard stories about her before decades ago when you were still serving in the army. She looks young, though she has to be much older. However, you can tell she's not exactly moving very fast and taking her time. It's apparent that despite her skill in necromancy that she's suffering from the effects of the Great Lich Lord's death aura. She must be powerful indeed to be able to withstand his proximity everyday. She must also love him very much to do it.
You briefly think of how someone could ever love such a being, or how such a being is even capable of love. But given how you see them interact, there it is.
This also starts to make you angry. Why are they allowed such a thing? They're the bad guys here. You never did anything wrong and you lost everyone you ever loved or cared about. You begin to tear up, but it's in frustration rather than sadness. All the past pain and suffering that you've ever experienced has come back to hurt you one last time.
"Okay, start playing." The Great Lich Lord says.
"No." you remark.
"What?"
"You heard me. No."
"I don't think you're in any position to defy me."
"Oh I think I'm in every position. What the hell are you going to do to me? I'm fuckin' dead already! You've already taken everything away from me! My friends and acquaintances died because of you! I lost my home because of you! My family and loved ones died because of you! I had to kill my own mother because she became one of your undead minions! My siblings, all fuckin' dead! All I have left is my music! And now you want me to give that away to you too? NO! I'll DIE with it!"
After this outburst the Great Lich Lord replies in kind.
"Insolent mortal! Do you forget who I am? You think dying will save you? Think again! I will kill you and raise you as a fucking zombie and MAKE you play for us in a pink dress if it so amuses me! Now play and perhaps that won't be your fate!"
The Great Lich Lord's voice now sounds more menacing. More like what you thought, but you don't care, you've got nothing to lose at this juncture. It is at this point Catalina steps in.
"I don't think that will be necessary dear. You just let me handle this. You go in the next room and cool off or something."
The Great Lich Lord agrees to this and hugs Catalina, before walking off. Catalina now walks towards you.
"You'll have to forgive my beloved's outburst. He goes a little over the top when it comes to me. Especially now. So much has happened. He's changed so much and continues to change even now. He doesn't express it, but I think it's always gotten to him."
"I don't have to forgive shit. Am I supposed to feel sympathy? He's caused all this... and you too! How can you stand by him? You're still alive! You could probably kill him and stop this before the entire world is dead!"
"Oh I doubt if I could, even if I so desired, which I don't. My feelings for him and the reasons... well the heart wants, what the heart wants. I sometimes worry about what he will do after I'm gone though. He's in great denial. He knows I cannot fight off his overwhelming aura forever. I suppose in some ways, bringing you here to play for me was some vain hope of making me feel better. And it will, in its own way... "
You still can't believe that she's trying to make them out to be the victims.
"Look I don't care about what the hell you two death freaks want, I know what the hell I've gone through and it's all your fault. Fuck the both of you. You haven't had to deal with the pain I've gone through."
"Perhaps not. But do you think you are the only one on this world who's suffered? What makes your life and those close to you so special? Nothing. You and everyone else whoever lived on this dying world are equal. You, your family, even me. The only person who isn't equal, is in the next room. We've all lost those close to us at some point. Yes, even my beloved and he'll lose another when I'm gone. We'll all be long dead and he'll probably still be on this world by himself with nothing to do. And that, I'm convinced will be the greatest suffering of all. Life without end? No thank you. When my time comes, I will embrace it."
You're very surprised to hear a necromancer say that.
"My beloved cannot help what he is. For whatever reason, he was gifted with the art of death. He's become it. It's his nature. You can't be angry with a force of nature. It has to simply be."
You want to argue, you want to fight, you want to bring up every moral debate you can think of, but to be quite honest you can't. Part of it is it wouldn't make any difference. Part of it is you're tired of fighting, you can't do it anymore and you don't have strength at this point. The other part is that in a way what she's said makes some sense and is correct.
It also makes you think about your "nature". It was to play music. You never got to live the life you wanted, but during your lifetime, music always seeped in somehow. It always found a way.
Catalina continues to speak.
"Now you certainly don't have to play. That's your choice. I will make sure that my beloved does not turn you into dress wearing zombie though. It would be a shame though. You are not completely unfamiliar to me. I do have some knowledge of who you are and I have heard stories of your playing. I would like to hear it played while you still had the passion and energy behind it. The living spark that can only invoke such things."
"... I'll play... " you say with a heavy breath that took some effort for you.
"You will?"
"Yes... what did you want to hear?"
Catalina smiles.
"I don't know, whatever you like I suppose. Just as long as it has a nice soothing melody."
"Okay then."
"Hold on, I must get my beloved before you start. I must ask though, what changed your mind to play?"
"Nothing. It's my nature."
Catalina soon returns with the Great Lich Lord and they both sit in their respective thrones. Catalina tells you to play, which you do so.
You watch the pair of them look at each other as you play. You would appear that Catalina is pleased with her "gift". You don't know about the Great Lich Lord, since you can't see his face, but you assume that if she's happy, then he's happy.
You see them hold hands and look at each other as you enter the second verse of the song. At this point you begin to close your eyes and just let the music and instinct guide your fingers. You can feel your life slip away, but it doesn't matter. You've been taken to a different place. A better place.
You smile and wave to your family. You can see them all so clearly. All of them are there. You're getting closer. They're ready to accept you with open arms.
Last verse. Not much energy left, but you're nearly there. You won't have to worry about anything anymore. Heart slowing down. You're with them now. Everything will be so good again. Your music has saved you one last time.
One last note.
One last breath.
You're home.
"Well, he certainly looked happier than he did earlier."
"Yes, yes he did. Set his body on fire dear."
"You don't want him around to play for you later?"
"No, I don't think that performance could ever be replicated." |
The pixies have almost made you forget about what's really going on in the rest of the world... but you still know it's going on. Perhaps it's easier for them, as they have not had to experience the tragedies you've faced, but you know the destruction that's eventually going to come. You don't see any hope in their plan and if you stayed, and you still would never be able to completely relax. You could possibly be trapped as well.
However, you have no wish to bring more despair to these people. Let them live in illusions for as long as they can,
You wish you could.
It is with great regret that you tell them that you cannot stay. They attempt to convince you to do otherwise, but you've already made up your mind. Finally they accept your decision, but insist on repaying you for all your musical entertainment. They give you a small magical amulet. They tell you it can make you invisible for short periods of time.
You thank them and assure them that it will most definitely come in handy.
You leave the forest and head further away from the undead plague.
Nine years pass...
Twenty years of surviving this living hell.
Living in a cave in the mountains isn't as easy as it was in the Pixie forest, but it's probably a lot safer as far as undead are concerned. The biggest threats you've had to face are a few Cragmaws and Mountain Trolls. Once you ran into a couple of dwarves, so you assume that there may be an underground settlement somewhere in the area. You attempted to speak, but they just shot at you with their crossbows and told you to go away, saying that humans were the cause of the problem going on right now.
Your use your amulet when you can as it seems that the living have been just as willing to kill you as the undead. Then again, that's nothing new.
Every now and then you travel and scout around the area taking in the untainted countryside. You figure you should do it now before it's claimed eventually. The living exist here, which means death can only eventually follow. You just wonder how long it will take.
Sometimes you walk along the shore that's nearby. You look out past the vast blue and begin to wonder if there are any other places out there. You briefly entertain the idea of building a boat. You know that the globe was thoroughly charted centuries ago and that this is the only continent, but still you wonder if something wasn't missed. Of course you're probably just holding on to the false hope that you could theoretically go someplace else where death wasn't everywhere.
But there isn't such a place.
Lately something very odd has been happening and you have no idea what it is. You could swear that the landscape has been subtlety altering itself from time to time. Not permanently, but it seems to look "wavy" or "warped" briefly.
You initially chalk it up to your prolonged isolation and seeing things because of it, however you soon find out that it's more than just your mind playing tricks on you.
One day after you've done some hunting and bringing your catch back to your cave, you start noticing a severe slow down in your actions.
"What the fuck... " you say to yourself, except it comes out a lot slower. You don't experience for long, but the worst is yet to come.
A portal opens up in the sky and you immediately feel ill. You see a creature that you've never seen before and it's huge but it feels incredibly unnatural and it definitely isn't of this world. The dead animal that you're carrying suddenly melts into a black goo like substance. You jump back and nearly fall off the side of the mountain, which now feels like jelly under your feet rather than sturdy rock.
You don't know what's going here and you don't want to know. All you know is reality is starting to be seriously warped and you're ready to puke.
The tentacled creature doesn't seem to notice you, it's just surveying and floating in the air as the area around and beneath it changes. That still doesn't mean it won't attack eventually when it does notice you.
You immediately attempt to use your amulet, but nothing is happening. The creature or something else is nullifying your magic item.
Right now you're caught out in the open, your cave is close, but you're still not sure if you can get there in time and even if you do, would you be any safer? The other alternative is to make you way back down the mountain and try to escape that way. The problem with that plan is that everything is very wobbly right now and you're not feeling very steady.
> run back down the mountain
You're having difficulty concentrating, but you decide that it would be better to distance yourself from the creature rather than trapping yourself in a cave.
You attempt to head down the mountain, but you really are feel very sick and dizzy, in fact you're beginning to feel worse. The ground underneath you doesn't even feel like jelly now, you're actually sinking into it like quicksand!
"What the fu... " you say before a sudden powerful wave of nausea that hits you causes you to vomit immediately.
You try to stop the sinking, but it's futile and soon you've sank all the way it. Oddly you can still breathe; but the terrain has turned to worms and maggots. You can feel them crawling all over you, in your ears and every other orifice of your body.
You begin to laugh insanely (while the maggots crawl all in it) since your mind has become severely warped at this point and madness has overtaken you as you sink further through the maggot mountain.
You're unsure of how long this goes on for since you've lost your mind, but whatever was going on eventually stops and everything returns to normal. Unfortunately that doesn't really help you since you're still in the mountain which has returned to solid rock where you are now completely embedded in. You die instantly, putting an end to your madness. |
Really, it's the only thing that makes any kind of sense anymore. This war is lost there's not even any doubt about it. Hope is fleeting and if this is truly it, then it's going to be with the ones you did this for in the first place.
Your small groups of soldiers wonder where you're going and you flat out tell them, in fact you tell them more than that.
"I'm going home, and I suggest if any of you have any family you go to them as well. This is it folks, there's no happy ending here. It's been a pleasure serving with all of you."
You then ride home as quickly as possible.
The farm is scattered with undead. They attack and in some cases eat the livestock, while attempting to get into your house. Dead Zalan soldiers can be seen, except they aren't properly dead like they should be. The farmhouse is being attacked and you can see your sister firing her pistol at the zombies from one of the broken windows. You trample a couple of the zombies with your horse and kill couple more with your bow, but eventually you dismount and chop up the remaining ones near the farm house, since you want to save your arrows for anything potentially more dangerous.
"Quick get inside through this window, the door is barricaded." your sister Randi shouts when she sees you.
"No! It's a death trap to stay now! This place is lost! You all have to come with me!" you shout back, keeping an eye on the advancing zombies.
"Can't Mom's hurt pretty bad. Got stabbed by one those corpses. We can't move her. Help's gotta come soon... "
"NO, it won't Randi! The capitol of Zalan is being attacked as we speak! I came home to get your guys! This is the fucking end! We've lost! We just gotta... "
You're interrupted when you have to cut down an advancing zombie. Your sister fires a shot at another one. Suddenly a scream from the house is heard, followed by another. That has to be Calwin, and Makana. Randi rushes from the window and you cut down another zombie before bashing the door down with relative ease.
More screaming is heard along with growling this time. You look around and run down the hallway where Randi is standing motionless. She's dropped her pistol.
You push her aside and see your other sister Makana dead on the floor and then a quick scan to the left and you see your mother eating Calwin.
She's one of those things...
You act where Randi failed and give a killing blow to the thing that was once your mother.
"I'm sorry." You whisper and her blood splashes across your face.
Now you're ready to get the hell out of the house, but Randi is still standing there motionless.
"COME ON! WE GOTTA GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" you shout.
"Yeah...okay... " Randi says and begins to move like she's in slow motion and picks up her flintlock.
You run past Randi in the hallway who's still moving slowly.
"Randi get your ass mov... "
You hear a gunshot behind you. Followed by the slumping of a lifeless body. You don't even turn around, you don't want to see.
When you get outside, surprisingly the undead haven't become unmanageable yet, and you cut down another couple with relative ease. Your horse unfortunately has run off, you're on foot from here.
You don't even know where to go. Where is it going to be safe? Nowhere, but you lack any other ideas, so you just head for unclaimed wilderness.
After about a day of running, hiding and maneuvering, you're in a relatively safe location and that's when you finally allow yourself to grieve for the loss of your family. You weep.
You've lost everything now. Everything you did was basically for them, and now they're all gone. You don't know if you can even continue. What would be the point? The world seems to be doomed anyway.
But then after you think about it, you decide that if death is taking over the world, you're not going to make it easy. Death has already taken everything away from you except your life, and you're going to hold on to that as long as possible. You're going to live for your family and all the others that can't any longer.
You're going to survive, because ultimately that's what you've always done. You've cheated death more than once already and you'll continue to do it. Death itself is going to have to hunt you down if it wants your life.
After reaching this conclusion, you try to think of where you should go next. Going to any type of centers of civilization is out of the question now. You'd only have to move again, them being targets now.
So it's the life of wanderer now. The question is where would be best? The forests aren't exactly safe, but you're more familiar with surviving in them. The mountains might be a little safer, but living in them is going to be a lot harsher.
> head to the mountains
Better to get accustomed to them now, since you figure you might have to live in them in the future anyway.
You head further north and traverse the harsh terrain. As far as undead are concerned you're in no danger, however the mountain trolls and cragmaws living there are just as dangerous. You eventually find a suitable cave to live in. To keep yourself entertained you play your music in between your survival.
It's a rough life, but you persevere for a few years. Unfortunately the day comes when a particularly large mountain troll tribe decides to finally get organized enough to eliminate you from being a nuisance.
You awaken one night to see several large figures enter your cave. You spring to action immediately, which causes the trolls to laugh. This buys you time to kill at least one of them, but only one. You're outnumbered, trapped and there's nowhere to hide.
The trolls savagely butcher you and even smash your mandolin over your head before you head to permanent unconsciousness.
The only good thing is that trolls do such a thorough job of eating your body that not even your bones are left to be reanimated when the Great Lich Lord's influence reaches the area. |
You know that this is most likely a losing battle, but some hope might be gained, if you can somehow draw out the knights and specters and get them by themselves. As powerful as they are, they're very hard to control even by necromancers and get easily agitated by living creatures.
You can't do it alone though. You take your best archers and a couple of your best wizards and mention your plan. You don't ask for volunteers, you just assign. You're in charge and you have to make the hard decisions, even if it might mean you'll die. They don't look enthused, but you aren't either.
You tell everyone else to hold their ground while you and your small platoon ride towards the horde.
"Ready those blessed silvers men, and you robe wearers melt those dead tin cans!"
You get close enough and you unleash as many blessed silver arrows as you can at the Blood Specters. You kill a few. The wizards don't do quite as well with the knights. However, both attacks are enough.
You see the Specters and Knights making whatever unearthly noises they do and begin to advance towards you far ahead of the slower yet steady moving horde. It apparent that the necromancer controlling them is attempting to bring them back under control, because they begin to squirm back and forth which gives you some more time to kill a few more during their confusion. Eventually the necromancer must give up total control because they stop squirming and advance upon you once again.
You ride back as quickly as possible with the Specters and Knights in full pursuit. You didn't expect those Specters to be so fast. A few of them manage to catch up to some of your men with grisly results. You yourself almost get smacked upside the head by a Death Knight mace. When you get back in range the rest of your awaiting army deals with your pursuers. More blessed arrows fly into the Blood Specters before they can do anymore harm, and eventually the Death Knights are brought down as well.
There is no time for a reprieve though, as the main horde is now almost upon you. You order a regrouping as best you can, and face the enemy, telling if possible for someone to aim for the necromancer in all of this rotting mess.
Bones and limbs from both sides are broken and hacked off. A zombie skull is smashed, splashing maggots, blood and brains all over you and you're not even thinking about it. You just have a tune in your head to take yourself away from the massacre. Somehow in all of the chaos, you single out the necromancer leading this army, he stands a far piece away from the main fighting, but he's arrogant enough to be close enough for you to hit him with an arrow.
And you have to hit him now. You see a Grand Alliance soldier who just took a fatal blow to the chest begin to rise...
Not many arrows left and not much time, you just load up and shoot, hoping you hit the bastard.
Your shot is straight and true. It strikes the necromancer in the stomach, causing him to fall back, which in turn causes the undead horde to momentarily stop their vicious attacks, giving your side a chance to turn the tide a bit.
Then you shoot another arrow when you see the necromancer attempt to get back up, which turns the tide completely in your favor. Zombies and skeletons fall. Ghouls flee at the loss of leadership and any remaining undead are quickly dispatched. You don't take chances though. You walk up to the corpse of the necromancer and shoot your last arrow directly into his head and stab him a few times.
You then start laughing.
"If this was the Great Lich Lord, I'd be a real hero right now!"
You quickly sober up from this macabre outburst when you hear shouting from some of your men and you look up.
It's another horde. Just as big. You look behind you and see that your own numbers are completely insufficient. The Garwold citizens are either mostly dead or demoralized at this point.
Even when you win... you lose.
Having no real options, you sound a retreat to fall back to the Zalan border and suggest that the Garwold citizens do likewise as there is nothing more for them here.
The Garwold Confederacy is now just one more loss for the living. The Zalan Empire won't be far behind.
Three years pass...
Ten years since the Nuro incident and The Grand Alliance is nearly just consisting of the Zalan Empire now, which in turn has had to adapt a siege mentality. There is no "going on the offensive" anymore. You're purely on defense.
Your brother Mallack died two years ago. Transferred to a location with more fighting due to lack of manpower. Like it matters. Didn't even get to say goodbye. You can only hope he didn't become one of those things... but you know he probably did.
You've been urging your family to run where it's safer, but of course they won't budge. The undead have been penetrating deeper into Zalan territory, you know it's only a matter of time before the Great Lich Lord decides to stop toying with you and makes his full scale attack.
Sure enough it happens. Town after town is taken; you're pushed back further and further, and you know there's nothing you can do to stop it.
An order is given to everyone to fallback to the capital and help defend it from an upcoming attack, but at this point you're just wondering if the rest of your family is still alive.
> letters to home (Last letter...)
Dear Mom,
We're falling back again. No surprise there. I've had a lot on my mind lately, but not for any of reasons you'd know, so I'll tell you.
Normally this would be something I would've told Mallack, but since he's dead, I feel like I should tell you. I really miss Mallack.
I was in contact with a woman by the name of Helena. She was a traveling merchant who I met years ago during my tour in Retlad. We had a relationship of sorts I suppose. We met whenever she was in the area I was stationed in. Dunno why I never told you about her, I guess I just felt weird about telling you. Silly now that I think about it.
Anyway, she was in the city of Edat a few months ago when it was utterly destroyed. I suggested that she should just stay in the Retlad province since the fighting wasn't as bad there, but she said there was a big deal to be made in Edat, so she went. Reports say there were no survivors. Of course reports have been wrong before and I have used some of my connections to find out for certain but considering the carnage that occurred I hold little hope.
I'll miss her. I can only hope that like Mallack, she wasn't turned into one of those things.
The word "hero" gets thrown around far too much and I should know first hand, but I'll use it here: Where are the "heroes" to stop this? Shouldn't some party of adventurers been able to slip through the Great Lich Lord's defenses and chop his head off by now? Wasn't that how the first one was stopped? Isn't that how it's supposed to go? Where are the gods? Why aren't the good ones doing something to stop the utter destruction of their worshippers?! Hell, the evil ones would even suffice at this point! I mean just to know that SOMETHING is looking out for us in some fashion!
If they haven't abandoned this world, they better do something quick, because I feel like we're in the last hours here. Actually I think we're on borrowed time.
We're getting a report that we might have to fall back to the heart of the empire soon. At this point I'm not sure if I'm even going to do it. I know I've been duty bound this long with only a few falters along the way, but now? In the face of extinction? What's the point?
Sure there may be nowhere to run from death, but perhaps I can evade him for as long as possible.
But I haven't forgotten about all of you. I'd never do that. Even if I have to drag you all out of that infernal farmhouse kicking and screaming.
Leave a light on for me, I may be coming home.
I love you all.
Your son |
Now you have to figure out a plan that's going to prevent you from getting executed. You figure your brother's plan isn't exactly a bad one. Your record is good enough that you'd probably be believed. You think up a lie explaining that you were captured by a particularly sadistic vampire who was planning on draining you slowly to keep you as ongoing food. He took you to a cave in the hills where you barely killed him and escaped with your life. You would've made your way back sooner, but there were large groups of marauding orc raiders and demons escaping the ruins of the former Tulan kingdom that caused you to be extra cautious and forced you to hide for a few days.
Yep, that sounds good. You head out with the plan of meeting up with Captain Eckard's company which is surely at the Tulan Kingdom now.
Eventually you reach the same town you were at when you made your decision to try to leave. You find it occupied right now, it's not your company, so you're about to press on, but someone on patrol sees you.
"HALT! Where are you supposed to be soldier?!"
"Oh... uh... " you say getting caught off guard. You mentally curse yourself for not being more aware.
"Speak up! Wow, you look a little worse for wear... what company are you with?"
"I was with Captain Eckard... but... "
"Captain Eckard's company? Holy shit! We thought they all got killed! The undead reached the Tulan capital first and ambushed them! But why am I telling you? You were there! You must've just barely escaped! Don't worry; you can avenge your friends, we're gathering strength to attack soon!"
You don't believe this...
The guard begins speaking to you excitedly and asking you how you escaped. You just continue to say you don't know, it all became a blur when the ambush occurred and how you attempted to fight, but it was just too much. The guard sympathizes and tells you that you can explain more to his captain. You notice he isn't wearing Zalan armor, he's wearing Azi Republic armor. You can only assume that perhaps this is a Grand Alliance company.
Your ideas come true when you do indeed notice several kinds of troop types, though the Zalan Empire soldiers seem to be leading, as the captain is wearing the armor. Your heart sinks when you recognize her and she recognizes you. It was years ago, but you both remember.
"... what are you doing here?" the female captain asks. "Last I heard you were in Captain Eckard's company. A company that was reported to be wiped out completely. Have you managed to avoid death once again? You are the lucky one aren't you?"
Suddenly surrounding soldiers start to recognize you more closely. The Zalan ones especially.
"Holy shit it's him! You fuckin' survived not one but TWO overwhelming undead hordes! We gotta take him captain, he's obviously good luck!" the guard says a little misguidedly.
"Good luck? If you haven't noticed, only HE seems to be getting out alive on these things! I'd say he's bad luck!" someone else says.
"Nonsense! I heard how he's killed countless demons with his bow! We could use someone like that in our next attack." another says.
"Isn't he the guy that plays the lute really well?"
A few people start arguing until the female captain speaks again.
"ENOUGH! I'll handle this. You in my office now, I'll speak with you in private. And for the rest of you, get ready to move out. We're attacking tomorrow."
She turns away and enters a building; you slowly follow, while everyone else disperses.
When you enter the wrecked "office" she closes the door and tells you to sit down, but she doesn't. Instead she stares at you hard at you and draws her sword.
"Okay Mr. Survivor. Convince me."
"Convince you of what?"
"Convince me that you aren't some fucking undead spy!"
"WHAT?! How? I mean... "
"Easy! In the two encounters you had with the undead on any major scale, you've been the only one to survive. Once, maybe. But twice? Mighty suspicious... "
"But I mean... I'm not undead! Look I even walk around in the daylight, I'm not even pale!"
"I didn't say you were undead, I said you were a spy. There are few of those misguided traitors that think their necromancer overlords will be kind to them, by killing them last. Madness."
"But I'm not a spy! I killed... " you begin to stutter under pressure.
"Yeah, yeah, you killed demons. Big deal. The undead and demons weren't friends either. What better way to be a spy than to make yourself a hero?"
"But I'm not... "
"You're not what?"
"I'm not... "
"What? More lies? Spit out the truth spy!" she demands pointing her sword at your throat.
> attempt to lie
Quickly remembering the lie you thought up on the way, you sputter it out with some stress.
"I... I was captured by a vampire! A really fucking sadistic one! He killed my scouting party and took me to say he was going to drain me slowly for fun! He took me to some cave in the hills and it was only by luck that I managed to kill him and escape! I would've made my way back sooner, but their were large groups of marauding orc raiders and demons escaping the ruins of the former Tulan Kingdom, so I was extra cautious and... "
At this point the Captain bashes you in the head with the hilt of her sword. You fall off the chair and onto the floor.
"LIAR! You expect me to believe this horse shit? I've had patrols going all through this area and there aren't any orcs in the damn area. They all fled further north long ago and the remaining demons mostly ran to the west! Not to mention the closest hills have no caves! You obviously think so low of me that you thought you could fool me OR you're just a complete idiot as well as a coward! Either way you haven't convinced me, and you're fit only for execution! You're a deserter at best and a spy at worst!"
"No... wait... " are your last words before the Captain severs your head from your body. |
Last time you were wounded and had the misfortune of running into demons. Well you aren't wounded this time and you're pretty sure you won't be running into too many more demons. You'll be able to pull it off this time. You can't do this army shit anymore, as much as you want to help your family out, you've got to live your own life regardless of what the future holds. You aren't even worried about committing an executionable offense.
You easily sneak away as you hear your men call out your name looking for you. You're glad you didn't leave too much back at the fort, except your lute, but you've got your newly acquired mandolin to make up for it. Eventually you're away from civilization altogether.
While you're out in the wilderness you think about your family again, and you have to at least let them know you're still alive. Maybe you can still do something about them, after all it doesn't sound like the Zalan Empire is becoming a great place to live anymore. Perhaps you could convince them to move?
It takes a week of sneaking around and keeping out of sight, but eventually you make it back home. Zalan looks a lot different; hell home looks a lot different. There was a small wooded area near your farm, but most of the trees have been cut down now. You also remember fewer patrols. Your house looks in better condition however. You guess at least your family seems a lot safer, but for how long?
You knock on the door in the middle of the night and your sister Randi answers, Not too surprising as she always was a night owl when she was little. At least she used to be little. The passing of the years and she's now a teenager and grown quite a bit. You've been away so long.
What does surprise you is the flintlock pistol that she's currently pointing at you!
"Whoa! Hold on! It's me, your brother!" you say.
"... it is? It is you!" she exclaims and puts down the gun before hugging you.
"What the hell are you doing with a pistol?"
"The money you sent us allowed to buy new things you know and a traveling merchant was selling this for cheap!"
"No I mean, what are YOU doing with one? You'll blow your damn head off with that thing! Those things are unstable." You scold.
"What are you doing home? Are you on leave?"
"Uh... that's a long story. Wake up the rest of the family; I have to talk to you all."
Randi complies while you step inside the house and take in its new look. Eventually your Mom enters, followed by your brother Mallack and finally your youngest brother Calwin and sister Makana.
You all sit down at the dining room table. (You realize you haven't done that with your family in years) and you tell them everything. You get a lot of worried reactions. More for you than the other world impending doom stuff though. At least you know that they care.
"You gotta get back to the army right now! Say you got captured by something and it took you awhile to escape!" Mallack exclaims.
"While I'm sure that MAY work, I just don't want to do it... I can't take this anymore. The whole time I've been in the damn army, my music has kept me sane. I've noticed it have an effect on others as well. Never thought it would. I mean I have talent and... "
"... you feel like you've wasted your life?" your mother replies.
You pause for a moment. You almost want to say yes, but you can't even if you wanted to. You haven't wasted it, its just you've never really had the chance to do what you've ever wanted to do.
"No... I guess I haven't... it's just... "
Your mother takes your hand and speaks to you.
"I know. It's not fair. It's not right. Life isn't fair and it's starting to get a whole lot less fair. I know I've mentioned it in letters to you, but the Zalan Empire WILL be taking the farm... and it's looking like Mallack's going to be drafted if things are going the way they seem to be."
"But... see that's what I'm saying! We could all move! I mean of course I have to go into hiding, maybe Mallack could come with me. And the rest of you could use what money you have left and move to Retlad! It's a nice place. It's away from most of the fighting, and there aren't anymore Quillars there!"
Your mother shakes her head.
"You must be behind in the news, because Retlad is finally going to become part of the Zalan Empire soon, so going there to live wouldn't make any difference. The Empire can take this farm, but in spirit this will ALWAYS be ours. The Empire has said they will allow us to continue working it and living on the land and even if they didn't they'd have have to drag us all out and stick our heads on pikes before we'd leave. Your father and his father build this farm up to what it is. Our family is going to be here until the end."
"That's what I'm afraid of... what about you Mallack? You're probably going to be drafted. You aren't worried about that?"
"Sure I am. But what am I going to do, run? Where? From what you described you practically think the whole world is doomed anyway! I might as well take some of the undead bastards out before I go. I was getting bored of the farm anyway. Let Randi take over! Ha ha!"
Your mother addresses you again.
"Son, you know our family. We've always done the right thing, even if it doesn't coincide with what we want... I think you know what you have to do."
And so you do. So you do.
You spend one night with your family and make the most of it. You all laugh and joke, trying to put all the problems of the world out of your mind and of course before you leave you play a song for them.
Eventually you hug them all goodbye and take your leave. More than a few tears are shed on both sides.
> go into hiding
As much as you still want to help out your family, you have to live your own life while there is still time. They'll still get money from your supposed death and they know you're still alive. You figure this will be the last time you see them though, as you can't risk contacting them anymore.
The first order of business is to change your identity as much as you can. And head to a place where you can play for an audience, but the probability of someone ratting you out is low if you're recognized.
You head to the Garwold Confederacy. It's a relatively peaceful nation made up mostly of Halflings and Gnomes, with lush green fields and flowers. They've surprisingly managed to stay out of most of the fighting; only volunteering a few of their militia and illusionists to the Grand Alliance. They're also known to appreciate the simpler things in life.
Eventually you make a place for yourself there in one of the small villages. You make a living playing at the local tavern there. Most of the patrons know that you have some sort of past that you're trying to hide from. Some of them and the owner know that you're that Zalan "hero" that they've heard about. But just like you thought, they don't bring it up or say anything about it and just enjoy your music.
A year passes and you're happy. Nobody from the Zalan Empire comes looking for you, as it's assumed you're dead and everyone's too busy fighting the undead for the most part. When the Grand Alliance armies pass through, you keep a low profile though. You even meet a pretty Halfling girl to be with.
The next year isn't so pretty however. The Great Lich Lord's armies have been defeating the Grand Alliance's attempts to stop them and now those armies finally turn their attention to the Garwold Confederacy.
Within a month half of Garwold has been turned into a graveyard. The Grand Alliance as well as the Garwold militia have been doing their best, but it's not going to be enough. You help defend the little village that you've made your home in and you can't afford to keep a low profile anymore despite the Grand Alliance presence (Which is now mainly made up of Zalan Empire troops) but it hardly matters at this point. Survival of the living is
You make plans to leave, and to try to convince your girlfriend and your other new friends that you've made here to leave as well. You know they're all very home bound, but tomorrow you're going to really try.
Unfortunately a group of Blood Specters attacks the village that night. You awaken to hear blood curling screams ring throughout the village. You look out the window and see the vile red ghosts stalking the streets.
You've become too attached to these people to not help; you immediately grab your weapons and prepare for battle.
You head to your girlfriend's home first, but sadly she's already been killed and completely drained of blood. You don't have time to morn as you're immediately attacked by the Blood Specter that was still lingering in the house. You manage to kill it with a couple silver arrows, but its dying shrieks alert others to your area.
You slay a couple more of them as you try to look for the necromancer who has to be in the area to even control these creatures, but you can't keep your eye on all the incorporeal creatures and you suddenly feel a slight pain in your back which reaches forward into your heart as one of them thrusts its hand into you to drain your blood.
You collapse soon after, only to rise later to join the ranks of the ever growing undead armies. |
You've served in this army well and always done your job regardless of the shitty situations you've been in. You might not like a lot of it, but you've never complained. Lately you've been on edge about a possible all out assault of some big ass demon army that's going to attack any day now, and playing is one of the few pleasures you have to put your mind at ease.
Perhaps it's a combination of this and a combination of this unwanted and unnecessary scolding that causes you to speak out of turn.
"With all due respect ma'am, I am fully prepared to battle at a moment's notice and so are those under my direct command. But even soldiers need to rest, if only for a minute."
The woman looks very surprised you didn't comply with her demand to see your superior officer.
"... you DARE speak out of turn like that to me? I'll see you sent to the Nuro Front for that sort of insubordination! Then we'd see just how battle ready you are! How would you like that?"
"I wouldn't like it at all. I barely survived the first time." You say trying not to express any fear.
"... What? What are you talking about? First time?"
Now you're a little surprised she doesn't know who you are considering how some of the high ups exaggerated about how you managed to survive. You explain yourself briefly and she doesn't quite believe you at first, a couple of your troops hiding nearby at least back up your claims before slinking off.
"That was YOU? What the hell are you doing here? You should be leading from the front not languishing in some fort that barely sees battle!"
"Doesn't see battle? We suffered a small demon raid last week! We see plenty of battle!"
"What I mean is, somebody of your obvious combat and survival skills should be assigned on the front lines where you can do more good. Normally I don't question Zalan command, but this is really an oversight on their part."
"Well maybe they know better than the both of us, besides this assignment isn't a walk in the fairy fields. I think we'll be suffering a grand scale attack any day now."
"Doubt it. Velzix has been having a hard time keeping his unruly mob together. If it wasn't for a lot of the sycophantic Tulan citizens, he'd probably be confined to pure defense, though something will have to be done soon, reports say he's attempting to gate in more demons everyday. Not to mention that supposedly civilized demons from other nations are starting to display their true colors and flock to his banner. Like I always said the only good demon is a dead one!"
This causes you to smile a bit and she very faintly smiles back when she sees that you feel the same way. This smile disappears quickly though as she continues her rant.
"I wish I wasn't assigned to the Tulan Border though. I'd rather be taking Nuro back. THAT'S the more dangerous threat. The demons will kill themselves with their own chaotic and violent natures, but the undead... they've almost taken over the world before just because of one bastard that lead them. I never thought I'd see a serious threat like this in my lifetime, especially not... "
The female captain at this point stops. She even looks away from you as if whatever she was going to say was just too much even for her. She seems to be a lot more battle hardened than you and probably ten times braver. You can't imagine what horror she experienced that would be worse than your own, but you don't find out since she changes the subject.
"... Bah! Maybe you're right; a soldier does need to keep their mind occupied on other things every now and then. We aren't undead after all. So what's with the lute? You also a bard or something?" she laughs.
"No, I think those dreams are long gone, but my playing seems to boost spirits around here a little, which can only be a good thing in this situation."
"Hm. My mother was elven and she used to sing this song to me and my... brother when we were very young. It was very smooth and calming. Beautiful melody."
"Yeah, most elven music is like that. When I was assigned in Retlad I learned a few elven songs from a few of the citizens there, you wouldn't happen to know the song would you?"
She tells you the name of the song and you know it immediately. One of the first new songs you learned while stationed in Retlad actually. This seems cause her to momentarily revert to a less stand offish behavior. You're about to play it for her, but then a messenger comes running up handing her a note. She reads it and she's all business again.
"Alright men! We're moving out!" she shouts and leaves without saying another word to you. You didn't even learn her name.
Perhaps it's just as well; you'll most likely never meet again due to one of you dying on the battlefield. You go back to doing what you were doing.
Two years pass...
Three years since the Nuro Incident and this struggle still continues.
You're still stationed Fort Virtue and you've repelled more demon attacks than you would care to count. Velzix has finally gotten his shit together completely. A unified demonic front is in full swing here and its taking its toll. Once again your skills have come in very handy in defense. You are certainly known as a demon slayer, but you still don't feel like a hero of any kind. You're just trying to do your job and survive. You save lives when you can, but you know ultimately it's a futile task as death seems to be everywhere nowadays.
As bad as it is on the demon front, its nothing compared to what've you've heard on the undead front. The Necromancer has finally broken out from Nuro, and successfully attacked the Kingdom of Brot. Several undead giants demolished the area. You've never even seen a living giant and they sound intimidating. You can't even imagine an undead one. The power to raise one, let alone several is sort of scary. The Grand Alliance army didn't get there in time to stop him and as usual they were repelled when they arrived.
You worry about the Grand Alliance failing to stop the undead horde. You hope it doesn't get any closer to the Zalan Empire where your family might be in danger.
Sometimes you worry so much that you can't sleep, not that you do much of that nowadays anyway. Normally you play to keep your mind at ease, but tonight you go to the archery range to keep yourself focused.
For a long time you're by yourself, but suddenly you feel a creeping suspicion someone is watching you...
You turn around with your bow and see a pale man. He holds up his hands.
"Hey now! Don't shoot! Sorry for creeping around like that. Professional habit." He says.
"What? Who are you?" you demand.
"Warnov. Zalan Intelligence."
"You're a spy?"
"Well I suppose you could put it that way. I was here to give some info to your Captain Eckard, and I also wanted to take a look around the fort. Didn't think anyone would be on the range though. Nice shooting, I know who you are and heard about your marksmanship with a bow. You're certainly doing your part with the demons around here."
Despite the fact that you're talking to a spy, you feel the need to vent your feelings.
"Yeah, well I hope the Grand Alliance starts doing its part. I mean what the fuck are they doing? Weren't they created to put a stop to all this shit? I mean am I supposed to worry every day if that undead horde is going to get closer to the Zalan Empire where it can threaten my family?"
Warnov doesn't look offended by your words, if anything he looks intrigued.
"Well, I can understand why you're venting. Trust me I sympathize. But as part of intel, I can tell you its not that easy... there were a lot of surprises that weren't accounted for. We're doing our best to rectify this situation by gathering as much info as possible. In fact, you could help us... "
"Excuse me? How?"
Warnov looks around and gets closer before speaking.
"Look, as I said, I know all about you and your skills, why you joined, all of it. I know you don't much care for some of the propaganda made about some of your exploits. But it's important to realize that deeds like yours must be blown up a little to give common people hope that ultimately good will win the day. You may not consider yourself a hero of any kind, but your actions aren't without some of those qualities. You obviously care very much about your family, and I've heard how you try to keep the people under your command alive. Sound like heroic qualities to me. Perhaps they're on a smaller scale, but they're there. I'm betting that there's a BIGGER hero in there somewhere, just itching to get out. You think the Grand Alliance isn't doing a good job? Perhaps we can arrange something for you to be transferred into it, or maybe you'd like to take an even more direct approach."
"What do you mean?"
Warnov suddenly backs away.
"Before we go any further. I need to know are you willing to take up the mantle of being a hero. Because if you aren't, then we have nothing more to discuss. I shall require an answer now."
> accept the offer
You have to admit, the idea has crossed your mind a bit. A small part of you does wonder about embracing the whole hero image and deliberately doing grand deeds that go beyond the call of your duty. You suppose that you'd at least really feel like one if you did that.
"Okay Mr. Warnov. I'll do it." You exclaim.
"You sure?"
"Not really, but if I'm already in the shit, I might as well go all the way with it. What do I do next?"
Warnov looks around again to see if anyone is about before answering.
"Well just take a deep breath, relax and uh... brace yourself!"
"Huh?"
Before you can react Warnov moves faster than you've ever seen anything move. In fact you don't really see him move at all before he's biting your neck! He puts his other hand over your mouth so you can't yell out and easily knocks your hand away from feebly attempting to draw a weapon.
You fall into unconsciousness as your blood is drained from you at a rapid rate. Death soon follows...
A few minutes later you wake up outside the fort.
"Ah you're up. Sorry about surprising you like that, but I had to work quickly. Someone else could've popped up and that would've gotten complicated... "
You quickly check your neck which is completely healed now, but you know what's just occurred! You feel a cold numbness throughout your body and you freak out.
"I'M DEAD! I'M FUCKIN DEAD! And you're a vampire!"
"Shhhh! Keep your voice down! Yeah, you figured it out. Nice detective work, now let's get down to this hero business. Though we should really get to Rostov's and talk about all this."
"I'm... I'm dead! I'm one of you! I don't want to be an undead thrall for the Necromancer Lord!"
"What? No, no, no, we're not... look I'll explain later, let's just... "
You pull away from Warnov when he tries to help you up. You feel your reflexes are much quicker. This temporary curiousity in your new found abilities allows Warnov to calm you down.
"WAIT! Just stop! (Sigh) Okay look I'll try to give you the condensed version right now. We vampires aren't on the side of the Necromancer Lord. If anything he's fucking things up for us. We like to keep a balanced order as it were. The last time we sided with some megalomaniacal necromancer it nearly resulted in our extinction. Never again. In fact we've been manipulating shit for centuries just to make sure something like this didn't happen. Somebody really fucked up in the observation department on this one!"
Warnov goes on to explain that his superior, Lord Rostov will be able to explain better and in more detail, but that you have to come with him now.
> go with Warnov
While this is all a lot to take in, you manage to calm down.
"Okay. Okay. I'm calm, but... man this is a lot of shit." You reply.
"Heh, well you did say you might as well go with it! Don't worry; it'll all be second nature soon. Okay let's go see Lord Rostov."
Warnov pulls out a black cube and teleports you to what seems to be the inside of a castle.
"Alright, YOU stay right here in the foyer! Don't go wandering around, I'm serious! You're not quite in the fold yet, I have to go straighten this out and explain all this to Lord Rostov. I'll be back to come get you later. Everything will be explained in full detail soon."
Not wishing to piss off anyone and being completely out of your element you stay put. The foyer has enough to keep you occupied though, you begin examining many of the paintings and statues to pass the time.
Soon, Warnov returns with a very regal looking vampire. You can only assume that this is Lord Rostov.
"Welcome, I'm sure you have ask many questions for me as I have for you, so we'll just get right to it. We'll walk and talk on the way to the throne room. Don't worry about anyone listening. There are no secrets here." Lord Rostov says.
"Okay... I... "
"BUT! Remember to address me as Lord Rostov if you are going to address me by name." Lord Rostov adds with authority.
You take notice and obey, though Lord Rostov has such a commanding presence that you would be hard pressed not to obey him.
Your questions are typical for someone brought into the fold. Rostov goes on about how his kind have been manipulating the mortal world for centuries just like Warnov said before. Several of the known governments have at least one vamp keeping an eye on things. Apparently many high ranking political types in your own Zalan Empire are vampires! The Grand Alliance is even a tool of the vampires.
While Lord Rostov goes on about this fascinating history lesson, you look at some of his "court" as you walk through his castle. Some of them are more "mortal looking" than others. Some look down right hideous. You always thought vampires were supposed to be ultra attractive, but you can see that isn't necessarily the case. When you get to his throne room Lord Rostov stops and turns to you.
"So I hear you want to be a real hero eh? Well this is the place where they're made."
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you think most heroes are always storming dungeons and doing impossible things? They don't get those abilities without some help. The supernatural skill comes into play and dungeons aren't exactly beacons of light!" Lord Rostov laughs.
"Y... you mean ALL the heroes in the world are vampires?!"
"Hah! I wish that was the case. No, there are many regular mortal heroes that do their part I suppose, but if you want the really legendary ones that have done impossible deeds, well chances are there was a vampire involved. Sadly we haven't been too much more successful than the mortals in the heroics department lately."
"What's been going on exactly?"
"That little annoying necromancer lord, or whatever he thinks he is, has been proving to be a lot cleverer than what was previously believed. His armies have been growing in strength and I'm sure you know about the undead giant business and crushing the Brot Kingdom. What isn't commonly known is how he accomplished it. He had help from one of our kind. A loathsome outcast known as the Ghoul King. (Sigh) Should've killed him long ago really, but... bah, it's a long story. We'll deal with him when the time comes. What's more alarming is that we've sent assassins... or heroes to kill the necromancer lord and his bitch and he's somehow managed to kill all of them. I mean I can somewhat understand them being killed by that brutish demon tyrant Velzix, but a fucking necromancer? He's a fucking mortal! And from what we know of him, he wasn't even that good of a wizard to begin with!"
Suddenly Lord Rostov flies into a rage, yelling and punches a hole into the solid brick wall. Many of his court, as well as you and Warnov back away. He then stops and composes himself.
"My apologies to you all. It's been a trying time with upstart mortals and traitors and other annoyances. And to you, the newest member of our fold."
"Uh, no need to apologize to me Lord Rostov. It's your home after all" You say which causes him to smile.
"Carefully chosen words. Not overly sycophantic, yet still displaying the right subservient mindset. You should fit in very well here."
"But I meant it... "
"Ha ha! And honest too! You're more interesting than how Warnov described you. I have heard that you were one of those minor mortal heroes I was talking about earlier, but more interesting to me, is apparently you have talent in the musical field?"
"So I've been told."
"Well, play something for me! All of us!"
"What did you want to hear?"
"Surprise me, if you're able!"
Lord Rostov sits on his throne while his court whispers among themselves and then go quiet waiting for you to play. You pull out your lute and try to think of a song that they might like. You think of an old song that once was very popular among the aristocracy. Seems like a perfect crowd...
You begin to concentrate on the music and nothing but the music. You play as if your life was in danger, which you're somewhat certain that it isn't, but it doesn't hurt to play your best right now.
Your new supernatural reflexes certainly come in handy as you're able to hit notes and play faster than you normally would've been able to as a mortal.
When you're finished you look around the room which is still silence until Lord Rostov gets off his throne and begins clapping. Everyone else follows suit.
"That was magnificent! I heard the original bard who performed that piece three hundred years ago and even he couldn't have done a better job! Warnov, this man is too valuable to make into a hero!"
"Lord Rostov?"
"While this man may have combat skills as you described, he is obviously a musician! Such talent such not be wasted in battle! Beautiful playing!"
"While I agree he is a good musician Lord Rostov, I think we should consider the matter of the necromancer... "
"(Sigh) Warnov, I was feeling good until you mentioned that mortal again! Nevertheless you are right. But still, this shall be HIS choosing. Not ours."
Lord Rostov turns to you.
"The decision shall be yours broodling. You may if you wish under go extensive training to prepare yourself for an encounter with that little necromancer lord. If you succeed, your name will be known, and you will become a legend. However, I can sense that such things are probably not your nature. Music is. I can see that you would be content to just play your music for an appreciative crowd. You could do that here. You could also learn songs that I have possession of, but sadly unable to play with the same spirit that you obviously have."
"What about my family? And my job and all that?"
"Ah, your mortal life. I'm sure Warnov will already be taking steps to explain that you have been transferred from your current assignment. Considering he's part of intelligence, nobody will ask too many questions, even if they bothered to. As for your family, they will be taken care of as you will still officially be part of the Zalan army. If you wish you may stay in contact with them through letters. Possibly arrangements can be made for you to visit them. During the night of course. But under NO circumstances will you tell them about any of this. Doing so would ruin my generous offer and be extremely bad for you. I don't think we need to dwell on such depressing things because I know you're smarter than that right?"
"Yes Lord Rostov."
"Good, now what is it that you would like to do?"
> be a hero
While the offer of playing for what could possibly be eternity is tempting, part of you has been affected by world events and the war going on. You have come to realize that the Necromancer (and the demons) need to be stopped. If you can take an active role in that, then you'll know for sure that your family will be safe in the near future. You did do all this for your family after all, and while your path has definitely undergone a change, you're still going to put them first.
Besides, you're a vampire now, you're sure that you'll have tons of time to play later if all goes well. You're definitely nervous about this decision, but you're going to make it.
"Lord Rostov, I wish to begin your advanced combat training." You say.
"Very well, though I almost hoped that you wouldn't. Your playing was just divine and you won't be able to play again for a long time during your extensive training time. Possibly never if you fail... but let us hope that you do not fail! It would be a loss for all of us. Warnov escourt him to the lower dungeons."
"Yes, Lord Rostov."
Warnov takes you into the lower dungeons of the castle just as Lord Rostov commanded. Warnov tells you that this isn't going to be easy and that you better condition your mind to almost a pure instinctive level because you could very well die in training!
Finally you reach a large barren room with a pair of large doors on the far end.
"This is it. Just keep an eye on the large door over there and well, brace yourself!"
You half expect to get bitten again after hearing those words, but instead Warnov quickly steps out of the room and locks the door leaving you alone. The large doors on the other side of the room start to open.
And you just realized that you don't have a weapon...
A year passes...
You survive your rigorous training. You have fought all manner of dangerous beasts with and without weapons. (And feasting on their blood for survival) You have undergone pain you didn't think possible even in your new undead state. You're definitely a better killing machine than you were.
You were allowed to write letters to your family which were overlooked first by Lord Rostov of course to make sure you weren't saying something you shouldn't. You barely know what to tell them except keeping your lies to a minimum about your supposed new job with Zalan intelligence. You have dedicated and conditioned yourself to combat so much that you don't even think about music. You briefly wonder if you've "lost" something, but you then dismiss such things as you must focus on battle.
During this time you have been informed that the Necromancer Lord as well as Velzix have grown in power. Lord Rostov says though that he believes the demons will pose no serious threat if a concentrated effort can be made on them by the mortals. However, for that to happen, the Necromancer Lord must die and that's where you come in and what you've been training for.
However, you won't be going in by yourself. A band of "heroes" will be necessary for a job like this. You are told you will meet the others in a small abandoned village bordering on the Necromancer's Domain.
Another vampire takes you there with the aid of a black teleportation cube. This is a one way trip. You're not coming back unless you win. That and the fact that the black cubes can't possibly be allowed to fall into enemy hands.
There you meet the others. They look unimpressed with you, but you're a little surprised to see one of them. She's very well known... a "hero".
"You're Deliah the Deathdealer! You fought at the battle of Azark and you also retrieved the Celestial Sword! You're a hero! I didn't know you were... "
"Didn't they tell you all this shit when you started training? Sheesh, we gotta get paired up with some broodling... " a brutish vampire interrupts.
"Quiet Gorax! I'm sure he was, but meeting a legend is a lot different from basking in their glory in person." Deliah replies.
"Gorax!? Gorax the Mighty? You were a barbarian king that held back the orc hordes over a hundred years ago!" you say in amazement.
"Huh, fat lot good that did me. I can't take any credit for of my deeds today and barely anyone remembers my past deeds except some useless tribal shamen that now cower from the undead hordes in the Drozz Plains. Feh! Back in my day such men would not allow mere ghouls run them off their lands! I don't know why Rostov won't allow me to go in, seek out, and just chop off that retched Ghoul King's head! He's partially to blame for this mess!"
"Oh you know Rostov, he has his reasons. Besides, if we take out the Necromancer lord, the Ghoul King will probably be our next assignment." Another vampire says in a bored tone. This one looks like he was once a Halfling. It almost makes you laugh to think of a vampire Halfling, but there he is. You don't know who he is or was, but given the other two, he was probably important at one time.
"So are you ready to go broodling? Or are you going to stand there with a dumb look on your face?" Delilah asks.
"Uh sure, let's go!"
The trip into the Necromancer's Domain is surprisingly quick and uneventful. You attempt to make conversation as you can't help now but be curious about your companions, but all of them are less than talkative and forthcoming. Deliah eventually takes you aside harshly.
"Look broodling, we've got a job to do. A fucking dangerous one at that! We all need to be in focus and not concentrating on anything else! So keep your damn questions to yourself and if you happen to survive this encounter THEN perhaps you may get a little more information from us and our fascinating history. Until then, stay in the fucking dark!"
The rest of the trip is silent.
At last you reach the city of Nuro and easily scale its walls and onto the battlements while remaining undetected the whole time. This is a lot different from what it was when you arrived here as a mortal. That memory still gives you a bit of pause. You remember how scared you were back then.
"Hurry up broodling! These walking corpses might not be able to detect us, but the Necromancer will soon! We need to get the advantage as soon as possible! Gorax, Wally you go through the front of the main tower. I'm sure you two can handle that. While whatever guards rush to defend their master, me and the broodling will scale the tower and go in through one of the top windows.
"You sure about that Delilah? Would you rather I go with you than some broodling?" Wally asks.
"Yeah, but if I leave him with Gorax he'll probably get killed in the fighting and be useless. At least if he's with me, he can serve as an extra body for the Necromancer Lord to draw his attention to."
"HEY! I'm right here y'know!" you exclaim indignantly which causes Deliah to smack you in the face hard. You didn't even see it coming.
"Shut the fuck up! You'll draw attention! Look if we pull this off just maybe you'll come out of this alive. I need you to take care of the Necromancer's bitch anyway. She's probably up there with him. Now let's do this!"
The plan is set into action. Gorax and Wally make their presence known immediately jumping off the battlements and into the courtyard while yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Intruder! Protect the master!" you hear a scratchy voice yell in the distance, while you and Delilah sneak around, jumping onto the rooftops and attempting to avoid the main fighting force. A few flying shadows try to stop you, but they're easily dispatched with your bow and silver arrows. Delilah looks glad that you aren't entirely useless and you and her proceed to scale the walls.
"I can't believe this place isn't more protected." You say while climbing.
"Heh, he's got his troops all spread out and mostly on his borders, plus he's grown more arrogant and confident. That will be his undoing." She replies quickly.
"Funny I was about to say the same for you bloodsuckers." A voice says causing the both of you to look up.
A raven haired female leans over the nearby window above Delilah and blast her directly in the face burning it off with a beam of light. You certainly weren't expecting a necromancer to cast any sort of spell like that! You then see Delilah fall... and get impaled through the chest by a weathervane. A fucking weathervane. Unbelievable.
You attempt to scale the wall to the nearest window under you and just barely get out of the way of the lady necromancer's next spell.
You have no idea where you are in the tower, but you can hear fighting going on outside and a couple of hearty roars which you can only guess is Gorax.
A quick scan would indicate that you're in some sort of library. You cautiously proceed and decide that finding stairs that lead up would be the way to go. You just hope you're ready to take him on and his mistress.
As you make your way through, you fight all manner of undead sentries: Wraiths, ghosts, skeletal warriors, etc. During one of your moments of hiding a couple of wight guards run by talking in a hoarse tone.
"The big one and little one are dead! We must find the last one! Quick Quick!"
"Yes Yes! The master must be protected!"
You come to the very real feeling of having been in the position before... all alone, surrounded by hostile undead, and in Nuro...
Your resolve breaks a little and you wish that you weren't here. You want to go home.
Eventually you push yourself forward, but somehow fear has crept back into your own dead heart. To your credit you do reach the top of the tower, but the Necromancer's mistress once again surprises you. A ray of light sears your face off and destroys your vision. You fall to the cold stone floor in extreme pain and can only make out blurry images.
You see a blurred black hooded figure approach. You can't see his face, but this could only be who you think it is. You attempt to reach for your sword.
"More assassins? I swear something is going to have to be done about these bloodsuckers. The Ghoul King's kin are really starting to get on my nerves. These ones weren't even a challenge. What are you doing bloodsucker? Don't you know that's futile?"
The Necromancer Lord unleashes a ball of flame that engulfs your body, putting an end to your undead existence. |
You've served in this army well and always done your job regardless of the shitty situations you've been in. You might not like a lot of it, but you've never complained. Lately you've been on edge about a possible all out assault of some big ass demon army that's going to attack any day now, and playing is one of the few pleasures you have to put your mind at ease.
Perhaps it's a combination of this and a combination of this unwanted and unnecessary scolding that causes you to speak out of turn.
"With all due respect ma'am, I am fully prepared to battle at a moment's notice and so are those under my direct command. But even soldiers need to rest, if only for a minute."
The woman looks very surprised you didn't comply with her demand to see your superior officer.
"... you DARE speak out of turn like that to me? I'll see you sent to the Nuro Front for that sort of insubordination! Then we'd see just how battle ready you are! How would you like that?"
"I wouldn't like it at all. I barely survived the first time." You say trying not to express any fear.
"... What? What are you talking about? First time?"
Now you're a little surprised she doesn't know who you are considering how some of the high ups exaggerated about how you managed to survive. You explain yourself briefly and she doesn't quite believe you at first, a couple of your troops hiding nearby at least back up your claims before slinking off.
"That was YOU? What the hell are you doing here? You should be leading from the front not languishing in some fort that barely sees battle!"
"Doesn't see battle? We suffered a small demon raid last week! We see plenty of battle!"
"What I mean is, somebody of your obvious combat and survival skills should be assigned on the front lines where you can do more good. Normally I don't question Zalan command, but this is really an oversight on their part."
"Well maybe they know better than the both of us, besides this assignment isn't a walk in the fairy fields. I think we'll be suffering a grand scale attack any day now."
"Doubt it. Velzix has been having a hard time keeping his unruly mob together. If it wasn't for a lot of the sycophantic Tulan citizens, he'd probably be confined to pure defense, though something will have to be done soon, reports say he's attempting to gate in more demons everyday. Not to mention that supposedly civilized demons from other nations are starting to display their true colors and flock to his banner. Like I always said the only good demon is a dead one!"
This causes you to smile a bit and she very faintly smiles back when she sees that you feel the same way. This smile disappears quickly though as she continues her rant.
"I wish I wasn't assigned to the Tulan Border though. I'd rather be taking Nuro back. THAT'S the more dangerous threat. The demons will kill themselves with their own chaotic and violent natures, but the undead... they've almost taken over the world before just because of one bastard that lead them. I never thought I'd see a serious threat like this in my lifetime, especially not... "
The female captain at this point stops. She even looks away from you as if whatever she was going to say was just too much even for her. She seems to be a lot more battle hardened than you and probably ten times braver. You can't imagine what horror she experienced that would be worse than your own, but you don't find out since she changes the subject.
"... Bah! Maybe you're right; a soldier does need to keep their mind occupied on other things every now and then. We aren't undead after all. So what's with the lute? You also a bard or something?" she laughs.
"No, I think those dreams are long gone, but my playing seems to boost spirits around here a little, which can only be a good thing in this situation."
"Hm. My mother was elven and she used to sing this song to me and my... brother when we were very young. It was very smooth and calming. Beautiful melody."
"Yeah, most elven music is like that. When I was assigned in Retlad I learned a few elven songs from a few of the citizens there, you wouldn't happen to know the song would you?"
She tells you the name of the song and you know it immediately. One of the first new songs you learned while stationed in Retlad actually. This seems cause her to momentarily revert to a less stand offish behavior. You're about to play it for her, but then a messenger comes running up handing her a note. She reads it and she's all business again.
"Alright men! We're moving out!" she shouts and leaves without saying another word to you. You didn't even learn her name.
Perhaps it's just as well; you'll most likely never meet again due to one of you dying on the battlefield. You go back to doing what you were doing.
Two years pass...
Three years since the Nuro Incident and this struggle still continues.
You're still stationed Fort Virtue and you've repelled more demon attacks than you would care to count. Velzix has finally gotten his shit together completely. A unified demonic front is in full swing here and its taking its toll. Once again your skills have come in very handy in defense. You are certainly known as a demon slayer, but you still don't feel like a hero of any kind. You're just trying to do your job and survive. You save lives when you can, but you know ultimately it's a futile task as death seems to be everywhere nowadays.
As bad as it is on the demon front, its nothing compared to what've you've heard on the undead front. The Necromancer has finally broken out from Nuro, and successfully attacked the Kingdom of Brot. Several undead giants demolished the area. You've never even seen a living giant and they sound intimidating. You can't even imagine an undead one. The power to raise one, let alone several is sort of scary. The Grand Alliance army didn't get there in time to stop him and as usual they were repelled when they arrived.
You worry about the Grand Alliance failing to stop the undead horde. You hope it doesn't get any closer to the Zalan Empire where your family might be in danger.
Sometimes you worry so much that you can't sleep, not that you do much of that nowadays anyway. Normally you play to keep your mind at ease, but tonight you go to the archery range to keep yourself focused.
For a long time you're by yourself, but suddenly you feel a creeping suspicion someone is watching you...
You turn around with your bow and see a pale man. He holds up his hands.
"Hey now! Don't shoot! Sorry for creeping around like that. Professional habit." He says.
"What? Who are you?" you demand.
"Warnov. Zalan Intelligence."
"You're a spy?"
"Well I suppose you could put it that way. I was here to give some info to your Captain Eckard, and I also wanted to take a look around the fort. Didn't think anyone would be on the range though. Nice shooting, I know who you are and heard about your marksmanship with a bow. You're certainly doing your part with the demons around here."
Despite the fact that you're talking to a spy, you feel the need to vent your feelings.
"Yeah, well I hope the Grand Alliance starts doing its part. I mean what the fuck are they doing? Weren't they created to put a stop to all this shit? I mean am I supposed to worry every day if that undead horde is going to get closer to the Zalan Empire where it can threaten my family?"
Warnov doesn't look offended by your words, if anything he looks intrigued.
"Well, I can understand why you're venting. Trust me I sympathize. But as part of intel, I can tell you its not that easy... there were a lot of surprises that weren't accounted for. We're doing our best to rectify this situation by gathering as much info as possible. In fact, you could help us... "
"Excuse me? How?"
Warnov looks around and gets closer before speaking.
"Look, as I said, I know all about you and your skills, why you joined, all of it. I know you don't much care for some of the propaganda made about some of your exploits. But it's important to realize that deeds like yours must be blown up a little to give common people hope that ultimately good will win the day. You may not consider yourself a hero of any kind, but your actions aren't without some of those qualities. You obviously care very much about your family, and I've heard how you try to keep the people under your command alive. Sound like heroic qualities to me. Perhaps they're on a smaller scale, but they're there. I'm betting that there's a BIGGER hero in there somewhere, just itching to get out. You think the Grand Alliance isn't doing a good job? Perhaps we can arrange something for you to be transferred into it, or maybe you'd like to take an even more direct approach."
"What do you mean?"
Warnov suddenly backs away.
"Before we go any further. I need to know are you willing to take up the mantle of being a hero. Because if you aren't, then we have nothing more to discuss. I shall require an answer now."
> letters to home (War continues...)
Dear Mom,
Just another letter from me, letting you know I'm still alive. Though I'm sure with my newest title of "Demon Slayer" you probably knew I was.
More exaggerations of course. I do my job to be sure, but there are plenty of other men and women my age or even younger that doing just as much as I am and they don't seem to get any credit. Of course many of them have also been killed. I've always tried to keep everyone alive under my command, but I know it's a futile endeavor.
The fighting has been getting worse up here, the demons I think have finally gotten more organized. Though what alarms me more is hearing that the Necromancer Lord has finally broken out of Nuro and taken over the Brot Kingdom. I thought the Grand Alliance was supposed to stop this sort of thing.
I'm tired of all this. I feel like playing right now, sorry for the short letter.
Give my love to the rest of the family
Your son |
Demons are a lot faster than the undead and you're wounded, no way are you going to be able to outrun them. You turn around and draw your bow, trying to ignore your pain which is overriding any fear you have at this point. Your weakened state is causing you to have a hard time aiming.
"Uh oh, better be careful, looks like this one is going to put up a fight. I'd say by his uniform that he's a soldier."
"Hur hur. Good. Hey human, better stop wobbling if you're going to aim that thing properly."
You miss the demon completely.
"Hah! You want me to walk slower human?"
"You sure you should be playing with him like that? Don't you remember what happened earlier today?"
"Shut up! I told ya, that bitch musta had some magical powers because... OW!"
You hit the demon in the chest, but it doesn't seem much damage. He pulls out the arrow and now begins to quicken his pace. The other demon starts to walk towards you as well.
"See, I told you to pay attention."
"Bah! If this is the extent of what his little pig sticker can do, I'm not concerned. Hey human, don't you know they're doing great things with gunpower these days? RAAAAGH!"
The big demon suddenly charges you, and you let your arrow fly. Right in the eye.
"Perfect." You whisper.
The demon bellows, but it doesn't slow him down. You narrowly dodge his charge. You roll on the ground and shoot two more arrows in his back. He turns around snarling and bellowing for your blood. More arrows fly into the creature, but at last the demon has reached you and smacks you to the ground. Your bow flies from your hand, and while crawling on the ground you try to draw your sword, but a crushing blow hits you on the back. This might've caused a lot more damage, but miraculously the lute that's still in your pack "softens" the blow. The crunching of wood signifies that it's broken though.
"What the fuck, that's a weird noise... what is this? HA HA HA! Hey! You gotta be shittin' me! A fuckin' lute? Check this out! He's carrying a fuckin' lute! What's a fucking soldier doin' with a lute?" the big demon shouts to his acquaintance while he holds up your broken instrument.
"Don't talk you idiot! LOOK OUT!" his acquaintance shouts, just as you recover long enough to shove your sword straight into the demon's groin. You push the sword upward in an attempt to do more damage and you succeed. Blood is flying everywhere and the demon howls in pain from the grievous wound. You pull your sword out and then proceed to repeatedly stab the demon until it falls backwards on the ground, dead.
You're exhausted; you used all your remaining strength killing the thing. Unfortunately the other demon grabs you by the scruff like a helpless kitten and lifts you up off the ground a few inches. He knocks your sword out of your hand and looks at his fallen comrade.
"Hmm, can't say I didn't warn him. Oh well, more meat for me. This may hurt a lot... "
Fully expecting the death that you've managed to avoid for so long, you once again evade it when a gunshot rings out and part of the demon's head splatters in your face. You're dropped immediately. The demon's body is still standing though.
"Shoot the bastard again!" you hear a gruff voice shout and this time the next shot hits chest and the demon falls.
You lay motionless on the ground, looking up in the sky when your saviors come up to you. It's a group of dwarves armed with gun powder weapons.
"By the gods, get doc out here! We need to fix this man up! Hey lad, you'll be alright, don't worry... are you a Zalan soldier?" one of the dwarves asks you.
"... yeah... Nuro... lost... all dead... " is all you utter before fall into unconsciousness.
A few days pass before you're somewhat back to a coherent state. You find yourself in a military outpost and at this point you don't care. You're just happy to be alive.
It would seem that during your escape from Nuro, you ran in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom, the dwarven scouts that found you were from a small neutral kingdom trying its best to stay out of the dispute between Tulan and Zalan, but the new threat of demons running all over the nearby countryside caused them to increase patrols. They fixed you up, but dropped you off at the closest Zalan Fort. The Zalan fort that you're in right now is called Virtue and it's on the Tulan border. It seems relatively calm though. Not at all what you thought it would be.
When one of the healers comes in to check on you, you begin to ask questions which she tries to answer to get you up to speed.
The Tulan Kingdom is currently under attack from the demons now. They've been assaulting the place and even gaining help from some of the evil populace there. The demon citizens there have reverted back to their "bad behavior" and thrown their lot in with the invaders as well. That doesn't surprise you. The Tulan Kingdom pulled back some of their military from the borders so the fighting hasn't been as bad and Zalan's made a little more progress during this time, but the military minds are being cautious not to over extend. There is extreme concern over the recent demon invasion, not to mention the incident at Nuro. Word has already spread about the unsuccessful siege there.
The healer also tells you that a few Zalan "high ups" are eager to speak to you soon, as they want to know what exactly happened at Nuro. You're somewhat of an important survivor since as far as anyone knows; you were the only one to successfully escape that killing zone. There's also talk of a "Grand Alliance" being created to counter these new threats.
While the healer talks you end up drifting back to sleep wishing you could just escape it all.
One year passes...
You're still at Fort Virtue and it doesn't look like you'll be leaving the army anytime soon.
You couldn't have been more wrong on your belief that you'd get executed for cowardice. You got promoted to sergeant instead, which in light of the current situation, is nearly the same thing.
Your promotion came after several Zalan officers spoke to you about Nuro. You even got a medal.
Stories and rumors creep around about how against all odds you survived an undead onslaught and fought off a bunch of demons as well. Your past "reputation" from your time in Retlad is exaggerated as well. It doesn't help that the citizens there remember you and are all willing to add to the exaggeration.
All of these stories have been woven together in such an elaborate way to make you seem like some kind of hero most likely for propaganda purposes. And you know you're not hero. In fact you try to explain you aren't a hero to people, but they think you're just being modest, eventually you give up.
Your assignment at Virtue hasn't been uneventful. There's fighting, but now it's mainly demon commanded enemies rather than Tulan ones. Some demon lord called Velzix killed the royalty there, completely conquered the area and made it his realm. The border war continues under new management except now it's more than just a border that the enemy is looking to take. Your superior, Captain Eckard reminds you of Valhlat except with a different name. You suppose there is a certain "cookie cutter" that occurs within the Zalan army that causes people to act the same. You've briefly wondered if you ever make that rank, you'll act the same way. You then usually laugh at the very fact that you ever would.
Fort Virtue hasn't suffered a really bad attack yet, and it's mostly skirmishes, but it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You routinely go on patrols and give orders which you didn't think you'd be good at, but you think back to how you used to order your brothers and sisters around and perhaps you always had a bit a leadership skill, you just didn't want it.
You thought that you'd be able to at least visit your family, but of course due to recent events, you're ordered to stay put. Your family at least is getting more money from your pay increase. They even send a new lute for you after you told them of the unfortunate event that resulted in the destruction of your last one. This gives you a little pleasure in a relatively joyless assignment.
All in all, you still prefer it compared to being in the unsuccessful assaults on Nuro. The Grand Alliance that was formed hasn't been too successful as every one has been a slaughter from what you've heard. You already went through that once. You don't relish the idea of going through it again.
One day while you're spending your free time practicing a new song, some new soldiers come into the fort. They look like they've just seen a vicious battle and are here to restock. One of them sees you and gives you a disapproving look. It's a woman with striking good looks, but definitely carrying an air of leadership about her. Her rank signifies her as a captain... yep same cookie cutter, just a little prettier.
"You there! What are you doing playing an instrument? Shouldn't you be on watch or doing something more constructive with your time soldier? And you're a sergeant? You should know better!"
"I'm not on watch duty right now and... "
The woman doesn't even let you finish your explanation. Other soldiers that were sitting in your area are now slowly creeping out of the fray. Even her own soldiers are creeping away. They probably know all too well of how she acts.
"So? You think evil is going to wait around for you to be ready for battle? Where is your superior officer? I can't believe they would allow such a relaxed attitude around here considering the importance of this fort! If you were serving under me, I'd have you flogged for your lack of discipline!"
> letters to home (Escape from Nuro)
Dear Mom,
I dunno if they informed you, but I AM still alive! I don't know how long you may have been worrying, but I'm sure you already heard about the failed siege at Nuro. It was horrible.
I've spoken little about it as I've been attempting to recuperate in Fort Virtue. I really don't want to, but I know I have to. Some of the high ranking people in the Zalan military apparently want to talk to me directly about it too. Apparently I was the only survivor. I still can't believe it. I mean is it possible the god of luck rolled the dice and I was spared that day?
It's the only possible explanation. I mean the dead were all around me and I somehow escaped. My troubles didn't even end there, since I might've died of blood loss or marauding demons had I not been found by a Dwarven patrol.
I've never seen so much death in my life even during my assignment in Retlad and I wish I didn't have to again, but I know I will. I just wish I could get my mind on the awful things I saw that day. Normally I'd play my music, but I don't even have my lute anymore to do that. I miss it.
I can't believe I'm even obsessing about a stupid instrument when I should really be thankful that I'm still alive! Nobody else is. Captain Valhlat, Wessel, all of them. All those people in my company are dead or worse, probably raised as zombies by now.
I dread what the future holds. Will I be sent back?
I wish I had my lute.
Give my love to the rest of the family
Your son |
Demons are a lot faster than the undead and you're wounded, no way are you going to be able to outrun them. You turn around and draw your bow, trying to ignore your pain which is overriding any fear you have at this point. Your weakened state is causing you to have a hard time aiming.
"Uh oh, better be careful, looks like this one is going to put up a fight. I'd say by his uniform that he's a soldier."
"Hur hur. Good. Hey human, better stop wobbling if you're going to aim that thing properly."
You miss the demon completely.
"Hah! You want me to walk slower human?"
"You sure you should be playing with him like that? Don't you remember what happened earlier today?"
"Shut up! I told ya, that bitch musta had some magical powers because... OW!"
You hit the demon in the chest, but it doesn't seem much damage. He pulls out the arrow and now begins to quicken his pace. The other demon starts to walk towards you as well.
"See, I told you to pay attention."
"Bah! If this is the extent of what his little pig sticker can do, I'm not concerned. Hey human, don't you know they're doing great things with gunpower these days? RAAAAGH!"
The big demon suddenly charges you, and you let your arrow fly. Right in the eye.
"Perfect." You whisper.
The demon bellows, but it doesn't slow him down. You narrowly dodge his charge. You roll on the ground and shoot two more arrows in his back. He turns around snarling and bellowing for your blood. More arrows fly into the creature, but at last the demon has reached you and smacks you to the ground. Your bow flies from your hand, and while crawling on the ground you try to draw your sword, but a crushing blow hits you on the back. This might've caused a lot more damage, but miraculously the lute that's still in your pack "softens" the blow. The crunching of wood signifies that it's broken though.
"What the fuck, that's a weird noise... what is this? HA HA HA! Hey! You gotta be shittin' me! A fuckin' lute? Check this out! He's carrying a fuckin' lute! What's a fucking soldier doin' with a lute?" the big demon shouts to his acquaintance while he holds up your broken instrument.
"Don't talk you idiot! LOOK OUT!" his acquaintance shouts, just as you recover long enough to shove your sword straight into the demon's groin. You push the sword upward in an attempt to do more damage and you succeed. Blood is flying everywhere and the demon howls in pain from the grievous wound. You pull your sword out and then proceed to repeatedly stab the demon until it falls backwards on the ground, dead.
You're exhausted; you used all your remaining strength killing the thing. Unfortunately the other demon grabs you by the scruff like a helpless kitten and lifts you up off the ground a few inches. He knocks your sword out of your hand and looks at his fallen comrade.
"Hmm, can't say I didn't warn him. Oh well, more meat for me. This may hurt a lot... "
Fully expecting the death that you've managed to avoid for so long, you once again evade it when a gunshot rings out and part of the demon's head splatters in your face. You're dropped immediately. The demon's body is still standing though.
"Shoot the bastard again!" you hear a gruff voice shout and this time the next shot hits chest and the demon falls.
You lay motionless on the ground, looking up in the sky when your saviors come up to you. It's a group of dwarves armed with gun powder weapons.
"By the gods, get doc out here! We need to fix this man up! Hey lad, you'll be alright, don't worry... are you a Zalan soldier?" one of the dwarves asks you.
"... yeah... Nuro... lost... all dead... " is all you utter before fall into unconsciousness.
A few days pass before you're somewhat back to a coherent state. You find yourself in a military outpost and at this point you don't care. You're just happy to be alive.
It would seem that during your escape from Nuro, you ran in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom, the dwarven scouts that found you were from a small neutral kingdom trying its best to stay out of the dispute between Tulan and Zalan, but the new threat of demons running all over the nearby countryside caused them to increase patrols. They fixed you up, but dropped you off at the closest Zalan Fort. The Zalan fort that you're in right now is called Virtue and it's on the Tulan border. It seems relatively calm though. Not at all what you thought it would be.
When one of the healers comes in to check on you, you begin to ask questions which she tries to answer to get you up to speed.
The Tulan Kingdom is currently under attack from the demons now. They've been assaulting the place and even gaining help from some of the evil populace there. The demon citizens there have reverted back to their "bad behavior" and thrown their lot in with the invaders as well. That doesn't surprise you. The Tulan Kingdom pulled back some of their military from the borders so the fighting hasn't been as bad and Zalan's made a little more progress during this time, but the military minds are being cautious not to over extend. There is extreme concern over the recent demon invasion, not to mention the incident at Nuro. Word has already spread about the unsuccessful siege there.
The healer also tells you that a few Zalan "high ups" are eager to speak to you soon, as they want to know what exactly happened at Nuro. You're somewhat of an important survivor since as far as anyone knows; you were the only one to successfully escape that killing zone. There's also talk of a "Grand Alliance" being created to counter these new threats.
While the healer talks you end up drifting back to sleep wishing you could just escape it all.
One year passes...
You're still at Fort Virtue and it doesn't look like you'll be leaving the army anytime soon.
You couldn't have been more wrong on your belief that you'd get executed for cowardice. You got promoted to sergeant instead, which in light of the current situation, is nearly the same thing.
Your promotion came after several Zalan officers spoke to you about Nuro. You even got a medal.
Stories and rumors creep around about how against all odds you survived an undead onslaught and fought off a bunch of demons as well. Your past "reputation" from your time in Retlad is exaggerated as well. It doesn't help that the citizens there remember you and are all willing to add to the exaggeration.
All of these stories have been woven together in such an elaborate way to make you seem like some kind of hero most likely for propaganda purposes. And you know you're not hero. In fact you try to explain you aren't a hero to people, but they think you're just being modest, eventually you give up.
Your assignment at Virtue hasn't been uneventful. There's fighting, but now it's mainly demon commanded enemies rather than Tulan ones. Some demon lord called Velzix killed the royalty there, completely conquered the area and made it his realm. The border war continues under new management except now it's more than just a border that the enemy is looking to take. Your superior, Captain Eckard reminds you of Valhlat except with a different name. You suppose there is a certain "cookie cutter" that occurs within the Zalan army that causes people to act the same. You've briefly wondered if you ever make that rank, you'll act the same way. You then usually laugh at the very fact that you ever would.
Fort Virtue hasn't suffered a really bad attack yet, and it's mostly skirmishes, but it's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. You routinely go on patrols and give orders which you didn't think you'd be good at, but you think back to how you used to order your brothers and sisters around and perhaps you always had a bit a leadership skill, you just didn't want it.
You thought that you'd be able to at least visit your family, but of course due to recent events, you're ordered to stay put. Your family at least is getting more money from your pay increase. They even send a new lute for you after you told them of the unfortunate event that resulted in the destruction of your last one. This gives you a little pleasure in a relatively joyless assignment.
All in all, you still prefer it compared to being in the unsuccessful assaults on Nuro. The Grand Alliance that was formed hasn't been too successful as every one has been a slaughter from what you've heard. You already went through that once. You don't relish the idea of going through it again.
One day while you're spending your free time practicing a new song, some new soldiers come into the fort. They look like they've just seen a vicious battle and are here to restock. One of them sees you and gives you a disapproving look. It's a woman with striking good looks, but definitely carrying an air of leadership about her. Her rank signifies her as a captain... yep same cookie cutter, just a little prettier.
"You there! What are you doing playing an instrument? Shouldn't you be on watch or doing something more constructive with your time soldier? And you're a sergeant? You should know better!"
"I'm not on watch duty right now and... "
The woman doesn't even let you finish your explanation. Other soldiers that were sitting in your area are now slowly creeping out of the fray. Even her own soldiers are creeping away. They probably know all too well of how she acts.
"So? You think evil is going to wait around for you to be ready for battle? Where is your superior officer? I can't believe they would allow such a relaxed attitude around here considering the importance of this fort! If you were serving under me, I'd have you flogged for your lack of discipline!"
> letters to home (Thanks for the lute!)
Dear Mom
Thanks for the lute! I received it just a few days ago. It plays very well, its even better than the one I lost. It's certainly made what little free time I have at least tolerable now.
I really wish I could get a chance to visit you guys though. I thought I would've been able to by now, but I suppose given the current situation, nobody's getting any kind of leave for quite some time.
I'm sure you've also heard all about how I'm supposed to be some kind of hero after surviving the failed attack on Nuro, but I don't see how. I mean I guess praise is better than being insulted, but at this point I feel like a fraud. Like I'm getting too much credit for something that was pure luck in the first place.
I dunno, I know you and the rest of the family are proud of me so that's all that really matters. I'm just trying to keep all this in perspective. You and Dad always told me not to get a big head about things. At least they raised my pay so I can send you guys more money. That's why I joined the first place after all.
This new rank gives me a few more responsibilities, but I can handle it. So far this assignment hasn't been too bad. Demons aren't a picnic to fight though and I'm dreading the day when they start attacking in a more organized manner.
Until then, I'll just be enjoying your gift when I can.
Give my love to the rest of the family.
Your son |
Just because he's acting reckless doesn't mean you're going to, you're going to play upon your strengths and keep as far away as you can.
You ride your horse around the outskirts of the village, readying your bow the whole time. When you can, you fire at the Quillar attackers. As quick as they are, they aren't really paying attention to you and you manage to get in some good shots. A couple of head shots even.
At first they don't realize where the all the arrows are coming from, since Wessel is giving them a hard enough time with the chain lightning. You're sort of glad you decided to stay on the outskirts. Wessel is having such a "good time" blasting the Quillars, he's probably causing a lot more collateral damage in the process.
Eventually the Quillars start to retreat. This is when you get into a little more trouble as you happen to be right in the direction of where they're running! They still look scary and they get even moreso as they get closer. The worst has to be their shrieks. It's unpleasant to hear to say the least.
You ride out of the way, but your horse isn't fast enough and is peppered by quills. You catch a few in the leg yourself and you're thrown from the horse as it reels in pain, before collapsing.
Feeling the pain you scramble for cover behind a nearby rock. Fortunately the quills don't penetrate that. Most of them are content on just running away, but one straggler decides to try to get one more kill before leaving. That kill of course happens to be you.
The Quillar makes its high pitch shriek as it runs towards the rock. You don't have time to ready your bow before its high jumped over the rock and on the other side of you. You quickly draw your weapon and swing it blindly as you turn around. Luckily your blade catches the side of its head, killing it. At last you collapse from the pain in your leg.
While you're pulling out quills, Wessel and another Zalan soldier come to meet you. Wessel doesn't look any worse for wear, but the soldier looks very tired and obviously has wounds of his own.
"There you are, lying down on the job I see." Wessel mocks.
"Are you alright?" the other soldier asks.
"Yeah... Agh. I've gotten bitten in the leg by a Kobold before. Feels nearly the same except these quills go in a lot deeper."
"Glad you guys came when you did. We were just doing a routine patrol when these quill bastards came out of nowhere! They're getting bolder and attacking in greater number, we need more reinforcements."
"Yeah, well good luck with that. The Tulan border is the primary concern. Besides I'm here now, I predict that this infestation will be over soon now." Wessel boasts.
"Any... way. My name's Tylir. I'd introduce you to the rest of my squad, but they're all dead now. Even though it was the heat of battle, I couldn't help notice how well you picked off several of those Quillars with one shot. That was pretty impressive."
"Thanks."
"Hey! What about me? I'm the one who noticed you getting attacked in the first place! I'm also the one who saved your ass!" Wessel interrupts again, he's starting to get annoying at this point, but Tylir doesn't seem bothered by him.
"Everyone did their part. Okay, since I'm here I'll take you to see Captain Vhalat, I'm sure that's who you were sent to report to, oh and wizard while your skills may be appreciated here, I'd advise you to cut down on the boasting. Captain Vhalat isn't fond of it, and to be quite honest the other two wizards we had here were more experienced and they still got killed."
"Hmm, well perhaps they lacked the natural skill that I of course possess."
At this point you and Tylir just roll your eyes and get moving.
You travel through a couple of other villages and it's pretty depressing. You see stacks of bodies being buried in mass graves while most of other Retlad citizens look thoroughly defeated. A few look in your direction, but don't look too much, it's like they don't really expect you to succeed. Not exactly inspiring.
Soon you arrive in the town of Glaf. It would appear that the Zalan contingency sent here is staying in one of the bigger Retlad towns rather than the capitol. Ryan also says that the Quillar infestation is worse around here too, so the captain suspects that whatever lair they're crawling out of is nearby and can hopefully located and cleansed.
The town itself resembles a small Zalan fort rather than a proper Retlad town, as a sturdy wall has been erected around it. The people seem to look a little more hopeful though. Tylir goes on to say that he thinks that the Retlad citizens are actually starting to prefer Zalan presence especially since their on government has been pretty ineffectual about the whole invasion. The Retlad army has only focused on defending the capitol. The Retlad royals appear to find their lives more important than anyone else's.
Eventually you're brought before Captain Vahlat himself. He looks up from the map he's inspecting and addresses you and Wessel.
"Ah, I see the Empire has seen fit to send me reinforcements... wow, twice as many as I thought I'd get. Private Tylir where's the rest of your squad?"
"Um... dead sir."
"Of course. (sigh) So what's your problem private? Why is your leg wrapped up?" Vahlat asks you.
"Got into a fight with the Quillars sir." You answer.
"Oh?"
Tylir at this point interrupts and tells of what happened. Wessel looks like he wants to expand upon his deeds, but Vahlat's appearance is a little imposing and he was already warned once, so he keeps his mouth shut. Vahlat soon addresses you again.
"Well it would seem you two have already proven yourselves useful. A lot more useful that what passes for the Retlad army, but of course that isn't hard. Wizard, I certainly hope you don't intend to use this place as a chance to show off all the skills you learned in your fancy Nuro college. One of your predecessors did that as well, and as you can see he's no longer here. As for you, I hope that you can do a better job of keeping out of the way of the quills next time. Most don't get a second chance. Alright that's all for now. Our group is being housed for free at the Inn down the street. Free food as well, but don't go overboard, its being rationed. You want more food or anything else you'll have to pay like everyone else. I suggest though that you don't do any heavy carousing. This is a high alert situation and we could be going to battle at anytime. Dismissed."
You, Wessel and Tylir all leave at this point. Tylir goes on to show you where the Inn is and a couple of other places, but after today you just want to rest and retire to your room early. You rest your leg and begin practicing your lute. This puts you in better spirits.
6 months pass...
The Quillar invasion has nearly been eradicated. Most of the major lairs have been located and cleansed and you certainly contributed greatly to this effort. Besides your combat abilities, your tracking skills definitely came in handy a lot.
You've become somewhat recognized among Retlad citizens due to your actions and the lives you've saved. The word "hero" has been used a few times though you definitely don't think of yourself as one. In your free time you spoke with the citizens, a lot more than your fellow soldiers though. A few of them even convinced you to play for them when they noticed your lute. It took a little prodding, but eventually you gave in fully expecting to get booed, but to your surprise, you got applauded instead. Your playing didn't just boost your spirits it seemed. Whenever you could you played a little bit for people in what little free time you had. Never did you think that you'd be playing for any kind of audience, let alone an appreciative one.
It definitely hasn't been all sunshine though; you've seen a lot of people die. More than you ever wanted to actually. You'd made friends with Tylir shortly after your first meeting and he died only a couple months later. You'll be glad when every one of these Quillar creatures are all dead though, all they've done is cause misery.
You've got them on the run now though. You're preparing for an attack on another one of their lairs, when Captain Vahlat calls everyone to see him, he doesn't look enthusiastic about whatever it is he has to tell you.
"All right I'll be brief. As much as I hate leaving a mission unfinished, we're getting pulled out of here effective immediately. Major news is that Nuro has undergone a fucking disaster that needs to be put down like yesterday! All governments friendly to the City State of Nuro that can spare the manpower are to send help. We would be one of those. I hope the Retlad army is just competent enough to finish up what we started in their own country."
Wessel immediately pipes up upon hearing about this revelation.
"What happened in Nuro? What's going on?!"
"What's going on? From what I've been told a whole bunch of your kind raised a shitload of undead and unleashed a bunch of hostile demons on the place! The entire city was overrun. Reports are already stating that small packs of demons are running around the nearby countryside. Most likely in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom. Not sure what that means with our border war with them, but I only see it getting bloodier around there. In any case, our job is to head to Nuro, before the undead start following suit. I hope you're all ready for this, because this is going to be a lot different that fighting Quillars."
You look around and see a lot of fear wash over faces and rightly so. Necromancers have a bad history on your world. When you were little you still remember hearing the tales of the Great Lich Lord that existed centuries before you were even born. He almost took over the world. Those stories gave you nightmares as a kid. The possibility of having to face something remotely similar even on much smaller scale doesn't make you feel too well.
> letters to home (Retlad assignment)
Dear Mom,
This assignment is almost coming to a close I believe. We've got the Quillars on the run and wiped out most of their lairs. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather be fighting Kobolds!
Lately I've been able to play a lot more thanks to our severe lowering of the Quillar population. The people here are pretty nice, they seem to always want me to play for them. Didn't think I'd actually ever play for a proper audience!
I'm happy to do it though, it sort of keeps my mind off of the nastier things I've seen. I know I told you about how my friend Tylir died, a few months ago, but it still seems a little unreal. I mean other than Dad, I've never known anyone who I knew personally dying. And certainly not as violently as he did. I've seen a lot more violence in general though.
However, I guess I should've expected stuff like this to happen. I mean I am in the army! Sometimes the people call us heroes and stuff for killing the Quillars. Some guys like that annoying Wessel get a thrill out of it, but I dunno. I don't really feel like one. I just want to do my job and survive. And play if possible.
Well I guess that's it for now, give my love to the rest of the family.
Your son |
Just because he's acting reckless doesn't mean you're going to, you're going to play upon your strengths and keep as far away as you can.
You ride your horse around the outskirts of the village, readying your bow the whole time. When you can, you fire at the Quillar attackers. As quick as they are, they aren't really paying attention to you and you manage to get in some good shots. A couple of head shots even.
At first they don't realize where the all the arrows are coming from, since Wessel is giving them a hard enough time with the chain lightning. You're sort of glad you decided to stay on the outskirts. Wessel is having such a "good time" blasting the Quillars, he's probably causing a lot more collateral damage in the process.
Eventually the Quillars start to retreat. This is when you get into a little more trouble as you happen to be right in the direction of where they're running! They still look scary and they get even moreso as they get closer. The worst has to be their shrieks. It's unpleasant to hear to say the least.
You ride out of the way, but your horse isn't fast enough and is peppered by quills. You catch a few in the leg yourself and you're thrown from the horse as it reels in pain, before collapsing.
Feeling the pain you scramble for cover behind a nearby rock. Fortunately the quills don't penetrate that. Most of them are content on just running away, but one straggler decides to try to get one more kill before leaving. That kill of course happens to be you.
The Quillar makes its high pitch shriek as it runs towards the rock. You don't have time to ready your bow before its high jumped over the rock and on the other side of you. You quickly draw your weapon and swing it blindly as you turn around. Luckily your blade catches the side of its head, killing it. At last you collapse from the pain in your leg.
While you're pulling out quills, Wessel and another Zalan soldier come to meet you. Wessel doesn't look any worse for wear, but the soldier looks very tired and obviously has wounds of his own.
"There you are, lying down on the job I see." Wessel mocks.
"Are you alright?" the other soldier asks.
"Yeah... Agh. I've gotten bitten in the leg by a Kobold before. Feels nearly the same except these quills go in a lot deeper."
"Glad you guys came when you did. We were just doing a routine patrol when these quill bastards came out of nowhere! They're getting bolder and attacking in greater number, we need more reinforcements."
"Yeah, well good luck with that. The Tulan border is the primary concern. Besides I'm here now, I predict that this infestation will be over soon now." Wessel boasts.
"Any... way. My name's Tylir. I'd introduce you to the rest of my squad, but they're all dead now. Even though it was the heat of battle, I couldn't help notice how well you picked off several of those Quillars with one shot. That was pretty impressive."
"Thanks."
"Hey! What about me? I'm the one who noticed you getting attacked in the first place! I'm also the one who saved your ass!" Wessel interrupts again, he's starting to get annoying at this point, but Tylir doesn't seem bothered by him.
"Everyone did their part. Okay, since I'm here I'll take you to see Captain Vhalat, I'm sure that's who you were sent to report to, oh and wizard while your skills may be appreciated here, I'd advise you to cut down on the boasting. Captain Vhalat isn't fond of it, and to be quite honest the other two wizards we had here were more experienced and they still got killed."
"Hmm, well perhaps they lacked the natural skill that I of course possess."
At this point you and Tylir just roll your eyes and get moving.
You travel through a couple of other villages and it's pretty depressing. You see stacks of bodies being buried in mass graves while most of other Retlad citizens look thoroughly defeated. A few look in your direction, but don't look too much, it's like they don't really expect you to succeed. Not exactly inspiring.
Soon you arrive in the town of Glaf. It would appear that the Zalan contingency sent here is staying in one of the bigger Retlad towns rather than the capitol. Ryan also says that the Quillar infestation is worse around here too, so the captain suspects that whatever lair they're crawling out of is nearby and can hopefully located and cleansed.
The town itself resembles a small Zalan fort rather than a proper Retlad town, as a sturdy wall has been erected around it. The people seem to look a little more hopeful though. Tylir goes on to say that he thinks that the Retlad citizens are actually starting to prefer Zalan presence especially since their on government has been pretty ineffectual about the whole invasion. The Retlad army has only focused on defending the capitol. The Retlad royals appear to find their lives more important than anyone else's.
Eventually you're brought before Captain Vahlat himself. He looks up from the map he's inspecting and addresses you and Wessel.
"Ah, I see the Empire has seen fit to send me reinforcements... wow, twice as many as I thought I'd get. Private Tylir where's the rest of your squad?"
"Um... dead sir."
"Of course. (sigh) So what's your problem private? Why is your leg wrapped up?" Vahlat asks you.
"Got into a fight with the Quillars sir." You answer.
"Oh?"
Tylir at this point interrupts and tells of what happened. Wessel looks like he wants to expand upon his deeds, but Vahlat's appearance is a little imposing and he was already warned once, so he keeps his mouth shut. Vahlat soon addresses you again.
"Well it would seem you two have already proven yourselves useful. A lot more useful that what passes for the Retlad army, but of course that isn't hard. Wizard, I certainly hope you don't intend to use this place as a chance to show off all the skills you learned in your fancy Nuro college. One of your predecessors did that as well, and as you can see he's no longer here. As for you, I hope that you can do a better job of keeping out of the way of the quills next time. Most don't get a second chance. Alright that's all for now. Our group is being housed for free at the Inn down the street. Free food as well, but don't go overboard, its being rationed. You want more food or anything else you'll have to pay like everyone else. I suggest though that you don't do any heavy carousing. This is a high alert situation and we could be going to battle at anytime. Dismissed."
You, Wessel and Tylir all leave at this point. Tylir goes on to show you where the Inn is and a couple of other places, but after today you just want to rest and retire to your room early. You rest your leg and begin practicing your lute. This puts you in better spirits.
6 months pass...
The Quillar invasion has nearly been eradicated. Most of the major lairs have been located and cleansed and you certainly contributed greatly to this effort. Besides your combat abilities, your tracking skills definitely came in handy a lot.
You've become somewhat recognized among Retlad citizens due to your actions and the lives you've saved. The word "hero" has been used a few times though you definitely don't think of yourself as one. In your free time you spoke with the citizens, a lot more than your fellow soldiers though. A few of them even convinced you to play for them when they noticed your lute. It took a little prodding, but eventually you gave in fully expecting to get booed, but to your surprise, you got applauded instead. Your playing didn't just boost your spirits it seemed. Whenever you could you played a little bit for people in what little free time you had. Never did you think that you'd be playing for any kind of audience, let alone an appreciative one.
It definitely hasn't been all sunshine though; you've seen a lot of people die. More than you ever wanted to actually. You'd made friends with Tylir shortly after your first meeting and he died only a couple months later. You'll be glad when every one of these Quillar creatures are all dead though, all they've done is cause misery.
You've got them on the run now though. You're preparing for an attack on another one of their lairs, when Captain Vahlat calls everyone to see him, he doesn't look enthusiastic about whatever it is he has to tell you.
"All right I'll be brief. As much as I hate leaving a mission unfinished, we're getting pulled out of here effective immediately. Major news is that Nuro has undergone a fucking disaster that needs to be put down like yesterday! All governments friendly to the City State of Nuro that can spare the manpower are to send help. We would be one of those. I hope the Retlad army is just competent enough to finish up what we started in their own country."
Wessel immediately pipes up upon hearing about this revelation.
"What happened in Nuro? What's going on?!"
"What's going on? From what I've been told a whole bunch of your kind raised a shitload of undead and unleashed a bunch of hostile demons on the place! The entire city was overrun. Reports are already stating that small packs of demons are running around the nearby countryside. Most likely in the direction of the Tulan Kingdom. Not sure what that means with our border war with them, but I only see it getting bloodier around there. In any case, our job is to head to Nuro, before the undead start following suit. I hope you're all ready for this, because this is going to be a lot different that fighting Quillars."
You look around and see a lot of fear wash over faces and rightly so. Necromancers have a bad history on your world. When you were little you still remember hearing the tales of the Great Lich Lord that existed centuries before you were even born. He almost took over the world. Those stories gave you nightmares as a kid. The possibility of having to face something remotely similar even on much smaller scale doesn't make you feel too well.
> letters to home (There was this girl...)
Hey Mallack!
I paid the messenger a little extra to give this one to you personally, don't show it to Mom or anyone else! I'm serious!
I finally did it!
I didn't even expect it either. I was off duty and taking a break from destroying a Quillar lair, so as usual I went down to the tavern to go play for the locals a bit.
While it is true there have been several "offers" from some of tavern girls before due to my lute playing ability, I dunno I just never felt comfortable about going with one of them.
However, I didn't get to the tavern; I bumped into some traveling merchant woman from the Brot Kingdom. I apologized and helped pick up her belongings and she noticed the lute I carried. She began to ask me about it since she said she really liked music and soon the pair of us were deep in conversation and going back to the Inn on the other side of town that she was currently staying at. I learned that her name was Helena.
We continued to talk in her room and I played for Helena a bit and before I knew it, we were on the bed naked!
I'm still not exactly sure how it started, but it sure felt good! I really liked her too, but I guess it was just a one time thing, because she left a couple days later. Though she did say if I was ever stationed in Brot, I should look her up again.
Anyway, I guess I felt like I just had to tell someone. I suppose I could've told the guys in my company, but I didn't really want to be sweated down for more detailed information constantly.
Okay that's it, and like I said, don't show this to Mom or anyone else! In fact you should probably just destroy it.
Your brother |
You've never even heard of Quillars before, but they still sound less dangerous than the Tulan Border, that place is only going to get worse, you know it.
"I'll take the Retlad assignment sir."
"Hm. Smart. Here's your first month's pay, I suggest you live it up here in Zal, for the couple of days you have off before you leave."
You take the small bag and look inside. This will certainly help your family. You take a few coins for yourself and then ask if arrangements can be made to have your payment sent to your family from now on. He tells you yes, but asks that surely that you will still want some of it. You agree to just taking 10% of it. You don't need much.
"Sheesh, living bare minimum huh? Don't you want to eat anything other than military rations every once in awhile?" Kosser questions again.
"Nah. If I need extra food, I'll just hunt."
"You know even the booze and brothel girls in Retlad aren't THAT cheap. You sure you don't want more?"
"Nope. I'll be fine. My family needs that money more than I do."
"Alright then, family man."
You exit the barracks and wander the city a bit. You find it very interesting. You sort of wish you could stay longer to take in more sights. However one thing catches your eye. A small store and in the window is a lute. Looks almost like the one you had before it was taken away from you in basic training. You haven't gotten a chance to play in six months and you'd really like to...
Hey you're a soldier now, you've proven yourself. You figure you can take one personal belonging with you to Retlad as long as you keep them packed properly. You enter the store and with the little money you have you buy the lute. You spend the most of the day and the next practicing it. You didn't forget as much as you thought. You also finish up writing a letter to your family and give it to a Zalan messenger carrier.
Finally the third day arrives for you to move out. A couple of officers arrive to take most of your other fellow cadets. Mostly to the Tulan border, however, it would appear you have a different escort. A young man in loose robe approaches you. He looks like a wizard, but you wonder for how long since he seems about your age.
"Hey, are you the one going to the Retlad Kingdom?" he asks
"Yeah, who are you?"
"I'm Wessel. And don't you dare get cute and call me weasel, or I'll have to blast you with a lightning bolt."
"I wasn't planning on it." You say which causes Wessel to start laughing.
"Geez, I was just fucking with you. Don't be so serious! So you ready to go?"
"Yeah I guess, are you my superior officer?"
"Huh? Oh no. Look I got our horses waiting outside; we can do all this getting to know you stuff on the way."
You and Wessel get on the horses and ride towards your destination. It would appear that you're the only one from your group to be going, but of course you were the only expert marksman.
Wessel begins to tell you more about why he's with you. In fact he doesn't really let you do much talking at all. He says he's a native citizen of the Zalan Empire, but he just graduated from the esteemed magic university in the city state of Nuro. Wessel goes on to and says that when he heard they needed a few wizard over in Retlad, he decided to volunteer to test his skills and get paid while doing it. He explains that the pair of you will be following the orders of a Captain Vhalat.
Everyone knows about Nuro. It's very famous, and you always wondered what kind of magical wonders existed there, so you're eager to hear more and he's all too happy to tell you. Despite Wessel's primary focus on himself, it sounds like a place you'd want to visit one day.
Eventually you arrive at the border and so far the Retlad Kingdom doesn't look very well kept. The road begins to show evidence of disrepair and the sign posts are broken. You begin to keep your eye out for a possible attack at any second.
"Look! Over there! It's a village and it's under attack! Come on!" Wessel yells and rides towards the village in the distance. You try to tell him to wait, but he's already well on his way, so you ride after him.
You've never seen a Quillar before, but the closer you get to the village, you start seeing humanoid creatures covered in sharp spikes running around at a fast speed which could only be them. They are indeed fearsome looking. You also see a lot of the people running from them, and even a few people dressed in protective gear similar to yours... not that its doing them much good.
"Alright you prickly bastards here's something for ya!" Wessle shouts riding into the village with one hand raised in the air for a lightning blast attack. He shows no fear. You have no idea if all wizards are like this, but he's either got to be brave, stupid or just suicidal. Of course he could be all three. Up until now you always thought wizards were supposed to be meek types that didn't charge into battle and preferred to kill from afar. You guess you were wrong.
> letters to home (First assignment)
Dear Mom,
Well I got my first assignment. I'm heading to the Retlad Kingdom. Unlike most of my fellow cadets I was given the choice to go there instead of the Tulan Border. Thank the gods for my excellent bow skills.
Still it's not going to be an easy assignment, but I'm probably not as worried about it as I might normally be since I finally got paid and managed to buy myself another lute! I've been practicing it again to help me keep my mind off things. I made arrangements for most of my pay to be sent to you. You should be receiving it at the end of each month, I hope it'll help.
Anyway, tomorrow is the big day, so I better get some early sleep tonight. I have no idea what to expect.
Give my love to the rest of the family.
Your son |
6 months pass...
Six months of the most grueling physical training you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with! However you fared better than some of your fellow cadets. Guess all that farm living paid off.
You've certainly improved what combat skills you had, but your marksmanship has improved greatly. You know that Drill Sergeant Kosser has been paying special attention to your abilities. You're not sure if that's a good thing of not.
In any event you're being told where your first assignment is going to be. Most of those in your group are being sent to Tulan border. Not the most pleasant assignment. The fighting is getting worse there.
What started as a minor border dispute has turned into a series of battles with neither side making too much progress. Even before you joined the military you'd heard stories of the greedy king who runs the Tulan Kingdom. You heard from traveling merchants about how he allows a few demons to walk around in his lands! Utter madness in your opinion. The Zalan Empire might be a little strict on the rules and regulations, but better that than demons letting walking around, in your opinion they should all be killed on sight regardless on whether they're obeying the "law" or not, they're evil.
You sit anxious on your bed in the barracks as name after name gets called off. Finally Kosser calls off your name, and you fully expect to get sent to the Tulan border.
"I want to talk to you in private." Is what you hear instead.
This makes you even more nervous. What's he going to do? Send you on? A mission to assassinate the Tulan King?
After everyone else has gotten there assignments you follow Kosser back to his office. He sits down and speaks direct.
"Alright farmboy, I'm sure you've noticed me watching your marksmanship skills. You're one of the best ones that have come in here for awhile. You have a natural talent and you've only improved it through training. It would be a blessing to have someone like you up at the Tulan border. The gods know we could use anything to help break the stalemate there."
"... but?" you ask hoping that there is one.
"But... your skills might be better served in a place that has a better mortality rate, yet still needs taking care of."
"Where's that sir?"
"Here." Kosser points to a map to a nearby location. It's the Retlad Kingdom. You can't imagine what's going on there, since as far as you know, you're Zalan is at peace with them.
"Retlad? I thought we're at peace with them?"
"We are... in fact rumors are saying we'll probably incorporate them into the empire in the near future. I dunno how much you know about politics out there on the farm, but Retlad is basically a bankrupt kingdom. Their dumb ass royalty spent a shitload of their treasury on building ships in some vain attempt to find more land mass on this world. Hah! Doesn't exist! We learned than centuries ago! Anyway now they don't have enough to pay for a proper military and their kingdom is being overrun by hostile Quillar tribes. They want us to help. Begging us practically and we have, but it's a pain in the ass. Quillars are fast and as their name suggests shoot multiple sharp quills at their enemies. I've seen them go through plate armor."
"That doesn't sound good."
"No, it's not good. The Retlad knight orders got decimated within two months of the first invasion wave. We're taking a better approach. We need to have equally quick troops that can at least match the fire power. We've sent a couple of war wizards, but most of them are serving on the Tulan border. Gunpower weapons are a little too slow for this sort of thing, so we're looking for people good with a bow. Quick enough to at least get a few shots off from a distance and run. Because hit and run tactics are what the Quillars excel at, so you'll have to do likewise."
Kosser pauses his talking for a moment. You take this opportunity to interject a question.
"And this assignment you say has a lower mortality rate?"
"Well, we haven't sent as many people there yet, but so far we've made a little more progress there than at the Tulan border. But of course I won't say it's a safe assignment. Those Quillar bastards are vicious and merciless. Up to you farmboy. You're getting a bonus here. You're actually getting to choose your assignment. Not many that get out of boot camp get that privilege."
Some "privilege"
> letters to home (Boot Camp)
Dear Mom,
I'm glad I've finally had some free time to write to you. Would you believe that when I first joined up, the recruiter thought I didn't know how? Sometimes these city folk got a lot of nerve making assumptions about people that grew up on farms, I've had to learn that first hand just by the folks I'm currently bunking with. They're all mostly from the capitol or another Zalan city. I think I'm the only one here from a small village, so I've been saddled with the nickname "farmboy". Ha ha.
Despite this nick, I get along with most of the people here. The drill sergeant is mean, but luckily I haven't had to suffer the full brunt of his wrath, which is more than can be said for a few of the people here. That's never pretty.
Boot camp is very tough. Even tougher than working on the farm. I'm just glad its half-way over. They took my lute away as soon as I entered. I really should've known better to take it with me... but I dunno I thought I'd be able to practice it on what few breaks I have. Oh well, I guess I wasn't ever going to be that traveling bard anyway. Just foolish dreams I suppose.
Anyway we're going to start bow training tomorrow. I think I should do very well in that.
Okay, I can't think of anything else. I hope everything is going well on the farm. I know you've always kept an eye on all of us, but make sure that Mallack pays extra attention on the chicken coop this month. The Kobolds come out a lot around this time!
Give my love to the rest of the family.
Your son |
This is no way to live.
Working on a barely profitable rundown farm with far too many family members to feed. It's a damn good thing you're an excellent hunter. However, lately there's even been a shortage of game to thwart your efforts.
You didn't really want to be working on the farm your whole life in the first place, you wanted to see the world but when dad died, things got a lot harder for the family and you had to take over as "man" of the house and stay put.
Something is going to have to change.
While you'd like nothing more than to go through with your childhood dreams of becoming a traveling bard without any responsibility you don't have that luxury. Hell, you barely have time to play your lute anymore in the small amount of free time you do have. You doubt if you'd even be good enough to make a living for just yourself doing it.
But you need to get away, but what can you do that won't allow you to completely abandon your mom and all your brothers and sisters?
You suddenly think of the choice that many in your desperate position have thought of many times before.
The army.
Its not exactly ideal, but you be traveling and seeing the world so to speak. You'd also be making enough money that you could send to your family. Your own living expenses would be provided for by the army.
Of course there's all that fighting that usually goes along with it that you're not to keen on. Not that you aren't a stranger to battle as their have been the occasional bandits or kobold thieves that have attempted to steal from the farm in the past, but you prefer not to fight if possible, especially not up close. The bow has always been your weapon of choice. There's also the matter of mass combat on a grand scale that usually accompanies army life. A lot different than chasing away some thieves in the chicken coop.
As you're thinking about this, you also realize that there is another option. There's a small mercenary company passing through the area. They've been hanging out at the local tavern for a couple days. They don't seem to be the noblest sort from what you can tell, but fortunately they seem to have kept their revelry confined to the tavern. Who knows how they act away from "civilization" though.
Still, it's something to consider. There probably is less attention to discipline and a little more relaxed on rules and regulations. You probably wouldn't be fighting in some mass land war that governments are fond of waging. Mercenaries travel a lot and tend to make more, however they tend to get hired for a lot weirder jobs, usually ones that the employer doesn't want people to know about or ones that nobody else seems to be able to handle.
> sign up with the mercenaries
You're not sure if the formal military life is for you. If you joined up you wouldn't be able to readily leave. You figure if you don't like life as a mercenary or it isn't working out for you, you can leave freely.
You explain your decision to join up with the mercenary company that's currently passing through. Your revelation comes as a shock. Your smaller brothers and sisters don't want you to go, your brother Mallack really doesn't want you to leave since he'll be next in line to take the brunt of the manual labor!
Your mother is a little apprehensive about your decision. You half expect her to say no, but she understands that you're doing this for the good of the family. She gives her blessing.
Before you leave the next day with your packed belongings, your whole family comes to say goodbye to you. You almost hesitate to leave, wondering if it would actually be better for you to stay. Your mother approaches you.
"You don't have to do this you know. We're doing just fine."
"Yeah, but things would be easier if this family had more money."
"Hah. Things are always easier with more money son, but you don't need to go and get yourself killed for it."
"Yeah, I know, but I've thought it through."
"Very well, you're old enough to make your own decisions and live your own life, though I'm glad to see that you still want to help the family as opposed to just leaving in the middle of the night."
"I'll visit and return with whatever my pay is whenever I can."
"I know... okay, you best get going. I think the mercenary company was leaving today."
You make you way to the local tavern and catch them just as they're getting ready leave. A lot of them look hung over.
"Hey wait up... " you say in a slightly loud tone, causing one mean looking mercenary to snarl at you.
"Shut the fuck up yokel! Shit, I got a splitting headache and it hurts like a sonofabitch."
"Sorry. Are you the leader of this company?"
"Leader of these dickheads? Naw. The Boss is actually visiting his family in the Zalan capital. We're going to meet up with him now and I suggest you get the fuck outta our way and not waste anymore of our time!"
"But I want to join you guys."
The mercenary you were speaking to looks at you then looks at a few of his buddies and begins to laugh louder than your voice which previously annoyed him.
"HAHAHA HAHAHA! Y'hear that fellas? This yokel wants to join us! Thanks a lot, I needed a good laugh, now go fuck your pigs or whatever it is you farm types do."
"But I'm serious... "
"Serious? Farmboy, this is a man's job and not for the fuckin' weak. You ever even use a damn weapon?"
"Yeah! I got this bow and this sword! I'm a really good shot!"
The mercenary still looks unimpressed.
"Uh huh, yeah well you ever kill anyone, hell you ever kill ANYTHING? And I'm not talkin' about any of your livestock you might've slaughtered. I mean something sentient."
"Well yeah, I've killed Kobolds that were trying to steal chickens from the... "
The mercenaries begin to laugh again.
"Oh shit, you are priceless boy! My sister can kill fuckin' Kobolds and her only talent is whoring."
"Haha got that one right, Dimitri." Another one of the mercenaries agrees.
Suddenly the laughing stops.
"What the fuck did you just say Fermeli?"
"Uh, I was just agreeing with you... c'mon don't take it like that! I mean you said... "
"Ain't about what I said, it's about what YOU said! You called my fucking sister a whore! You ain't getting' away with that shit."
Dimitri draws his sword and stomps over to Fermeli who is trying to get one of his buddies to help him, but everyone else is backing away from the fight. Dimitri takes advantage of Fermeli's state of panic and slashes him good with his sword.
Fermeli cries out in pain and begs for forgiveness. Dimitri looks like he's going to finish him off, but then turns to you.
"You want to join hayseed? Kill this piece of shit then."
"Huh? I mean... " you utter in confusion.
"Did I stutter pig farmer? Kill this... AARGH FUCK!"
Fermeli has now taken advantage of Dimitri by shoving a dagger into his leg and scrambling to get up
"Yeah! Take that! How's that feel?" Fermeli taunts and draws his own sword in an attempt to kill Dimitri
At this point you unwisely step into the middle of this fight.
"Hey hold on, the pair of you are even now... "
"Fuck off pig farmer! You want some of this now? Yeah, let's see how much of a killer you are!" Fermeli says who doesn't look frightened of you at all and heads in your direction.
"Hey wait I don't wanna... "
You barely dodge his sword swipe to your head. You roll out of the way and quickly grab an arrow and shoot it at Fermeli with your bow, hitting him square in the neck. Some blood spurts out and a surprised look on his face is displayed and then he falls dead. You've killed him. You've never killed anything before that wasn't a Kobold or livestock. You feel weird.
In the meantime Dimitri gets up and pulls the dagger out of his leg and looks over at Formeli's body.
"Heh, maybe you are a killer after all pig farmer. Well it seems we got an opening now. Take whatever he had as your own. You killed him, you earned it. Welcome to the Chimera Mercenary Company!"
While you MAY be in, you're not necessarily sure if you want in. This may be a bit too much for you.
> join anyway
You know this isn't going to be easy and you're going to have to be tough, but you remember that you're doing this for your family. You quickly search Formeli's body, which didn't have that much to begin with.
"Heh, he always was a broke bastard. Spent all his money on gambling, I'll miss taking his money that's for sure. Alright then, you'll probably be wantin' to take that sword of his since it looks in way better condition than your rusted hunk of iron. Your bow seems to do the job just fine though. His armor too, and hurry up, we gotta meet the Boss! He's got another job for us no doubt."
As you're stripping off some of the armor, Dimitri notices something on your back.
"What... what the hell is that boy? Is that a fuckin' lute? Haw haw! What the fuck are you doin' with a damn lute? You think that you're some sort of bard or something? We ain't got need for such things boy! Get rid of it!"
"No, it's mine." You defiantly say.
You wonder if this show of "courage" has gotten you into a whole mess of trouble that you don't want, but fortunately it doesn't.
"Heh, he kills one shithead and now he thinks he's a tough guy! Alright pig farmer keep your sissy lute. But its just more weight for you to carry and you better not be falling behind! Come on men let's go, the Boss is waiting for us. You too lute boy!" Dimitri exclaims and limps off. You briefly thought about telling him that he better keep up with his wounded leg and all, but you know when to stop.
And so your mercenary life begins.
A year passes...
You're currently back in the Zalan Empire on a break in between missions. While most of your "buddies" are drinking up their pay and spending it on whores you take this opportunity to visit your family and give them your payment and spoils of battle as usual.
You think about how much you've traveled and experienced. Not all of it good, but then killing is never pretty. Some of the jobs are very straight forward: "There are some orc barbarians on the borders that have been pillaging our lands, kill them." And you don't have a problem with it. Other missions start falling into the "gray" area.
Your last job involved some Azi Republic senator hiring the company to take out some secessionists that wanted to form their own country. It wasn't clean and it definitely wasn't fun. The secessionists actually had a reasonable complaint about leaving the Republic, saying that it was corrupt and that their representatives didn't care about them. But being a mercenary means you don't take sides for moral or ideological reasons, you do it for money.
It's not just that though, some of the things that have been done... well you can't say you're too proud of it. Granted, you've never actively engaged in some of the less moral and outright criminal things that your mercenary comrades have, but you certainly know about them and it almost makes you feel like you're guilty of it as well.
As for how you cope with some of this stuff, you tend to keep to yourself and play your lute which has oddly made you a little more accepted. Seems there are more than a few music lovers in the company. Even the Captain doesn't mind you indulging in your little hobby. The Captain is a huge man who you know gets a pleasure from killing and mayhem. He's spent a lifetime doing it. In fact you have a hard time believing he even has a family that he goes to visit. Who knows though? Perhaps he is different with them.
(You've been working for the Chimera Company for a year and you still don't know what the hell his real name is, mainly because everyone only seems to address him as "The Boss" or "Chief" or in a more formal tone "Captain")
You spend the time with your family and tell them of some of the things you've seen and exciting places you've been to, of course never going into too much detail about the darker side of things. Your brothers and sisters enjoy the tales as usual. Your Mom senses that there is probably more to them, but she doesn't ask too many questions. She does always asks if you're okay and says that you don't have to keep doing it, but you always reply that you're fine and that you're just a little tired that's all.
When your time is done you say goodbye to them and meet with the rest of your company at the Zalan capital this time. Its odd, but things seem to be even more chaotic than usual around here. People are rushing around and an air of concern seems to be pervading the city.
The guards are telling people to calm down our there will be martial law and you hear something in passing about an attack on a city. You don't really listen because you're in a hurry to meet up with your company which you find mostly hanging out in a tavern as usual.
Dimitri sees you and speaks.
"Ah, it's our own fuckin' bard ! How's my favorite string plucker? (Hic!) You have trouble getting into the city? Heard the guards have been cracking down on security."
"No, but what's going on? The city seems to be in a state of panic."
"Fuck yeah it is! What you didn't hear?"
"No. What happened?"
"Fuckin' undead happened my pig farming friend! A whole shitload of them took over the the city of Nuro! Can you believe it? Fuckin' Nuro! That place was supposed to be unconquerable! Heh! (Burp!)" Dimitri says without the slightest bit of worry.
"UNDEAD?! What the fuck? Nuro!? How?!"
"Fuck if I know, guess some rogue wizards got hooked up in that necromancy shit hardcore. Musta been some demonologists there too since we heard reports of demons too. Not the supposedly civilized type either, they're the rip off your head and shit down your neck kind."
"... there's fuckin' rogue demons in Nuro too?"
"Of course not, they all escaped and are now running around in the countryside, heard they're heading for the Tulan Kingdom." Dimitri says taking another drink.
You're having a hard time digesting all this yet the rest of your comrades are still drinking and partying like nothing is wrong. Your Dad had once told you tales of a being called the Great Lich Lord that existed many centuries ago who nearly killed the world. Scared the hell out of you then and it doesn't make you feel too good now.
"Isn't this concerning to you?"
"What? Shit no! Just means more work for us and that also means more loot! Ha ha! You could get more loot to buy a new lute! Ha ha ha! (Hic!)"
"But this is the fuckin' undead! I mean... "
"So? Stop bein a pussy! I've fought some undead before, when I was lootin' a dwarven tomb. You just chop their heads off like everything else, shit ain't that hard. They just tend to smell worse... well maybe not worse than trolls. Anyway I'm sure the fucking governments will take care of this shit as quick as possible, you know how politicians don't like dead taxpayers, in the meantime we need to take advantage now while the conflict is hot!"
No sooner has Dimitri said this little bit of wisdom, when the Boss steps in the doorway. He's as nasty looking as always, but this time he looks even moreso than usual.
"Alright you useless sacks of goblin shit. We got a new job. This one just came across rather unexpectedly. Ran into a Dwarven representative and we're now in the employ of a Dwarven Clan, near the southern Tulan Borders. With the occurrence of this Nuro incident, they're expecting some shit to spill over into their lands and they want some extra help. This is pretty surprising since Dwarves aren't known to pay for mercenaries, let alone the likes of us." The Boss tell you all.
"The Tulan Border? Oh fuck that place is a meat grinder! There's no profit to be had anywhere near there!" Cal pipes up.
"Well you can just pick up your panties and get your pansy ass back home and stay there then! The dwarves are paying well and that's the job. Take it or get the fuck outta my company!"
"Excuse me Captain, but weren't there reports of demons running through that area?" you ask.
"Yeah so? That's why we're going over there most likely, but be fucking prepared for any damn thing. Maybe even undead... who knows if my... if those necromancer bastards started spreading their plague yet. We leave tomorrow."
You think on this fucked up situation and seriously reconsidering your career choice.
> leave the mercenary company
Nope, you're not doing this. This is suicide in your opinion. You have no idea what to expect and it sound a lot more dangerous than anything you've ever faced.
Instead of leaving with them the next day, you go back home. You don't worry about anyone coming after you, but you know you won't be welcomed back into the company again, and you wouldn't want to anyway.
When you get back home, your family and mom in particular ask what happened, you explain it and say you don't want any part of that life. You apologize that you couldn't go through with it, but your mom looks more relieved than anything.
"Well son, I'm just as glad you didn't go get yourself killed over there anyway. You'll be helping us out plenty just by working on the farm like always."
You're glad to hear that. Over the next couple days you fall back into routine again. You still wonder about the future though and you briefly consider the army plan again, but given your short lived experience with mercenary "life" you don't think you're cut out with battle on a regular basis. Plus the Zalan Empire is currently on heightened alert and battle ready status with this Nuro Incident and all.
You resign yourself to the farm life. You play your lute to yourself (and family) when you have the time to do so. It's a simple life.
Two years pass and things have gotten worse. The Necromancer Lord (as he's become to be known) has expanded, even to the point of taking over the Brot Kingdom. The Tulan Kingdom has been totally conquered by a demon army. A Grand Alliance of nations has been formed, but so far they don't seem to be making much progress.
Meanwhile life on the farm is a little harder. Your youngest sister Makana becomes gravely ill during the winter months, but there's not enough money to pay for a healer and most of the clerics have been summoned to battle with the undead or demon hordes. Sadly she dies making the overall mood of the farm a little more depressing. You don't even play anymore, your enthusiasm for music died along with the grim realities setting in.
Another three years pass and things are down right miserable. War is everywhere. The Demons have been taken care of, (You heard your former mercenary captain died in battle with their leader Velzix) but the undead are stronger than ever. Reports even speak of the Necromancer Lord becoming The Great Lich Lord "reborn".
To make things worse, the Zalan Empire has been becoming increasingly tyrannical. In order to help with the war effort they've started bringing back the draft and the talk of ceasing private property to be used for the good of the government. While they say owners will be able to live and still work on their lands and businesses, it will be owned by the Empire.
You know it's only a matter of time when you get a knock on the door by Zalan army troops coming to take you and your brother Mallack away to the army and your family's farm.
Another two year pass... .
You're on the eve of battle in a land known as the Garwold Confederacy although it's steadily becoming a giant graveyard now. The undead hordes have been sweeping relentlessly across the entire landscape. Your own company has had to fall back several times. Morale is low. Not that yours was high to begin with. You don't even know how you've survived this long. While you had some battle experience during your time with the mercenary company, it still hasn't prepared you for the horrors you've seen. The undead... you'll never get used to fighting such emotionless creatures that are the embodiment of death and all that's unnatural.
You briefly wonder if your brother Mallack is alright where he's stationed, but it hardly matters at this point.
Battle comes as it always does and you are not so lucky this time. Horrible and powerful creatures known as Blood Specters and Death Knights utterly destroy your side.
You fall to undead blades and chilling touches only rise up and join them in their goal of global genocide. |
You know this isn't going to be easy and you're going to have to be tough, but you remember that you're doing this for your family. You quickly search Formeli's body, which didn't have that much to begin with.
"Heh, he always was a broke bastard. Spent all his money on gambling, I'll miss taking his money that's for sure. Alright then, you'll probably be wantin' to take that sword of his since it looks in way better condition than your rusted hunk of iron. Your bow seems to do the job just fine though. His armor too, and hurry up, we gotta meet the Boss! He's got another job for us no doubt."
As you're stripping off some of the armor, Dimitri notices something on your back.
"What... what the hell is that boy? Is that a fuckin' lute? Haw haw! What the fuck are you doin' with a damn lute? You think that you're some sort of bard or something? We ain't got need for such things boy! Get rid of it!"
"No, it's mine." You defiantly say.
You wonder if this show of "courage" has gotten you into a whole mess of trouble that you don't want, but fortunately it doesn't.
"Heh, he kills one shithead and now he thinks he's a tough guy! Alright pig farmer keep your sissy lute. But its just more weight for you to carry and you better not be falling behind! Come on men let's go, the Boss is waiting for us. You too lute boy!" Dimitri exclaims and limps off. You briefly thought about telling him that he better keep up with his wounded leg and all, but you know when to stop.
And so your mercenary life begins.
A year passes...
You're currently back in the Zalan Empire on a break in between missions. While most of your "buddies" are drinking up their pay and spending it on whores you take this opportunity to visit your family and give them your payment and spoils of battle as usual.
You think about how much you've traveled and experienced. Not all of it good, but then killing is never pretty. Some of the jobs are very straight forward: "There are some orc barbarians on the borders that have been pillaging our lands, kill them." And you don't have a problem with it. Other missions start falling into the "gray" area.
Your last job involved some Azi Republic senator hiring the company to take out some secessionists that wanted to form their own country. It wasn't clean and it definitely wasn't fun. The secessionists actually had a reasonable complaint about leaving the Republic, saying that it was corrupt and that their representatives didn't care about them. But being a mercenary means you don't take sides for moral or ideological reasons, you do it for money.
It's not just that though, some of the things that have been done... well you can't say you're too proud of it. Granted, you've never actively engaged in some of the less moral and outright criminal things that your mercenary comrades have, but you certainly know about them and it almost makes you feel like you're guilty of it as well.
As for how you cope with some of this stuff, you tend to keep to yourself and play your lute which has oddly made you a little more accepted. Seems there are more than a few music lovers in the company. Even the Captain doesn't mind you indulging in your little hobby. The Captain is a huge man who you know gets a pleasure from killing and mayhem. He's spent a lifetime doing it. In fact you have a hard time believing he even has a family that he goes to visit. Who knows though? Perhaps he is different with them.
(You've been working for the Chimera Company for a year and you still don't know what the hell his real name is, mainly because everyone only seems to address him as "The Boss" or "Chief" or in a more formal tone "Captain")
You spend the time with your family and tell them of some of the things you've seen and exciting places you've been to, of course never going into too much detail about the darker side of things. Your brothers and sisters enjoy the tales as usual. Your Mom senses that there is probably more to them, but she doesn't ask too many questions. She does always asks if you're okay and says that you don't have to keep doing it, but you always reply that you're fine and that you're just a little tired that's all.
When your time is done you say goodbye to them and meet with the rest of your company at the Zalan capital this time. Its odd, but things seem to be even more chaotic than usual around here. People are rushing around and an air of concern seems to be pervading the city.
The guards are telling people to calm down our there will be martial law and you hear something in passing about an attack on a city. You don't really listen because you're in a hurry to meet up with your company which you find mostly hanging out in a tavern as usual.
Dimitri sees you and speaks.
"Ah, it's our own fuckin' bard ! How's my favorite string plucker? (Hic!) You have trouble getting into the city? Heard the guards have been cracking down on security."
"No, but what's going on? The city seems to be in a state of panic."
"Fuck yeah it is! What you didn't hear?"
"No. What happened?"
"Fuckin' undead happened my pig farming friend! A whole shitload of them took over the the city of Nuro! Can you believe it? Fuckin' Nuro! That place was supposed to be unconquerable! Heh! (Burp!)" Dimitri says without the slightest bit of worry.
"UNDEAD?! What the fuck? Nuro!? How?!"
"Fuck if I know, guess some rogue wizards got hooked up in that necromancy shit hardcore. Musta been some demonologists there too since we heard reports of demons too. Not the supposedly civilized type either, they're the rip off your head and shit down your neck kind."
"... there's fuckin' rogue demons in Nuro too?"
"Of course not, they all escaped and are now running around in the countryside, heard they're heading for the Tulan Kingdom." Dimitri says taking another drink.
You're having a hard time digesting all this yet the rest of your comrades are still drinking and partying like nothing is wrong. Your Dad had once told you tales of a being called the Great Lich Lord that existed many centuries ago who nearly killed the world. Scared the hell out of you then and it doesn't make you feel too good now.
"Isn't this concerning to you?"
"What? Shit no! Just means more work for us and that also means more loot! Ha ha! You could get more loot to buy a new lute! Ha ha ha! (Hic!)"
"But this is the fuckin' undead! I mean... "
"So? Stop bein a pussy! I've fought some undead before, when I was lootin' a dwarven tomb. You just chop their heads off like everything else, shit ain't that hard. They just tend to smell worse... well maybe not worse than trolls. Anyway I'm sure the fucking governments will take care of this shit as quick as possible, you know how politicians don't like dead taxpayers, in the meantime we need to take advantage now while the conflict is hot!"
No sooner has Dimitri said this little bit of wisdom, when the Boss steps in the doorway. He's as nasty looking as always, but this time he looks even moreso than usual.
"Alright you useless sacks of goblin shit. We got a new job. This one just came across rather unexpectedly. Ran into a Dwarven representative and we're now in the employ of a Dwarven Clan, near the southern Tulan Borders. With the occurrence of this Nuro incident, they're expecting some shit to spill over into their lands and they want some extra help. This is pretty surprising since Dwarves aren't known to pay for mercenaries, let alone the likes of us." The Boss tell you all.
"The Tulan Border? Oh fuck that place is a meat grinder! There's no profit to be had anywhere near there!" Cal pipes up.
"Well you can just pick up your panties and get your pansy ass back home and stay there then! The dwarves are paying well and that's the job. Take it or get the fuck outta my company!"
"Excuse me Captain, but weren't there reports of demons running through that area?" you ask.
"Yeah so? That's why we're going over there most likely, but be fucking prepared for any damn thing. Maybe even undead... who knows if my... if those necromancer bastards started spreading their plague yet. We leave tomorrow."
You think on this fucked up situation and seriously reconsidering your career choice.
> stick with it
You're in this now and you can't stop just because it's looking tough. You got your family to think about. You're staying.
However you do, do something slightly out of character, you spend what little money you have on a whore for the night, mainly because you're a lot less sure if you're going to come back from this mission.
The next day you're on the job. The march to the dwarven lands is mostly uneventful, though the fighting between the Zalan Empire and the Tulan Kingdom is still going on their borders which even skirting around, still manages to find your company. The Boss takes advantage of straggling Tulan soldiers that have fled battle. The butchery isn't uncommon, after all, nobody will know and the Zalan Empire will just be blamed anyway.
Arrival in the Dwarven lands is met with caution, the Dwarves obviously know of the Chimera Company's reputation and a small group of them motion the Boss to just talk to him directly. A deal seems to be made and the Dwarves leave to go back to their underground home.
The Captain now addresses all of you.
"Alright, apparently there HAVE been demons running all up and down and through the area. The Dwarves are preparing defenses in case they try to invade underground; apparently they consider their underground city takes precedence so their main force is there. However they still have plenty of mines above ground and not nearly enough dwarves to defend them all. Now its been said the demons have been heading toward the Tulan Kingdom, but a lot of them still have been fucking around here and generally wrecking shit for the fun of it. Collapsing even the sturdy mines of the dwarves on their heads seems to be amusing to them. So our goal is to make things bothersome enough for them that they'll leave the dwarves alone and go elsewhere."
The Captain spits on the ground before continuing.
"We're going to split up for this assignment and take different mines in the area. Watch your fucking ass. I don't think any of you eunuchs have fought any demons before, but I have and they're utterly fucking ruthless. Forget all that shit about some of them being civilized. They're about as civilized as damn Quillar, but a lot more intelligent. The chaos that is in their hearts is always there and these ones are the complete embodiment of it. And for fuck's sake DON'T stay near any explosives! The dwarves are always using shit like that in their mines and demons have a tendency to have fire throwing abilities. It's probably the reason for all the easy mine collapses."
The Captain takes out a map.
"One more thing. While I know the common thing to do on our assignments is to take advantage of things. We need to play this one completely fucking straight! Do NOT fucking do anything that's going to piss off the dwarves! If you do, we don't get paid. We don't get paid. I'm going to get pissed, because we're getting a lot for this one. And assuming the dwarves don't kill you, I certainly fucking will. Alright now I'm going to assign you according to this map."
You and a few others (Including Dimitri) are assigned to the Karzac Mines where you make your way to after some climbing which fortunately isn't too far off ground level. The dwarves there regard you with suspicion immediately.
"Oh great they're here. Alright, let's set the ground rules. I'm head miner Morri and I'm in charge of this place! Don't even think about trying to steal some loose bars of silver that you might find lying around. You do it, and your skull meets an axe or mining pick! Got me?"
"Stand up when you speak to me." Dimitri laughs.
"Yeah, make yer jokes human, we'll see if the demons will appreciate that humor when you're meeting them face to face."
"Demon, pah! Just one more thing for me to kill, people make a big deal about them. I've seen how they fall in line and become law abiding citizens just like anyone else when beaten down."
"Yeah and those same civilized ones will kill you when they get the chance. Didn't you hear the Captain?" you say.
"Yeah well he's got a tendency to be over dramatic; he probably picked that up from that fine ass elven bitch he's married to. Besides who DOESN'T try to kill you when they get the chance? They aren't anything special. Their race just has a tendency to have assholiness come natural to them."
Morri interrupts the pair of you.
"Hey if you two morons are finished, I'm about to tell you the fun part of this job. There are demons already in this mine."
"What?!"
"Oh yeah, bunch of those fuckers as we speak. Seems we got the fortune of one sneaking in here and decided to have her spawn in the deep reaches of this mine. The only good thing is these types don't seem to be interested in collapsing the mine, however they're trying to turn this place into some sort of fucking demon hive or something. We've been trying to eliminate them, but of course it's slow going. We need to get them before they start breeding more though. So we're splitting up... "
"Here we go again... " Dimitri says.
Morri assigns at least a few dwarves with each mercenary. You, Morri and Dimitri make up the last one.
The demon hunting in the mines is actually a very "mundane" job. They certainly are horrible looking creatures and very vicious, but after the first few times, you get used to it. These particular demons have an insect like appearance so maybe that's why these behave the way they do. They aren't very tough in the scheme of things, but like Morri said there do seem to be a lot. You can't use your bow like you want to either due to the cramped mine conditions.
Demons aren't really the problem though, the problem is Dimitri.
After one of the harder battles, Morri is attempting to catch his breath. Dimitri notices the very large silver deposit you're next to and the silver that's just there for the taking. He quietly whispers to you that you and he should waylay Morri and take some of the silver. Leave his body to be munched on by a wandering demon. Who's going to know?
You're not really for this plan and you say no, but Dimitri begins to argue and Morri notices the both of you.
"I'm not doing it! The Captain said... " you exclaim.
"Fuckin' pussy!" Dimitri says pushing you.
"Hey hey hey! Not doing what? What are you two on abo... "
Dimitri takes the opportunity of distraction and hits Morri in the face with silver bar that he lifted off the ground earlier.
" Ugh! Bastard dog you'll pay for this treachery!" Morri utters falling to the ground.
"Come on, this is your last chance to be a man and help me pig farmer!" Dimitri says as he goes to finish off Morri.
> help Dimitri
You hate yourself for this, but you feel you don't have much choice, if Morri lives he'll certainly tell everyone and then you won't get paid which will probably result in your death by the hands of the Boss. You raise your own weapon and help kill Morri. He doesn't die easy, but Dimitri finishes him off before he can put up any sort of meaningful defense.
Breathing hard and smiling at you with blood on his face, Dimitri laughs a bit.
"Heh heh, knew you'd see the light, lute boy! Now come on, let's throw his body in that left passage. I think I heard some of those demon roaches chittering down that way. Let's just make sure we're not around eh? We got a lot of silver to load up on!"
You don't take any of the silver actually, you're still worrying and not feeling right about this whole situation, of course that just means more for Dimitri.
You don't even think this half assed plan of Dimitri's is going to work. You and Dimitri are going to look mighty suspicious meeting up with the other dwarves without Morri, and trying to conceal a shitload of silver, though Dimitri claims everything will be fine.
Everything goes less fine when you start to realize that Morri was the one who was leading you through this mine maze. Neither you or Dimitri were paying attention to the directions mainly because you were on the look out for demon attacks and fighting them off.
Eventually you're attacked by more of the demons as you proceed to get lost. You and Dimitri get into an argument and begin to blame each other (Though it really is his fault) You both get angry and come to blows, you however get the advantage, not being weighed down by silver. You leave his body for the demons.
You however don't get too much further. The demons seem to be coming out in more force and you're wounded many times. You get scared and confused and you know you're a dead man when you see Morri's body being eaten by several of demons. You've gone in a complete circle and now you're hearing that demon chittering from everywhere.
A valiant effort is made by you, but you can't fight them all. Eventually you are overwhelmed and eaten. |
You aren't sure about this, but you let him speak.
"Speak demon, but make it quick!" you demand.
"Ah, glad you're willing to be reasonable. Name's Big Red by the way."
"Get on with it!"
"Very well. Your company and everyone in it is doomed to the infernal planes when they die I'm afraid. You captain's deeds alone make him one of the most sought after souls in Hell. He used to be much worse before he got married, but ah well; women often make men weak like that."
"Yeah? Well not me."
"Heh, yeah you too. I understand that you're probably the most moral person in it, but this whole company has been targeted by Hell and Hell gets what it wants."
"Well Velzix isn't... "
"Velzix? I'm not talking about Velzix! Velzix is just another demon with big dick complex. If I trust my judgment he's not going to last another year in his current status, he'll probably either be dead by one of you mortals or that little Necromancer. (Sigh) Wish I'd known about him sooner, things could've been a lot... different."
Big Red sees that you're getting antsy so he gets to the point again.
"Anyway, seeing as you're all doomed to Hell, I figured it would be nice if I got direct credit for bringing you there. Bringing in evil souls yourself is one of the few things makes Hell all worth it. You get all sorts of perks. However, if I just call in the reinforcements now to have you guys get ripped from limb to limb, I won't get direct credit. The souls will just be gathered wily nily and then I gotta argue with the fucking collectors and lawyers and all that other shit about who killed who and who gets credit which will probably just result in nobody getting credit and doesn't help me out at all."
"Barring that you're saying that I'm doomed in any case, I fail to see why I should help you."
"Well that's why I'm coming to you with a deal. I can see you're not a bad person, you just serve a bad master, and he's the one I really want direct credit for. The rest of you are just a bonus and you in particular aren't even worth that much given your tendency towards good."
"So what is it you want from me exactly?"
"I want you to take out the sentries and distract your fellows for as long as possible while my boys sneak up on this village and strike with as little resistance as possible. To sweeten this deal, I'll try to tell my boys to not target you while you try to escape the mayhem. I'm not making any promises though, killing rampages among my kind encourage indiscriminate killing. You'll be on your own; however it gives you a small chance for survival and by agreeing to this plan it gives me direct credit as the mastermind of this cunning plan. Getting other demons to kill isn't any kind of feat, but employing a mortal to help is looked upon as more favorable. So do we have a deal?"
Big Red offers his hand...
> decline the deal
Fuck this. He's lying and even if he isn't, making a deal with a demon is never a good idea. You've heard the stories and you've seen the former Tulan "citizens" that debased themselves just in order to live to serve their demon masters. It never ends well.
If you are going to the infernal realm when you die, you're still not going to be helping anyone to take you there!
"Well, let me think about it... .HEY THERE'S A FUCKING DEMON ATTACK COMING!" you shout at the top of your lungs. You're pretty sure at least one person heard you.
"You asshole!" Big Red growls and lunges at you which you dodge out of the way and just focus on getting back to where most of your company is making camp, yelling the whole time.
Upon hearing your warning, everyone scrambles for battle. You can hear the demons bellowing in the distance. They'll be here in force soon. You quickly climb on to the village rooftops and ready your bow as the demon hordes advance all around you.
The battle wasn't as hopeless as Big Red made it seem like it would be (He must've ran off as there was no sign of him) however, the Company does take more than the usual casualties. One of the mercenaries starts to openly complain.
"This is just fucking retarded! Why the hell are we doing this shit?" Cal complains.
"You know the score; you don't like it you can leave." The Captain says calmly cleaning off his sword.
"Yeah and then I don't get paid, which is when by the way? We'd all like to know when this contract is over! You never did tell us!"
"Oh that... indefinitely."
"WHAT?!" almost everyone exclaims.
"Look, would you sissies calm the fuck down? We got a break coming up in a few weeks. We go back to the Zalan Empire to get paid, rest, re-equip and whatever else they got there, but after the break we go right back out here. Possibly even deeper."
At this point the whole company is turning against the Captain, he doesn't look worried though.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me? You're expecting us to go deeper into this shit? You're practically asking us to stand in the middle of Hell!"
"Dunno why you're protesting, we're all going to the real infernal plane anyway when we die, might as well get used to it. Look, take it or leave it, I don't give a shit. If you want to stay, go ahead. If you want to leave now, go ahead. If you want to leave after you get your pay, go ahead. But I'm sure you know by now, if you leave don't come back ever." The Captain says and goes back to the abandoned home he was staying in.
This comment by the Captain makes you think back to Big Red's little speech, you start wondering about your future while everyone begins talking amongst themselves about what to do next. A lot of them are saying the Boss has lost his mind and is being suicidal. You can't say you disagree. In fact you're not sure you want part of this anymore. Your family might need the money, but what good are you dead to them?
A few weeks pass and your company makes its way back to the Zalan Empire. You get your payment. Almost feels like you're in the "real army" given the formal nature of it. After you get your pay, you're on your way home where you intend to stay, much like many others are planning to do. However, you bump into the Captain who speaks to you. There's a hint of alcohol on his breath.
"So can I expect you to stay on lute boy?" he asks bluntly.
"Erm... well, no Captain. I'm sorry, but going deeper into demon territory is suicide." you reply..
"Probably right, but who wants to live forever?"
"Well I'd like to at least live past the next year."
"Hah! So you wish to die an old man in your bed?"
"Sounds about right."
"Then why did you take on such a dangerous line of work in the first place?"
"My family needed the money."
"Ah yes, you are one of the few in the company that has one. One of the fewer still that actually takes care of them... an honorable pursuit. I can respect that."
You're surprised to hear the Captain praise anything that seems honorable.
"I have a family that I take care of too you know."
"Yes, I know you are married."
"Yeah... but my daughter is a captain in the Zalan army. She's stationed on the Tulan border as a matter of fact. She might even get transferred to the Grand Alliance army. Don't know yet." He says with a hint of pride in his voice, though he tries his best to conceal it.
The Captain is just full of surprises. You now know that this isn't some simple death wish, but that he's taken the job to help her out in a way. You don't know, but can only imagine what growing up with a dad like him was like. You unsure of how to reply so you just follow up with something.
"Um, that's great Captain."
"Yeah, it's great. Got a son too... he's... a wizard. He's a fuckin' disappointment... y'know you look back on your life and you wonder what you've accomplished and it doesn't mean shit in the scheme of things, at least not when the world has one foot in Hell and the other in the grave. But still you struggle and fight right? You still remain true to your nature."
"Sure I guess so." You say wondering where the Captain going with this.
The Captain sighs heavily.
"I guess I'm lucky... killing and battle are in my nature. I get to do it every fuckin' day and it never seems to be enough, even after all the years and changes... but I bet you didn't want this shit right? You probably wanted to just play that fuckin' lute of yours right? You got a gift and its being wasted due to events out of your control... but you still play that thing when you can. It's in your nature. It's also in your nature to help out your family because you care about them."
"I suppose it is."
"Yeah, nature... it's a fuckin' bitch."
The Captain now looks directly at you.
"Look I'm not gonna beg ya, but you're one of the best men I got in the damn company, and I'd rather not lose you, so I'll appeal to your nature. What's going on in the world today is some fucked up shit. Quite honestly I don't think it's going to end well for any of us, but you struggle and fight anyway. The financial aid that you're providing for your family pales in comparison to what you're doing in the long term. You're making the world safer for them so that they might be able to live. We got the Gates of Hell on one side and Death's Door on the other and both of them need to be fucking closed. I don't know if that makes us the so called good guys now, but all I know is if there's an active way I can protect my wife and even help my daughter then I'm gonna do it. What are you going to do?"
The Captain then leaves you without saying another word.
Some pretty deep words for a man who you never saw as compassionate in anyway. He does make a point though. Lately what has been going in the world is pretty bad and you wonder if not fighting today will just mean putting off fighting tomorrow.
> stay in the company
You might be a fool, but the possibility that the Captain knows what the fuck he's talking about can't be ruled out. If killing demons now is going to make life a little safer for your family in the future, then you probably should be apart of that. Same with the undead if it comes to that, though you're hoping that you don't need to. Fighting demons is bad enough, you haven't even fought any undead and the stories that your dad told you and that you've overheard others tell still makes you dread the day that you'll actually have to.
For now though you're going home to spend time with your family and tell them all how much you love them.
One year passes...
Five years since the Nuro Incident and you're deep in the heart of Velzix's Realm. Guerrilla hit and run tactics and sabotage have greatly angered Velzix causing him to divert forces where he might use elsewhere. You've even managed to sneak into his fortress a few times to sabotage his goals of creating a permanent open portal to the Infernal Planes. Something nobody wants except the demons.
It's odd, but the Chimera Company has been turned from an example of "thugs for hire" to "Heroic warriors" by the Zalan government, but then the Zalan Empire has always been a bit heavy on propaganda. The fact that the company is directly working for it, makes any politician that was remotely involved with the idea of hiring you in the first place to milk it for all its worth.
The real truth however is what's currently of the company is made up of the suicidal, desperate or the insane. You're not sure which one you are at this point, but in the eyes of the public, you're a hero. (Surprisingly Cal is still there for all his past complaining)
The Captain has been telling tales of his past life a lot more lately when sitting around the campfire. He talks about the people he's killed, the women he's raped, and the treasures he's plundered. Most of the stories you've only heard about in rumor from others in your Company, but hearing them come from the Captain himself makes him sound even more rotten. You're sure glad you didn't know him back in the "old days". He doesn't seem to show any remorse, though he doesn't really talk about it gloriously either. He just tells them as a story to pass the time between fighting, much like you do with playing your lute.
Every now and then he tells you to play something specific. Some elven song that you've never heard before, though apparently he really wants you to play it since he gives you a crumpled piece of sheet music containing its notes.
It's a not a complex song for an Elven one, but it still takes you a few weeks to learn it completely. It would probably take you less time, but there's the demon fighting that sort of gets in the way of practice.
The first time you play it, the Captain, closes his eyes and begins to smile. You think that's the first time you've ever seen him do that. Others in the Company are amazed as well.
With his eyes still closed he begins to speak of his family and how beautiful his wife is and how when he first met her it was love at first sight.
He then speaks of his daughter, and how proud he is of her. Her battle skills have gotten her a captain's position in Grand Alliance army. He hopes that she has many victorious battles and kills all those that stand before her without mercy.
He is silent for awhile as you play... then he speaks of his son is much harsher tone.
"A disappointment... a fucking disappointment. Fucked up somewhere... wasn't hard enough on him. Now look at this shit we're in... demons, undead... fuck it. If I'm bound for the Infernal Plane for bringing destruction to the world then I'm gonna give those bastard demons a good reason for torturing the shit outta me when I get there. Namely by killing a shitload of them and fucking up their plans as much as possible. Just hope my necromancer spawn is eventually there right beside me getting tortured as well."
You temporarily stop playing at this outburst by the Captain. Others in the Company are looking and whispering to each other. Did he just allude to what you think he did?
"What he fuck are you doin'? I didn't say stop playing!"
You quickly return to playing and nothing more is spoken of it. As it happens the song is one of the last things you play. Your lute is destroyed in a battle a couple days later. You curse as one of the few things that took your mind off this shitty place is gone. You just hope you live long enough to buy a new one.
A few more weeks pass and what wasn't spoken of, makes an appearance...
Two of the lookouts run back to the main camp one day and rush into the Captain's tent. You can hear them babbling something about son, and death and doomed. You then hear him yelling at them to shut the fuck up and speak clearly. The rest of the Company starts to pick up there weapons as if expecting something to go down and you follow suit and that's when you look in the direction where the sentries ran from and see a lone hooded figure.
None of you don't know how to react. Every instinct in everyone is telling them to attack, but the aura of power and fear he's giving off is very strong. Almost paralyzing.
Just then the Captain comes out of his tent and speaks.
"Boy, you gotta a lot of balls showing up here before me. Didn't think you had 'em either. Figured you'd be hiding in some tower somewhere."
"Yeah, well sometimes you have to do things yourself."
Weird. He doesn't sound at all like you thought he would.
> attack now
You know who the hell this is, it's the Necromancer Lord. You're never going to get a better chance than now to kill him and put an end to some of the madness that's going on. You muster up all your courage and quickly raise your bow.
"No! Wait you dumbfuck... " the Captain yells trying to stop you.
You arrow flies straight towards the Necromancer Lord, but it doesn't even reach him, a magical shield causes it to bounce off harmlessly. However your actions cause the Necromancer Lord to react defensively and he unleashes a ray of pure black energy which drains you of your life force entirely. |
You might be a fool, but the possibility that the Captain knows what the fuck he's talking about can't be ruled out. If killing demons now is going to make life a little safer for your family in the future, then you probably should be apart of that. Same with the undead if it comes to that, though you're hoping that you don't need to. Fighting demons is bad enough, you haven't even fought any undead and the stories that your dad told you and that you've overheard others tell still makes you dread the day that you'll actually have to.
For now though you're going home to spend time with your family and tell them all how much you love them.
One year passes...
Five years since the Nuro Incident and you're deep in the heart of Velzix's Realm. Guerrilla hit and run tactics and sabotage have greatly angered Velzix causing him to divert forces where he might use elsewhere. You've even managed to sneak into his fortress a few times to sabotage his goals of creating a permanent open portal to the Infernal Planes. Something nobody wants except the demons.
It's odd, but the Chimera Company has been turned from an example of "thugs for hire" to "Heroic warriors" by the Zalan government, but then the Zalan Empire has always been a bit heavy on propaganda. The fact that the company is directly working for it, makes any politician that was remotely involved with the idea of hiring you in the first place to milk it for all its worth.
The real truth however is what's currently of the company is made up of the suicidal, desperate or the insane. You're not sure which one you are at this point, but in the eyes of the public, you're a hero. (Surprisingly Cal is still there for all his past complaining)
The Captain has been telling tales of his past life a lot more lately when sitting around the campfire. He talks about the people he's killed, the women he's raped, and the treasures he's plundered. Most of the stories you've only heard about in rumor from others in your Company, but hearing them come from the Captain himself makes him sound even more rotten. You're sure glad you didn't know him back in the "old days". He doesn't seem to show any remorse, though he doesn't really talk about it gloriously either. He just tells them as a story to pass the time between fighting, much like you do with playing your lute.
Every now and then he tells you to play something specific. Some elven song that you've never heard before, though apparently he really wants you to play it since he gives you a crumpled piece of sheet music containing its notes.
It's a not a complex song for an Elven one, but it still takes you a few weeks to learn it completely. It would probably take you less time, but there's the demon fighting that sort of gets in the way of practice.
The first time you play it, the Captain, closes his eyes and begins to smile. You think that's the first time you've ever seen him do that. Others in the Company are amazed as well.
With his eyes still closed he begins to speak of his family and how beautiful his wife is and how when he first met her it was love at first sight.
He then speaks of his daughter, and how proud he is of her. Her battle skills have gotten her a captain's position in Grand Alliance army. He hopes that she has many victorious battles and kills all those that stand before her without mercy.
He is silent for awhile as you play... then he speaks of his son is much harsher tone.
"A disappointment... a fucking disappointment. Fucked up somewhere... wasn't hard enough on him. Now look at this shit we're in... demons, undead... fuck it. If I'm bound for the Infernal Plane for bringing destruction to the world then I'm gonna give those bastard demons a good reason for torturing the shit outta me when I get there. Namely by killing a shitload of them and fucking up their plans as much as possible. Just hope my necromancer spawn is eventually there right beside me getting tortured as well."
You temporarily stop playing at this outburst by the Captain. Others in the Company are looking and whispering to each other. Did he just allude to what you think he did?
"What he fuck are you doin'? I didn't say stop playing!"
You quickly return to playing and nothing more is spoken of it. As it happens the song is one of the last things you play. Your lute is destroyed in a battle a couple days later. You curse as one of the few things that took your mind off this shitty place is gone. You just hope you live long enough to buy a new one.
A few more weeks pass and what wasn't spoken of, makes an appearance...
Two of the lookouts run back to the main camp one day and rush into the Captain's tent. You can hear them babbling something about son, and death and doomed. You then hear him yelling at them to shut the fuck up and speak clearly. The rest of the Company starts to pick up there weapons as if expecting something to go down and you follow suit and that's when you look in the direction where the sentries ran from and see a lone hooded figure.
None of you don't know how to react. Every instinct in everyone is telling them to attack, but the aura of power and fear he's giving off is very strong. Almost paralyzing.
Just then the Captain comes out of his tent and speaks.
"Boy, you gotta a lot of balls showing up here before me. Didn't think you had 'em either. Figured you'd be hiding in some tower somewhere."
"Yeah, well sometimes you have to do things yourself."
Weird. He doesn't sound at all like you thought he would.
> wait
You know who the hell this is, it's the Necromancer Lord. Even if you are fast enough to get a shot at him, you doubt the arrow is going to connect. He's probably got all kinds of magical shields to protect him for whatever it is he's here for. You begin looking for your best route of escape and slowly start backing away.
The Captain on the other hand speaks directly to his son. He doesn't even show any fear. They speak for a moment and things get very tense, you're about ready to run, but things take a sudden turn for the very strange.
The Necromancer Lord has proposed a temporary alliance to assassinate Velzix. The Captain is hesitant about this at first, but an agreement is made on payment and he accepts.
The Captain then informs all of you in more detail of what's going on.
"Alright men, we're gonna go storm the Gates of Hell and close those fuckers for good. My... son there is going to provide magical support. He's also going to be providing a shitload of money for this job. The stipulation is we can't tell ANYBODY about this shit. I'm fucking serious. Word gets out that we were working with the fucking Necromancer Lord, we'll all be hanged, regardless of so called heroic deeds of killing demons. We're all in this together and there ain't no backing out, because this deal is made. And if you think you're gonna step out on me now, that ain't in the plan. I'll just kill you and have my son raise your undead ass to help us anyway!"
"What?! You just decided this for us?" Cal exclaims.
"Yeah? What of it? I've ALWAYS made all the decisions for your dumb ass! It's why YOU'RE still working for me, because it's lucrative! This ain't gonna be any different. Plus we get to take fucking credit for killing a damn demon lord. Think of all the pussy you'll get from that fucking fame eh? Now stop bitching and let's go!"
You can't say you're enthusiastic about this, but it would appear you have little choice in the matter.
As you travel to Velzix's fortress you overhear some of the conversations the Captain is having with his son. A strained relationship to be sure. They make a lot of cutting barbs to each other, each criticizing the other for various things. It's obvious that they can't stand each other, but are a lot more alike than either one wants to admit.
It makes you glad when you encounter the occasional demon skirmish on the way, since it at least it decreases the tension and possibility that the Captain's son is going to finally lose his temper and kill everyone due to his father's words. Eventually you arrive without any more problems. You enter Velzix's fortress through the secret way that was discovered long ago.
"Dumb ass demons, we've been using this entrance for like a year now and they still haven't caught on!" the Captain remarks to his son.
You make good progress in the fortress and then...
"There they are, just like Velzix said they would be!" a demon guard shouts.
"Haven't caught on yet huh?" the Necromancer Lord says, looking at the Captain.
"Quit yer bitchin' and start doin that death magic thing!"
You proceed to do battle with the demon and mortal guards that attempt to stop you. The Necromancer Lord starts to raise the mortal guards after they're killed, but it begins to unnerve you though when the Necromancer Lord starts raising your own fallen dead.
Pretty soon it's just the Necromancer Lord, the Captain, you, Cal and a bunch of corpses fighting off what seems to be an endless supply of Hell's own. You begin to wonder if Velzix already got that portal working.
As you get closer to Velzix's inner sanctum even the undead troops are being decimated at an alarming rate. You've been wounded several times and extremely tired. You don't want to think about any of this, even in the heat of battle you start to take your mind elsewhere with a tune inside your head.
"Fuck man! We're gonna die here!" Cal screams as he attempts to fight a horned demon which has obviously got the advantage over him. You feel a demon blade in your back causing you to fall to the floor. At this point nothing but music fills your mind; bloodshed and battle surround your prone body.
"Fuckers are without end! Come on! Raise these fuckers and let's go!" you hear the Captain yell followed by "Hah, no lying down on the job anymore Cal!"
You're not quite dead yet though, and the Necromancer Lord and his dad aren't waiting around so they continue on quickly leaving you behind.
As your life force ebbs and more demon guards run past your body, you don't know if what you did was worth it or even the right thing. All you know is you did what you could and hope your actions may have made some sort of difference and increased the chances of your family's future well being.
You then smile. You'll see them again someday.
"Yeah... I believe that... " you allow yourself to think as you die.
Big Red was wrong about your fate. There was no Hell, just peace. |
Fuck this. He's lying and even if he isn't, making a deal with a demon is never a good idea. You've heard the stories and you've seen the former Tulan "citizens" that debased themselves just in order to live to serve their demon masters. It never ends well.
If you are going to the infernal realm when you die, you're still not going to be helping anyone to take you there!
"Well, let me think about it... .HEY THERE'S A FUCKING DEMON ATTACK COMING!" you shout at the top of your lungs. You're pretty sure at least one person heard you.
"You asshole!" Big Red growls and lunges at you which you dodge out of the way and just focus on getting back to where most of your company is making camp, yelling the whole time.
Upon hearing your warning, everyone scrambles for battle. You can hear the demons bellowing in the distance. They'll be here in force soon. You quickly climb on to the village rooftops and ready your bow as the demon hordes advance all around you.
The battle wasn't as hopeless as Big Red made it seem like it would be (He must've ran off as there was no sign of him) however, the Company does take more than the usual casualties. One of the mercenaries starts to openly complain.
"This is just fucking retarded! Why the hell are we doing this shit?" Cal complains.
"You know the score; you don't like it you can leave." The Captain says calmly cleaning off his sword.
"Yeah and then I don't get paid, which is when by the way? We'd all like to know when this contract is over! You never did tell us!"
"Oh that... indefinitely."
"WHAT?!" almost everyone exclaims.
"Look, would you sissies calm the fuck down? We got a break coming up in a few weeks. We go back to the Zalan Empire to get paid, rest, re-equip and whatever else they got there, but after the break we go right back out here. Possibly even deeper."
At this point the whole company is turning against the Captain, he doesn't look worried though.
"Are you fuckin' kidding me? You're expecting us to go deeper into this shit? You're practically asking us to stand in the middle of Hell!"
"Dunno why you're protesting, we're all going to the real infernal plane anyway when we die, might as well get used to it. Look, take it or leave it, I don't give a shit. If you want to stay, go ahead. If you want to leave now, go ahead. If you want to leave after you get your pay, go ahead. But I'm sure you know by now, if you leave don't come back ever." The Captain says and goes back to the abandoned home he was staying in.
This comment by the Captain makes you think back to Big Red's little speech, you start wondering about your future while everyone begins talking amongst themselves about what to do next. A lot of them are saying the Boss has lost his mind and is being suicidal. You can't say you disagree. In fact you're not sure you want part of this anymore. Your family might need the money, but what good are you dead to them?
A few weeks pass and your company makes its way back to the Zalan Empire. You get your payment. Almost feels like you're in the "real army" given the formal nature of it. After you get your pay, you're on your way home where you intend to stay, much like many others are planning to do. However, you bump into the Captain who speaks to you. There's a hint of alcohol on his breath.
"So can I expect you to stay on lute boy?" he asks bluntly.
"Erm... well, no Captain. I'm sorry, but going deeper into demon territory is suicide." you reply..
"Probably right, but who wants to live forever?"
"Well I'd like to at least live past the next year."
"Hah! So you wish to die an old man in your bed?"
"Sounds about right."
"Then why did you take on such a dangerous line of work in the first place?"
"My family needed the money."
"Ah yes, you are one of the few in the company that has one. One of the fewer still that actually takes care of them... an honorable pursuit. I can respect that."
You're surprised to hear the Captain praise anything that seems honorable.
"I have a family that I take care of too you know."
"Yes, I know you are married."
"Yeah... but my daughter is a captain in the Zalan army. She's stationed on the Tulan border as a matter of fact. She might even get transferred to the Grand Alliance army. Don't know yet." He says with a hint of pride in his voice, though he tries his best to conceal it.
The Captain is just full of surprises. You now know that this isn't some simple death wish, but that he's taken the job to help her out in a way. You don't know, but can only imagine what growing up with a dad like him was like. You unsure of how to reply so you just follow up with something.
"Um, that's great Captain."
"Yeah, it's great. Got a son too... he's... a wizard. He's a fuckin' disappointment... y'know you look back on your life and you wonder what you've accomplished and it doesn't mean shit in the scheme of things, at least not when the world has one foot in Hell and the other in the grave. But still you struggle and fight right? You still remain true to your nature."
"Sure I guess so." You say wondering where the Captain going with this.
The Captain sighs heavily.
"I guess I'm lucky... killing and battle are in my nature. I get to do it every fuckin' day and it never seems to be enough, even after all the years and changes... but I bet you didn't want this shit right? You probably wanted to just play that fuckin' lute of yours right? You got a gift and its being wasted due to events out of your control... but you still play that thing when you can. It's in your nature. It's also in your nature to help out your family because you care about them."
"I suppose it is."
"Yeah, nature... it's a fuckin' bitch."
The Captain now looks directly at you.
"Look I'm not gonna beg ya, but you're one of the best men I got in the damn company, and I'd rather not lose you, so I'll appeal to your nature. What's going on in the world today is some fucked up shit. Quite honestly I don't think it's going to end well for any of us, but you struggle and fight anyway. The financial aid that you're providing for your family pales in comparison to what you're doing in the long term. You're making the world safer for them so that they might be able to live. We got the Gates of Hell on one side and Death's Door on the other and both of them need to be fucking closed. I don't know if that makes us the so called good guys now, but all I know is if there's an active way I can protect my wife and even help my daughter then I'm gonna do it. What are you going to do?"
The Captain then leaves you without saying another word.
Some pretty deep words for a man who you never saw as compassionate in anyway. He does make a point though. Lately what has been going in the world is pretty bad and you wonder if not fighting today will just mean putting off fighting tomorrow.
> leave the company
Whatever the Captain is "going through" doesn't involve you. You've got your own concerns. If the world events get so bad that they reach your doorstep, then you deal with it then, but risking your life to the extent of going deep into the heart of demon territory isn't what you signed up for.
You head home and tell your family that it's permanent this time. You explain your reasons and apologize that you won't be bringing in all the extra money like you used to. They aren't mad though, your mom is actually relieved.
"Well son, I'm just as glad you didn't go get yourself killed over there anyway. You'll be helping us out plenty just by working on the farm like always."
You're glad to hear that. Over the next couple days you fall back into routine again. You still wonder about the future though and you briefly consider the army, but you're a little weary of battle on a regular basis now.
You resign yourself to the farm life. You play your lute to yourself (and family) when you have the time to do so. It's a simple life.
Another year passes and things are getting bad. War is everywhere. The Demons have been taken care of, (You heard your former mercenary captain died in battle with their leader Velzix) but the undead are stronger than ever. Reports even speak of the Necromancer Lord becoming The Great Lich Lord "reborn".
To make things worse, the Zalan Empire has been becoming increasingly tyrannical. In order to help with the war effort they've started bringing back the draft and the talk of ceasing private property to be used for the good of the government. While they say owners will be able to live and still work on their lands and businesses, it will be owned by the Empire.
You know it's only a matter of time when you get a knock on the door by Zalan army troops coming to take you (Especially you given your prior battle experience) and your brother Mallack away to the army and your family's farm.
Another two year pass...
You're on the eve of battle in a land known as the Garwold Confederacy although it's steadily becoming a giant graveyard now. The undead hordes have been sweeping relentlessly across the entire landscape. Your own company has had to fall back several times. Morale is low. Not that yours was high to begin with. You don't even know how you've survived this long. While you had lots of battle experience during your time with the mercenary company, you'll never get used to fighting the undead. They are such emotionless creatures that are the embodiment of death and all that's unnatural.
You briefly wonder if your brother Mallack is alright where he's stationed, but it hardly matters at this point.
Battle comes as it always does and you are not so lucky this time. Horrible and powerful creatures known as Blood Specters and Death Knights utterly destroy your side.
You put up a more valiant effort than most, but eventually you fall to undead blades and chilling touches only rise up and join them in their goal of global genocide. |
You've had enough. You're not going to help OR stand by for another immoral act performed by your "co-workers". It's bad enough that it goes on, but that doesn't mean you need to let it, if you can do something about it.
You run Dimitri through the back with your sword, he yells out in pain, but still manages to swing his armored fist to strike you in the face. You fall to the ground.
"Fuck... lute boy... goin... down... pig fucker... " he wheezes as he attempts to step towards you only to fall to his knees. At this point Morri has recovered and cleaves Dimitri's skull in with his axe.
"Bastard." Morri then looks at you. "Heh, I guess you must be one of the few with a conscious in the company eh?"
"I guess so." You reply.
"Or perhaps you knew it would be better if I lived so you could find your way out this maze?"
"... Actually I hadn't even thought about that. I just... just couldn't let him kill and rob you like that. Seen it too many times."
"That a fact? Well tell me son, why the hell are you hooked up with these bunch for then?"
"Money to help the family... besides it's not that bad."
"Okay, if you say so. However, this little incident is going to cost your company. We warned your captain that if any evidence of treachery occurred, we weren't paying him shit and this deal was off!"
"But can't we just keep this secret? I mean... "
"Secret? Fuck no! Look, you're not a bad person, but you're hanging out with bad people. The only reason why we hired you in the first place is because you ARE effective and you're about the only mercenary company insane enough to do a job like this. But a deal's a deal. You captain apparently doesn't have control over his men like he thinks, because I'm sure he warned you all."
"Yeah, but everyone will probably blame me and my life will be in danger!"
"... well... I'm sorry about that, but that's the price you pay for the company you keep... look I'll tell you what, because you helped me, I'll take you back to the entrance and you can leave. Should at least give you a head start. Hell, maybe I'll even tell them you died before this happened. You could then just hide out and stay out of sight without even anyone looking for you."
Not knowing what to say next you just agree and ponder your possible future.
The way back to the entrance is uneventful as far as demon attacks are concerned. You don't know what you're going to do. You'll have to go on the run or at least relocate regardless of what Morri tells everyone. And if he mentions the truth, then your family may well be in danger. You imagine that if the Boss couldn't get to you, he may very well take it out on your family.
You feel sick and upset. You wish you hadn't chosen this path. All you ever really wanted to do was play your lute, not fight demons or anything else really.
You follow behind Morri in a daze. You're surprised that he doesn't insist that you walk in front of him, but then that's probably because he trusts that you're not a murderer. You also realize you recognize this part of the mine and could probably find your way back from here...
You shake your head and take a deep breath.
"Hey Morri."
"Wha... glagh!
An arrow goes right through Morri's mouth and out the other side of his head. He gurgles obscenities while trying to raise his axe towards you. Another arrow goes through his eye. He ceases his struggle.
While you solved the problem of Morri telling anyone, now you have to cover your own tracks, then you hear a sound you never thought you'd be glad to hear. The chittering of those insect demons and a bunch of them are coming right behind you.
You pull the arrows out and run as quickly as you can to the entrance leaving the demons to feed upon Morri's body. The thought crosses your mind to just leave anyway. Maybe they'd think all three of you got eaten. However, you run into another group during your dash to the mine entrance.
"Where the hell are you running off to?" a mercenary asks. It's Cal. You come up with a lie quick.
"(pant) Shit! We got fucking ambushed! (pant) Barely fucking escaped! (pant) Dimitri and Morri are dead! Probably eaten! And the rest of those demon fuckers are heading this way!"
"What?! You cowardly fucker, you just let Morri die?" one the dwarves says angrily.
"It wasn't my idea! I tried to help him and Dimitri, but they just came in force, I don't even know how I escaped!"
Your story is a little suspicious, but thanks to the demons, you're covered. They didn't leave much for the dwarves to find. However, you're not looked favorably on by the rest of the dwarves for the rest of the mission. Your fellow mercenaries don't really care one way or another. It's part of the job and Dimitri wasn't well liked so they could care less if he died or lived.
You on the other hand are still not feeling so great about yourself. The longer you're part of this company the more you're starting to think or be more like them. You hate it and you'll be glad when this job is over.
A few months pass and the contract is over. The "problem" isn't completely gone, in fact there's reports of some undead wandering in the area now, but the Dwarves are growing more weary of your presence, hand over your payment and tell you to leave. They say they can handle anything else themselves.
It's quite a lot this time. Best job you've had. Upon your return to the Zalan Empire you buy yourself a new lute. It's your "reward". The rest of it goes to your family who of course are eager to hear about your tales as usual. You don't tell them that many this time. You just try to take your mind off your "job" by asking them more questions this time around. When you're alone you play your new lute, trying to emulate a couple of the songs you overheard the Dwarves engage in when you were there. You never knew they were musically inclined; it's a shame you had to kill one to protect your future. You're still debating on whether or not to give up the mercenary life, but you see how much it's helping the family out, so you decide to stay and put up with it.
After your "break is over" you go back to the job as usual.
Three years pass...
Four years have passed since the "Nuro Incident" and things have gotten much worse in the world. The Necromancer Lord conquered the Brot Kingdom, A demon lord called Velzix conquered the Tulan Kingdom, both are expanding and a so called Grand Alliance of nations doesn't seem to be doing much good against either of them.
The Chimera Company was recently hired by the Zalan government. Due to your past battles with demons, they decided you would be good to put on Tulan Border which is still a bloodbath, but instead of fighting the Tulan Kingdom, the Zalan Empire is fighting Velzix's hordes.
It's not an easy assignment or very pleasant, in fact it's got to be the worst job you've been on. You company is assigned to make commando raids and sabotage shit to keep the demons fairly unfocused, while the Zalan Empire's real armies try to make progress into Velzix's realm. Currently you're making your "camp" in small abandoned village in enemy territory where you have to fight the occasional demon patrols.
Why the Captain took this job on for the company is beyond you. Nobody really knows why. The company in general has been taking more dangerous jobs in recent years. Ever since the Nuro Incident actually. While it's always been known he's not a man to shy away from danger and has a love of battle, there's a lot of talk within ranks that he's got a death wish.
The only "good thing" about this assignment, is that the chance for usual Chimera Company wicked acts are much lower. There's not many "innocents" in a demon realm.
As you think about things, strumming your lute in an abandoned general store by yourself. You hear someone speak.
"Pretty good playing. Wish my kind appreciated some of the more subtle things in life sometimes."
You turn your head and see a demon! He's not very tall and is "dressed up". He must be one of the "civilized" demons who realigned themselves with their demonic natures and flocked to Velzix when he took over the Tulan Kingdom. He doesn't seem hostile, but you drop your lute and draw your weapon, before you can yell a warning, he speaks again.
"Wait! Before you go warning your friends, I should warn you that there is a very large group of my fellow kin surrounding this village. You kill me and they'll attack and quite frankly I don't fancy your chances. However I got a deal for you that can be worth your while. What can it hurt to listen to me? You can always kill me afterwards."
> attack him
You don't waste time, you just attack! Unfortunately the demon is more than he appears and easily dodges your attack. You don't have time to turn and react again when he's tripped you up and put his fist in your face causing your nose to explode into a mass of blood. You're dazed.
"(Sigh) And here I thought you were the reasonable one of this bunch. Nevermind." The demon says.
He follows up with another fist to your face. This one goes through your head killing you instantly. |
You're not sure if the formal military life is for you. If you joined up you wouldn't be able to readily leave. You figure if you don't like life as a mercenary or it isn't working out for you, you can leave freely.
You explain your decision to join up with the mercenary company that's currently passing through. Your revelation comes as a shock. Your smaller brothers and sisters don't want you to go, your brother Mallack really doesn't want you to leave since he'll be next in line to take the brunt of the manual labor!
Your mother is a little apprehensive about your decision. You half expect her to say no, but she understands that you're doing this for the good of the family. She gives her blessing.
Before you leave the next day with your packed belongings, your whole family comes to say goodbye to you. You almost hesitate to leave, wondering if it would actually be better for you to stay. Your mother approaches you.
"You don't have to do this you know. We're doing just fine."
"Yeah, but things would be easier if this family had more money."
"Hah. Things are always easier with more money son, but you don't need to go and get yourself killed for it."
"Yeah, I know, but I've thought it through."
"Very well, you're old enough to make your own decisions and live your own life, though I'm glad to see that you still want to help the family as opposed to just leaving in the middle of the night."
"I'll visit and return with whatever my pay is whenever I can."
"I know... okay, you best get going. I think the mercenary company was leaving today."
You make you way to the local tavern and catch them just as they're getting ready leave. A lot of them look hung over.
"Hey wait up... " you say in a slightly loud tone, causing one mean looking mercenary to snarl at you.
"Shut the fuck up yokel! Shit, I got a splitting headache and it hurts like a sonofabitch."
"Sorry. Are you the leader of this company?"
"Leader of these dickheads? Naw. The Boss is actually visiting his family in the Zalan capital. We're going to meet up with him now and I suggest you get the fuck outta our way and not waste anymore of our time!"
"But I want to join you guys."
The mercenary you were speaking to looks at you then looks at a few of his buddies and begins to laugh louder than your voice which previously annoyed him.
"HAHAHA HAHAHA! Y'hear that fellas? This yokel wants to join us! Thanks a lot, I needed a good laugh, now go fuck your pigs or whatever it is you farm types do."
"But I'm serious... "
"Serious? Farmboy, this is a man's job and not for the fuckin' weak. You ever even use a damn weapon?"
"Yeah! I got this bow and this sword! I'm a really good shot!"
The mercenary still looks unimpressed.
"Uh huh, yeah well you ever kill anyone, hell you ever kill ANYTHING? And I'm not talkin' about any of your livestock you might've slaughtered. I mean something sentient."
"Well yeah, I've killed Kobolds that were trying to steal chickens from the... "
The mercenaries begin to laugh again.
"Oh shit, you are priceless boy! My sister can kill fuckin' Kobolds and her only talent is whoring."
"Haha got that one right, Dimitri." Another one of the mercenaries agrees.
Suddenly the laughing stops.
"What the fuck did you just say Fermeli?"
"Uh, I was just agreeing with you... c'mon don't take it like that! I mean you said... "
"Ain't about what I said, it's about what YOU said! You called my fucking sister a whore! You ain't getting' away with that shit."
Dimitri draws his sword and stomps over to Fermeli who is trying to get one of his buddies to help him, but everyone else is backing away from the fight. Dimitri takes advantage of Fermeli's state of panic and slashes him good with his sword.
Fermeli cries out in pain and begs for forgiveness. Dimitri looks like he's going to finish him off, but then turns to you.
"You want to join hayseed? Kill this piece of shit then."
"Huh? I mean... " you utter in confusion.
"Did I stutter pig farmer? Kill this... AARGH FUCK!"
Fermeli has now taken advantage of Dimitri by shoving a dagger into his leg and scrambling to get up
"Yeah! Take that! How's that feel?" Fermeli taunts and draws his own sword in an attempt to kill Dimitri
At this point you unwisely step into the middle of this fight.
"Hey hold on, the pair of you are even now... "
"Fuck off pig farmer! You want some of this now? Yeah, let's see how much of a killer you are!" Fermeli says who doesn't look frightened of you at all and heads in your direction.
"Hey wait I don't wanna... "
You barely dodge his sword swipe to your head. You roll out of the way and quickly grab an arrow and shoot it at Fermeli with your bow, hitting him square in the neck. Some blood spurts out and a surprised look on his face is displayed and then he falls dead. You've killed him. You've never killed anything before that wasn't a Kobold or livestock. You feel weird.
In the meantime Dimitri gets up and pulls the dagger out of his leg and looks over at Formeli's body.
"Heh, maybe you are a killer after all pig farmer. Well it seems we got an opening now. Take whatever he had as your own. You killed him, you earned it. Welcome to the Chimera Mercenary Company!"
While you MAY be in, you're not necessarily sure if you want in. This may be a bit too much for you.
> go back home
If this how it was on your first day, you'd hate to think about if you had to deal with this on a regular basis.
"Uh... no, maybe I was wrong. Bye." You say and quickly take off.
"Heh, pig farmer don't have no stomach for it... Dibs on Foremeli's shit!" you hear Dimitri yell.
When you get back home, your family and mom in particular ask what happened, you explain it and say you don't want any part of that life. You apologize that you couldn't go through with it, but your mom looks more relieved than anything.
"Well son, I'm just as glad you didn't join up with that lot anyway. You'll be helping us out plenty just by working on the farm like always."
You're glad to hear that. Over the next couple days you fall back into routine again. You still wonder about the future though and you briefly consider the army plan again, but given your short lived experience with mercenary "life" you don't think you're cut out with battle on a regular basis. Plus the Zalan Empire is currently having really bad border skirmish with the Tulan Kingdom right now.
You resign yourself to the farm life. You play your lute to yourself (and family) when you have the time to do so. It's a simple life.
A year passes and a terrible incident occurs at a far away city known as Nuro. A group of rogue wizards summoned an army of the dead to take it over. They also summoned a lot of demons that have broken free and running rampant now in the Tulan Kingdom. It's all far away from you, but something like this is pretty serious. Necromancy and Demon summoning is strictly forbidden throughout the land.
Meanwhile life on the farm is going the same as it ever did. Hard sometimes, but manageable.
Another two years pass and things have gotten worse. The Necromancer Lord (as he's become to be known) has expanded, even to the point of taking over the Brot Kingdom. The Tulan Kingdom has been totally conquered by a demon army. A Grand Alliance of nations has been formed, but so far they don't seem to be making much progress.
Meanwhile life on the farm is a little harder. Your youngest sister Makana becomes gravely ill during the winter months, but there's not enough money to pay for a healer and most of the clerics have been summoned to battle with the undead or demon hordes. Sadly she dies making the overall mood of the farm a little more depressing. You don't even play anymore, your enthusiasm for music died along with the grim realities setting in.
Another three years pass and things are down right miserable. War is everywhere. The Demons have been taken care of, but the undead are stronger than ever. Reports even speak of the Necromancer Lord becoming The Great Lich Lord "reborn". You remember hearing tales by your father of such a being that existed centuries ago. They scared the hell out of you then and the fact that you're living in a time where he's returned makes you feel doomed.
To make things worse, the Zalan Empire has been becoming increasingly tyrannical. In order to help with the war effort they've started bringing back the draft and the talk of ceasing private property to be used for the good of the government. While they say owners will be able to live and still work on their lands and businesses, it will be owned by the Empire.
You know it's only a matter of time when you get a knock on the door by Zalan army troops coming to take you and your brother Mallack away to the army and your family's farm.
Another two year pass...
You're on the eve of battle in a land known as the Garwold Confederacy although it's steadily becoming a giant graveyard now. The undead hordes have been sweeping relentlessly across the entire landscape. Your own company has had to fall back several times. Morale is low. Not that yours was high to begin with. You don't even know how you've survived this long. You didn't even have that much military training when they threw you into you first battle a year ago. It was a terrifying experience and you still have nightmares about it. The undead... you'll never get used to fighting such emotionless creatures that are the embodiment of death and all that's unnatural.
You briefly wonder if your brother Mallack is alright where he's stationed, but it hardly matters at this point.
Battle comes as it always does and you are not so lucky this time. Horrible and powerful creatures known as Blood Specters and Death Knights utterly destroy your side.
You fall to undead blades and chilling touches only rise up and join them in their goal of global genocide. |
"No."
You reply bluntly.
"And you shouldn't be in it either man. The hell is wrong with you?"
You say, your voice getting louder. Ian at this points backs away a step, and seems a bit afraid.
"You're fucking smart man. Why the hell would you throw that away by being in a gang? You won't -"
You yell, then you suddenly stop. 'You won't go anywhere in life', is what you were about to say, but then it dawns on you that that is exactly what happens. He joins you, doing nothing with his life, as a stock boy. Your anger subsides, and your breathing normalizes, but Ian still keeps his distance.
"I...I'm sorry."
You say in a dejected tone, apologizing. You contemplate saying more, but decide against it. Slowly, you open the office door and exit the room.
"I'll see you later."
You say. Ian doesn't say anything in return, nor does he try to stop you. You leave the abandoned warehouse and wander around town for the rest of the day, wondering what you can do to help Ian.
Along the way you run into a group of girls, wearing a uniform you recognize as the one from the school your sister goes to. They laugh obnoxiously and talk about some other girl in their class. You sigh loudly, annoyed by their interruption of your thought process, but continue walking rather than confront them.
By the end of the day, you return home, hungry and without any real solution to how to help Ian. You've concluded that there's nothing you can really do to talk him out of being in the gang. Although you think you probably should have asked him why he's in it before leaving. You eat dinner and go to bed, your mom and sister blissfully ignorant of your day out. You glance at your alarm clock before dozing off, happy that tomorrow is Saturday.
> wake up early
Remembering your mother's words, you quickly spring to life early in the morning, and prepare to take your sister to school. Though, all that really involves is you walking a few blocks with her. Although you should have your license at this age (and after a quick check you confirm you do), your mother has the only vehicle, so driving your sister is out of the question. After getting ready you exit your door to find Tina standing there, her fist seemingly prepared to knock. An awkward moment of silence follows as you look at her, contemplating why you two never talk in the future.
"We...have to go soon."
She manages to say, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact. Why the hell does it seem like she's afraid? It annoys you, but you try to ignore it. Your own sister, afraid of you.
"Yeah, let's go."
You say, walking past her and towards the door. Come to think of it, you moved around a few times while you were a child, and a good portion of it was due to her. Even though Ian is your best friend, now and in the future, you had only become friends with him a year ago at this point in time. You had lived here before, years ago when you were a child, but you had to moved because of your father's work. You moved back eventually, but it was only due to Tina getting accepted into the private school she's currently attending.
Finally ready, the two of you exit the house and begin the walk towards her school. It's done mainly in silence, and as you get closer to the school, she seems to unconsciously move closer to you, distancing herself again whenever you notice. It always annoyed you how quiet and shy she seemed to be. Once at the school's large and elegant gates, you stop.
"There, have fun at school."
You say, as you begin to walk away.
"U-um..."
You hear a small voice say behind you as you go to walk.
"Can you pick me up after...after school...?"
You hear your sister request. Turning to her you sigh.
"Why?"
You ask in an obviously annoyed tone. Tina nervously moves back as she clutches her bag.
"Just because..."
> agree to pick her up
You look at Tina then at your surroundings. You don't really have much else to do later today, so you might as well pick her up, you decide.
"Fine, I'll see you after you're done then."
Tina, oddly enough, smiles in response. Something you shouldn't find odd at all, but she never seemed to smile from what you remember.
"Thanks, see you after I'm done then!"
She replies, hurrying into the school. You watch her run away and frown. Why does she want you to pick her up anyway? Sighing again, you turn and leave the school, returning back to your home. It's only about a 10 minute walk to the school, which calls into question if walking her to and from it really matters, but the distance means you basically have the entire day to yourself. Which you of course, decide to spend sleeping.
Or rather, you would have spent it sleeping, had you not rudely been awoken at about two by the smashing of fists against your front door. You groan as you exit your bed and move downstairs to answer the door.
"What?"
You ask angrily as you open it, only to find Allison happily standing in front of you. She smiles as you open the door.
"Why hello there, Jacob, or should I say good morning?"
She says cheekily. You open your mouth to retort, but she interrupts you.
"Anyway, I've been out here for a while, so can I come in?"
She continues, you go to reply, but she again interrupts you.
"What do you mean no? Would you really leave a cute girl outside in the cold?"
You stand silently and glare at her as she attempts to make a cute pose.
"...Done?"
"Yep!" |
The rest of the day goes by without much else happening. Neither Allison nor Olivia are in any of your other classes, and you don't seem to run into either of them. You walk home with Ian, and spend the rest of the day lounging around your home. You're beginning to feel like you've fallen into your old routine from back in the day.
The next morning, Ian arrives at your door, as per usual, except this time he doesn't seem to have his backpack.
"Yo, Jacob."
He says while standing at the end of your walkway.
"Hey Ian, where's your backpack?"
You ask while walking towards him, a bit confused.
"Ah, well about that, I was thinking we'd do something a little more interesting than school today."
He replies.
"Such as?"
"Well...you'll see when we get there."
He says with a bit of a laugh.
"It'll be fun man, just hide your bag somewhere first, we won't need it for where we're going."
He adds. If you remember right, skipping school so haphazardly wasn't something Ian often suggested. In fact, if you recall correctly, you were usually the one suggesting it and he was the one rejecting the idea. This makes you really wonder what he has in mind for the day. You stand there and consider if you really want to go or not. After all, if you go you'd be missing school, and you guess that would also mean you miss a chance to see Olivia or Allison.
"You won't give any hints about what we're gonna do?"
You ask, hopeful.
"Not a single one."
Ian replies smiling.
> go to school instead
Thinking it over, you decide it's better if you don't miss school today. You'd miss your chance to talk to Olivia or Allison if you did after all.
"Sorry, I think I'll just go to school, Ian. See ya."
You say, walking onwards without him.
"Alright then, your loss man. Later."
Ian replies with shrug and a wave. He then turns and goes his own way. The walk to school is uneventful, and surprisingly when you arrive you find that Allison isn't there in your first class. Olivia is there as per normal, and she seems to ignore your presence, although you occasionally catch her glancing at you. The class itself is boring, and you start to regret not skipping it with Ian. However, once it ends and you finally have spare time, you jump up and approach the teacher.
"Hey, um, Mr..."
You begin, however the realization hits you that you don't actually know his name, so you quickly just ask your question.
"Why isn't Allison at school today?"
Your teacher looks at you confused.
"Allison?"
He asks. A brief moment of panic comes over you where you think you may have imagined her entirely. Then the teacher begins to speak again.
"Ah, the new girl that joined us yesterday..."
He says. Internally you breathe a sigh of relief, happy to know you haven't gone insane.
"Yes, it appears she is absent today. Strange, she only just started yesterday..."
He continues. You thank him and quickly exit the room. In the hall, you can see Olivia making her way towards the cafeteria.
> look for Allison
More concerned about where Allison could be than school, you decide to look for her. With that in mind, you really have no idea as to where she could be. Your initial search is just around your high school, in the usual spots you might expect to find someone. The library, cafeteria, gym, courtyard, and the outside field all turn up nothing. If nothing else, it's clear that she's not at school. Undeterred, you decide this is a good time to skip school to continue your search.
You find yourself aimlessly walking around town in search of a girl you hardly even know. Sometime during your search, you find yourself wondering why you care so much about finding her. Do you intuitively know something is wrong and must find her? No, that can't be right, you don't think anything in particular is wrong with the situation. You were about to skip school yourself today, so it's not that big a deal that Allison would skip.
Then, maybe you're just drawn to her? She is an odd one after all, so it's only natural you'd be curious about her. There's also the matter of her probably knowing more than she lets on. Maybe she even knows about your current predicament...
"For the love long since lost, the old friend forgotten, the new one neglected, the sister he could never see, and the brother he could never be."
Were the words she said to you when you first approached her. You hadn't really considered any real deep meaning to them, but considering your circumstances, it probably has to do with you. Then, which are you, and for that matter, who is she? Does she actually know that you went back in time, or is this simply a large coincidence? You shake your head a bit. It's probably better if you just ask her again what she meant by all of that when you find her.
As your mind was wandering, your feet were still moving. You now find yourself outside of your sister's private high school, oddly enough. You guess it's about time school was over, as students seem to be exiting the school in an orderly fashion. That would mean that you spent three hours looking for Allison with no results. You sigh to yourself, although not finding her really should have been expected.
You're about to leave the grounds when you notice your sister walk out. Tina exits the front doors of school looking rather nervous, a normal sight with her it would seem. Thinking you should probably head home now, you turn to leave, when you notice a group of students approach her.
> watch what happens
You stand on the other side of the gated fence and watch as the group approaches your sister. From this distance you can't hear what they're saying, but you should be able to tell the general mood. Tina isn't really a social type, and when she's put into social situation she tends to just try and hide, which is why a group of students talking to her sparks your interests. The group consists of three girls and four guys, all dressed the uniform of the private school. They speak to her for a few minutes, during which time your sister attempts to cower back into the school. Eventually, one of the girls walk right up to your sister and push her to the ground.
A chill goes down your spine as you wonder who the hell these people are. You don't remember your sister being bullied in her high school, so why is this happening? Immediately after pushing her to the ground, the group leaves the school. You watch as they pass you by the front gate, but decide it's best not to confront them for the time being. Shortly after, you see Tina timidly walk by. She turns and notices you standing by the front gate, a mixture of fear and confusion in her eyes.
"Why...are you here?"
She asks. You pause to think for a moment, and just as you're about to say something, your mother pulls up beside the two of you.
"Tina, who is...wait, Jacob? What are you doing here?"
She asks, repeating Tina's question. Not wanting to admit you skipped the later half of classes to search for a girl you barely know, you lie.
"I just decided to pick up Tina is all."
You say. Your mother looks at you skeptically, but tells you and your sister to get in anyway. On the drive back, she reminds you that you need to wake up early to bring Tina to school tomorrow, since she works all day Saturday. You groan in response, but otherwise say nothing, and the rest of the night passes by without anything happening.
> wake up early
Remembering your mother's words, you quickly spring to life early in the morning, and prepare to take your sister to school. Though, all that really involves is you walking a few blocks with her. Although you should have your license at this age (and after a quick check you confirm you do), your mother has the only vehicle, so driving your sister is out of the question. After getting ready you exit your door to find Tina standing there, her fist seemingly prepared to knock. An awkward moment of silence follows as you look at her, contemplating why you two never talk in the future.
"We...have to go soon."
She manages to say, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact. Why the hell does it seem like she's afraid? It annoys you, but you try to ignore it. Your own sister, afraid of you.
"Yeah, let's go."
You say, walking past her and towards the door. Come to think of it, you moved around a few times while you were a child, and a good portion of it was due to her. Even though Ian is your best friend, now and in the future, you had only become friends with him a year ago at this point in time. You had lived here before, years ago when you were a child, but you had to moved because of your father's work. You moved back eventually, but it was only due to Tina getting accepted into the private school she's currently attending.
Finally ready, the two of you exit the house and begin the walk towards her school. It's done mainly in silence, and as you get closer to the school, she seems to unconsciously move closer to you, distancing herself again whenever you notice. It always annoyed you how quiet and shy she seemed to be. Once at the school's large and elegant gates, you stop.
"There, have fun at school."
You say, as you begin to walk away.
"U-um..."
You hear a small voice say behind you as you go to walk.
"Can you pick me up after...after school...?"
You hear your sister request. Turning to her you sigh.
"Why?"
You ask in an obviously annoyed tone. Tina nervously moves back as she clutches her bag.
"Just because..."
You remember how yesterday you saw her get bullied by that group of students. Maybe that has something to do with why she wants to be picked up... |
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> zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Monday 8:00 AM
You groggily wake up from the sofa like you always do, dreading to have to go to work at your pointless job. You haven't been sleeping well lately, you don't know what the hell the problem is, and all you know is you're going to be tired for work again. As you go through your routine of getting ready, the TV can be heard; as usual you left it on from the night before.
"... And peace talks broke down today, as several ambassadors engaged in a physical fight at the UN... Neo-Communist party gaining favor in Russia... more terrorist bombings in European Union cities... US troops won another victory in the Middle East... mysterious epidemic in China, several million dead... skirmishes on the Indian-Pakistan border... world wide tensions at an all time high... "
Same old doom and gloom on TV; you wonder why you even bother watching the news anymore. Still it does seem like things are getting worse, late at night when you're suffering from your usual insomnia, you've been catching infomercials attempting to sell bomb shelters, like something out of a 1950s propaganda film. It seems silly, but you do wonder if it's only a matter of time before someone presses the button.
Then again you live out in the boonies, you've always thought that if the world ever did blow up; you'd doubt you'd even notice until you drove to work the next day and saw the ruins of the city. Speaking of which you better get going or you'll be late.
> head to work
You turn off the TV and head to work, no point in worrying about things you can't do shit about. You have other real everyday problems to deal with.
You go about your mundane life, doing mundane tasks at your mundane job, talking to your mundane co-workers about mundane things. Not much changes.
One month later...
Monday 8:00 AM
You groggily wake up from the sofa like you always do, dreading to have to go to work at your pointless job. You haven't been sleeping well lately, you don't know what the hell the problem is, and all you know is you're going to be tired for work again. As you go through your routine of getting ready, the TV can be heard; as usual you left it on from the night before.
"... Russian hardliners seized control of the government... Chinese epidemic has worsened; entire country is under quarantine... UK has withdrawn all association from the EU... Senate dissolved in US, martial law enacted... India declared open war on Pakistan... mass starvation in Africa... world wide depression...
Same old doom and gloom on TV, a lot more serious now though. Those "silly" bomb shelter infomercials have increased; you've also been noticing an increase in survival type book titles whenever you browse the book stores now and the Emergency broadcasting system has been doing A LOT of tests lately. Something bad is going to happen and it's going to happen soon.
You go about your life which isn't quite so mundane, world politics is a constant topic at work, and many of your co-workers aren't even coming in to do their job. All the married ones are no doubt spending time with their families, in fact the work place really isn't a work place anymore so much as it is a "socializing site". A lot of them believe the world is coming to an end anyway, so they might as well have a good time. Attempting to go about your normal life isn't an option anymore; neither is buying a bomb shelter at this late stage.
> indulge in the festivities
You've never really been a party person, but if this is it, maybe you can have some fun before the end comes. There's plenty of food and liquids of all kinds at your place of work. The entire office is turned into party central. Nobody bothers going home; it's actually safer to stay inside the office building anyway since the National Guard is attempting to restore what little order there is in the city. Everyone makes sure to stay away from windows.
Even though you attempt to enjoy yourself, you still have a nagging bit of "concern" for what lies ahead in the future and just can't quite loosen up completely; you're about the only one who still bothers to keep up on current events by watching TV and looking at the internet in between non-stop merrymaking. Eventually one of your co-workers Greg walks in on you watching the news by yourself. He's not exactly what you'd consider a friend, but he's an acquaintance you normally talked to when you actually did work.
"Jesus Christ man! There's a non-stop party going on and you're in here wasting time watching TV?" Greg says holding a bottle of beer.
"I just want to see if the situation has improved... "
"Are you kidding me? It ain't improving man! The world's going to hell in a hand basket, and the sooner you accept that fact the better! Why don't you go talk to Marina in accounting, didn't you always have a crush on her or something?"
"Well yeah, but... "
"But? But nothing man! There ain't no time left anymore! Hell I haven't seen you participate in ONE orgy since you've been here!"
"I dunno, seems unsanitary, I don't want to catch something, and I don't want everyone to see me naked."
Greg puts one of his hands on his face and shakes his head in disbelief of your answer. He then throws his beer bottle into the TV screen breaking them both.
"WAKE THE FUCK UP! This is fuckin' it man! There ain't nothing coming after this! We're all gonna die in a fiery nuclear explosion! You think it's really gonna matter if in the off chance that you do catch AIDS or some shit, you'll be alive long enough to die from it? And nobody gives a shit about how small your dick is... "
"HEY! My dick isn't small! Its average length for someone of my height!" you protest.
"Whatever man! Look what I'm trying to say is, everyone is just here to have a good time and grab some pleasure before the nukes start flying, and nobody's even caring about looks right now. Shit, that fat troll Phil must be getting more action now than he ever has in his entire life! You thought Phil was disgusting looking with his clothes on, he ain't any prettier with his clothes off, and yet he has banged Kate no less than ten times since we started this Armageddon party and you know how fucking fine she is!"
"Really? Phil?"
"I'm telling you man, you NEED to go talk to Marina and get you some of that before the bombs start dropping!"
Greg sees that you're still a little apprehensive about the idea.
"Fine then, or don't. It doesn't matter to me man. I'm going back to the party, I'm not gonna stand here wasting my time talking to you when I could be fucking Kate. I just hope I can get to her before Phil this time."
Greg leaves you to ponder the situation.
> party like its 1999 (Even though it really is not 1999)
Greg's right. This IS it! This is no time to be playing it safe! The world is going to end any day and damn it you're going to fucking LIVE life for the first time! You immediately get up and make your way to the main office area; it looks like you're just in time for another orgy. Greg is getting ready to stick it to Kate just like he said... that is until you smash the back of his head in with a stapler until he's bloody and unconscious... or dead. You're not sure and you don't really care anymore.
"You were right... man." You say breathing hard.
Your actions cause people to stop in shock, then you grab Kate who's completely naked and worried about what you're going to do next.
"Come here you little fucking whore, you like being a fucking fuck slut? I'll treat you like one then!" you utter viciously.
You proceed to bend Kate over the copy machine, pull her hair and fuck the hell out of her calling her every derogatory name in the book. The weird thing is she starts to like it. She even starts taunting you back saying you can't fuck worth a shit. This of course only makes you slap her around a bit more. You both are really getting into it.
After watching this spontaneous act of S&M/Rape everyone goes back to doing what they were doing. From then on in, Kate hangs around you a lot more (Much to Phil's dismay) and you forget all about Marina, in fact you don't even see her in the whole time during this Armageddon party. You indulge in carnal delights like you never had before.
Until one day...
Monday 8:00 AM
You groggily wake up from the floor; Kate's lying beside you asleep. There are sleeping naked bodies everywhere. Yesterday's orgy was a dozy, someone broke open a couple bags of coke they'd been saving and everyone had a snort. Can't say you liked it though, your head fucking hurts, you keep hearing a fucking ring...
"... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... ."
Then you realize it's not in your head, it's an actual ring from another TV that was left on. There's a test pattern on it.
This is it.
You put your clothes back on and give Kate a quick kiss, which causes her to smile a little in her sleep. You wonder if you would've actually had a shot with her if things had been normal, oh well you guess you'll never know.
You quietly make your way through the room and head up to the top floor and onto the roof of the building. The city is deadly quiet. You don't hear a sound except the wind gently blowing. In all the revelry you've been indulging in, you forgot how much you liked the solitude and silence.
The loneliness is peaceful.
You look up in the sky, shielding your eyes from the sun shining down.
You see a bright light and then nothing at all. |
You volunteered and you're going to see it through, might not be that dangerous as you think especially if the place is indeed abandoned.
You spend a few days crossing over hills and some plains. For awhile you think someone's following you, but never see a soul, actually you're wondering about the Geiger counter readings more than anything, but you're guessing there wasn't any nuclear blast the direction you're going. You also guess that seeing trees up ahead is also a good sign. You would've dressed yourself in a radiation suit, but the Colonel kept insisting it wouldn't be necessary and for the mission that Harry was sending some of the others on would need them more.
"Shit! I forgot to take a radio!" you say to yourself finally realizing that it would've been nice to radio in to the Compound if you had something important to report, like being unable to enter the base because snipers were shooting at you.
Happily that doesn't seem to occur when you finally arrive. You almost aren't even sure if you're at the right place at first. The Compound is bigger, then again this place probably has an extensive underground, and as the Colonel said, it was more like a research facility than a proper military base.
Still there's something a little weird about all this, it seems like security would be of major importance for a place like this, yet there's nobody here guarding the outside and you just walked through open gates. Maybe the place is abandoned, but they could all be underground though, (That would certainly be more sensible than wandering around exposing themselves to radioactive wind... )
The surface offices and barracks don't look like anyone left in a hurry; in fact a lot of the barracks still have their equipment. (You take some extra ammo for your assault rifle) You search through some of papers you find in the offices, but there's nothing of any importance. Just mundane status reports of personnel guard duties. You find a few letters with GZS logos on them, but again nothing telling you much.
Nothing else for it, but to go underground. You approach the solid metal structure at the far end of the base. Looks like an elevator door with an ATM machine near it. There's a slot and some button, so you're guessing this is where you shove your security pass that the Colonel gave you. Hope it works or you came all this way for nothing. You slide the pass in the slot.
"Identification recognized. GZS wishes you a pleasant day in all your endeavors sir!" a chipper female voice sounds as the elevator door opens.
Not exactly what you were expecting, GZS must've had more input here than the Colonel thought. You're a little nervous as you press the elevator button down, you expect the worst. The elevator eventually reaches its destination and opens up to a corridor. You cautiously exit. You don't get far when a cybernetic being comes from around a corner and points its arm at you, which is doubling as a weapon of some sort, one that would blow a big hole in you.
"Lower your weapon and please come with me sir. Alex will want to see you. Any attempt to attack or escape will be met with extreme use of force."
> go with the cyborg
You lower your rifle (But still hold on to it) and walk side by side with the cyborg who is surprisingly chatty, you also see it walks a bit irregularly, like it hasn't been spliced together correctly.
"Alex will be most pleased to see you; you'll be the first human here in months!"
"What happened to all the others?"
"Oh well most of them have been improved like m-m-m-m." the cyborg hits itself in the head before he stops stuttering "Like me, sir."
"Hmm, some improvement."
"Oh well, its not so bad. Alex promises to give us a tune up when he gets the necessary time, he is only one man after all. Some assistants would certainly help."
"So Alex is a surgeon?"
"Well he's not really. I mean he didn't start out that way at least, but he's completely self taught and trying to learn more each day! Sure there have been some failures, but there's also been success! Why look at m-m-m-m." the cyborg hits itself in the head again while you just shake yours. You can see this is going to be an interesting meeting.
"So who were you before Alex... uh improved you."
"Oh I was a regular military man who guarded this base with no real identity. Just a name and a number really."
"And now?"
"Now I'm known as J-34 and I protect Alex!"
"That's great... so everyone here is a cyborg like you?"
"Just about. Most military personnel were friends with Alex before being renewed, so they were happy to be improved. The GZS personnel weren't so enthusiastic about the idea, in fact they were mad that Alex discovered their top secret project. They tried to stop him, but they were stopped instead. Alex saw that the project would be pointless in trying to perfect it to use in a war that was going to be over in six minutes. Better that it should be applied to those that would surely survive the aftermath of that same war. Here we are, I'm sure Alex will want to hear all about the outside world, hey maybe he'll improve you too!"
You enter an office where a man sits at a desk pouring over technical manuals and medical books. Two more cyborgs armed with some sort science fictionish weapons stand by him. There's no way you could hope to kill him without them killing you as well. He looks up.
"Ah a guest! Been a long time since we've seen anyone new... in fact I'm a little puzzled on how you even found this place, let alone entered it... you're not GZS are you?" Alex says changing his pleasant demeanor in mid sentence.
"No! Not at all! I'm here because the Colonel sent me. He says you and he are friends. Here. Here's his ring and a letter he wrote to prove it. He'd also given me a security pass so I could enter this place."
Alex takes the ring and letter and inspects them both, before addressing you again.
"Well it looks like everything's legitimate. I shall trust you. Though I'm not sure I trust the Colonel. I never did trust him. He only wanted to use me so I could get access to high tech weaponry, but instead I found much more here! Much more than I ever told him! Ha ha! I hear him trying to radio in, wondering if there's anyone here, I've been ignoring him. He and his group of right wing loonies are unworthy of being re-made. If they think they're true survivialists then they don't need the gifts that this base provides. All of it is mine, I EARNED this place and it shall be I who ushers in a new era. Not GZS, not the government and not the fucking goddamn Colonel!"
Alex is obviously unhinged, you don't know if he was always this way or got that way later, but it hardly matters, what's of major importance is that you walk away from this meeting unscathed. You try to calm him down.
"Whoa hold on, I don't think the Colonel or any of his right wing loonies would want to be re-made."
"Nonsense, anyone with any sense of survival would want to be re-made if they new about what was being worked on here."
You can't help, but notice that Alex hasn't done any improvements on himself...
"However, I can see you don't share that same short sighted thinking that the rest of those Compound cronies do. You are worthy of being re-made! In fact I would like to start now, I've been studying up on some new techniques and I would love to test them out. I think I could do a really good job this time, there will definitely be less acc... er complications than in the past."
This is just getting worse. Now this nutjob wants to work on you.
"Look, I don't want to be re-made! I was just here to see if you were alive and scout this place out! Now that I've done that, I'm to return to the Compound!"
"Oh well now that's going to be a problem... I can't risk you telling him what's here."
You really didn't want to hear that.
"Look, I'll tell the Colonel that there wasn't anything here, I can reason with him. You can even take my security pass to make sure I can't get back in if you're really worried. However, if he doesn't hear from me, he's only going to send more folks to this place."
"And what of it? They wouldn't be able to get in and even if they could, his weekend warriors would be no match for Cybernetic Evolution!"
"No, but they could just blow up the elevator trapping you down here forever, and you'll never be able to leave to allow your genius to usher in the new era that you were talking about."
That seems to relax Alex a bit, as always a little flattery goes a long way to ease an unbalanced mind.
"Hmm, perhaps you make some sense, and you seem like a trustworthy sort... very well. I shall arrange for you to leave. Give me your security pass."
"Okay, and I'll be needing the Colonel's ring and letter back, so I can say I didn't find anything here."
You and Alex exchange items and he and his two cyborg guards escort you back to the elevator.
"Goodbye, perhaps if we meet again you will be more receptive to being re-made. It's a harsh new world, and you'll soon wish you had an edge to survive it." Alex tells you before you leave.
"I'll do alright."
The elevator goes up and you're back on the surface again where you make your trek back to the compound in just a few days. You notice there have been a few changes in the few days you've left. Namely there's a still to make hooch. And you now have some working vehicles that been modified to run on hooch. The same still that people are making cheap booze from they're also using it as fuel, which basically translates into the vehicles running on "garbage" given that's what the booze is being made out of. Smells pretty bad, but whatever works. Though from what you heard some towns have been found to be running their vehicles on shit (animal AND human) so the smell could be worse. There's been a couple deaths from some of the other recon missions, but for the most part everything else is normal.
Everyone's almost surprised to see you come back, Marina's happy, Harry obviously isn't. The Colonel though wants to see you immediately.
Since you don't owe any allegiance to some nutcase playing Frankenstein in an underground base, you tell the Colonel everything. You expect him to get mad at you, but he doesn't.
"(Sigh) Alex always was a bit unstable; I always wondered why the army never gave him a section 8. Anyway, what you're telling me doesn't surprise me, though I wish you could've gotten away without giving up that security pass. It's going to be harder to get down there now."
"You still want to go down there?"
"Of course! What you think I'm going to let Alex slowly refine and build up his cyborg army? Who do you think he's going to attack first? No, we need to get rid of him NOW. I suppose we could blow up the elevator doors to gain access. Not like we don't have the means to do that."
"Yeah, but don't you run the risk of blowing up the entire elevator, and causing it fall and crash down the shaft? We wouldn't be able to send anyone down there in an efficient manner. Let alone fighting off cyborgs who would cut us down with ease if we were trying to repel down the shaft or huddled together coming off the elevator, besides Alex might have left the elevator on his level given the recent visit of mine."
The Colonel lets forth another sigh knowing that you make a good point, but frustrated as well.
"You're right, so what do you suggest we do then? Sit and do nothing with our thumbs up our asses?"
> suggest in hacking the security system, then invading the base.
"Well I suppose you're right in that we need to stop Alex, but blowing up the elevator still isn't going to help, I suggest we hack the security system to gain control of it properly and then send down the invasion force and hope we can deal with the robots and cyborgs down there." You reply.
"Sounds like a better plan, I didn't know you had so much computer experience though, let alone able to hack into a secret army base."
"Huh? I don't. I mean, don't you have people like that here?"
"Excuse me, but you seem to be new here, hello welcome to the Compound... NO OF COURSE I DON'T I HAVE ANYONE LIKE THAT HERE! Sheesh! It's not like we figured advanced computer hacking skills are going to be that useful when the world is blown back to the stone age! So you mean you don't have the ability to pull off this amazing plan of yours?"
"Well, not really, not to that degree at least... I suppose there's just taking the panel apart and re-wiring it so it opens up for us though, you got any electricians or someone of that nature?"
"Yeah a few, but I hope you do too, because you're going to assist the team since you're the idea man for all of this. After you clean out all the cyborgs and whatever the hell else Alex has built down there, remember to grab those weapons and come back. We'll go back to occupy the base later. Now go select your team and whatever else you think you might need."
After asking for the names of the electronically "gifted" around the place, you go about following the Colonel's orders and saying goodbye to Marina again, she looks more confident that you'll return this time, you wish you could feel the same.
When you and your team get to the base in a few days, you're in for a little surprise. A medium sized robot is patrolling the courtyard. Looks like your friend Alex also dabbles in robotics as well as cybernetics. You and your team hide behind the outer wall when you all catch sight of it. Apparently Alex didn't trust you any more than you trusted him, and looks like both of you were right.
"Uh, what's that?" one of your team members asks.
"It's a robot, what's it look like?"
"Well what're we gonna do?"
"Kill it! Everyone open fire!"
You have no idea if your bullets are going to penetrate its armor, but you you're going to try anyway. Everyone fires upon the robotic being, which begins to shutter and spark, but returns fire and a bright burst of light strikes one of your team members and completely incinerates him.
"Holy shit, get cover and keep firing!" you shout.
The rest of the battle doesn't last too much longer, while your team continue to fire bursts at the machine while they dodge plasma blasts, you get enough time to toss a grenade at it and blow it to smithereens. Shards of burnt twisted metal lie all over the place.
"Come on we need to open up that door, before something else comes out of the damn thing!"
You and a few others start working on the card reader, trying to get it open as fast as possible. You don't even know how you're going to rewire the damn thing; you'll just keep doing something until something else happens! As it turns out you didn't need to do anything, while you and few others are fumbling around, the elevator doors open. At first you think you it was you who opened them, but in fact it was Alex who was controlling the elevator from the bottom. Two heavily armed cyborgs exit and begin firing immediately turning most of your team into charred skeletons. You manage to just barely get away and duck behind one of the buildings. Fortunately they don't seem to be very fast, so when they try to chase you, you toss a few grenades in their direction, blowing them up in the same manner you destroyed the robot, except a bit bloodier, given their human bits.
You come out of your hiding place and see nothing left of your team, they've all been killed. The elevator door is still open; you could enter and finish the job, or return to the Compound in failure.
> enter
You take a deep breath and enter the elevator taking it down. As soon as it opens you step out and blaze away at the first metallic monster that pops from around the corner, hitting it critically in some vital component. In fact you're doing okay all things considering, but as they say, it usually isn't thing that you're expecting that gets you.
Thinking you have a breather, you duck into one of the rooms to reload; unfortunately you feel a dart go into your back, before you enter it. You pull it out and see it's a tranquilizer dart. Already you feel drowsy, and begin to collapse. You ban barely make him out in your current state, but Alex soon enters with a victorious look on his face, holding his tranquilizer gun.
"Well, it looks like I was right to not trust you, but you'll be able to repay me back soon enough. Trust me, you'll thank me for this remaking."
Despite Alex's claims you're unable to do much talking at all after Alex remakes you, let alone thanking him. He basically designs you in such a way that only your basic brain functions remain. Just enough for you to obey simple commands such as "Attack the Compound".
Obeying that command is the last thing you do, before you're eventually blown to bits during Alex's attack on the Compound. |
"Well I suppose you're right in that we need to stop Alex, but blowing up the elevator still isn't going to help, I suggest we hack the security system to gain control of it properly and then send down the invasion force and hope we can deal with the robots and cyborgs down there." You reply.
"Sounds like a better plan, I didn't know you had so much computer experience though, let alone able to hack into a secret army base."
"Huh? I don't. I mean, don't you have people like that here?"
"Excuse me, but you seem to be new here, hello welcome to the Compound... NO OF COURSE I DON'T I HAVE ANYONE LIKE THAT HERE! Sheesh! It's not like we figured advanced computer hacking skills are going to be that useful when the world is blown back to the stone age! So you mean you don't have the ability to pull off this amazing plan of yours?"
"Well, not really, not to that degree at least... I suppose there's just taking the panel apart and re-wiring it so it opens up for us though, you got any electricians or someone of that nature?"
"Yeah a few, but I hope you do too, because you're going to assist the team since you're the idea man for all of this. After you clean out all the cyborgs and whatever the hell else Alex has built down there, remember to grab those weapons and come back. We'll go back to occupy the base later. Now go select your team and whatever else you think you might need."
After asking for the names of the electronically "gifted" around the place, you go about following the Colonel's orders and saying goodbye to Marina again, she looks more confident that you'll return this time, you wish you could feel the same.
When you and your team get to the base in a few days, you're in for a little surprise. A medium sized robot is patrolling the courtyard. Looks like your friend Alex also dabbles in robotics as well as cybernetics. You and your team hide behind the outer wall when you all catch sight of it. Apparently Alex didn't trust you any more than you trusted him, and looks like both of you were right.
"Uh, what's that?" one of your team members asks.
"It's a robot, what's it look like?"
"Well what're we gonna do?"
"Kill it! Everyone open fire!"
You have no idea if your bullets are going to penetrate its armor, but you you're going to try anyway. Everyone fires upon the robotic being, which begins to shutter and spark, but returns fire and a bright burst of light strikes one of your team members and completely incinerates him.
"Holy shit, get cover and keep firing!" you shout.
The rest of the battle doesn't last too much longer, while your team continue to fire bursts at the machine while they dodge plasma blasts, you get enough time to toss a grenade at it and blow it to smithereens. Shards of burnt twisted metal lie all over the place.
"Come on we need to open up that door, before something else comes out of the damn thing!"
You and a few others start working on the card reader, trying to get it open as fast as possible. You don't even know how you're going to rewire the damn thing; you'll just keep doing something until something else happens! As it turns out you didn't need to do anything, while you and few others are fumbling around, the elevator doors open. At first you think you it was you who opened them, but in fact it was Alex who was controlling the elevator from the bottom. Two heavily armed cyborgs exit and begin firing immediately turning most of your team into charred skeletons. You manage to just barely get away and duck behind one of the buildings. Fortunately they don't seem to be very fast, so when they try to chase you, you toss a few grenades in their direction, blowing them up in the same manner you destroyed the robot, except a bit bloodier, given their human bits.
You come out of your hiding place and see nothing left of your team, they've all been killed. The elevator door is still open; you could enter and finish the job, or return to the Compound in failure.
> leave
There's no way you can take on the rest by yourself, at the very least you need to get reinforcements! You'd radio in, but one of the other team members was carrying it, and he was fricasseed. Plus you don't want to be around if anymore of Alex's creations come up. Time for a full scale invasion, looks like the Colonel was right.
And that's just what the Colonel tells you, when he's chewing your ass out for losing valuable people and equipment in an attempt to go through with your plan. His respect for you is severely lowered, in fact the entire Compound's respect for you is lowered. Harry makes every effort to taunt you, and even Marina becomes distant. (Obviously you weren't the "man" she thought you were.) Your status in the Compound is pretty much nil, when the Colonel finally organizes an invasion party; you of course aren't included.
Now knowing another invasion attempt is probably coming, Alex really beefed up his defenses; the invasion force doesn't even set foot into the base before getting blasted by superior cyborg weaponry. Reinforcements are called in, but they don't help. The base is too well defended now. A retreat is called, and the Compound has to abandon its invasion indefinitely. In fact all exploration is called off; since the Colonel decides he can't afford to lose anyone else. (One of the only reasons why you're kept around) The Compound just becomes a "place" where everyone lives because it's safer than living outside it. The ideas of "rebuilding" civilization are abandoned. Morale certainly isn't what it used to be.
Of course none of that means shit to Alex, who only steps up his plans for conquest.
A year passes without another incident and then the day happens which you all hoped would never happen, but somehow expected it would. Alex's army arrives, and what's worse is they now outnumber you. Alex must've been capturing people in the wastelands or something. He's also improved his abilities, they're even tougher, and worse they're faster.
You don't have anywhere else to go, and this place is your home such as it is. You figure maybe you can regain some respect by defending the place.
You and the rest prepare to defend the Compound. Harry is predictably yelling orders at everyone, while the Colonel is attempting to boost morale with inspirational speeches. None of it really helps though when the first wave of cyborgs easily melt the gate into liquid metal and blast holes in the walls.
Then they proceed to melt the people into liquid pulp, and blast holes in their bodies, you are no exception. |
You lower your rifle (But still hold on to it) and walk side by side with the cyborg who is surprisingly chatty, you also see it walks a bit irregularly, like it hasn't been spliced together correctly.
"Alex will be most pleased to see you; you'll be the first human here in months!"
"What happened to all the others?"
"Oh well most of them have been improved like m-m-m-m." the cyborg hits itself in the head before he stops stuttering "Like me, sir."
"Hmm, some improvement."
"Oh well, its not so bad. Alex promises to give us a tune up when he gets the necessary time, he is only one man after all. Some assistants would certainly help."
"So Alex is a surgeon?"
"Well he's not really. I mean he didn't start out that way at least, but he's completely self taught and trying to learn more each day! Sure there have been some failures, but there's also been success! Why look at m-m-m-m." the cyborg hits itself in the head again while you just shake yours. You can see this is going to be an interesting meeting.
"So who were you before Alex... uh improved you."
"Oh I was a regular military man who guarded this base with no real identity. Just a name and a number really."
"And now?"
"Now I'm known as J-34 and I protect Alex!"
"That's great... so everyone here is a cyborg like you?"
"Just about. Most military personnel were friends with Alex before being renewed, so they were happy to be improved. The GZS personnel weren't so enthusiastic about the idea, in fact they were mad that Alex discovered their top secret project. They tried to stop him, but they were stopped instead. Alex saw that the project would be pointless in trying to perfect it to use in a war that was going to be over in six minutes. Better that it should be applied to those that would surely survive the aftermath of that same war. Here we are, I'm sure Alex will want to hear all about the outside world, hey maybe he'll improve you too!"
You enter an office where a man sits at a desk pouring over technical manuals and medical books. Two more cyborgs armed with some sort science fictionish weapons stand by him. There's no way you could hope to kill him without them killing you as well. He looks up.
"Ah a guest! Been a long time since we've seen anyone new... in fact I'm a little puzzled on how you even found this place, let alone entered it... you're not GZS are you?" Alex says changing his pleasant demeanor in mid sentence.
"No! Not at all! I'm here because the Colonel sent me. He says you and he are friends. Here. Here's his ring and a letter he wrote to prove it. He'd also given me a security pass so I could enter this place."
Alex takes the ring and letter and inspects them both, before addressing you again.
"Well it looks like everything's legitimate. I shall trust you. Though I'm not sure I trust the Colonel. I never did trust him. He only wanted to use me so I could get access to high tech weaponry, but instead I found much more here! Much more than I ever told him! Ha ha! I hear him trying to radio in, wondering if there's anyone here, I've been ignoring him. He and his group of right wing loonies are unworthy of being re-made. If they think they're true survivialists then they don't need the gifts that this base provides. All of it is mine, I EARNED this place and it shall be I who ushers in a new era. Not GZS, not the government and not the fucking goddamn Colonel!"
Alex is obviously unhinged, you don't know if he was always this way or got that way later, but it hardly matters, what's of major importance is that you walk away from this meeting unscathed. You try to calm him down.
"Whoa hold on, I don't think the Colonel or any of his right wing loonies would want to be re-made."
"Nonsense, anyone with any sense of survival would want to be re-made if they new about what was being worked on here."
You can't help, but notice that Alex hasn't done any improvements on himself...
"However, I can see you don't share that same short sighted thinking that the rest of those Compound cronies do. You are worthy of being re-made! In fact I would like to start now, I've been studying up on some new techniques and I would love to test them out. I think I could do a really good job this time, there will definitely be less acc... er complications than in the past."
This is just getting worse. Now this nutjob wants to work on you.
"Look, I don't want to be re-made! I was just here to see if you were alive and scout this place out! Now that I've done that, I'm to return to the Compound!"
"Oh well now that's going to be a problem... I can't risk you telling him what's here."
You really didn't want to hear that.
"Look, I'll tell the Colonel that there wasn't anything here, I can reason with him. You can even take my security pass to make sure I can't get back in if you're really worried. However, if he doesn't hear from me, he's only going to send more folks to this place."
"And what of it? They wouldn't be able to get in and even if they could, his weekend warriors would be no match for Cybernetic Evolution!"
"No, but they could just blow up the elevator trapping you down here forever, and you'll never be able to leave to allow your genius to usher in the new era that you were talking about."
That seems to relax Alex a bit, as always a little flattery goes a long way to ease an unbalanced mind.
"Hmm, perhaps you make some sense, and you seem like a trustworthy sort... very well. I shall arrange for you to leave. Give me your security pass."
"Okay, and I'll be needing the Colonel's ring and letter back, so I can say I didn't find anything here."
You and Alex exchange items and he and his two cyborg guards escort you back to the elevator.
"Goodbye, perhaps if we meet again you will be more receptive to being re-made. It's a harsh new world, and you'll soon wish you had an edge to survive it." Alex tells you before you leave.
"I'll do alright."
The elevator goes up and you're back on the surface again where you make your trek back to the compound in just a few days. You notice there have been a few changes in the few days you've left. Namely there's a still to make hooch. And you now have some working vehicles that been modified to run on hooch. The same still that people are making cheap booze from they're also using it as fuel, which basically translates into the vehicles running on "garbage" given that's what the booze is being made out of. Smells pretty bad, but whatever works. Though from what you heard some towns have been found to be running their vehicles on shit (animal AND human) so the smell could be worse. There's been a couple deaths from some of the other recon missions, but for the most part everything else is normal.
Everyone's almost surprised to see you come back, Marina's happy, Harry obviously isn't. The Colonel though wants to see you immediately.
Since you don't owe any allegiance to some nutcase playing Frankenstein in an underground base, you tell the Colonel everything. You expect him to get mad at you, but he doesn't.
"(Sigh) Alex always was a bit unstable; I always wondered why the army never gave him a section 8. Anyway, what you're telling me doesn't surprise me, though I wish you could've gotten away without giving up that security pass. It's going to be harder to get down there now."
"You still want to go down there?"
"Of course! What you think I'm going to let Alex slowly refine and build up his cyborg army? Who do you think he's going to attack first? No, we need to get rid of him NOW. I suppose we could blow up the elevator doors to gain access. Not like we don't have the means to do that."
"Yeah, but don't you run the risk of blowing up the entire elevator, and causing it fall and crash down the shaft? We wouldn't be able to send anyone down there in an efficient manner. Let alone fighting off cyborgs who would cut us down with ease if we were trying to repel down the shaft or huddled together coming off the elevator, besides Alex might have left the elevator on his level given the recent visit of mine."
The Colonel lets forth another sigh knowing that you make a good point, but frustrated as well.
"You're right, so what do you suggest we do then? Sit and do nothing with our thumbs up our asses?"
> suggest in containing Alex instead
Funny that you are about to suggest an idea to the Colonel that got you out of trouble with Alex in the first place.
"No, I think you do have a good idea about stopping Alex, I saw first hand how crazy he was. Maybe we can't actually get to him, but we could contain him. We blow up the elevator like you wanted to do and then dump explosives down the shaft, it should collapse things enough that they won't be able to leave, and we won't lose any people."
"Ah, I like the way you think, but suppose they attempt get out, or rebuild the elevator or something?"
"Well, we could leave a permanent detachment there to keep a constant vigil. I mean the surface part of the base is completely usable. That way we get an early warning just in case anything does try to come out."
"Interesting idea. Having two command centers would be a good idea, I was planning on expansion in the future, might as well start now. Should keep us alert as well. Can't afford to get sloppy out here. Okay. We'll go with that idea, and since you came up with it, you can oversee the operation. In fact consider yourself stationed there until further notice."
"What?!"
"Hey I have to put someone there, you've done a good job so far and you have the best experience with the place so you can be in charge. Think of it as an honor son! I have a lot faith in you and I don't have much in anyone."
"Well thanks, but wouldn't someone like Harry be a better choice?"
"Harry? Yeah, he's got his uses, but I'd rather not have him in charge of anything important like this, no I want you and few others to go, in fact you pick them. I'll let you know if I can afford to spare them."
"Well then I pick Marina right now."
"I expected that. Sure, if you can convince her to go. Just remember what you're there for! Okay go pick out your team and gather what equipment you might need."
You leave and tell Marina the situation immediately, she of course agrees to go with you, though she's a little worried about being someplace with a bunch of cyborgs several feet underneath her, of course you're worried about the same thing.
You pick out six more people of varying skills, but mostly people you were getting along with during your stay at the Compound. You don't want to take anyone who you're not going to get along with. The Colonel approves of your choice and gives you the okay, Harry looks positively jealous that he was passed over for you who just got here. In fact before you leave he tells you as much.
"You fucking little pissant. You think because you're all chummy with the Colonel that you're his fucking second in command now?"
"No, I... "
"You're goddamn right no! If anything happens to the Colonel I'M in charge of this shit! You better remember that fuckhead! Because if you're still on my list when that occurs, you best pray to God that I at least lube your asshole after I rip off your pink panties and before I shove my foot up it and make your colon my permanent fuckin' sock!"
You're a little bewildered by the logic of this comment, you almost can't be sure if he's threatening you, or flirting with you. You don't feel like arguing with him though since it won't accomplish anything, besides if any good is coming from this, it's getting away from him. You and your team leave.
When you and your team get to the base in a few days, you're in for a little surprise. A medium sized robot is patrolling the courtyard. Looks like your friend Alex also dabbles in robotics as well as cybernetics. You and your team hide behind the outer wall when you all catch sight of it. Apparently Alex didn't trust you any more than you trusted him, and looks like both of you were right.
"Uh, what's that?" one of your team members asks.
"It's a robot, what's it look like?"
"Well what're we gonna do?"
"Kill it! Everyone open fire!"
You have no idea if your bullets are going to penetrate its armor, but you you're going to try anyway. Everyone fires upon the robotic being, which begins to shutter and spark, but returns fire and a bright burst of light strikes one of your team members and completely incinerates him.
"Holy shit, get cover and keep firing!" you shout.
The rest of the battle doesn't last too much longer, while your team continue to fire bursts at the machine while they dodge plasma blasts, you get enough time to toss a grenade at it and blow it to smithereens. Shards of burnt twisted metal lie all over the place.
"Come on we need to blow up that door, before something else comes out of the damn thing!"
You and the rest apply charges to the elevator door and run before it explodes. Just like you though, Alex doesn't have the elevator on the surface anymore, it's at the bottom, in fact its ascending right now!
"Dump grenades down the fuckin' shaft!"
This action is followed by running far away from the elevator, a large explosion, and then a large crash and another smaller explosion. You ask for a flashlight and peer down the shaft. Its smoking mess and from what you can tell, part of the structure collapsed in on itself. Nothing is going to be coming out of there for a long time. You're about to radio in and tell the Colonel the news when another signal breaks in, its Alex...
"So, that snitch told after all! I knew he wasn't to be trusted! You can't stop me! I'll get out of here eventually! And I shall... "
"Got news for you Alex, you're talking to the snitch right now, and you won't be going anywhere as long as I'm here. Enjoy your underground prison."
You switch to another frequency and tell the Colonel who seems pleased, he tells you he'll keep in contact with you on a regular basis and send more people when possible, in the mean time secure the place and get settled in.
A few more weeks pass and eventually the initial nervousness disappears from everyone, Alex still breaks in ranting on your radio frequency every now and then, but you ignore him. In fact being at the base turns out to be more to your liking, there's less people around, you're in charge and you get to spend more time with Marina.
A year passes...
Not too much changes around the base (Which you now call Pandora which seems appropriate since you're keeping in something that shouldn't be let out!) a few more people are transferred here, supplies are delivered back and forth, but not much else happens. You get reports from the Compound every now and then, seems they've made progress with a few small towns that survived, but there are a lot of problems with lawless bandits running around. Reports have also mentioned strange mutated animals lurking about too. Sounds like they have everything under control so far though. The Colonel has the idea to trade with the towns and offer protection when possible. He hopes to get more people to join the Compound you imagine.
Your orders are still the same, just guard Pandora, and make sure no cybernetic horrors are coming out. Sometimes you wonder if you shouldn't be doing something else, indeed Marina seems to think so. Sometimes you forget she's been training in all this survivalist shit longer than you have and has that "tame the wasteland" spirit more than you do.
> stay put
You decide that you got it made, why fuck with it? The rest of those at the Compound have to go on missions to fight bandits and go exploring possible hostile locations. You don't need to do any of that. You're in a nice safe isolated location where nobody ever comes except to drop off supplies every now and then. Even the fact cyborgs are trapped underneath you doesn't bother you anymore. You continue your routine.
Four more years pass...
You and Marina are still together, but for some reason, you don't seem as close anymore. It seems like she's been getting distant in the past few years.
You still get the harassing radio rant from Alex every now and then just to let you know he's still alive along with his robots and cyborgs. You're guessing he's been surviving on rats and roaches down there.
It's been five years since you first joined the Compound and there's been a lot more changes there at least that's what you've been hearing from the people transferred to Pandora.
You get less and less reports from the Compound itself other than its undergone a name change and due to its inclusion of a few towns now, its called the Combine and the Compound itself is called Fort Justice. You know about how the Colonel has gotten sick and seems to be getting worse as more time passes and how the population rate is growing, but it's slow. The major theory is the elevated levels of background radiation are probably affecting fertility. (You wonder about yourself and Marina since she hasn't once gotten pregnant in the five years you've been together) There have been more people sent here, mainly people that aren't "cutting it" anymore at the Compound. In fact you've been hearing some interesting stories. One man in particular called Roger has spoken to you quite frankly about what's been going on at the Compound some of it a bit alarming.
"The fuckin' Colonel? When he started getting sick that sonofabitch Harry started taking over more responsibility. Started doing shit HIS way, which was a lot more reactionary. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not some faggot peacenik, I'm all about creating a new strong society, like how America SHOULD'VE been, but fuck man. I'm not gonna kill children for no goddamn reason!"
"What?! When did this happen?"
"About a year ago! I was on a mission to this small town called Lost Springs and Harry was with us personally. They had a fresh underground supply of water, so we really wanted to gather them into the fold. Talks didn't go so well though, so Harry went nuts and shot the fucking mayor of the town! Then he proceeded to tell us to start killing all the kids if they didn't submit to us."
"And?"
"Well I refused to do it, and some of the others didn't either. A few did though, and after a couple of kids were killed. The rest of the townsfolk pretty much fell in line. Harry left the ones who were willing to kill at his command to occupy the place. He made up a damn story to the Colonel about how he HAD to do it and left out the shooting kids though. And the Colonel gets sicker and sicker, and Harry gets freer reign. Shit, if the Colonel wasn't still alive I think Harry wouldn't even be sending some people here, he'd probably be sending them all to the city."
"Wait, the city? There's missions to the city? I thought those were stopped after the first few times that was attempted."
"Not anymore! Harry's been sending a few people on his shit list to missions on the city. Harry says that there are still important resources to be gathered from there. Its bullshit, ain't nothin' there except fuckin' mutants and radioactivity! I probably would've got sent there, but I lost my arm in an ambush, and the Colonel said I needed to be taken off of active duty and sent here. There's a real mean motherfucker loyal to Harry called Damon, who goes on the city missions to ensure nobody tries to go AWOL. He's fucking nuts, he loves going into the city; I think he actually gets a fucking orgasm."
"Where the hell is Harry getting all these new people, if he's treating the towns so badly?"
"I told you he's been press ganging some of them and most are so beaten by that point that they just go along with it, but he's also been subduing some of the raider scum! That
Damon is one of those fuckers. Instead of killing them all like we should be doing, he's been recruiting them into the Combine! These degenerates are usually the ones he uses for occupation since most of them don't have any qualms about killing anything that moves and they're used to terrorizing towns."
"Holy shit, I've never heard about all this before."
"I'm telling you, you're lucky you got assigned here when you did, because you
would've been going to the city. The only thing keeping you safe is the Colonel who insists you stay in charge of this place; I don't want to think about the day when the Colonel finally croaks. Shit, I might just leave and take my chances, one arm be damned. YOU might want to think about leaving as well, because chances are Harry's going to be turning his attention towards you when that day comes."
"I still don't see what the hell I did to him, he's hated me since day one."
"Well, you got the Colonel's attention and his respect. You got a command position of your very own base, and most importantly you got Marina. He's always liked her. You didn't know?"
"Well she did mention one time that he came on to her in the past, well anyway, it hardly matters why he hates me I guess. What matters is I gotta think about how I'm gonna deal with this problem in the future."
Suddenly one of your assistants comes in and has something to report. Something you really don't want to know after having been given the recent information by Roger.
The Colonel has died, Harry has taken complete control of the Combine and his first order is for YOU to return to Fort Justice for reassignment.
Looks like you'll have to be thinking fast.
> leave the Combine
Secession isn't really a viable option. You simply can't stand up to the resources Harry has, the only option is to distance yourself as far away as possible. Harry's escorts will be here in a few days so you start packing immediately. Marina wonders what you're doing.
"We're getting the hell outta here! You think Harry's gonna let me live? At best he might be sending me into missions into the city! Fuck that!"
"You mean we're just leaving? We're not fighting back?"
"What you think I like this? I mean I don't want to leave, but if we stay, we're gonna end up dead! Come on pack your shit."
"I dunno. I can't just leave everything. I mean I'm still friends and close to all these people, I can't just leave them."
"Look, I've actually gotten along with most of the folks here too, but I'm not sticking my neck out for any of them. Besides, if they're smart they'll leave too."
"I can't do it, I can't go."
You stop packing.
"What, are you fucking kidding me?"
"No, I mean I can't do it. This is my life, this was my life before the bombs and it'll continue to be my life afterwards. I can't just leave, I mean we're trying to re-build society... "
"Fuck society! Why can't it just be me and you?"
Marina suddenly tells you a revelation you always had an inkling of, but never quite sure until today...
"You know why I liked you in the beginning? Because all those years we worked in that office I saw a man who worked hard in a mundane job yet had the potential to be something more under the right circumstances. I'm sure you remember I said something similar five years ago when I convinced you to come with me. Then you proved me right somewhat by volunteering and taking charge of this place. I knew I'd chosen right. I was in love with you."
"Was eh?"
"Yes, was. In the following years of you taking command of this place you've shown no more initiative. You've been content to just do the mundane routine of running this place. You were doing exactly the opposite of what I first saw. You were squandering your potential."
"So what was I supposed to be doing then Marina? Driving across the fuckin' wasteland shooting up people, taking their shit, and declaring their town part of the Combine like Harry?"
"No, of course not. But you could've done something more. Like sending out your own exploration teams, or even going on them yourself. Maybe if you had, you wouldn't be in this position now. You'd have better leverage to face Harry. Maybe he is a fucking dictator, but he's accomplishing a goal."
You pack the last of your things and start walking while Marina follows you.
"Yeah, some goal... Okay you know what Marina, fuck it. I gotta get outta here, and its apparent you've made your decision and I'm not gonna try to talk you out of it, because if you're that willing to throw fuckin' five years away just because I'm not the wasteland warrior that you dreamed up in your mind, then like I said fuck it. You're not worth my time either anymore. I hope you and Harry have a nice life, I'm sure he's exactly what you're looking for. Hope for your sake though his obsession for you is a lot stronger than his vindictiveness."
"Fuck you! It's not that goddamn black and white! I don't like fuckin Harry, and I never will, but... HEY! Don't fuckin' walk out on me!"
You storm out of the base, and Marina attempts to reason and explain, but it's all bullshit to you. This whole thing was. Trying to "rebuild" society, yeah right. As if there was anything worth rebuilding in the first place. You're done with this shit. You tried it and it was okay for awhile, but now its time to move on. Away from this and away from people.
You travel for a few days, and you expect Harry's men to come tracking you, but nobody ever follows you. You get attacked by a few mutated wolves, and a few mad men here and there, but nobody from the Combine. It's possible that you've done a good job of throwing them off, and Harry's people aren't skilled trackers, of course maybe Harry's just glad you're out of the way period. You briefly have an amusing thought, that Marina still had some sort of feelings for you and offered to be Harry's girl in exchange of letting you live.
You decide to think that's what happened, since you'll never know for certain and you've always been prone to imagine dramatic movie like endings.
"Heh. We'll always have Pandora." You laugh to yourself as you distance yourself further away from Combine territory. |
You decide that you got it made, why fuck with it? The rest of those at the Compound have to go on missions to fight bandits and go exploring possible hostile locations. You don't need to do any of that. You're in a nice safe isolated location where nobody ever comes except to drop off supplies every now and then. Even the fact cyborgs are trapped underneath you doesn't bother you anymore. You continue your routine.
Four more years pass...
You and Marina are still together, but for some reason, you don't seem as close anymore. It seems like she's been getting distant in the past few years.
You still get the harassing radio rant from Alex every now and then just to let you know he's still alive along with his robots and cyborgs. You're guessing he's been surviving on rats and roaches down there.
It's been five years since you first joined the Compound and there's been a lot more changes there at least that's what you've been hearing from the people transferred to Pandora.
You get less and less reports from the Compound itself other than its undergone a name change and due to its inclusion of a few towns now, its called the Combine and the Compound itself is called Fort Justice. You know about how the Colonel has gotten sick and seems to be getting worse as more time passes and how the population rate is growing, but it's slow. The major theory is the elevated levels of background radiation are probably affecting fertility. (You wonder about yourself and Marina since she hasn't once gotten pregnant in the five years you've been together) There have been more people sent here, mainly people that aren't "cutting it" anymore at the Compound. In fact you've been hearing some interesting stories. One man in particular called Roger has spoken to you quite frankly about what's been going on at the Compound some of it a bit alarming.
"The fuckin' Colonel? When he started getting sick that sonofabitch Harry started taking over more responsibility. Started doing shit HIS way, which was a lot more reactionary. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm not some faggot peacenik, I'm all about creating a new strong society, like how America SHOULD'VE been, but fuck man. I'm not gonna kill children for no goddamn reason!"
"What?! When did this happen?"
"About a year ago! I was on a mission to this small town called Lost Springs and Harry was with us personally. They had a fresh underground supply of water, so we really wanted to gather them into the fold. Talks didn't go so well though, so Harry went nuts and shot the fucking mayor of the town! Then he proceeded to tell us to start killing all the kids if they didn't submit to us."
"And?"
"Well I refused to do it, and some of the others didn't either. A few did though, and after a couple of kids were killed. The rest of the townsfolk pretty much fell in line. Harry left the ones who were willing to kill at his command to occupy the place. He made up a damn story to the Colonel about how he HAD to do it and left out the shooting kids though. And the Colonel gets sicker and sicker, and Harry gets freer reign. Shit, if the Colonel wasn't still alive I think Harry wouldn't even be sending some people here, he'd probably be sending them all to the city."
"Wait, the city? There's missions to the city? I thought those were stopped after the first few times that was attempted."
"Not anymore! Harry's been sending a few people on his shit list to missions on the city. Harry says that there are still important resources to be gathered from there. Its bullshit, ain't nothin' there except fuckin' mutants and radioactivity! I probably would've got sent there, but I lost my arm in an ambush, and the Colonel said I needed to be taken off of active duty and sent here. There's a real mean motherfucker loyal to Harry called Damon, who goes on the city missions to ensure nobody tries to go AWOL. He's fucking nuts, he loves going into the city; I think he actually gets a fucking orgasm."
"Where the hell is Harry getting all these new people, if he's treating the towns so badly?"
"I told you he's been press ganging some of them and most are so beaten by that point that they just go along with it, but he's also been subduing some of the raider scum! That
Damon is one of those fuckers. Instead of killing them all like we should be doing, he's been recruiting them into the Combine! These degenerates are usually the ones he uses for occupation since most of them don't have any qualms about killing anything that moves and they're used to terrorizing towns."
"Holy shit, I've never heard about all this before."
"I'm telling you, you're lucky you got assigned here when you did, because you
would've been going to the city. The only thing keeping you safe is the Colonel who insists you stay in charge of this place; I don't want to think about the day when the Colonel finally croaks. Shit, I might just leave and take my chances, one arm be damned. YOU might want to think about leaving as well, because chances are Harry's going to be turning his attention towards you when that day comes."
"I still don't see what the hell I did to him, he's hated me since day one."
"Well, you got the Colonel's attention and his respect. You got a command position of your very own base, and most importantly you got Marina. He's always liked her. You didn't know?"
"Well she did mention one time that he came on to her in the past, well anyway, it hardly matters why he hates me I guess. What matters is I gotta think about how I'm gonna deal with this problem in the future."
Suddenly one of your assistants comes in and has something to report. Something you really don't want to know after having been given the recent information by Roger.
The Colonel has died, Harry has taken complete control of the Combine and his first order is for YOU to return to Fort Justice for reassignment.
Looks like you'll have to be thinking fast.
> secede from the Combine
"Fuck off Harry, and take your Combine and shove it up your ass. We're seceding." You abruptly tell him over the radio, before announcing your intensions to everyone else in the base.
You get a mixed reaction of apprehension, while a lot of them aren't too fond of Harry, they still like living with basic necessities, something that becomes apparent in the weeks to come. There are a number of problems from the beginning.
First of all, you're an isolated community and while that has its advantages, it also has its drawbacks, meaning the instant you tell Harry to fuck off and die over the radio, you're no longer getting any supplies of any kind, you're stuck with what you have. Medical supplies are scarce as it is; now they're non-existent. Forget about getting new ammo too.
Food is a bit of a problem, (Water isn't, the base has its own water recycling and filtering system, fortunately it's on the surface rather than underground) since you were getting a majority of that from Fort Justice. Some hunting is done in the surrounding wilderness. It becomes a major problem though when Harry sends an invasion detachment and cuts you off from even doing that. It's not even like you can start farming even if you had the means since the inside of the base is completely paved (as well as harboring a deranged doctor and his cyborgs)
The only thing that prevents him from completely taking the place is the fact he's spread a bit thin in other areas of the Combine with keeping control of other towns and you're pretty well fortified. Doesn't mean he can't continue to harass you, and he can keep supplying his people. You can't. His people are somewhat more battle hardened as well. Not that you're saddled with a bunch of non-combatants, but anyone that's still following Harry willingly has been indoctrinated with a little more fanatic conformity, which is a great thing to have in a soldier. So great, you wish you had more people like that.
A couple months after the initial siege; most people are ready to throw you to Harry's men in exchange for mercy. Marina and few others stand by you, but its mob rule. You're overwhelmed, disarmed and thrown to the invasion force outside.
All that still stayed loyal to you are immediately shot as traitors. The ones that turned on you are merely beaten (and a few of them shot to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again)
You and Marina are taken back to Harry. He gets a sadistic pleasure out of having you beaten in front of Marina. He attempts to give Marina one last chance to submit, but she refuses causing him to slap her upside the face and then start to rip off her clothes. You yell out, but are promptly beaten by Harry's guards again. Unfortunately for all his bravado Harry's unable to get it up. He tries like hell since he wants you to watch, but for whatever reason, his attempt at rape is a complete failure. Knowing the end is near anyway, Marina laughs at him before he smashes her skull against the ground yelling and screaming at her whole time.
He then kicks your bloody body and blames you for having to do that, you spit out a gob of blood and some teeth.
"Enjoy your fuckin' empire, you limp dick bitch." You groan.
"FUCK YOU, YOU GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT!" he replies back, grabbing his pistol off the table.
Harry then ends your existence by emptying his gun into you. |
Funny that you are about to suggest an idea to the Colonel that got you out of trouble with Alex in the first place.
"No, I think you do have a good idea about stopping Alex, I saw first hand how crazy he was. Maybe we can't actually get to him, but we could contain him. We blow up the elevator like you wanted to do and then dump explosives down the shaft, it should collapse things enough that they won't be able to leave, and we won't lose any people."
"Ah, I like the way you think, but suppose they attempt get out, or rebuild the elevator or something?"
"Well, we could leave a permanent detachment there to keep a constant vigil. I mean the surface part of the base is completely usable. That way we get an early warning just in case anything does try to come out."
"Interesting idea. Having two command centers would be a good idea, I was planning on expansion in the future, might as well start now. Should keep us alert as well. Can't afford to get sloppy out here. Okay. We'll go with that idea, and since you came up with it, you can oversee the operation. In fact consider yourself stationed there until further notice."
"What?!"
"Hey I have to put someone there, you've done a good job so far and you have the best experience with the place so you can be in charge. Think of it as an honor son! I have a lot faith in you and I don't have much in anyone."
"Well thanks, but wouldn't someone like Harry be a better choice?"
"Harry? Yeah, he's got his uses, but I'd rather not have him in charge of anything important like this, no I want you and few others to go, in fact you pick them. I'll let you know if I can afford to spare them."
"Well then I pick Marina right now."
"I expected that. Sure, if you can convince her to go. Just remember what you're there for! Okay go pick out your team and gather what equipment you might need."
You leave and tell Marina the situation immediately, she of course agrees to go with you, though she's a little worried about being someplace with a bunch of cyborgs several feet underneath her, of course you're worried about the same thing.
You pick out six more people of varying skills, but mostly people you were getting along with during your stay at the Compound. You don't want to take anyone who you're not going to get along with. The Colonel approves of your choice and gives you the okay, Harry looks positively jealous that he was passed over for you who just got here. In fact before you leave he tells you as much.
"You fucking little pissant. You think because you're all chummy with the Colonel that you're his fucking second in command now?"
"No, I... "
"You're goddamn right no! If anything happens to the Colonel I'M in charge of this shit! You better remember that fuckhead! Because if you're still on my list when that occurs, you best pray to God that I at least lube your asshole after I rip off your pink panties and before I shove my foot up it and make your colon my permanent fuckin' sock!"
You're a little bewildered by the logic of this comment, you almost can't be sure if he's threatening you, or flirting with you. You don't feel like arguing with him though since it won't accomplish anything, besides if any good is coming from this, it's getting away from him. You and your team leave.
When you and your team get to the base in a few days, you're in for a little surprise. A medium sized robot is patrolling the courtyard. Looks like your friend Alex also dabbles in robotics as well as cybernetics. You and your team hide behind the outer wall when you all catch sight of it. Apparently Alex didn't trust you any more than you trusted him, and looks like both of you were right.
"Uh, what's that?" one of your team members asks.
"It's a robot, what's it look like?"
"Well what're we gonna do?"
"Kill it! Everyone open fire!"
You have no idea if your bullets are going to penetrate its armor, but you you're going to try anyway. Everyone fires upon the robotic being, which begins to shutter and spark, but returns fire and a bright burst of light strikes one of your team members and completely incinerates him.
"Holy shit, get cover and keep firing!" you shout.
The rest of the battle doesn't last too much longer, while your team continue to fire bursts at the machine while they dodge plasma blasts, you get enough time to toss a grenade at it and blow it to smithereens. Shards of burnt twisted metal lie all over the place.
"Come on we need to blow up that door, before something else comes out of the damn thing!"
You and the rest apply charges to the elevator door and run before it explodes. Just like you though, Alex doesn't have the elevator on the surface anymore, it's at the bottom, in fact its ascending right now!
"Dump grenades down the fuckin' shaft!"
This action is followed by running far away from the elevator, a large explosion, and then a large crash and another smaller explosion. You ask for a flashlight and peer down the shaft. Its smoking mess and from what you can tell, part of the structure collapsed in on itself. Nothing is going to be coming out of there for a long time. You're about to radio in and tell the Colonel the news when another signal breaks in, its Alex...
"So, that snitch told after all! I knew he wasn't to be trusted! You can't stop me! I'll get out of here eventually! And I shall... "
"Got news for you Alex, you're talking to the snitch right now, and you won't be going anywhere as long as I'm here. Enjoy your underground prison."
You switch to another frequency and tell the Colonel who seems pleased, he tells you he'll keep in contact with you on a regular basis and send more people when possible, in the mean time secure the place and get settled in.
A few more weeks pass and eventually the initial nervousness disappears from everyone, Alex still breaks in ranting on your radio frequency every now and then, but you ignore him. In fact being at the base turns out to be more to your liking, there's less people around, you're in charge and you get to spend more time with Marina.
A year passes...
Not too much changes around the base (Which you now call Pandora which seems appropriate since you're keeping in something that shouldn't be let out!) a few more people are transferred here, supplies are delivered back and forth, but not much else happens. You get reports from the Compound every now and then, seems they've made progress with a few small towns that survived, but there are a lot of problems with lawless bandits running around. Reports have also mentioned strange mutated animals lurking about too. Sounds like they have everything under control so far though. The Colonel has the idea to trade with the towns and offer protection when possible. He hopes to get more people to join the Compound you imagine.
Your orders are still the same, just guard Pandora, and make sure no cybernetic horrors are coming out. Sometimes you wonder if you shouldn't be doing something else, indeed Marina seems to think so. Sometimes you forget she's been training in all this survivalist shit longer than you have and has that "tame the wasteland" spirit more than you do.
> do something
Well there's nothing stopping you from sending your own exploration detachment teams, there's nothing stopping you from going yourself either. As far as you know, nobody from the Compound has bothered scouting past Base Pandora, you figure it's as good of place as any...
"Okay I want two scouting detachments of four. I'm going with one of them. We're just going to go a few miles from this place and then come back. It'll give us a better lay of the land in case of an attack and it'll keep our skills sharp as well. The rest of you guard the base as usual."
You half expect Marina to come with you, but she's content on staying behind to help look after the base. She looks at you admiringly though that you're taking the initiative. She tells you she loves you and that she can't wait for you to get back. You like the fact she's got confidence that you ARE coming back this time around.
You and your team leave and start exploring. Base Pandora really was in a secluded location, most of your trek is through a small unspoiled woods, eventually you get to the end though after about a day. You notice the Geiger counter is clicking a bit more. Not a lot, but enough to be a little unsettling. Using some binoculars, up ahead you see a single run down farm house (the farm itself also looks run down and hasn't been up kept in years). Just then you see a few vehicles also approaching up ahead, you tell everyone else to pull back into the woods and keep down while you do likewise. You continue to look as the vehicle park nearby the farm house and figures begin to get out. All of them are wearing robes and carrying automatic weapons over their backs. You also see them dragging what looks to be a few hapless prisoners with them as they enter the structure. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that these folks aren't the nice type.
"Oh shit, these guys look prepared. Who do you think they are?" one of your team asks.
"How should I know Reggie? When we moved into Base Pandora it's not like we got a welcome to the neighborhood letter from every nearby freak within a few miles of us. If I had to guess and judging by the robes, they're probably some doomsday cult. Probably one that was building up a stock pile of shit even before the bombs hit. Got some interesting vehicles though."
"So, what're we going to do?"
What to do indeed. You definitely need to wipe these cultists out since it's possible you could have trouble with them in the future if they start wandering in your direction. They also have vehicles that could be of use and probably other supplies as well. You could radio in and wait for reinforcements, but the prisoners you just saw them take in might be dead by then.
> get reinforcements
It's a brutal world and it just got more so. Rushing in outnumbered, isn't likely to save anyone and most likely going to get you killed. You radio in for reinforcements and keep an eye on the farm in the mean time. Later when the darkness comes you see a group of them come out with torches, form a circle in a nearby plain and begin chanting. You count ten of them altogether Soon two more come out with one of the prisoners from earlier. She's bound, gagged and naked; you know what's going to come next.
Reggie and another one in your team wants to do something, but you insist that they do nothing and to keep quiet. It's all over soon anyway, as you see them sacrifice the poor girl for whatever outlandish beliefs they hold. You take first watch for the night. The next day your reinforcements arrive... both of them.
"What the fuck? I asked for at least five more people!"
"Sorry, but that other recon group you sent also ran into trouble, in fact two of them are already dead, and we had to send a rescue team to fetch the other two since one has a broken leg."
"Oh that's wonderful."
"So should we call this off?" one of you team asks.
"No Vivica, we're going through with it, but we're going to employ some stealth, they had three prisoners, I get the feeling they'll be doing the same ceremony they did last night."
"Are we going to attack them now then?"
"No Leonard, I don't feel like fighting a bunch of fanatics armed with machine guns in an open plain with no cover. And we can't just start firing on them from here, we need to wipe them ALL out as quickly as possible without them having a chance the regroup, fortify or any of that shit. We're gonna sneak into the house and ambush the whole fuckin' cult while they're doing their little ceremony."
You wait until night and sure enough they all come out like you thought, then come the others with the prisoner. That's when the six of you quickly sneak through an overgrown field towards the house. You get to the stairs when Reggie and Leonard break off towards the area were the cult is performing their ceremony.
"I can't just let them kill another! We can take 'em now! They're off guard!"
"Reggie get the fuck... shit!"
Reggie and Leonard begin firing, the fucking idiots aren't even taking cover, they're going head long in like they're stupid ass action heroes. You and the others lay down some cover fire, but it's not enough. Reggie and Leonard are cut down after killing a whopping ONE cultist and not even saving the hapless girl, who's shot instantly. The cultists start spreading out, moving forward, and circling around you at the same time, they're also better shots than you too, as they're carefully aiming rather than just firing in the general vicinity. After seeing another one of your team members go down, you and the rest fall back into the house itself.
The inside of the house looks like something out of a horror movie, there are skulls and bones littering it, along with it blood stains everywhere.
"Holy shit! What've we gotten ourselves into?" Vivica yells.
"Shut the fuck up, I hear something... like crying... it's downstairs."
"What about the cultists?"
"Well it's the same plan, they just know about us now, let's hope we can still get 'em in a good ambush."
You and your team members spread out in the house, you head down into the basement, which looks more like a small temple layout. You see a young woman in a cage, and when she sees you her eyes fill with hope. You hear the cultists stomping around upstairs and some gunfire, at which point you try to find a good place to hide.
A bunch of footsteps run down the stairs, you wait in anticipation... closer... closer...
NOW!
You pop up from your spot and begin firing, you kill six of them before they can even react, and the remaining two barely get off some wild shots before you splatter them as well. Still breathing heavy among the dead, you finally hear some good news.
"Hey! Are you still alive down there?" Vivica shouts.
"Yeah! What's going on up there?"
"We got a few of them, but I think most of them converged on your position though."
"Of course they did, I've always been popular." You reply.
You release the girl in the cage who's very thankful. She mentions her name is Ophelia and she's from a place called Ashtown which is far from this place. She says the cultists came storming into her town specifically trying to capture young girls; they took three before they finally were driven away, and unfortunately Ophelia was one of the three. You tell Ophelia your story; she seems to think you've got the right idea about going about things.
"I think I'm going to tell my people back in Ashtown that we need to start getting better organized as well, and I'll be sure to tell them all about you and how you rescued me! Maybe we'll see each other in the future."
You and your team search the farm house which just like you thought was stocked with all sorts of goodies. You're going to have haul some of it back, but you decide that you could also establish another base of sorts here after it was cleaned up. You'd also like to establish more of a relationship with this Ashtown. So you allow Ophelia to take one of the vehicles for her to drive back there, she certainly doesn't have a problem with that!
Before heading back you put Vivica in charge of the place and tell her you'll be sending some more folks to help get this farm up and running. Not bad for a first try.
Four more years pass...
It's been five years since you joined the Compound and things are going fairly well for you, the farm house has been converted into a way point to Ashtown, with which you have good relations with and is now producing food. You are no longer solely dependant on the Compound for supplies which might be just as well...
You get less and less reports from the Compound itself other than its undergone a name change and due to its inclusion of a few towns now, its called the Combine and the Compound itself is called Fort Justice. You know about how the Colonel has gotten sick and seems to be getting worse as more time passes and how the population rate is growing, but it's slow. The major theory is the elevated levels of background radiation are probably affecting fertility. (You wonder about yourself and Marina since she hasn't once gotten pregnant in the five years you've been together) There have been more people sent here, mainly because they hear about how great it is in Pandora as opposed to the miserable place Harry has made Fort Justice since he's been getting freer reign of the place as the Colonel continues to get sicker.
In fact you've been hearing some disturbing stories from others who have come here recently. Ranging from needlessly violent occupation of towns, sending people on dangerous unnecessary missions to the city, and recruiting desert scum into the Combine! People are saying Harry's going nuts with power.
One day, one of your assistants comes in and has something to report.
The Colonel has died, Harry has taken complete control of the Combine and his first order is for YOU to return to Fort Justice for reassignment.
Harry's just plain gone completely nuts if he thinks you're going to do that.
Speaking of nuts, that same day after you convince everyone in seceding from the Combine you get a radio message from someone who's been quiet until now.
"Well well, it seems you've got a problem on your hands."
It's Alex. You're guessing he's been surviving on rats and roaches down there.
"What the hell do you want and how do you know what's been going on?"
"How do you think? I've been listening in on all your incoming and outgoing radio transmissions since you betrayed me and trapped me down here! I must say though, you probably did the intelligent thing. And your progress with establishing your own separate territory has been intriguing... but I can tell you right now, you are going to need help with your current problem, a problem I will be willing to help with if you're willing to talk."
"Alright, I'll play. What're you proposing?"
"There are still a lot of those high tech weapons down here that you were coming to get when you came here five years ago. I'm sure they would be very useful in your up coming war with Harry, and don't tell me there isn't, because I know you aren't going to run or meekly follow his orders to return. You've obviously set your sights on higher ambitions than just following orders and survival. I'll be willing to give them to you, in exchange for my freedom."
"Oh that easy huh? How do you propose we go about this? I send people down there to retrieve them while your death machines ambush them as soon as they enter?"
"It would be kind of hard for that to happen since all my cyborgs are long dead and my robots have fallen into disrepair... I'm basically alone down here. You were guarding nothing!" Alex laughs.
You're pretty skeptical about this little tale, but if it's true, those weapons would certainly help.
> believe Alex
The chance is too good to pass up. You're going to risk believing Alex, of course everyone else isn't willing to do so. You had a hard enough to convince them to join you in seceding from the Combine; you can't really press this issue as well. There's nothing else for it, you're going to have to go down there yourself. You just ask someone to make sure the ropes and pullies are stable for you to descend down the elevator shaft. Now Marina loves your bravery and willingness to take risks, but even she's a little apprehensive about this idea. You're determined to do this though.
"Marina, if something goes wrong and I get killed, then get yourself out of here, and head to Ashtown. There's no reason for you to stick around and get yourself killed as well, or worse."
"Nonsense! I'll fight for what you accomplished here whether you're still around or not! But that'll be after I go underground and take care of whatever metal bastards killed you!"
No point in arguing with her, she'll do it anyway just like you're going underground anyway and that's probably why you love her. You give her a kiss and descend.
When you finally reach the bottom, you're standing on top a pile of scrap. Part of it looks like it was moved in an attempt to clear it at one time, so you are able to squeeze through the previous elevator entrance.
The same corridor you stepped through five years ago is remarkably dim now, you see a few steel husks lying on the ground. A lot of course are cyborgs, so decaying flesh is also present. Looks like Alex was telling the truth so far. Eventually you find Alex brooding in his office which is in complete disarray. Alex himself is very pale and a lot thinner than when you last remember him.
"Hey! There you are! See, I told you I wasn't lying." He states when he sees you.
"Yeah I can see that, what exactly happened?"
"Oh there were complications... psychotic episodes... power problems... lack of more equipment and extra help... does it matter? I utterly failed. I watched my creations die one by one over the months and years due to my own lack of skill... and I thought I was going to usher in some sort of new era... yeah right."
"Alex, I'm surprised to hear you talk like that."
"Yeah? Well being prisoner here gives you a lot of time to think. Sometimes people go mad in captivity, I think in my case it did me some fucking good. I should've trusted the Colonel, he was my friend. He wasn't going to do anything to me. He trusted me, and now he's dead and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."
While Alex's speeches of redemption are intriguing, you really want those weapons.
"Alex, where are the weapons?"
"... huh? Oh yes. The weapons. Please, don't let me stop you. Go down the corridor make a right and enter the second door. You'll find all you need in there. They were all tested out and work well. One of the few things GZS helped design that wasn't prone to failure."
You leave Alex to his brooding, and follow his directions; you soon come across a room with the weapons, or what's left of them. There's not the great arsenal that Alex made out there was. He most likely used most of them when he was creating his robots and cyborgs. You're disappointed, but still it's better than nothing and the few that are here will help.
You collect what you can for this trip, when Alex enters the room.
"So, now that you have what you're looking for, are you going to keep your word?"
"Well... ah fuck it... what the hell. Keep in mind though people are going to be pretty mistrustful of you. Don't expect a warm welcome."
"Didn't expect one."
"Good, now grab the rest of those weapons, so I don't need to make a round trip down here."
You and Alex come back up with the weapons (and their power cells). The confidence level increases in everyone, you delivered some cool weapons and you braved going into the "dreaded" underground of Pandora again. They're definitely more inclined to follow you more loyally now. Alex makes himself useful by using his technical skill to build and set traps in the surrounding wilderness. You radio Vivica to let her know what's going on as well, she's behind you and will make sure to send a few people to harass Harry's men when they decide the lay siege to Pandora. Everyone spends time preparing and organizing for the battle that's sure to come.
A month passes and sure enough Harry's men come thinking its going to be an easy victory, but it's a slaughter. Many are killed by the traps Alex set, the rest are fried by the laser and plasma weapons.
A couple more months pass and another invasion force arrives, this one better prepared and much bigger. More reinforcements show up armed to the teeth and despite the rugged terrain that prevents cars to come to this place, they managed to find some dirt bikes which whiz around Pandora while the riders nimbly dodge your fire while they toss grenades at (and sometimes over) the walls. You still have the advantage obviously, but they're doing a hell of a lot of damage to Pandora now.
The siege is now in full effect, fortunately you're fairly well stocked to hold out, and Vivica's men manage to get through sometimes with more supplies. Sensing that this is not going well for him and costing him a lot more time, man power and resources than he wanted to spend, he orders a final push.
People armed with rocket launchers come this time, and with a few volleys, Harry's men finally breach the walls of Pandora and storm into the place.
> make a break for it and regroup at the farmhouse
"Fall back to the farm house!" you shout as you mow down another dirt biker.
As your people begin to escape you look around for Marina in the chaos, and then you see her fighting multiple enemies converging on her position while she attempts to retreat.
You rush towards her to back her up and then you're blown back by an explosion. You slam up against a wall of one of the barracks, other than some minor pain and some scars you're going to have you aren't harmed, however your heart is when you see Marina lying bloody on the ground. She isn't moving. Ignoring everything else you run to her, you kneel down to pick up her body, she grabs weakly on to you, but she's in bad shape.
Alex then grabs you by the shoulder
"Hey! We got people firing on us; and in case you didn't notice you told everyone to fall back!
"You! You're a fucking surgeon! You fix her! Save her! Save her NOW!" you shout, picking her up and shoving her into Alex's arms.
"Wha... I... " Alex realizes you mean fucking business so he takes her, but asks about you since he notices you're grabbing another nearby gun.
"What're you doing? You gotta get outta here! You can't fight all of them!"
"GO! I'm giving you fucking time!" you order Alex pushing him away and charge into battle firing two weapons in hand.
You kill a lot of them, but you're outnumbered and outgunned at this point. You eventually fall to a hail of bullets and die. Marina follows you soon afterwards on the retreat back to the farmhouse. |
The chance is too good to pass up. You're going to risk believing Alex, of course everyone else isn't willing to do so. You had a hard enough to convince them to join you in seceding from the Combine; you can't really press this issue as well. There's nothing else for it, you're going to have to go down there yourself. You just ask someone to make sure the ropes and pullies are stable for you to descend down the elevator shaft. Now Marina loves your bravery and willingness to take risks, but even she's a little apprehensive about this idea. You're determined to do this though.
"Marina, if something goes wrong and I get killed, then get yourself out of here, and head to Ashtown. There's no reason for you to stick around and get yourself killed as well, or worse."
"Nonsense! I'll fight for what you accomplished here whether you're still around or not! But that'll be after I go underground and take care of whatever metal bastards killed you!"
No point in arguing with her, she'll do it anyway just like you're going underground anyway and that's probably why you love her. You give her a kiss and descend.
When you finally reach the bottom, you're standing on top a pile of scrap. Part of it looks like it was moved in an attempt to clear it at one time, so you are able to squeeze through the previous elevator entrance.
The same corridor you stepped through five years ago is remarkably dim now, you see a few steel husks lying on the ground. A lot of course are cyborgs, so decaying flesh is also present. Looks like Alex was telling the truth so far. Eventually you find Alex brooding in his office which is in complete disarray. Alex himself is very pale and a lot thinner than when you last remember him.
"Hey! There you are! See, I told you I wasn't lying." He states when he sees you.
"Yeah I can see that, what exactly happened?"
"Oh there were complications... psychotic episodes... power problems... lack of more equipment and extra help... does it matter? I utterly failed. I watched my creations die one by one over the months and years due to my own lack of skill... and I thought I was going to usher in some sort of new era... yeah right."
"Alex, I'm surprised to hear you talk like that."
"Yeah? Well being prisoner here gives you a lot of time to think. Sometimes people go mad in captivity, I think in my case it did me some fucking good. I should've trusted the Colonel, he was my friend. He wasn't going to do anything to me. He trusted me, and now he's dead and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."
While Alex's speeches of redemption are intriguing, you really want those weapons.
"Alex, where are the weapons?"
"... huh? Oh yes. The weapons. Please, don't let me stop you. Go down the corridor make a right and enter the second door. You'll find all you need in there. They were all tested out and work well. One of the few things GZS helped design that wasn't prone to failure."
You leave Alex to his brooding, and follow his directions; you soon come across a room with the weapons, or what's left of them. There's not the great arsenal that Alex made out there was. He most likely used most of them when he was creating his robots and cyborgs. You're disappointed, but still it's better than nothing and the few that are here will help.
You collect what you can for this trip, when Alex enters the room.
"So, now that you have what you're looking for, are you going to keep your word?"
"Well... ah fuck it... what the hell. Keep in mind though people are going to be pretty mistrustful of you. Don't expect a warm welcome."
"Didn't expect one."
"Good, now grab the rest of those weapons, so I don't need to make a round trip down here."
You and Alex come back up with the weapons (and their power cells). The confidence level increases in everyone, you delivered some cool weapons and you braved going into the "dreaded" underground of Pandora again. They're definitely more inclined to follow you more loyally now. Alex makes himself useful by using his technical skill to build and set traps in the surrounding wilderness. You radio Vivica to let her know what's going on as well, she's behind you and will make sure to send a few people to harass Harry's men when they decide the lay siege to Pandora. Everyone spends time preparing and organizing for the battle that's sure to come.
A month passes and sure enough Harry's men come thinking its going to be an easy victory, but it's a slaughter. Many are killed by the traps Alex set, the rest are fried by the laser and plasma weapons.
A couple more months pass and another invasion force arrives, this one better prepared and much bigger. More reinforcements show up armed to the teeth and despite the rugged terrain that prevents cars to come to this place, they managed to find some dirt bikes which whiz around Pandora while the riders nimbly dodge your fire while they toss grenades at (and sometimes over) the walls. You still have the advantage obviously, but they're doing a hell of a lot of damage to Pandora now.
The siege is now in full effect, fortunately you're fairly well stocked to hold out, and Vivica's men manage to get through sometimes with more supplies. Sensing that this is not going well for him and costing him a lot more time, man power and resources than he wanted to spend, he orders a final push.
People armed with rocket launchers come this time, and with a few volleys, Harry's men finally breach the walls of Pandora and storm into the place.
> continue to fight
"Keep fighting the bastards! Pandora will never fall!" you shout as you mow down another dirt biker.
In all the fighting though you begin to worry where Marina is, you look around for her in the chaos, and then you see her fighting with multiple enemies converging on her position.
You rush towards her to back her up and then you're blown back by an explosion. You slam up against a wall of one of the barracks, other than some minor pain and some scars you're going to have you aren't harmed, however your heart is when you see Marina lying bloody on the ground. She isn't moving. Ignoring everything else you run to her, you kneel down to pick up her body, she grabs weakly on to you, but she's in bad shape.
"Keep fighting to rebuild civilization... its still worth it... " she says before losing total consciousness.
Alex suddenly comes up to you.
"Hey! We got people firing on us; you need to get the fuck outta the open!"
"You! You're a fucking surgeon! You fix her! Save her! Save her NOW!" you shout, picking her up and shoving her into Alex's arms.
"Wha... I... " Alex realizes you mean fucking business so he just nods and runs with her to one of the few undamaged buildings.
You're blind with rage, you begin charging into battle trying take out as many of these motherfuckers as you can, its quite possible with your actions alone you turned the tide, but you are still just one man, and you nearly get yourself killed, if it hadn't been for Vivica managing to get a few people from Ashtown to help out, and they arrive just in time.
Ophelia shoots a Combine soldier who was sneaking up on you. You turn around to see her, you nearly don't recognize her decked out in battle gear.
"Told you, you'd see me in the future." She says and runs off to clean up the stragglers running away.
The Combine is pulling back. You've won, but at a high cost.
When you return to check on Marina, you find her dead. Alex explains there was nothing he could do for her. You ask to be alone which he complies. You spend the rest of the night alone with Marina's lifeless body weeping and vowing revenge.
The next day, you come out with one focus. To assault Fort Justice. This will never be over until Harry is dead. You need to strike now when he's weak.
A lot of people are wondering if you shouldn't wait to regroup, but you won't hear of it, you're determined to do it now and everyone who's in fighting condition is coming with you.
In a couple days you and your small army arrive at Fort Justice. You half expect to die this day assaulting the place, but once again destiny is with you. Fort Justice is experiencing a minor authority problem. You can take the scum out of the wasteland, but you can't make them disciplined soldiers. The last defeat has shattered morale, and apparently some are starting to question Harry's orders, while others aren't willing to die for him. The gate is wide open and parts of the place are in flames.
You walk in relatively unopposed. Some fighting occurs, but you're looking for Harry and when the loud mouth shithead sees you, instead of confronting you, he runs for the trapdoor to the underground. You immediately run to cut him off and shoot him in both legs. He falls and grabs for his pistol, but you take careful aim and blow his hand off, he screams in pain when he sees his fingers all over the ground.
A kick to his face follows, and then a stomp, and another, and another. You don't stop until his face looks like tenderized hamburger. He tries to act defiant by trying to give you the finger with his good hand, but you take it and break the motherfucker along with the rest of his hand.
"This is for Marina and the rest of the deaths you caused." You say, before blasting his mushy bloody head into mushy bloody pieces.
Now its over.
You collapse by Harry's body, spent and drained. Alex goes over to see if you're alright, but Ophelia tells him to just make sure all the enemy are either dead or running. Ophelia takes you to a barrack and puts you on a bed and tells you to rest, which you do.
"I did it Marina... I got him... " you mumble while falling asleep.
The next few weeks consist of rebuilding. Rebuilding everything. Fort Justice. Base Pandora. All the damage Harry caused. Word gets out to the Combine occupied towns about their current situation, with no centralized authority figure anymore, the Combine dissipates as wasteland scum flee and return to the outlands where they belong. The townspeople of those places are very grateful for your help, and you're now in charge of everything but you take no joy in any of it, or anything. You're numb. You go through the motions, but you're basically in a daze. All your thoughts are of Marina, you feel empty without her.
If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't even be alive right now. You would've died in a big mushroom cloud death. You start blaming yourself for not being able to save her, you start thinking about suicide. Everyone gets a little worried about you. Vivica starts radioing in wondering about your condition, Alex (Who's quite familiar with mental breakdowns) attempts to talk to you, but it's Ophelia who turns you around, though not immediately, but it's her actions that become the turning point.
Late one night, as you wallow in the emptiness, Ophelia visits you. You expect her to tell you not blame yourself for Marina's death again, but she doesn't. Instead she talks about the time when you saved her from the cultists and how grateful she was that day and how she would've almost done anything to repay you for saving her life.
"Mm... well you repaid it already. You saved mine back at Pandora." You say wishing to be left alone.
"No, I'm saving it now."
Ophelia begins to remove her clothing, something that takes you completely by surprise. You feel you shouldn't, you know you shouldn't, but maybe it's feeling of loneliness, maybe it's the feeling of confusion, or maybe its just plain hormones, and you give in to Ophelia's advances. And for that one night, the emptiness within you disappears.
The next day Ophelia is gone leaving you a note saying she's going back to Ashtown and tells you that you shouldn't give up on life since you have so much more to change in this new world.
When you think about it, Marina saved you, so you could carry that goal out. She always did see the potential in you to do great things.
With this new perspective, you begin to return to normal, though there still was a little piece of you that died when Marina did. You'll never completely be the same. Life goes on though.
Five more years pass...
It's been ten years since the bombs dropped and civilization is starting to rebuild itself again... well somewhat.
Hard to believe you would've become any type of leader trying to rebuild civilization. Marina might not be around anymore, but obviously her influence on you still is and always will be as you follow her dream of rebuilding civilization again.
You're still running things from Base Pandora, which is now the unofficial head of the Atomic Alliance. The towns formally under Combine occupation are included, but are now treated as equals rather than glorified labor camps, though getting everyone to agree completely on anything still remains a problem. Fort Justice is now under Vivica's command and the Farmhouse, now known as Eden is a fully functional agricultural community. (It supplies food as well as biofuel for vehicles now) After that one night with Ophelia you don't see her anymore, but last you heard she had a baby and got married to someone in Ashtown. Good for her.
Other than political disagreements, everything has been going fairly well; raiders are still a problem, but much less than in the past. For the most part people are pretty happy living in your territory.
One thing that's been debated among you and some of other leaders, are the few GZS Shelters the Alliance has stumbled across over recent years. No effort has been made to open them, but they're all sealed shut by their main computers. From what you know by reading some of the GZS documents found in Base Pandora (and Alex who definitely has some knowledge of GZS protocols) the Shelters weren't supposed to open up until the central computer determined that sufficient amount of time had passed and the surface deemed safe. Apparently the computers still think the surface sucks. (And that assessment wouldn't exactly be wrong)
Most of the other Alliance leaders say that some sort of contact should be made with them. You get the impression some of them might've done it anyway, it's just you have most of the equipment that makes it a lot easier.
> open them up
At one time you thought about actually buying one of those things, sometimes you even wonder how things would've been living underground completely oblivious to what's going on the surface. Things might've been a lot easier... or maybe they wouldn't. You'll just have to wonder about the road not traveled.
You see no harm in making contact; they may even have useful resources to trade and might appreciate knowing that the surface is exactly the hell on Earth that they might think. Plus the rest of the Alliance leaders seem pleased that you're agreeing with them. Maintaining good relations to keep everyone happy is always a sure way of keeping the Alliance stable. Even Ashtown makes mention of a Shelter nearby that they've been debating about whether to contact or not. You organize how to go about this, since you don't want to make enemies unnecessarily.
It doesn't take long to open up the Shelters and bypass the computer elevator systems with your help. First contact with most of the shelters is a very large surprise for its inhabitants, though a lot of them seem really grateful. Apparently GZS Shelters weren't built very well, you hear reports of how inhabitants had to improvise and constantly repair various things. Alex tells you he isn't surprised.
"The main reason why I outlived my cyborgs when I was... uh... indisposed... was due to having faulty GZS equipment. Granted they made a lot of good stuff, but they had a terrible habit of cutting corners. When I think about it, I really can't believe I thought I was actually going to DO something with them, probably wouldn't have even lasted in a real fight... still it would've been interesting... my God I can't believe I used to think things like this... like... I dunno... "
Every now and then Alex talks like that. Probably wondering about his own road not traveled. It creeps people out though, however it doesn't prevent him from being a good doctor. You almost get the impression he feels like by being a good doctor and patching folks up real well is sort of like his "penance". One he feels necessary to do until the day he dies. This line of thinking becomes really noticeable within a few weeks of the Shelter openings.
The Shelter near Ashtown is in bad shape. From the reports you've heard some sort of weird "social experiment" was going on down there which resulted in some sort of catastrophe. There are many dead bodies and broken equipment. Many of the people are sick and infected with something, and they aren't in very good shape to go anywhere. Looks like they've been slowly dying. In fact the Mayor of Ashtown, Carlos, is taking the hard line stance refusing to let the ones that went down there to come back up, for fear that they will infect his town. This isn't a popular decision, so he's hoping you can send some sort of medical team to help since Ashtown doesn't have the experts you do. Carlos says that he'll formally join the Atomic Alliance if you get him out of this jam. Alex insists on going to help.
"Please, let me go help. I'm the best doctor in the Alliance. I... I need to do this. I need to help these people... " Alex says almost in a begging fashion.
"... Well alright Alex, but you're taking one of those biohazard suits! Who knows what the hell those people have, and I really can't risk losing my best doctor."
Alex thanks you profusely, and gathers a couple of his assistants and all the necessary equipment before leaving.
A couple weeks pass and you get a report from Carlos. He mentions that Alex has determined there is nothing contagious about whatever the Shelter people are infected with, and the Ashtown citizens are allowed to come back up and return. Alex is still working on the problem though and it might take awhile, he requests for more equipment, which you allow Ashtown formally joins the Alliance. You personally go there to welcome them in.
It's strange that you've never actually been to Ashtown before, given a lot of your dealings with it. While you're here on business you think about Ophelia, and that one night. A night that possibly saved you from committing suicide, given the downward spiral you were in at the time. There's a few times you thought about going to see her to thank her... but then you think how she has a family now and it would just be too weird.
A month passes and you suddenly get a call from Alex on your radio.
"Alex? Where are you?"
"I'm in the Shelter. I managed to rig the computer to transmit a signal! Now I can talk to you directly! Great huh?"
"Uh yeah... what's going on over there?"
"Oh, nothing much. This place is pretty fascinating; I've been trying to figure out what was going on down here. This one diary was really interesting"
"Alex what about the people?"
"It seems there was this guy called Elliot who had a lot of weird ideas, he was a doctor... " Alex says seemingly oblivious to your question.
"Yeah, I know the type. ALEX WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKIN' PEOPLE?"
"Oh yeah... the people. They're okay... I guess."
"You guess? What the fuck Alex, don't you know?"
"Well, uh y'know... this isn't an exact science, and I'm still trying to figure some things out... I went to Ashtown recently for some more supplies, but I think I need some more higher qulity equipment from you, its getting kind of complicated down here... "
"What the fuck Alex? No, you're not getting anything else! We're not an endless supply of resources! Now you work with what you got and I better hear some progress soon!"
"... work with what I got... yeah... story of my life... " Alex says and disconnects.
Another week passes and this time you get a message from Carlos, he doesn't sound well, but he does sound angry.
"... we ally with you and this is (Cough) what happens? We're all sick and it's (Cough!) all you and that doctor's fault! He contaminated us! YOU contaminated us! The town is Uhhh... "
There's an old saying, that a scorpion, no matter how well you take care of it or treat it, its nature will always be to sting you. And that's just what happened.
Shit.
> do not take chances, purge EVERYTHING
You've got to keep this quiet and you've got to keep whatever this is from spreading. You quietly call the most loyal and capable soldiers under your command to meet you immediately. You explain to them what needs to be done. Any still living Ashtown inhabitants must be killed, and the entire town burned to the ground. Alex must also be killed and the Shelter rendered inaccessible forever. You tell them to keep you informed at all times.
The strike team is sent in the middle of the night in Hazmat suits and tons of hardware. Everyone in Base Pandora wonders what's going on, but due to the more military mindset here, people know not to ask too many questions.
Eventually you get a message from one of your soliders.
"Uh sir, it looks like most of the town is dead already, I don't think it's airborne, because it doesn't look like the children were affected... "
"Are you sure about that? Just because they look sick doesn't mean they aren't. They could be carrying."
"Sir?"
"... I said kill everything Sergeant... "
"But I think... "
"DON'T THINK! JUST DO IT!"
The Sergeant disconnects and you can only imagine what happened next, but you don't really want to. A little while later you get another report. It's the Sergeant again, he sounds very hollow.
"Sir... it's uh over. Alex is dead... he didn't even put up a fight... we're putting the explosives in Shelter entrance as I speak... should implode and bury the Shelter from being accessible... "
"Very good. You've done a necessary thing Sergeant."
"... no I haven't... goodbye... "
You hear a gunshot on the other end followed by a bunch of other voices shouting and dead air. Your official report to the Atomic Alliance (Because it's not like you can completely cover this up) is that a ruthless gang of raiders completely destroyed Ashtown as well as the Shelter and that you're sending squads to go hunt them down.
This isn't really a satisfactory answer, but given how far away Ashtown is from the rest of the Alliance towns nobody really questions it. At least not initially.
Over the past few months you're noticeably distracted, and can't concentrate on anything. You're constantly thinking someone's going to investigate, or one of those you sent on the mission is going to blab (Now you wish they all blew their brains out) your behavior starts becoming a bit erratic as you give out strange orders to cover up things you think are going to lead to your exposure. You constantly rationalize your orders as attempting to keep the Alliance from falling, since you're convinced that everyone knew what Alex did, you'd be blamed for incompetence for allowing it to happen and without you running things you just know the Alliance wouldn't survive.
However something like this couldn't be covered up forever. Eventually someone gets suspicious of your behavior which leads to rumors, which then in turn leads to investigating. Eventually the truth comes out. The Alliance citizens are appalled, in fact if you hadn't proceeded with your extreme plan and just come out with the truth about Alex's actions in the beginning you might not have been hated quite so much.
You displayed poor judgment, by allowing Alex to go about his own devices. Strike one.
You ruthlessly had children killed to possibly contain a contagion. Strike two.
You attempted to cover all this up and lied about it. Strike three.
This type of behavior makes you look like deceitful murderous tyrant, something the Alliance towns had enough of under Harry during the Combine regime. People are calling for your blood, and your immediate resignation of Atomic Alliance leader, in fact you might be imprisoned... or worse. You've lost all support.
By the end, you've barricaded yourself in an underground room in Base Pandora with people telling you to give yourself up; of course you have no intention of doing that.
In your last moments as you point the pistol to your head, you think about Marina, and how it all would've been easier had you died with her and how you tried to rebuild civilization even after she was gone, but just failed without her around, however once again you rationalize.
"Yeah... they all united against me... I kept them united... then Vivica will certainly take power... the Alliance will live on... I didn't fail... Marina... I didn't fail... "
Your delusional thoughts come to an end with a door burst open, and a bullet to the brain. |
At one time you thought about actually buying one of those things, sometimes you even wonder how things would've been living underground completely oblivious to what's going on the surface. Things might've been a lot easier... or maybe they wouldn't. You'll just have to wonder about the road not traveled.
You see no harm in making contact; they may even have useful resources to trade and might appreciate knowing that the surface is exactly the hell on Earth that they might think. Plus the rest of the Alliance leaders seem pleased that you're agreeing with them. Maintaining good relations to keep everyone happy is always a sure way of keeping the Alliance stable. Even Ashtown makes mention of a Shelter nearby that they've been debating about whether to contact or not. You organize how to go about this, since you don't want to make enemies unnecessarily.
It doesn't take long to open up the Shelters and bypass the computer elevator systems with your help. First contact with most of the shelters is a very large surprise for its inhabitants, though a lot of them seem really grateful. Apparently GZS Shelters weren't built very well, you hear reports of how inhabitants had to improvise and constantly repair various things. Alex tells you he isn't surprised.
"The main reason why I outlived my cyborgs when I was... uh... indisposed... was due to having faulty GZS equipment. Granted they made a lot of good stuff, but they had a terrible habit of cutting corners. When I think about it, I really can't believe I thought I was actually going to DO something with them, probably wouldn't have even lasted in a real fight... still it would've been interesting... my God I can't believe I used to think things like this... like... I dunno... "
Every now and then Alex talks like that. Probably wondering about his own road not traveled. It creeps people out though, however it doesn't prevent him from being a good doctor. You almost get the impression he feels like by being a good doctor and patching folks up real well is sort of like his "penance". One he feels necessary to do until the day he dies. This line of thinking becomes really noticeable within a few weeks of the Shelter openings.
The Shelter near Ashtown is in bad shape. From the reports you've heard some sort of weird "social experiment" was going on down there which resulted in some sort of catastrophe. There are many dead bodies and broken equipment. Many of the people are sick and infected with something, and they aren't in very good shape to go anywhere. Looks like they've been slowly dying. In fact the Mayor of Ashtown, Carlos, is taking the hard line stance refusing to let the ones that went down there to come back up, for fear that they will infect his town. This isn't a popular decision, so he's hoping you can send some sort of medical team to help since Ashtown doesn't have the experts you do. Carlos says that he'll formally join the Atomic Alliance if you get him out of this jam. Alex insists on going to help.
"Please, let me go help. I'm the best doctor in the Alliance. I... I need to do this. I need to help these people... " Alex says almost in a begging fashion.
"... Well alright Alex, but you're taking one of those biohazard suits! Who knows what the hell those people have, and I really can't risk losing my best doctor."
Alex thanks you profusely, and gathers a couple of his assistants and all the necessary equipment before leaving.
A couple weeks pass and you get a report from Carlos. He mentions that Alex has determined there is nothing contagious about whatever the Shelter people are infected with, and the Ashtown citizens are allowed to come back up and return. Alex is still working on the problem though and it might take awhile, he requests for more equipment, which you allow Ashtown formally joins the Alliance. You personally go there to welcome them in.
It's strange that you've never actually been to Ashtown before, given a lot of your dealings with it. While you're here on business you think about Ophelia, and that one night. A night that possibly saved you from committing suicide, given the downward spiral you were in at the time. There's a few times you thought about going to see her to thank her... but then you think how she has a family now and it would just be too weird.
A month passes and you suddenly get a call from Alex on your radio.
"Alex? Where are you?"
"I'm in the Shelter. I managed to rig the computer to transmit a signal! Now I can talk to you directly! Great huh?"
"Uh yeah... what's going on over there?"
"Oh, nothing much. This place is pretty fascinating; I've been trying to figure out what was going on down here. This one diary was really interesting"
"Alex what about the people?"
"It seems there was this guy called Elliot who had a lot of weird ideas, he was a doctor... " Alex says seemingly oblivious to your question.
"Yeah, I know the type. ALEX WHAT ABOUT THE FUCKIN' PEOPLE?"
"Oh yeah... the people. They're okay... I guess."
"You guess? What the fuck Alex, don't you know?"
"Well, uh y'know... this isn't an exact science, and I'm still trying to figure some things out... I went to Ashtown recently for some more supplies, but I think I need some more higher qulity equipment from you, its getting kind of complicated down here... "
"What the fuck Alex? No, you're not getting anything else! We're not an endless supply of resources! Now you work with what you got and I better hear some progress soon!"
"... work with what I got... yeah... story of my life... " Alex says and disconnects.
Another week passes and this time you get a message from Carlos, he doesn't sound well, but he does sound angry.
"... we ally with you and this is (Cough) what happens? We're all sick and it's (Cough!) all you and that doctor's fault! He contaminated us! YOU contaminated us! The town is Uhhh... "
There's an old saying, that a scorpion, no matter how well you take care of it or treat it, its nature will always be to sting you. And that's just what happened.
Shit.
> send another medical team to Ashtown
You immediately dispatch another team of medics in hazmat suits to Ashtown. Vivica insists on going since she's probably the second best doctor in the Alliance, you order her not to since you can't afford to lose her as well, not to mention she runs Fort Justice, but she's defiant and goes anyway. You also order Eden to not let ANYONE who wasn't already working there in, until this situation is resolved. You can't afford your major food source to get contaminated. You decide not to inform the rest of the Alliance towns, since you hope maybe you can contain this before panic occurs. You next step is to radio Alex, but as predicted you don't get an answer.
You soon get a report from Vivica,
"It looks bad. REAL Bad. Most of Ashtown is already dead or dying. Whatever it is, I don't think it's airborne. It might be the water supply. The only weird thing is, the children didn't seem to be affected... it's very sad though. We're going to have a bunch of orphans."
"Can't you do ANYTHING?"
"No, I have no idea what this is and I think it's too late anyway, uh there's something else I think you'll want to know... though I'm not sure how to say this... "
"Vivica just spit it the fuck out!"
"Well, uh... I tired to treat Ophelia, but I failed, her husband was already dead by the time I got here."
"... Vivica, I appreciate you trying to save someone I had fond memories of, but there's a whole town at stake... "
"I know, I know, but that's not what I'm getting at. Ophelia had a daughter you know. Her name's Laura. She's five. Ophelia told me before she died; she wanted her daughter to have a good home."
"Well of course! I mean we'll give good homes to all the orphans!"
"Again, that's not it. She asked for you specifically to give her that home. She said she said it's about time her daughter got to know her father anyway."
The surprises just keep coming.
"Excuse me?"
"Looks like you're this little girl's father... the timing is about right, I mean you did have that encounter with her five years ago. She's five and if I may say, I see the family resemblance, she doesn't look anything like Ophelia's husband, I mean granted he's dead right now, but... "
"Why the hell didn't she tell me? I mean I would've... "
"I asked the same question, during her final moments. She's said she was sorry she never told you before, but she knew you had other things on your mind and bigger concerns with rebuilding civilization and all. She always thought she would've lived in Marina's shadow anyway and by keeping Laura to herself it was like she still had a piece of you... sir I hate to break this information up since I know it probably really important to you, but what are we going to do about the town and Alex and everything?"
"Start evacuating the children to Base Pandora, the town is dead. I'll take care of Alex." You say grimly before disconnecting.
Armed and focused, for the first time in a long time you travel by yourself to the Shelter where Alex is at. You meet up with Vivica on the way, who tries to advise you to at least go in with back up, but you won't hear of it and tell her to continue on to Base Pandora. You also see Laura and some of the other orphaned children. They're obviously still upset about their parents dying horrible deaths. You approach Laura whose eyes are all red from crying. She looks up at you.
"Are... are you really my daddy?" she asks, obviously having been informed of the situation. Contrary to what Vivica said, you think she looks more like her mother, but yes there is a resemblance to you particularly the hair. Unsure of how to respond, you give a straight forward answer.
"Yes I am and I'll be home soon to take care of you." you stroke her face and get back in your vehicle and drive off.
You drive through Ashtown and see the dead bodies, by the facial expressions you get the impression it wasn't a pleasant one. Once again you think about going to see Ophelia's body, but you quickly decide against it. You'd rather remember her how she was the last time you saw her. Besides you'll always see her now in your daughter, plus you've got a score to settle with Alex.
You get to the Shelter and enter its foyer and surprisingly its elevator is at the top, looks like some modifications have been made to it as it looks as if the call buttons were there originally. You really don't care about any of it though, you're on a mission.
When you get to the bottom, you see the same modified call buttons near the elevator on this level as well (You can't believe the idiotic way GZS designs their Shelters though, effectively trapping their "customers" down here) You also see more dead bodies in various stages of decay, some look like they were dead long before Alex got here. Much of the equipment and place in general is in disarray, but you also notice some of it has been recently repaired. Probably by Alex no doubt.
You hear cursing coming from a nearby room, it sounds like Alex.
> confront him now
Knowing Alex, he's probably killed his assistants too; you go in with your weapon ready.
"FUCK! Goddamn GZS equipment! Always fucks up!" Alex says as he's trying to install some sort of implant in the head of some corpse on a table. Its one of his assistants and his brains are leaking all over the place, you don't even know what the hell Alex was trying to accomplish, and you get the impression he doesn't either. He stares at you with eyes telling you he's finally gone over the edge for good this time.
"You see? You see what I have to work with? Can't fucking work under these conditions! Not enough equipment! Plenty of bodies, just need the equipment... is it lunch time?"
"Is that why you infected Ashtown? So you could rebuild your insane dreams of cyborgs again?"
"It's not insane! Its evolution! You really think the Atomic Alliance can last in its current form? NO! It NEEDS to be remade! Y'see I tried... I really did... I really tried to delude myself into thinking civilization can be rebuilt and survive in its current form... but it wasn't until I came here and found this diary... this Elliot guy... had lots of good ideas about the nature of man... and how control IS the only way to maintain order... of course he obviously failed when his so called "obedience serum" had a long term detrimental health effect on the inhabitants here. Comes in handy as a virulent toxin when altered a bit and dumped into a water supply though. Strange how it doesn't affect pre-pubescent children."
"You fuckin' sonofabitch... " you say pointing your rifle at him, he doesn't even seem to notice, he just keeps talking.
"His ideas were sound, just his method was flawed, and it made me realize I was right in the beginning, I was just prevented from seeing my plan come to fruition due to YOUR own ambition and meddling! Shit, you can barely keep the Alliance leaders to agree on anything! The only reason why they follow you is because of the polite threat of superior firepower that you have access to and the major food source you have under your direct control in Eden. If that advantage ever disappeared, you'd have another civil war on your hands. You're petty dictator hiding in democracy. Your own method of control is as clumsy as Elliot's."
"I'm not controlling anyone, you psychotic fuck!"
"Bullshit! You've built your whole career on it! Your destruction of my plans, your war with the Combine, creating the Atomic Alliance and being the head of it. You really expect me to believe you did all this without ambition?"
"Actually yeah. Had it not been for Marina's influence, I probably wouldn't have bothered... "
"How long are you going to hide behind THAT ghost? Perhaps she did have influence on you in the beginning as far as motivation was concerned, but nobody, NOBODY that has gotten this far can say they've been doing this all this as some sort of monument for the love of a dead woman! You're lying to yourself because YOU don't have the fuckin' balls to admit you're a goddamn friendly fascist! And after you're dead? Do you think the Atomic Alliance will really live on? I predict it falls apart and in fighting occurs within a month! Humans are incapable of ruling themselves! The LAST WAR PROVED THAT! The Cybernetic Evolution is the ONLY thing that makes sense!"
You think about some of the things Alex's insane ranting, before responding.
"... you might be right Alex. You might be right, but there's just one thing..."
"Oh what's that?"
"Your method sucks too, mainly because you were too idiotic to ever get it off the ground in the first place and this isn't for Marina, its for my daughter Laura you fucking mass murdering motherfucker."
You riddle Alex's body with bullets until he's such a bloody heap that he's actually ripped in half by your burst. You then pull out your pistol and blast his face into a red pulpy mess.
Its over.
You return to Base Pandora where Vivica has been trying to keep control of things as everyone is starting to wonder what's going on exactly. You give a full report to the entire Atomic Alliance about what happened. It's a big event that nearly shatters the Alliance. When you think about it, maybe that was Alex's "back up plan", as even if he had been killed, he must've known you'd catch heat for what happened.
Some say it really wasn't your fault, others say it was, since you left an unstable element like Alex to his own devices. Some say your past deeds should be taken into consideration, others say it doesn't make up for the death of an entire town. Some say you tried to make things right, others say you shouldn't be applauded for attempting to fix something that was your fault in the first place. Still others say it wasn't your fault to begin with since the opening of the Shelters was most of the OTHER town leader's idea not yours. It's apparent everyone is divided on the situation, so you do the only thing that makes sense and step down from being the head of the Atomic Alliance.
This has more of an effect than you hoped. Some people still think you should be punished directly, but for the most part most are just satisfied that you aren't the head of the Alliance anymore. The ones closest to you think it's unfair, but you don't really care. You probably saved the Alliance again with your actions, another civil war would've occurred otherwise. You can only hope in time people will see that.
Vivica becomes the new head of the Alliance. Some object to her as well since she's somewhat close to you, but most accept her since her reputation is pretty spotless and fair minded. You remain in control of Base Pandora, which now mainly concentrates on strictly military matters as in defending the AA borders. Less politics, but not less responsibility since you now have a daughter to take care of...
Ten more years pass...
Twenty years have passed since the bombs dropped, and the Atomic Alliance is the largest known stretch of civilization known in the immediate area. It's now become an official democratic political entity rather than just a collection of separate towns and forts which were merely aligned. Vivica is now officially the President.
GZS Shelters have been converted into major the supplier of water. Gone are the days of wondering if water was safe to drink. These Shelters have also been modified to have surrounding land to become agricultural centers like Eden; the water is piped in from underground to help grow crops. They're probably more useful than what they were initially intended for.
Ashtown was repopulated, but a big memorial is now standing there in memory of the dead, the Shelter near Ashtown was destroyed. Explosives were placed in the entryway such a manner that it imploded in on itself forever burying the place.
As for you, you find less and less to do each day at Base Pandora. While it's foolish to think that the world is now a safe place that an Atomic Alliance military isn't needed, it's just that it has fewer threats. Raiders might lurk on the outskirts of it, but to actually attack it now would be folly. Only the craziest and most desperate raiders do that nowadays, and they're usually easily dispatched by the AA Police Force. (Most of course having trained at Base Pandora combat academy) Civil unrest mainly consists of a few normal complaints, never anything like what happened in the past. It almost like the "Old World" again.
You however are glad of this, since you have enough trouble trying to look after your daughter Laura. She's quite willful now that's she's a teenager, but fortunately your relationship isn't really bad though, you just never did get a hang of this whole father thing. The best thing you did was train her to take care of herself. Though now you're wondering if that was such a good idea.
"I want to join the Atomic Alliance City Project!" she says.
Having tamed most of the surrounding area, the next big agenda for the Alliance is to restore the City. You never really thought this was the best idea Vivica had, since the City has always been considered a very dangerous place, with nothing but deadly radiation levels and mutant monstrosities. In fact you turned down the option to head up the project when she proposed it to you. You remember way back in your early days of the Compound, when a few people were sent to the City, and only one returned speaking of the horrible creatures inside. Since then, nobody ever really went there. Every now and then you heard about a few hostile mutants wandering from the city, but it was rare, it seems as if they were content on living in their own area.
You lived on "your side" and they lived on "their side" and that's the way it should stay. Seems like fucking around with the City might be inviting trouble, sort of like when you decided to fuck around the Shelters ten years ago...
Your daughter on the other hand like most youthful sorts, sees "adventure". True she's not some delicate flower and she grew up relatively fast (She did see her mother die in front of her along with the rest of the town) but its not like she's had any real combat experience, plus she's only fifteen and you do feel the need to protect her.
> restrict her from going
She's still fifteen; you're still able to restrict her from doing whatever the hell she wants. You do however realize that too much restriction isn't going to help and possibly even drive her away, so what you propose is a compromise and you allow her to go on border patrol mission and minor recon duty.
Let her deal with some raiders and see if she still wants to pursue this life of adventure...
She isn't exactly enthusiastic about this idea, probably because it doesn't seem as "exciting". Most raiders go running at the first sign of trouble, so there's actually little in the way of combat. She starts becoming a little more daring and patrols further than she's supposed to. You tell others to keep an eye on her, but of course that's impossible all the time.
Then your worst fears come true. Laura is ambushed, beaten and gang raped. She would've probably been killed, but the rest of the recon team arrived in time to drive them off. They managed to kill a few... but not all. You've suffered a lot of tragedies in your life, but this one has got to be the worst since you lost Marina... worse even. You don't sink into depression though, you fly into a rage. You immediately gather your best men and personally hunt the rest of these scumfucks down.
There is no where they can hide; you are the embodiment of vengeance. As is typical you find them hold up in a cave where you catch most of them off guard, as ordered, your men don't shoot to kill, they shoot to maim. You'll be the one doing the killing.
You cut off the genitals of each one of them and stuff them into their mouths. You yell and scream at them as you repeatedly shoot and kick their bloody bodies. You don't stop tormenting them even after death until one of your men finally tells you stop.
You don't really feel any better though, once again you feel like you've failed, just like you did ten years ago with Alex killing most of Ashtown. You can't do this anymore; you resign your command at Pandora, despite Vivica not wanting you to.
It takes Laura awhile to get over the traumatic event, and she never really does. She picks a safer career path and she never marries or even dates, despite you telling her that she should and that its okay, but she says she's satisfied just living with you. (And while you blamed yourself for what happened, she never did) And while you don't mind her company, this also saddens you.
In your remaining years, you spend a lot of time regretting a lot of decisions you made in the past. You can't even take "pride" in the fact that you contributed greatly to rebuilding civilization. When yet another war breaks out with the mutants due to the Atomic Alliance City Project you just shake your head wondering if it was all worth it to begin with.
Eventually when you die, it's sort of a release for you. A small respectful funeral is held for you as you're buried next to Marina like you always wanted to be, but as time goes on after Vivica and those who were with you from the beginning in the Compound die off, your name and deeds are forgotten completely as what happens to most "heroes" of history. |
Knowing Alex, he's probably killed his assistants too; you go in with your weapon ready.
"FUCK! Goddamn GZS equipment! Always fucks up!" Alex says as he's trying to install some sort of implant in the head of some corpse on a table. Its one of his assistants and his brains are leaking all over the place, you don't even know what the hell Alex was trying to accomplish, and you get the impression he doesn't either. He stares at you with eyes telling you he's finally gone over the edge for good this time.
"You see? You see what I have to work with? Can't fucking work under these conditions! Not enough equipment! Plenty of bodies, just need the equipment... is it lunch time?"
"Is that why you infected Ashtown? So you could rebuild your insane dreams of cyborgs again?"
"It's not insane! Its evolution! You really think the Atomic Alliance can last in its current form? NO! It NEEDS to be remade! Y'see I tried... I really did... I really tried to delude myself into thinking civilization can be rebuilt and survive in its current form... but it wasn't until I came here and found this diary... this Elliot guy... had lots of good ideas about the nature of man... and how control IS the only way to maintain order... of course he obviously failed when his so called "obedience serum" had a long term detrimental health effect on the inhabitants here. Comes in handy as a virulent toxin when altered a bit and dumped into a water supply though. Strange how it doesn't affect pre-pubescent children."
"You fuckin' sonofabitch... " you say pointing your rifle at him, he doesn't even seem to notice, he just keeps talking.
"His ideas were sound, just his method was flawed, and it made me realize I was right in the beginning, I was just prevented from seeing my plan come to fruition due to YOUR own ambition and meddling! Shit, you can barely keep the Alliance leaders to agree on anything! The only reason why they follow you is because of the polite threat of superior firepower that you have access to and the major food source you have under your direct control in Eden. If that advantage ever disappeared, you'd have another civil war on your hands. You're petty dictator hiding in democracy. Your own method of control is as clumsy as Elliot's."
"I'm not controlling anyone, you psychotic fuck!"
"Bullshit! You've built your whole career on it! Your destruction of my plans, your war with the Combine, creating the Atomic Alliance and being the head of it. You really expect me to believe you did all this without ambition?"
"Actually yeah. Had it not been for Marina's influence, I probably wouldn't have bothered... "
"How long are you going to hide behind THAT ghost? Perhaps she did have influence on you in the beginning as far as motivation was concerned, but nobody, NOBODY that has gotten this far can say they've been doing this all this as some sort of monument for the love of a dead woman! You're lying to yourself because YOU don't have the fuckin' balls to admit you're a goddamn friendly fascist! And after you're dead? Do you think the Atomic Alliance will really live on? I predict it falls apart and in fighting occurs within a month! Humans are incapable of ruling themselves! The LAST WAR PROVED THAT! The Cybernetic Evolution is the ONLY thing that makes sense!"
You think about some of the things Alex's insane ranting, before responding.
"... you might be right Alex. You might be right, but there's just one thing..."
"Oh what's that?"
"Your method sucks too, mainly because you were too idiotic to ever get it off the ground in the first place and this isn't for Marina, its for my daughter Laura you fucking mass murdering motherfucker."
You riddle Alex's body with bullets until he's such a bloody heap that he's actually ripped in half by your burst. You then pull out your pistol and blast his face into a red pulpy mess.
Its over.
You return to Base Pandora where Vivica has been trying to keep control of things as everyone is starting to wonder what's going on exactly. You give a full report to the entire Atomic Alliance about what happened. It's a big event that nearly shatters the Alliance. When you think about it, maybe that was Alex's "back up plan", as even if he had been killed, he must've known you'd catch heat for what happened.
Some say it really wasn't your fault, others say it was, since you left an unstable element like Alex to his own devices. Some say your past deeds should be taken into consideration, others say it doesn't make up for the death of an entire town. Some say you tried to make things right, others say you shouldn't be applauded for attempting to fix something that was your fault in the first place. Still others say it wasn't your fault to begin with since the opening of the Shelters was most of the OTHER town leader's idea not yours. It's apparent everyone is divided on the situation, so you do the only thing that makes sense and step down from being the head of the Atomic Alliance.
This has more of an effect than you hoped. Some people still think you should be punished directly, but for the most part most are just satisfied that you aren't the head of the Alliance anymore. The ones closest to you think it's unfair, but you don't really care. You probably saved the Alliance again with your actions, another civil war would've occurred otherwise. You can only hope in time people will see that.
Vivica becomes the new head of the Alliance. Some object to her as well since she's somewhat close to you, but most accept her since her reputation is pretty spotless and fair minded. You remain in control of Base Pandora, which now mainly concentrates on strictly military matters as in defending the AA borders. Less politics, but not less responsibility since you now have a daughter to take care of...
Ten more years pass...
Twenty years have passed since the bombs dropped, and the Atomic Alliance is the largest known stretch of civilization known in the immediate area. It's now become an official democratic political entity rather than just a collection of separate towns and forts which were merely aligned. Vivica is now officially the President.
GZS Shelters have been converted into major the supplier of water. Gone are the days of wondering if water was safe to drink. These Shelters have also been modified to have surrounding land to become agricultural centers like Eden; the water is piped in from underground to help grow crops. They're probably more useful than what they were initially intended for.
Ashtown was repopulated, but a big memorial is now standing there in memory of the dead, the Shelter near Ashtown was destroyed. Explosives were placed in the entryway such a manner that it imploded in on itself forever burying the place.
As for you, you find less and less to do each day at Base Pandora. While it's foolish to think that the world is now a safe place that an Atomic Alliance military isn't needed, it's just that it has fewer threats. Raiders might lurk on the outskirts of it, but to actually attack it now would be folly. Only the craziest and most desperate raiders do that nowadays, and they're usually easily dispatched by the AA Police Force. (Most of course having trained at Base Pandora combat academy) Civil unrest mainly consists of a few normal complaints, never anything like what happened in the past. It almost like the "Old World" again.
You however are glad of this, since you have enough trouble trying to look after your daughter Laura. She's quite willful now that's she's a teenager, but fortunately your relationship isn't really bad though, you just never did get a hang of this whole father thing. The best thing you did was train her to take care of herself. Though now you're wondering if that was such a good idea.
"I want to join the Atomic Alliance City Project!" she says.
Having tamed most of the surrounding area, the next big agenda for the Alliance is to restore the City. You never really thought this was the best idea Vivica had, since the City has always been considered a very dangerous place, with nothing but deadly radiation levels and mutant monstrosities. In fact you turned down the option to head up the project when she proposed it to you. You remember way back in your early days of the Compound, when a few people were sent to the City, and only one returned speaking of the horrible creatures inside. Since then, nobody ever really went there. Every now and then you heard about a few hostile mutants wandering from the city, but it was rare, it seems as if they were content on living in their own area.
You lived on "your side" and they lived on "their side" and that's the way it should stay. Seems like fucking around with the City might be inviting trouble, sort of like when you decided to fuck around the Shelters ten years ago...
Your daughter on the other hand like most youthful sorts, sees "adventure". True she's not some delicate flower and she grew up relatively fast (She did see her mother die in front of her along with the rest of the town) but its not like she's had any real combat experience, plus she's only fifteen and you do feel the need to protect her.
> ask Vivica to make you the head of the project
If your daughter's going to insist on this foolishness, you're going to make sure you're at least observing her. You travel to New Justice (Formally called Fort Justice) to see Vivica. Lately you and Vivica haven't been agreeing on too much about this, so you end up storming into her office and demanding the position.
"Vivica! I want that City Project job, I don't give a shit who you've already applied the position to already, I'm fuckin' taking it!"
"Sure. You got it. Anything else?" Vivica says not looking up from her writing some document.
"... uh no? You don't mind?"
"Why would I? I asked you to take this position in the first place."
"Yeah I know, but I was sort of an asshole about turning it down before."
"Well I figured you'd come around, even if you don't agree with this project."
"I still don't... I mean don't you think we'll be doing more harm than good by fucking around with the City? I mean the mutants inside don't normally come out, if we start going in, we might be stirring up a bee's nest."
Vivica stop writing and looks at you.
"Let me ask you something... didn't you stir up a bee's nest when you first confronted Alex at Base Pandora twenty years ago? Think about it. Had you not gone in, isn't it possible that he would've actually built up a large enough army of cyborgs and robots to attack us later and we wouldn't have been able to defend against?"
"Well MAYBE, but... "
"How about when we fought those cultists at Eden? Your actions saved a woman who you would later give birth to your daughter. Not to mention that once run down farm house became a great agricultural center that is still a big supplier of AA food today. Not to mention Biofuel."
"Yeah, but... "
"How about standing up to Harry and the Combine? I'm sure you could've easily run away from the situation, but you didn't."
"Well I stayed because of Marina."
"True, but you also stay because deep down you KNEW that the Combine was corrupt and evil and needed to be destroyed and yes the loss was great, to you especially. But look what happened, the Atomic Alliance was created, and is still the closest thing to civilization in this little part of this fucked up world, well that we know of anyway."
"I guess, but... "
"What about the opening of the Shelters? Now I know that's a sore point with you. I know some people blame you for what happened due to that bastard Alex's treachery. I know you probably still blame yourself to a certain degree, but think about it we use most of those Shelters as the major suppliers of food and water now. I don't even think Atomic Alliance would be as prosperous as it is today without them. You've done more for the Atomic Alliance than anyone. Marina always said you never gave yourself a lot of credit for what you were capable of, it's one of the reasons why she always felt the need to push you a bit."
"Okay, but... "
"And you want to know why I wanted you to head this project? Because you're the only one capable of pulling it off. Seriously if anything this shitty new world has taught us is we can't just leave things alone. We have to take a pro-active approach to things just like we always have. I mean sure the mutants aren't leaving the city NOW, but who knows what the hell the future holds? Shouldn't we find out if those muties are forming their own army rather than finding out about it when it's crossing our borders? Shouldn't we find out if they aren't ALL insane freaks and perhaps some of them are even civilized enough to make friends with? You've dealt with situations like this so many times that you're about the only expert on the matter; you always seem to have made the decisions that turned out for the best in the long run. Maybe you aren't running the Alliance, but you ARE the fuckin' founder. So while perhaps you're only taking this position to keep an eye on your daughter, you'll eventually realize that you're doing the right thing anyway, just like you always have."
"... how'd you know that's why I was doing this?" you ask totally surprised.
"Because a few weeks ago Laura snuck into my office begging me to let her join and I told her she better clear it with you. I figured your reaction would've been telling her no, or you would've let her only to demand to be head of the project to keep an eye on her. Glad it was the latter." She says with a grin.
So it happens, you take control of the Project. You organize and plan and all the rest that goes along with it. A relatively large force made up of the best Pandora's combat academy has to offer make a trip to the City. The radiation levels aren't quite as high as expected, but everyone is still expected to wear their radiation suits. While you aren't worried about yourself, you are sort of worried about Laura. Even if the mutants aren't a problem, the higher radiation levels could render her sterile. You never thought about it before, but you would like to have grand-children someday... but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. No more regrets or wondering about what could be done differently. You've done enough of that in the past, and Vivica was right, you don't give yourself enough credit for your accomplishments.
You personally go on every patrol Laura does. It embarrasses her a bit, that you're being so over protective, but she appreciates it later when a gang of hungry mutants attack. (Though some snickering is heard later from some of the others in the squad when you help her up, and she has to endure a few taunts of being "Daddy's little girl", but she soon proves to be able capable in combat which makes you proud)
After a few weeks of exploration, you find that there's a whole little world going on in the city. There are more factions here than you've ever come across! Some mutants are just mindless cannibals roaming the streets, while others are more organized and vicious. Still others follow weird new religions (Never friendly types in your experience) and others are actually friendly and have collected, fixed and horded lots of equipment over the years and would be willing to trade with "pretties" such as yourselves. (You don't like the way they look at Laura though even if she is in a radiation suit)
Oddly new mutants are being born, not a lot, but a few. Seeing as they're going to be a factor in years to come you guess it would be best to make alliances with the friendly mutants and provide them with help... this of course comes in the form of firepower. Of course you aren't so idiotic to start giving them rocket launchers and such, but ammunition and few extra rifles to your new mutant "friends" can't hurt the balance of power in the city since you don't see it as it ever being fully part of the Alliance. You think it'll always be known as Zeropolis (As the mutants call it) where the mutants live and chaos will always be a way of life where only the fittest survive. Hmmm, just like before the bombs hit actually...
One other good thing about this experience is after her first tour in Zeropolis, Laura decides to pursue a slightly safer career as a member of the Atomic Alliance Police Force. You're beyond relieved.
Thirty years pass...
Fifty years have passed and you're now celebrating the forty fifth anniversary of the founding of the Atomic Alliance at its capital of New Justice, of course you and Ex-President Vivica are about the only ones still alive who were around from the VERY beginning when it was only just "The Compound".
You personally are receiving some sort of honor for all your deeds in making the AA possible. You even get a statue and while you're publicly humble about it, you do secretly really like it. After all you do deserve the recognition, and you're finally being given your credit. After you and Vivica give your speeches and get off stage, Laura hugs you and says how happy she is for you. Your grandson David does as well. You were always happy Laura's fertility wasn't affected by the trip to Zeropolis. Though David's six fingers on each hand display some of the effects, but he's normal in every other way. (If anything he may make a great diplomat to the mutants when he grows up!)
After the grand night of celebration, you go back home to rest. You're really tired. Like you feel like you could sleep forever.
Sometimes it weird to think that before the bombs hit, you were never really a social person, but then afterwards, you became a warrior, a diplomat and a founder of a new civilization leading people through it all.
"I guess you were right Marina... I always did have it in me... " you say as you drift off to sleep... |
You immediately dispatch another team of medics in hazmat suits to Ashtown. Vivica insists on going since she's probably the second best doctor in the Alliance, you order her not to since you can't afford to lose her as well, not to mention she runs Fort Justice, but she's defiant and goes anyway. You also order Eden to not let ANYONE who wasn't already working there in, until this situation is resolved. You can't afford your major food source to get contaminated. You decide not to inform the rest of the Alliance towns, since you hope maybe you can contain this before panic occurs. You next step is to radio Alex, but as predicted you don't get an answer.
You soon get a report from Vivica,
"It looks bad. REAL Bad. Most of Ashtown is already dead or dying. Whatever it is, I don't think it's airborne. It might be the water supply. The only weird thing is, the children didn't seem to be affected... it's very sad though. We're going to have a bunch of orphans."
"Can't you do ANYTHING?"
"No, I have no idea what this is and I think it's too late anyway, uh there's something else I think you'll want to know... though I'm not sure how to say this... "
"Vivica just spit it the fuck out!"
"Well, uh... I tired to treat Ophelia, but I failed, her husband was already dead by the time I got here."
"... Vivica, I appreciate you trying to save someone I had fond memories of, but there's a whole town at stake... "
"I know, I know, but that's not what I'm getting at. Ophelia had a daughter you know. Her name's Laura. She's five. Ophelia told me before she died; she wanted her daughter to have a good home."
"Well of course! I mean we'll give good homes to all the orphans!"
"Again, that's not it. She asked for you specifically to give her that home. She said she said it's about time her daughter got to know her father anyway."
The surprises just keep coming.
"Excuse me?"
"Looks like you're this little girl's father... the timing is about right, I mean you did have that encounter with her five years ago. She's five and if I may say, I see the family resemblance, she doesn't look anything like Ophelia's husband, I mean granted he's dead right now, but... "
"Why the hell didn't she tell me? I mean I would've... "
"I asked the same question, during her final moments. She's said she was sorry she never told you before, but she knew you had other things on your mind and bigger concerns with rebuilding civilization and all. She always thought she would've lived in Marina's shadow anyway and by keeping Laura to herself it was like she still had a piece of you... sir I hate to break this information up since I know it probably really important to you, but what are we going to do about the town and Alex and everything?"
"Start evacuating the children to Base Pandora, the town is dead. I'll take care of Alex." You say grimly before disconnecting.
Armed and focused, for the first time in a long time you travel by yourself to the Shelter where Alex is at. You meet up with Vivica on the way, who tries to advise you to at least go in with back up, but you won't hear of it and tell her to continue on to Base Pandora. You also see Laura and some of the other orphaned children. They're obviously still upset about their parents dying horrible deaths. You approach Laura whose eyes are all red from crying. She looks up at you.
"Are... are you really my daddy?" she asks, obviously having been informed of the situation. Contrary to what Vivica said, you think she looks more like her mother, but yes there is a resemblance to you particularly the hair. Unsure of how to respond, you give a straight forward answer.
"Yes I am and I'll be home soon to take care of you." you stroke her face and get back in your vehicle and drive off.
You drive through Ashtown and see the dead bodies, by the facial expressions you get the impression it wasn't a pleasant one. Once again you think about going to see Ophelia's body, but you quickly decide against it. You'd rather remember her how she was the last time you saw her. Besides you'll always see her now in your daughter, plus you've got a score to settle with Alex.
You get to the Shelter and enter its foyer and surprisingly its elevator is at the top, looks like some modifications have been made to it as it looks as if the call buttons were there originally. You really don't care about any of it though, you're on a mission.
When you get to the bottom, you see the same modified call buttons near the elevator on this level as well (You can't believe the idiotic way GZS designs their Shelters though, effectively trapping their "customers" down here) You also see more dead bodies in various stages of decay, some look like they were dead long before Alex got here. Much of the equipment and place in general is in disarray, but you also notice some of it has been recently repaired. Probably by Alex no doubt.
You hear cursing coming from a nearby room, it sounds like Alex.
> check to make sure his assistants are not lurking around
You figure Alex is occupied, so you can check to make sure he doesn't have one of his assistants skulking about. You'd hate to confront him only to get shot in the back by one of them.
Unfortunately that's exactly what happens anyway. While you search for other enemies, Alex hears and sneaks up on you, shooting you in the back. You drop to the floor gasping for air.
"I always said you'd make an excellent candidate for remaking... trust me, I'm saving the Alliance, by doing this... " are the last words you hear by Alex before you fall unconscious and never wake up. |
"Keep fighting the bastards! Pandora will never fall!" you shout as you mow down another dirt biker.
In all the fighting though you begin to worry where Marina is, you look around for her in the chaos, and then you see her fighting with multiple enemies converging on her position.
You rush towards her to back her up and then you're blown back by an explosion. You slam up against a wall of one of the barracks, other than some minor pain and some scars you're going to have you aren't harmed, however your heart is when you see Marina lying bloody on the ground. She isn't moving. Ignoring everything else you run to her, you kneel down to pick up her body, she grabs weakly on to you, but she's in bad shape.
"Keep fighting to rebuild civilization... its still worth it... " she says before losing total consciousness.
Alex suddenly comes up to you.
"Hey! We got people firing on us; you need to get the fuck outta the open!"
"You! You're a fucking surgeon! You fix her! Save her! Save her NOW!" you shout, picking her up and shoving her into Alex's arms.
"Wha... I... " Alex realizes you mean fucking business so he just nods and runs with her to one of the few undamaged buildings.
You're blind with rage, you begin charging into battle trying take out as many of these motherfuckers as you can, its quite possible with your actions alone you turned the tide, but you are still just one man, and you nearly get yourself killed, if it hadn't been for Vivica managing to get a few people from Ashtown to help out, and they arrive just in time.
Ophelia shoots a Combine soldier who was sneaking up on you. You turn around to see her, you nearly don't recognize her decked out in battle gear.
"Told you, you'd see me in the future." She says and runs off to clean up the stragglers running away.
The Combine is pulling back. You've won, but at a high cost.
When you return to check on Marina, you find her dead. Alex explains there was nothing he could do for her. You ask to be alone which he complies. You spend the rest of the night alone with Marina's lifeless body weeping and vowing revenge.
The next day, you come out with one focus. To assault Fort Justice. This will never be over until Harry is dead. You need to strike now when he's weak.
A lot of people are wondering if you shouldn't wait to regroup, but you won't hear of it, you're determined to do it now and everyone who's in fighting condition is coming with you.
In a couple days you and your small army arrive at Fort Justice. You half expect to die this day assaulting the place, but once again destiny is with you. Fort Justice is experiencing a minor authority problem. You can take the scum out of the wasteland, but you can't make them disciplined soldiers. The last defeat has shattered morale, and apparently some are starting to question Harry's orders, while others aren't willing to die for him. The gate is wide open and parts of the place are in flames.
You walk in relatively unopposed. Some fighting occurs, but you're looking for Harry and when the loud mouth shithead sees you, instead of confronting you, he runs for the trapdoor to the underground. You immediately run to cut him off and shoot him in both legs. He falls and grabs for his pistol, but you take careful aim and blow his hand off, he screams in pain when he sees his fingers all over the ground.
A kick to his face follows, and then a stomp, and another, and another. You don't stop until his face looks like tenderized hamburger. He tries to act defiant by trying to give you the finger with his good hand, but you take it and break the motherfucker along with the rest of his hand.
"This is for Marina and the rest of the deaths you caused." You say, before blasting his mushy bloody head into mushy bloody pieces.
Now its over.
You collapse by Harry's body, spent and drained. Alex goes over to see if you're alright, but Ophelia tells him to just make sure all the enemy are either dead or running. Ophelia takes you to a barrack and puts you on a bed and tells you to rest, which you do.
"I did it Marina... I got him... " you mumble while falling asleep.
The next few weeks consist of rebuilding. Rebuilding everything. Fort Justice. Base Pandora. All the damage Harry caused. Word gets out to the Combine occupied towns about their current situation, with no centralized authority figure anymore, the Combine dissipates as wasteland scum flee and return to the outlands where they belong. The townspeople of those places are very grateful for your help, and you're now in charge of everything but you take no joy in any of it, or anything. You're numb. You go through the motions, but you're basically in a daze. All your thoughts are of Marina, you feel empty without her.
If it wasn't for her, you wouldn't even be alive right now. You would've died in a big mushroom cloud death. You start blaming yourself for not being able to save her, you start thinking about suicide. Everyone gets a little worried about you. Vivica starts radioing in wondering about your condition, Alex (Who's quite familiar with mental breakdowns) attempts to talk to you, but it's Ophelia who turns you around, though not immediately, but it's her actions that become the turning point.
Late one night, as you wallow in the emptiness, Ophelia visits you. You expect her to tell you not blame yourself for Marina's death again, but she doesn't. Instead she talks about the time when you saved her from the cultists and how grateful she was that day and how she would've almost done anything to repay you for saving her life.
"Mm... well you repaid it already. You saved mine back at Pandora." You say wishing to be left alone.
"No, I'm saving it now."
Ophelia begins to remove her clothing, something that takes you completely by surprise. You feel you shouldn't, you know you shouldn't, but maybe it's feeling of loneliness, maybe it's the feeling of confusion, or maybe its just plain hormones, and you give in to Ophelia's advances. And for that one night, the emptiness within you disappears.
The next day Ophelia is gone leaving you a note saying she's going back to Ashtown and tells you that you shouldn't give up on life since you have so much more to change in this new world.
When you think about it, Marina saved you, so you could carry that goal out. She always did see the potential in you to do great things.
With this new perspective, you begin to return to normal, though there still was a little piece of you that died when Marina did. You'll never completely be the same. Life goes on though.
Five more years pass...
It's been ten years since the bombs dropped and civilization is starting to rebuild itself again... well somewhat.
Hard to believe you would've become any type of leader trying to rebuild civilization. Marina might not be around anymore, but obviously her influence on you still is and always will be as you follow her dream of rebuilding civilization again.
You're still running things from Base Pandora, which is now the unofficial head of the Atomic Alliance. The towns formally under Combine occupation are included, but are now treated as equals rather than glorified labor camps, though getting everyone to agree completely on anything still remains a problem. Fort Justice is now under Vivica's command and the Farmhouse, now known as Eden is a fully functional agricultural community. (It supplies food as well as biofuel for vehicles now) After that one night with Ophelia you don't see her anymore, but last you heard she had a baby and got married to someone in Ashtown. Good for her.
Other than political disagreements, everything has been going fairly well; raiders are still a problem, but much less than in the past. For the most part people are pretty happy living in your territory.
One thing that's been debated among you and some of other leaders, are the few GZS Shelters the Alliance has stumbled across over recent years. No effort has been made to open them, but they're all sealed shut by their main computers. From what you know by reading some of the GZS documents found in Base Pandora (and Alex who definitely has some knowledge of GZS protocols) the Shelters weren't supposed to open up until the central computer determined that sufficient amount of time had passed and the surface deemed safe. Apparently the computers still think the surface sucks. (And that assessment wouldn't exactly be wrong)
Most of the other Alliance leaders say that some sort of contact should be made with them. You get the impression some of them might've done it anyway, it's just you have most of the equipment that makes it a lot easier.
> leave them alone
You remember something the Colonel said years ago "They made their bed now they can sleep in it." You see no reason to disturb the Shelters; you have enough to do with surface matters.
Your unwillingness to contact them though is frowned upon by the other alliance leaders. Some are even calling you "inhumane" for leaving them down there. You take great offense to this since you're anything but inhumane; you just don't see the need to contact a bunch of people who wanted to be shut off from society for a long period of time in the first place. Besides who says they want to be contacted? Who know how they'll act? Seems like it's just going to open up trouble you don't really need.
It doesn't matter though, the other town leaders are determined to go through with it, and you can't stop them, it's not like you're running a dictatorship here. You are however denying all help from your end. Base Pandora, Fort Justice, and Eden are not to be involved. The Alliance relationship becomes a bit strained.
A few weeks pass and you get a report from the Alliance towns, the first Shelter openings didn't go very peacefully. Due to their fumbling and having no plan other than "Opening them up." They manage to get into misunderstandings and a few fights occurred resulting in some deaths on both sides, but mostly on the Shelter people side, seeing as they haven't been hardened by the surface. Ultimately they pull everyone out the Shelters kicking and screaming. Some Alliance citizens don't like the fact that their local governments have engaged in these kinds of tactics, and you're wondering what the hell they think they're doing, since you said it was a bad idea in the first place and this just proves it.
You later find out that one of the pettier leaders convinced most of the others that the Shelters contained resources that would make them less dependant on you (Such as operating filtrated water recycling systems) and decided taking the Shelters by force would be a good idea since if you were unwilling to help before you might be unwilling to help in the future.
Of course that was just idiotic logic on their part since you were just against the idea of fucking around with the Shelters; you weren't on some power trip.
Within the next few weeks reports start coming in about riots in the towns and mistreatment of the relocated Shelter people. It's the Combine all over again...
You send in troops on your end to try to maintain some sort of peace, AND to stop all this unnecessary cruelty to the Shelter folks who were just peacefully living out their existence until some Alliance assholes pulled them from their homes.
Naturally being a peacemaker is a thankless job. The "doves" think you're being a fascist by using force to stop the rioting and protests, and then by the same token the "hawks" think you're meddling in business that isn't your concern since you didn't want anything to do with the Shelters in the first place and shouldn't be telling them what to do with the Shelters OR its people. Now you start to get angry.
"Motherfuckers I RUN the goddamn Alliance! I fuckin' built it! I'll say what the fuck goes!"
That's the last transmission you make to the Alliance as a single entity. The next day it becomes a much smaller entity as the Alliance town leaders official break off from you and declare themselves independent and calling themselves the Atomic Confederation.
You're so pissed of by all of this that you don't even WANT to bring them back into the "fold". You're ready to wash your hands of this exercise in stupidity. You withdraw all peacekeeping troops and instead of wasting more resources and man power on a long drawn out war taking town after town that will only weaken you, you decide to take a more strategic approach and attack the Shelters themselves. You send a strike team to locate each one that's been opened up and blow up the water recyclers, and then to blow up the elevators allowing access to the Shelters in the first place. You also of course aren't going to be trading food supplies from Eden anymore.
"So much for your new resources. See how long you last without our help, fucktards." Is your last transmission to the Atomic Confederation.
The Atomic Confederation doesn't last very long, it collapses mainly due to the inept and corrupt government, civil unrest, and even outside attack from raiders who are always attracted to chaos. By the time its all over the towns are little more than criminal havens that fight amongst each other.
You're still in good shape though; however this event has caused a trend in isolationism. The Atomic Alliance doesn't expand past its now severely shortened borders. You still have dealings with Ashtown every now and then, but after they heard all the problems that were going on, it appears they become a bit isolationist as well (Which does have the benefit that they don't try to open the Shelter that they located nearby, thankfully someone learned the lesson to leave well enough alone.) and you even have less contact with them as well.
You live out the rest of your years running the Atomic Alliance which mainly consists of protecting your borders. Your death comes suddenly when Alex unexpectedly assassinates you. (Theories point to simple revenge for all those years ago and just his underlying unstableness) You're buried next to Marina, he's immediately executed and Vivica takes over.
The Alliance continues under her leadership, but after her, leaders become less capable as leaders are apt to do in government systems. Eventually like the Combine, and the Atomic Confederation, the Atomic Alliance collapses completely thus ending the attempt to rebuilding civilization in this part of the wasteland. |
It's a brutal world and it just got more so. Rushing in outnumbered, isn't likely to save anyone and most likely going to get you killed. You radio in for reinforcements and keep an eye on the farm in the mean time. Later when the darkness comes you see a group of them come out with torches, form a circle in a nearby plain and begin chanting. You count ten of them altogether Soon two more come out with one of the prisoners from earlier. She's bound, gagged and naked; you know what's going to come next.
Reggie and another one in your team wants to do something, but you insist that they do nothing and to keep quiet. It's all over soon anyway, as you see them sacrifice the poor girl for whatever outlandish beliefs they hold. You take first watch for the night. The next day your reinforcements arrive... both of them.
"What the fuck? I asked for at least five more people!"
"Sorry, but that other recon group you sent also ran into trouble, in fact two of them are already dead, and we had to send a rescue team to fetch the other two since one has a broken leg."
"Oh that's wonderful."
"So should we call this off?" one of you team asks.
"No Vivica, we're going through with it, but we're going to employ some stealth, they had three prisoners, I get the feeling they'll be doing the same ceremony they did last night."
"Are we going to attack them now then?"
"No Leonard, I don't feel like fighting a bunch of fanatics armed with machine guns in an open plain with no cover. And we can't just start firing on them from here, we need to wipe them ALL out as quickly as possible without them having a chance the regroup, fortify or any of that shit. We're gonna sneak into the house and ambush the whole fuckin' cult while they're doing their little ceremony."
You wait until night and sure enough they all come out like you thought, then come the others with the prisoner. That's when the six of you quickly sneak through an overgrown field towards the house. You get to the stairs when Reggie and Leonard break off towards the area were the cult is performing their ceremony.
"I can't just let them kill another! We can take 'em now! They're off guard!"
"Reggie get the fuck... shit!"
Reggie and Leonard begin firing, the fucking idiots aren't even taking cover, they're going head long in like they're stupid ass action heroes. You and the others lay down some cover fire, but it's not enough. Reggie and Leonard are cut down after killing a whopping ONE cultist and not even saving the hapless girl, who's shot instantly. The cultists start spreading out, moving forward, and circling around you at the same time, they're also better shots than you too, as they're carefully aiming rather than just firing in the general vicinity. After seeing another one of your team members go down, you and the rest fall back into the house itself.
The inside of the house looks like something out of a horror movie, there are skulls and bones littering it, along with it blood stains everywhere.
"Holy shit! What've we gotten ourselves into?" Vivica yells.
"Shut the fuck up, I hear something... like crying... it's downstairs."
"What about the cultists?"
"Well it's the same plan, they just know about us now, let's hope we can still get 'em in a good ambush."
You and your team members spread out in the house, you head down into the basement, which looks more like a small temple layout. You see a young woman in a cage, and when she sees you her eyes fill with hope. You hear the cultists stomping around upstairs and some gunfire, at which point you try to find a good place to hide.
A bunch of footsteps run down the stairs, you wait in anticipation... closer... closer...
NOW!
You pop up from your spot and begin firing, you kill six of them before they can even react, and the remaining two barely get off some wild shots before you splatter them as well. Still breathing heavy among the dead, you finally hear some good news.
"Hey! Are you still alive down there?" Vivica shouts.
"Yeah! What's going on up there?"
"We got a few of them, but I think most of them converged on your position though."
"Of course they did, I've always been popular." You reply.
You release the girl in the cage who's very thankful. She mentions her name is Ophelia and she's from a place called Ashtown which is far from this place. She says the cultists came storming into her town specifically trying to capture young girls; they took three before they finally were driven away, and unfortunately Ophelia was one of the three. You tell Ophelia your story; she seems to think you've got the right idea about going about things.
"I think I'm going to tell my people back in Ashtown that we need to start getting better organized as well, and I'll be sure to tell them all about you and how you rescued me! Maybe we'll see each other in the future."
You and your team search the farm house which just like you thought was stocked with all sorts of goodies. You're going to have haul some of it back, but you decide that you could also establish another base of sorts here after it was cleaned up. You'd also like to establish more of a relationship with this Ashtown. So you allow Ophelia to take one of the vehicles for her to drive back there, she certainly doesn't have a problem with that!
Before heading back you put Vivica in charge of the place and tell her you'll be sending some more folks to help get this farm up and running. Not bad for a first try.
Four more years pass...
It's been five years since you joined the Compound and things are going fairly well for you, the farm house has been converted into a way point to Ashtown, with which you have good relations with and is now producing food. You are no longer solely dependant on the Compound for supplies which might be just as well...
You get less and less reports from the Compound itself other than its undergone a name change and due to its inclusion of a few towns now, its called the Combine and the Compound itself is called Fort Justice. You know about how the Colonel has gotten sick and seems to be getting worse as more time passes and how the population rate is growing, but it's slow. The major theory is the elevated levels of background radiation are probably affecting fertility. (You wonder about yourself and Marina since she hasn't once gotten pregnant in the five years you've been together) There have been more people sent here, mainly because they hear about how great it is in Pandora as opposed to the miserable place Harry has made Fort Justice since he's been getting freer reign of the place as the Colonel continues to get sicker.
In fact you've been hearing some disturbing stories from others who have come here recently. Ranging from needlessly violent occupation of towns, sending people on dangerous unnecessary missions to the city, and recruiting desert scum into the Combine! People are saying Harry's going nuts with power.
One day, one of your assistants comes in and has something to report.
The Colonel has died, Harry has taken complete control of the Combine and his first order is for YOU to return to Fort Justice for reassignment.
Harry's just plain gone completely nuts if he thinks you're going to do that.
Speaking of nuts, that same day after you convince everyone in seceding from the Combine you get a radio message from someone who's been quiet until now.
"Well well, it seems you've got a problem on your hands."
It's Alex. You're guessing he's been surviving on rats and roaches down there.
"What the hell do you want and how do you know what's been going on?"
"How do you think? I've been listening in on all your incoming and outgoing radio transmissions since you betrayed me and trapped me down here! I must say though, you probably did the intelligent thing. And your progress with establishing your own separate territory has been intriguing... but I can tell you right now, you are going to need help with your current problem, a problem I will be willing to help with if you're willing to talk."
"Alright, I'll play. What're you proposing?"
"There are still a lot of those high tech weapons down here that you were coming to get when you came here five years ago. I'm sure they would be very useful in your up coming war with Harry, and don't tell me there isn't, because I know you aren't going to run or meekly follow his orders to return. You've obviously set your sights on higher ambitions than just following orders and survival. I'll be willing to give them to you, in exchange for my freedom."
"Oh that easy huh? How do you propose we go about this? I send people down there to retrieve them while your death machines ambush them as soon as they enter?"
"It would be kind of hard for that to happen since all my cyborgs are long dead and my robots have fallen into disrepair... I'm basically alone down here. You were guarding nothing!" Alex laughs.
You're pretty skeptical about this little tale, but if it's true, those weapons would certainly help.
> disbelieve Alex
"Nice try Alex, but I'm not falling for it, now don't bother calling me again, because I won't be listening to anymore of your lies."
"Alright, suit yourself. I guess I better prepare for a change in landlords then. Pity, because I don't think Harry will be willing to let me just live down here, I guess I better prepare myself as well."
Alex disconnects and you don't hear from him again. You radio Vivica to let her know what's going on as well; she's behind you and will make sure to send a few people to harass Harry's men when they decide the lay siege to Pandora. Everyone spends time preparing and organizing for the battle that's sure to come.
A month passes and sure enough Harry's men come thinking its going to be an easy victory, but it's merely a stand off. They end up falling back and try to wait you out, but you still have the advantage for the most part though.
A couple more weeks pass and reinforcements arrive and armed to the teeth and despite the rugged terrain that prevents cars to come to this place, they managed to find some dirt bikes which whiz around Pandora while the riders nimbly dodge your fire while they toss grenades at (and sometimes over) the walls. Pandora is a lot less secure, and you're just glad Vivica's skirmishers are doing a good job at diverting the invasion force's attention and getting through with supplies, though you catch wind that Harry is sending even MORE reinforcements. You doubt if you can handle it, Marina doesn't want to leave, but even she sees that things are pretty grim, and is willing to leave if need be. You've already decided the place to retreat to would be the Farmhouse. If you're going to leave though, you need to do it now, because when Harry's second wave of reinforcements arrive, it will be impossible to break out.
> leave
"We're getting the hell outta here! Get everyone ready!" you tell Marina, before radioing Vivica, to tell her that you'll be arriving soon.
You and everyone else start gathering everything you can carry, and before opening the gates you purposely blow up some of the buildings in the base, particularly the building with the water filtering and recycling system. You might be running, but you'll be damned if they'll get the prize fully intact.
Due to the explosions, you throw the invasion force a little off guard, since they're wondering what the hell's going on. This works in your favor when you exit and make your risky escape.
"Split up and meet you know where!" you shout to everyone as you haul ass to the Farmhouse.
You, Marina and a few others stick together as you battle Harry's men who are in pursuit of you. Fortunately you know the lay of the land a little better, so your escape is fatality free by the time you make it to the Farmhouse. A few of the others who split up aren't quite as lucky, but most make it. You immediately tell Vivica to start beefing up the defenses.
The Farmhouse is relatively well defended, and even has two vehicles to help you. Its also further away, so by the time Harry regroups a large enough invasion force, you figure you'll be ready for him.
What you weren't ready for, was the hi-tech weaponry, Harry's men arrive with months later. Granted they don't have them per soldier, but they have enough to start laying waste to the Farmhouse and its surroundings. Apparently they grabbed the ones Alex told you about. Whether the Combine just took them and killed Alex, or Alex came to an agreement with Harry is unknown, but your guess is Harry just killed him and whatever cyborgs might've been down there. (Dictators aren't known to "share")
Some help comes from Ashtown, but it really isn't enough and given Ashtown's even further position away, it doesn't do much good. Eventually you hear from Ophelia on the radio who suggests that you are all welcome to come live in Ashtown, as they have plenty of room and wouldn't mind having some good warriors with a variety of skills. Reluctantly you accept, though you hate the fact you have to run again.
You, Marina, Vivica and the remaining survivors pile into the two vehicles in between attacks and drive off to Ashtown. No need for scorched Earth tactics this time since the Combine soldiers did a good enough job of that during their initial attacks.
Eventually you arrive in Ashtown, where you're welcomed, but now you have to remember, you're not in charge anymore and things are a bit different. You welcome the change though, after all the time of fighting non-stop and being in charge you're happy to be able to relax more often as the only problems Ashtown has is the occasional bandit attack which aren't organized or well lead. Everyday though, you expect the Combine to show up again, but a year passes without a sign of them.
One day you hear about the Combine again, from a wandering traveler who stops in Ashtown one day. Word is, it's currently undergoing another regime change. Apparently, shortly after the Farmhouse was completely destroyed, someone named Damon shot Harry and took over, then just recently someone blew him up and now someone else is in charge. Even though the Combine still pursues the idea of conquest, it now constantly has problems with infighting, hampering many of their plans. For now they've been concentrating on trying to maintain control in the places they already hold.
It's quite possible the Combine will eventually turn its attention in this direction of conquest in your direction again, but you'll be ready as you always are, maybe you won't win, but you know you'll always survive to fight another day if necessary. |
Maybe you're high on your new found physique and adrenaline, but for whatever reason, something comes over you to volunteer. Indeed you've made everyone a little surprised by your actions especially since you're an outsider. The Colonel looks at you with interest.
"Hmm, you're the one I've heard about from Marina, didn't expect you to volunteer, she's always mentioned you're quiet loner type. Then again, you might be just what I need... alright you're coming with me. Harry, you start picking some of the others and form recon detachments. Everyone goes on assignment tomorrow."
The Colonel then takes you to his office, where he sits down and gets a bunch of papers from his desk.
"Okay, I'm sure during your short stay here, you probably think we're all a bunch of survivalist militia loonies, and to a certain extent, we probably are, however we aren't without a plan."
The Colonel shows you some blueprints to what looks to be a small military base.
"My friend Alex was stationed at this base. It's not exactly close by, but its closest military base around here."
"Didn't realize there were any military bases in the area."
"Most people don't, it was a top secret, and kept off the records so it wouldn't be targeted. There aren't even any roads leading to the place, you have travel by foot. Though I guess you could say it wasn't so much of a military base as it was a research facility. Obviously I know about it, because I had a friend stationed there who was feeding me information. He didn't exactly run the place, but he was attempting to work his way up to get special level clearance. Apparently GZS was working with the government on some high tech weaponry."
"GZS?"
"The Ground Zero Survival Corporation. I'm sure you've heard of them, they were the ones hawking their Shelters like snake oil salesmen before doomsday."
"Oh yeah, I used to see their commercials on late at night, I thought about buying one of those."
"Well good thing you didn't, only an idiot would've bought one of those things. Look at this."
The Colonel now shows you a schematic of a GZS Shelter.
"Why? It certainly looks just as equipped as this compound and has a lot more conveniences." You remark.
"It would appear that way, but the fucking thing is a death trap. They engineered them so once you entered; you most likely couldn't get out of them. Supposedly the GZS computer is supposed to let you out when it deems that it's safe to do so. In fact the whole thing is controlled by the computer. A computer that could glitch and break down at anytime. Let a machine be in charge of your survival... yeah great idea. I dunno about you, but I'll take this compound any day. It might not look pretty, but I don't have to worry about getting trapped with no access to food or water. Not to mention I heard from Alex that they suffered cutback during the creation of most of those things meaning they cut a lot of damn corners, so they probably aren't as state of the art as they claimed. I'll bet those dumb bastards who are living in those things are regretting it as we speak."
You're not sure where he's going with all this so you interrupt.
"So, what does all this mean? Are we going to seek out these shelters and rescue the people inside?"
"What?! HA HA! That's a good one!" The Colonel laughs. "Hell no son, as far as I'm concerned they've made their choice now they can live with it, we're not here to play white knight. We have to look out for ourselves, and part of that is making sure we're the best defended and from what I heard, whatever they were working on in that base, sounds like it would make things a lot easier in the defense department."
"Whoa, hold on, if this is a military base won't they just shoot me on sight if I go there I mean won't it be heavily guarded? I mean I know I went through some training, but I doubt to the degree that I can take on an entire military base!"
"Alex was making friends with most of the lower personnel there, getting them to follow him as it were. Last I heard, he was pretty successful, so chances are, as long as I gave you some identifiers to take with you proving that you were following my orders, you wouldn't have any problems when you arrived, but obviously there IS a problem or I wouldn't be sending you at all."
"Of course... " you say expecting this assignment to be even more complicated.
"I haven't heard anything from Alex for a month before the bombs dropped. I dunno what's happened to him."
"Is it possible they discovered he was leaking information and killed him?"
"I suppose, but chances are that afterwards they would've found out about us and also sent the National Guard as well as GZS private security here to lay waste to this compound."
"Well the National Guard were busy trying to maintain order to the major cities at the time. I should know I was there when they were stationed in the one I was working at."
"True, but I still think they would've sent someone here, and GZS still would have. As I said they had enough money to pay for their own security force. Maybe not as well trained as military personnel, but fanatical enough to eliminate anyone that GZS thought was discovering secrets about them. That's why Alex always focused on solely making friends with the grunts and government officials. The GZS employees always seemed a bit more dedicated to their corporation."
"Okay, well is it possible that the base wasn't so secret and it got hit after all?"
"Nope, mainly because I get the impression the background radiation level would be a hell of a lot higher, if that got nuked, so I'm pretty sure the place is intact, in fact I'm guessing its been abandoned. We recently figured out their frequency, we never used it before for obvious reasons, but now, why not? We're getting a signal, but no verbal answers from anyone. To sum up, I want you to go there to scout and explore as much as you can. Find out what the hell happened to Alex if possible, and let me know if that high tech weaponry is worth anything or just more bad engineering by GZS. Here. You'll probably need this security pass to enter, got it from Alex, last time he was here; I hope it's still valid. And here's my ring and a letter, if Alex IS still alive then those will prove that you're working for me. That's all I can do to help other than to give you a map to the place and what equipment you think you'll need."
Before you leave you have to ask.
"Okay why me?"
"Why you? You volunteered son!"
"I know, but for this particular job, surely you have others more qualified to tackle it."
"Eh... you MIGHT think that, but to be quite honest, no. I mean don't get me wrong I see all of these people here as family, but a lot of them are a bunch of weekend warriors who were playing survival. I'm sure in the years to come we're going to see who's a REAL soldier and who isn't. Not that it matters, I mean I'll find something for them to do, but you're different. You certainly aren't some commando, but there's definitely something about you that makes you seem a bit more... detached from everything else. Like you'll be willing to do what's necessary to survive without hesitation. While you may never have been in a situation like this one, I got a feeling you'll do just fine. Besides Marina's previous beaming remarks about you are good enough for me. Now go get some rest, you'll be leaving tomorrow."
You head back to your room and think about what the Colonel said. He might be right in a lot of ways, but you still wonder if he's sending you because as he said, "All these people here are like family, but you're different." Maybe if you get killed it won't feel like such a loss. You don't think anymore about it, mainly because Marina enters your room to interrupt your thoughts.
"I hear you're leaving tomorrow, I just want to tell you how brave I think you are for doing this for all of us. I know we didn't get a lot of quality time with each other, but I wanted us to spend at least what could be the last time I see you together."
Marina's ominous words that imply how much danger you're possibly getting yourself into might worry you more if she wasn't on top of you right now...
The next day you load up with what you think you might need, water, food, rifle, pistol, knife, Geiger counter, all the basic essentials. You get a bunch of goodbyes and good lucks. Harry merely sneers and mentions he expects you to get yourself killed twenty feet after you leave. The Colonel is a little more supportive and gives you a silent salute, but you like Marina's goodbye kiss best of all.
And with that, you're on your way. It's actually amazing to see that the outside world doesn't look drastically different, you can only assume the bombs didn't hit near your area. When you're out of sight of the compound, you go back to thinking about this mission you volunteered for and wondering if you should go through with it. You do have the suitable equipment and skills to survive off the land after all.
Perhaps it would be better to just go AWOL as it were...
> go AWOL
You like Marina and all, but that's about all you like about living at the compound. Being by yourself in the wilderness reminds you of how much you missed it. You have no idea what that secret base holds for you, why should you risk your life for a bunch of practical strangers?
"What the hell was I thinking volunteering?" you say out loud.
You decide to say fuck it, take to the road, and see where it leads you.
A couple days pass and you haven't encountered anyone, then again you are still pretty far from any kind of civilization, of course you don't really mind. Suddenly you find out you aren't alone, when a crack of a rifle shot comes from a nearby hill.
"You fuckin' idiot, you missed!" a voice shouts.
"Yeah and you just gave away our fucking position asshole!" another retorts.
You quickly take cover behind a rock. You recognize those voices though; they're a couple of the idiots from the compound! The Colonel must've had you followed to make sure you stayed on the mission! So much for his so called "faith" in you! (Then again, perhaps he did have a good reason considering you DID go AWOL!)
Looks like you'll have to take care of them before you can truly put the compound behind you.
While you're taking cover, you notice an abandoned gas station nearby; you could make a run for it and take better shelter in there, or return fire.
> run for it
You make a mad dash for the gas station, as bullets just miss your feet and head. The Colonel was thankfully right, they are weekend warriors. The problem you notice now, is there's a crossfire, yet another spy is shooting at you from the other side as well, which means it's a good thing you moved from your position when you did.
You manage to get to the gas station; the shelves have practically been stripped of anything that might be edible or useful. That doesn't matter right now as bullets begin penetrating the already broken glass windows. You hide behind the counter as you hear them advance on your position.
"Yeah, he's hiding inside, we better be careful. Go around and see if there's a backdoor." You hear one shout.
One thing working in your favor is they obviously aren't too bright, now you know one's going to come around the back. You also know one of them is coming through the front door since the tell tale signal bells that jingle when customers used to enter make a noise. You immediately stand up and unleash a burst of hot lead into one of your ambusher. He falls in a bloody heap, then you run towards the backdoor and when you see it just barely creek open, you let fly another burst. The slumping of a lifeless body is heard and you confirm the kill when the wind blows the door open again to reveal a body lying on the ground outside.
You duck down again and scramble around the corner when your last assailant suddenly pops out from that same back door and nearly tears your head off with a shotgun. Victory is yours though when you point your assault rifle around the corner and just fire it, hoping you hit him, you do you hear that always satisfying drop of another body.
After killing all of your enemies you begin to search their bodies, taking what you'll surely need. On one you find a radio, for a moment you wonder how the hell you forgot to take one of these with you, then you remember it doesn't really matter since you never went to the base. You hear a familiar voice coming in right now.
"Leonard! Come in you dickhead! You better gimme some good news!" Harry shouts.
You pick up the radio to answer Harry.
"Sorry, but Leonard can't come to the phone right now, he currently has his face blown off and his tongue on the floor."
"YOU! You fucking cowardly AWOL shit stain! I knew we shouldn't trust you! Don't think you're gonna get away with this! We WILL track you down! And when we do, I will personally blast a hole in your head and skull fuck you! Traitor!"
"Yeah, yeah, we'll see."
You drop the radio and let Harry continue his meaningless rant. Time for you to move on.
A few days pass and nobody else comes looking for you, just like you expected, no doubt they have better things to worry about than punishing one lone outsider. Your brief stay at the compound served its purpose as far as you're concerned. It gave you a place to hide when the bombs hit as well as the necessary supplies with which to sustain you. Getting to have sex with Marina was a bonus.
A somewhat self-serving approach, but that attitude will probably serve you well in this new harsh world and it does... for awhile.
The day of reckoning eventually comes while you were attempting to waylay a traveler who actually wasn't as alone as she seemed. Your attempt at highway robbery is suddenly cut short in the same brutal way most folks die out in the wasteland; a bunch of bullets to the body. |
You duck into the nearest building and hope you don't bump into anything inside. From what's left of it, it looks like a regular office building, similar to the one you used to work in. You find a relatively secluded office and lay low, hoping to hear the mob of freaks pass by the building. You really need to get out of this place. What the hell was Harry thinking sending you here, there's nothing here except death... well actually you just answered your own question.
As the time passes, you think to yourself that the three stooges must've assumed you dead and left by now. They probably ran off when they heard your gunshots echo through the city. You were going to leave the Compound anyway, so you guess you've done that, now you just have to get out of this city alive and you'll be safe... well safer anyway.
You explore a little bit of the building which has four floors, fortunately none of them inhabited. The fourth floor is exposed to the outside air and partially destroyed, so you don't linger too long, you never know who or WHAT might be watching. You do notice that it's getting to be night time though. You don't hear anything anymore maybe you should leave now, you really don't want to be here any longer than you have to be and its not just the crazed cannibals either, it's the fact you're standing in a radiated city with just a suit on that's probably not protecting you from all the damage your chromosomes are experiencing every second you stick around.
Then again running through the city at night is probably even more dangerous than running through it during the day.
> wait until daytime
You've already spent enough time in radsville to get sick, or mutate, what's one more day? If something bad's going to happen to you internally there's really not much you can do about it now except hope the suit is more protective than you think it is. You can however probably lessen you chances of getting ripped apart and eaten if you don't go wandering the city at night. You decide to search the building before it gets too dark; you don't find anything really useful though, at least nothing that's any more useful than what you're already carrying. You end up looking in lunch area refrigerator and find some rotten food along side what would undoubtedly be flat pop at this stage. Nope you're not going to find any supplies in this place, you're just glad you had the sense to take extra water with you; you'll probably need it assuming you manage to get out the city alive.
Eventually you go to an office that looks relatively secure and intact. You barricade the door and slump against one of the corners and fall asleep... lightly.
The next day arrives and you're half surprised that you don't find something gnawing on your arm (And relieved!) now that you're fairly well rested again you take a quick check of your belongings, reload your rifle and prepare yourself.
You exit the building and start quickly tracing your way back to where you first arrived in the city. You don't care where you end up, just as long as you're out of this place. You're about halfway to your destination when you come across a couple of bloody mangled bodies, radiation suited bodies. It's hard to tell who's who, since the heads have been taken and the entrails are lying all over the road, but it's obviously two of three stooges. Something didn't go well.
Your brief inspection is interrupted by a shotgun blast that splatters the remains of one of the bodies all over your own suit.
"HAAAAAAA MORE MEAT!" a raspy voice shouts, with a clicking reload of a shotgun. The thing that just tried to take your head off is shooting at you from an upper window of one of the buildings. You spin around and firing a burst causing it to duck for cover, but with his fellows being alerted, you really need to get the hell out of here.
You start running with the horde of freaks chasing you again. You can't help feel like you've done this before! You see the end of the city though and can only hope they'll stop chasing you when you finally leave it.
Of course THAT doesn't happen, even after you leave the city limits a lot are still in pursuit, In fact you even see a few lingering outside that join the chase, you turn around and unload a clip into the mob hoping it'll slow it down a bit.
While the mob tends to back off and disperse a bit, they still aren't ready to give up completely, however you see more trouble, but possibly hope as well.
The car you arrived in is still there, there's also another suited body lying close by it, you can only hope its Steve and that he still has the keys on him. Of course the cannibal freaks lingering around the body might be inclined to stop whatever plans of escape you might have.
You step up your speed, raise your empty rifle and smash it into the skull of the first ugly radiated cannibal that attacks you. To your surprise your force causes the damn thing's face to completely cave in, killing it instantly. The other two grab on to your arms, causing you to back kick one in the stomach freeing up your other arm to punch the other one in the face. You grab Steve's pistol still on the ground and quickly put a couple of slugs in the pair of them before they can recover. You then thank gods of luck that your next find is his keys still in his hand, as the rest of the mob has regrouped and quickly approaching.
Firing another few rounds into the mob, you quickly get in the car and start it up, which it does immediately. You spin the car around and drive off, the group chases you for a little while still, but eventually you leave them far behind. You've escaped.
"Fuck yeah! That was just like a fuckin' zombie movie!" you say to yourself half laughing in victory.
In fact it's a victory that's better than you could've thought, you now have a car to drive around in, well until it runs out of gas, but you're hoping you'll find someplace that's still somewhat civilized by the time that happens (Or at least some more gas). While you're driving you wonder if you shouldn't just go back to the Compound, but you shake your head at this idea. There has to be better places than that to stay, and even if there aren't you've proven to yourself that you're able to survive on your own under strenuous conditions. You like being by yourself anyway, though it's too bad you won't get to see Marina again, but as they say you can't have everything.
You don't know what the possible future holds, but you're confident that you'll be able to handle it. |
In these past few months you've actually been fighting for something. Not just "following orders" or "going through the motions". You haven't even been doing it for mere survival, if you were interested in just survival, you would've just taken off and put as much distance as you could between you and the Combine before the cyborgs appeared. It took awhile, but you finally have a sense of purpose. You finally "got" all that shit Marina was talking about. Rebuilding civilization and all that. The Cybernetic Evolution is a real threat to that ever happening. It needs to be stopped here and now while it's weak.
You get organized first and muster ALL the help you can from the rest of the Combine towns. This includes a bit of conscription from them and puts somewhat of a strain on relations and general feelings. Many think the war is "won" and you can just sit back and defend now, but you know you need to press the Cybernetic Evolution now before they "recruit" elsewhere and just attack you again and maybe successfully. Enthusiasm isn't exactly the highest, but you have proven to be a successful military leader so the people are willing to put up with your orders.
The assault on the Cyborg Base occurs and it is not easy. The location and rough terrain prevents most vehicles you might've used in the assault to get close. The siege lasts months the losses are horrendous, and there's a point where people are really starting to question your leadership. However before a revolt in the Combine occurs, the Cyborg Base is breached and the topside is taken.
The base's second level is easily accessed and the war is nearly at an end. Finally the leader of the Cybernetic Evolution is cornered and unceremoniously blown to bits by a grenade while he was trying to hide in one of the rooms. Oddly he wasn't a robot or even a cyborg. He was merely a human with megalomania, in fact after some investigation; it was the Colonel's old "friend" Alex.
The threat to the Combine is at an end, but the threat OF the Combine is just beginning...
Even though you were the one who orchestrated the defeat of the Cybernetic Evolution and probably saved not only the Combine, but the hope of humanity with your actions somehow a lot of people aren't all that grateful. They only see the immediate loss that was suffered rather than the larger picture. Fort Justice is of course firmly still under your control as well as the newly acquired cyborg base, but most of the other towns are wanting out of the Combine saying that you're being a dictator.
> enforce your will
This ungratefulness doesn't exactly help you NOT become a dictator...
You saved the Combine, you saved civilization, you fucking saved humanity, you aren't going to let it fall apart after all the shit you've been through. Not after you finally believe in it.
Using the newly acquired technology from the cyborg base you establish a more intimidating presence in the Combine towns. Having depleted most of their fighting power during the CE War they really can't do much to stop you. There are a few initial protests, but a few executions squash any hint of rebellion.
Five years pass...
It's been ten years since the bombs dropped and you first entered Fort Justice when it was only known as "The Compound". Of course Fort Justice goes by the name Fort Bane
Expansion eventually occurs again, in a less diplomatic way now though. Typically the option is given for the town to submit peacefully to the Combine, or else it will be incorporated by force. The first town to suffer this fate of the new Combine ruthlessness is that old remote town you found nine years ago, Lost Springs.
The next one is a distant place called Ashtown. They put up a good fight, but eventually they too fall and put under martial law. When you come across them, you even start forcing open the underground Shelters that were created by GZS and incorporate the misguided souls who decided to hide during the nuclear holocaust under your ever expanding territory. Most of those folks put up little to no resistance. While they were cowering under the Earth YOU were surviving and making the blasted world a safer place for humanity.
Despite the whispered discussions among everyone wishing you were dead, nobody actually does anything. The reason? The same as always. Your way works and has shown results.
Yes you've had to be brutal; yes you've had to make some harsh decisions, but you've done it for the greater good. You've completely eliminated lawlessness within most areas, as most of the nearby raiders have asked for Combine citizenship since it's actually more profitable to be a soldier than a bandit. You gladly accept them. (Amusingly they're some of the most loyal citizens) Trade thrives, and the only thing the Combine citizens need to fear is YOU.
The Combine is no longer a collection of small towns and a fort, it's an Empire and it can only grow. You've made all this possible, yet you know it is only you who can hold it together. You begin to ponder successors and while you know there are many who would covet your position, you also know that none of them are worthy. Its times like this that you wish had a child with Marina. Someone who could carry on the divine right as it were. As you know Marina's never once gotten pregnant in all your years with her, but you wonder if it's you, for all you know maybe that trip to the city didn't make you sterile. Maybe SHE'S sterile.
You wonder...
> take another lover to try to create a successor
The power has gone to your head in such a way that you've finally crossed that one line that was your downfall.
You order your troops to scour the Combine for the women known to be fertile and to bring them to Fort Bane all for the purpose for you to pursue some delusional notion of spawning a successor. The fact that tearing most of these women away from their established families doesn't make you anymore popular. Of course that doesn't bother you. The fact that you've basically bullied these women into submitting to you doesn't make you anymore popular. But again that doesn't bother you either.
What should bother you is that Marina finds out very quickly what you're doing. She's very hurt by this infidelity. She's stood by you from the very beginning, indeed she was the whole reason why you're in the position you are in the first place, and now you've treated that sacred bond and loyalty like it never meant anything to you.
Perhaps if you had addressed this to Marina, she MIGHT have even understood your desire and allowed you to proceed with your plan to a limited degree, she is a pragmatic sort after all. But you didn't even do that, instead you made her an embarrassment as you carryon with other women some of which are little more than common whores, in fact you never get ANY of them pregnant, which pretty much confirms that you WERE sterile all along.
Of course by this time you're so wrapped up in your new decadent activities that you forgot why you were doing it in the first place. This new reckless and careless behavior does not become you, and Marina has finally had enough of it. Part of her may still even love you, but she'll not be made a fool of and treated like this.
One night, while you're eating a meal, you take a large swig of water. It tastes funny at first, but you dismiss it since funny tasting water's not exactly too unusual. You just order another bottle of it to be brought to you... then you start to feel dizzy.
You stand up only to collapse on your dining floor. One of your servants goes to help, but then Marina appears to tell him to stop.
"Ma... Marina? What's going on?" you say as her figure begins to get blurry.
"A change. You always wondered who would take your place, and I've decided that I'm the only one worthy enough to do it. Don't worry, The Combine will live on, even if you will not. At least that was one thing you did right. I'm very sorry it had to end this way... I take no pleasure in this... but you can't betray your king maker without some sort of consequence. I'll try to remember the good times... Goodbye."
And with your last breath, Marina kicks you in the face. |
This ungratefulness doesn't exactly help you NOT become a dictator...
You saved the Combine, you saved civilization, you fucking saved humanity, you aren't going to let it fall apart after all the shit you've been through. Not after you finally believe in it.
Using the newly acquired technology from the cyborg base you establish a more intimidating presence in the Combine towns. Having depleted most of their fighting power during the CE War they really can't do much to stop you. There are a few initial protests, but a few executions squash any hint of rebellion.
Five years pass...
It's been ten years since the bombs dropped and you first entered Fort Justice when it was only known as "The Compound". Of course Fort Justice goes by the name Fort Bane
Expansion eventually occurs again, in a less diplomatic way now though. Typically the option is given for the town to submit peacefully to the Combine, or else it will be incorporated by force. The first town to suffer this fate of the new Combine ruthlessness is that old remote town you found nine years ago, Lost Springs.
The next one is a distant place called Ashtown. They put up a good fight, but eventually they too fall and put under martial law. When you come across them, you even start forcing open the underground Shelters that were created by GZS and incorporate the misguided souls who decided to hide during the nuclear holocaust under your ever expanding territory. Most of those folks put up little to no resistance. While they were cowering under the Earth YOU were surviving and making the blasted world a safer place for humanity.
Despite the whispered discussions among everyone wishing you were dead, nobody actually does anything. The reason? The same as always. Your way works and has shown results.
Yes you've had to be brutal; yes you've had to make some harsh decisions, but you've done it for the greater good. You've completely eliminated lawlessness within most areas, as most of the nearby raiders have asked for Combine citizenship since it's actually more profitable to be a soldier than a bandit. You gladly accept them. (Amusingly they're some of the most loyal citizens) Trade thrives, and the only thing the Combine citizens need to fear is YOU.
The Combine is no longer a collection of small towns and a fort, it's an Empire and it can only grow. You've made all this possible, yet you know it is only you who can hold it together. You begin to ponder successors and while you know there are many who would covet your position, you also know that none of them are worthy. Its times like this that you wish had a child with Marina. Someone who could carry on the divine right as it were. As you know Marina's never once gotten pregnant in all your years with her, but you wonder if it's you, for all you know maybe that trip to the city didn't make you sterile. Maybe SHE'S sterile.
You wonder...
> stay true to Marina
You've undergone a lot of changes after the bombs hit. Many changes. Not all of them for the better, but there's still one thing that hasn't changed, and that's your love and loyalty to Marina. She's been there with you from day one. You're not going to betray that for the thin hope of creating some bastard that probably won't do as good a job as you anyway. Besides, regardless of Marina's fertility, you're damn sure you're sterile anyway, you're just still glad your balls didn't turn green and shrivel up after your trip to the city.
Sometimes you get so wrapped up in your Empire that you forget to spend time with those who are REALLY important.
"Fuck it, I'll be dead anyway. Really what the hell do I care who takes over?" you mumble to yourself and go spend some time with Marina. In fact from this time forward you vow to take more time out to spend with Marina, she seems very happy with this new attitude.
Oddly this revelation makes you slightly more agreeable and as a result some of the more restrictive laws are lightened in time. The average Combine citizen is a little happier as a result. (Though mostly all of them still think you're a son of a bitch)
Ten more years pass...
Twenty years since the bombs hit, and you're the head of the largest known area of civilization. Hard to believe sometimes.
You're thinking about this on your death bed. You're very sick and the best physician you have doesn't know what it is As usual, you're convinced it has something to do with that trip to the city so long ago, and you're probably right. Radiation shit is probably finally catching up with you. If Harry wasn't a pile of rotten bones underground, you'd kill him again for sending you to that fucked up place.
Right now you're surrounded by advisors, military leaders and doctors, but right now you just want all of them to leave except Marina.
"But... but whose's taking over after you die?" one of them asks.
"Goddamn it I ain't dead yet! But if you don't get the fuck outta here I'm gonna make sure I outlive YOU! Now leave!"
Soon you're left alone with Marina, who stays with you until the end.
"Well it is a valid question, who is going to take over?" Marina asks.
"Why don't you do it? I mean I've never understood why you never wanted it, you're certainly capable."
"Maybe... but I prefer to be behind the scenes I guess... you know there's a lot less assassination attempts on the puppet master rather than the puppet." Marina half-jokes.
"Ha ha, well, I hope you find another."
"Never. I'll never find another like you." she says touching your face.
You and Marina are just silent as you look at each other for awhile. Finally you begin to close your eyes and feel one last kiss.
After composing herself, she exits the room to inform the top brass of the news. They of course are like vultures fighting over scraps.
"So did he say who was taking over?"
"Is it me?"
"No! It's me!"
"What did he say?"
"Whoever can hold it." Marina answers and walks off.
The years that follow your death aren't pretty for the Combine. A civil war occurs as several factions vie for control. Eventually it collapses into petty warlord fiefdoms. Your accomplishments are soon forgotten as other would be dictators try to establish their own "legacies".
As for Marina, she moves on from the Combine after your death to parts unknown, always carrying your ashes in an urn with the inscription:
"I'll never find another like you." |
This was never anything you ever had in mind, but you've come this far, you have made a life here for yourself with Marina; you might as well stick with it. Besides, you'll be damned if you'll leave because of Harry.
"Okay. I'll do it."
The Colonel looks relieved. He struggles to get out of bed.
"Alright, I still have some strength left, let's make this official."
A meeting is called in the main courtyard where the Colonel weakly addresses everyone, while you stand by. He explains how you're going to be in charge and he also mentions the "robot invasion" he's convinced is going to happen. You see Marina in the crowd, who looks very proud and pleased. Harry however is severely pissed and makes it known immediately by confronting the both of you.
"What the fuck is this shit? I'VE been here longer! I'VE been training all these fucking maggots and faggots INCLUDING Cupcake over there!"
"Yes, and you've done a good job of that, but your temperament isn't suitable for taking command of this place. Besides, I've determined that... "
"FUCK YOU OLD MAN! YOU WILL NOT DENY MY GOD GIVEN RIGHT!" Harry suddenly pulls out his pistol and shoots the Colonel in the stomach. He then tries to shoot you, but you've developed more experience than he has in terms of quickness. You pull your own pistol and drill Harry directly between the eyes, dropping him.
"Wish I'd done that to begin with." You say while Vivica rushes over to the Colonel to try to help him, it's hopeless though, he was dying anyway. He calls you over one last time.
"... well... I told (cough) you, that you'd probably have to kill him... defend the Combine... follow this man... (cough) he'll lead you... to victorrrrreeee... "
The Colonel's passing is mourned by all, as everyone respected him. A major funeral ceremony is held. It's probably his last words (and Harry's shooting) that stabilizes most people's attitude towards you. They're willing to follow you, which gives you at least one less thing to worry about.
Of course now you just have to worry about whether or not there is a bunch of robots coming to attack. You decide not to take any chances though and immediately order scouting to be done on the outskirts of the secret base that the Colonel had schematics of. You also order the area around Fort Justice to be heavily trapped along with increased training exercises.
When your scouts return, only a couple of them do so, and they're badly wounded. They confirm the Colonel's suspicions. There IS an army of robots (though they say most of them are really cyborgs, but that hardly matters) in the area. They're very organized and heavily armed with high tech weaponry.
Within a week, the first wave of cyborgs arrive. Surprisingly they give you the option of surrendering and be "remade" to serve the Cybernetic Evolution. You of course decline this offer and fight the steel bastards instead. They're tough, but your traps ensure you to defeat them much easier. During this time you send a few people to get more help from other Combine towns. You get it for the most part due to large participation in defending most of those towns in the past. You didn't think about it before, but that might've been another reason why the Colonel thought you'd be a better candidate for command, you had a high respect standing with the other towns even if you didn't initially have it in Fort Justice.
A couple more months pass and you're assaulted by the second wave. Then again in another few months by a third wave. The cyborgs do a hell of a lot of damage, they breach some of the walls and you lose a lot of people, you're even heavily scarred in one of the attacks, but yet the Fort still holds and that's one of your main concerns, you know if the Fort falls that's it; The Combine will lose this war as the main trained combat force is here. You have to make sure that doesn't happen.
You start to notice when the cyborgs retreat they attempt to take away any casualties that you have. In fact you could swear a few of the last few cyborgs you destroyed looked VERY familiar. This gives you the idea that this army is probably a lot more limited in number and not unstoppable. In fact even though they come in great force, it seems to take them awhile to gather up the same force in-between attacks. And while there's robots mixed in with the cyborgs, they aren't nearly as numerous. Looks like there's a shortage and the Cybernetic Evolution needs more warm bodies even more than you do.
It's possible that if you just sit tight and defend, you'll win by sheer attrition, of course you could just finish it quicker by taking the fight to them.
> wait
You're unwilling to risk more lives and so decide to just shore up your defenses.
Another couple of months pass and a much smaller group of cyborgs arrive which confirms your ideas that they're running out of troops. One thing that's a little strange is that they don't immediately attack, they just make their presence known while attempting to stay out of the way of your snipers. They also make some "raiding" like attacks on anyone trying to leave the Fort to travel anywhere. They never directly attack the fort though.
These annoying raids go on for a year, until you get sick of them and finally decide you need to get rid of these things once and for all. You order a concentrated attack on all the cyborg raiders in the area, after a few weeks it's confirmed that they've all been eliminated. Afterwards you send a scouting force to the secret base, to see if that's the end of this cybernetic thorn in your side.
A week passes and you don't hear anything from your scouts. You curse and figure the cyborgs still have enough troops to defend their own base, but the truth is much worse as you come to find out.
A week after you sent your scout team, a new cyborg army appears within the sight of Fort Justice. Better improved looking this time too. Obviously while you were playing around with the cyborgs raiding you, someone else was upgrading and gathering more "recruits" from elsewhere while you still haven't replenished your own losses from last year...
Another battle is joined, but this time not in your favor. The fort is destroyed and in flames. Soon people are either, running, killed or captured. In the chaos of Fort Justice's final days, one of those you see captured is Marina as a big cyborg drags away her unconscious wounded body.
You desperately try to rescue her, but your head is completely incinerated by its high powered laser beam as soon as your bullets fail to penetrate its armor. Your headless carcass falls to the ground and left to burn up with the rest of Fort Justice.
Within the year, the Combine is no more and only the Cybernetic Evolution remains to continue its mission. |
If they don't want your help; they don't want your help. You can understand that. No point in bringing in anyone else to debate the issue. You get on your motorcycle and depart. When you get back to the Compound you just say you didn't find anything on this little excursion. Life continues.
Four years pass...
Five years total have passed and The Compound has grown somewhat, not much though. The theory to that of course is the background radiation has probably made a lot of folks sterile. (And you're damn sure you probably are, after that trip to the city that you still continue to think about) however it has become much more than "The Compound" now. Alliances have been forged with other towns thanks to you and others. The Compound has been renamed Fort Justice and the alliance itself is known as The Combine.
However, not everything is stable. The Colonel hasn't been well lately; in fact he's been sick for the past year. Everyone's wondering if he's going to die. You've noticed Harry has been taking a lot of liberties with orders lately, which you're constantly always arguing with him about. If it was up to him, he'd put all the towns you're allied with under martial law. You can't even believe he suggested sending people to the city again, since he thinks that all the survivors were probably dead by now and it would be "safe".
One day the Colonel wants to see you in private as he lies on what is probably going to be his death bed soon. He addresses you immediately when you enter.
"Good you're here, I don't have long and I need to talk to you."
"Uh, okay."
"Go look at those schematics on the table over there."
You do as the Colonel says, and see some blue prints of what looks to be a base of some sort. You also see the logo "GZS" in several places. You remember that was the logo of that corporation that was trying to sell everyone their Shelters before the bombs hit. You sometimes wonder how things would've turned out, if you bought one. While you're looking, the Colonel continues to speak.
That's the floor plans to a top secret military base, my friend Alex got them for me a long time ago before the bombs dropped. He used to work there. It was some place where the government and the Ground Zero Survival Corporation were doing a secret joint project. Something to do with weapons. I always thought it would be a great benefit, if we could ever get a hold of whatever they were working on. I tried to make contact with the base since I know the radio frequency it used, but I never got any response from Alex or anyone."
"Hmm, so why didn't you ever send some people there?"
"Wow, you really are in your own little world, I figured you at least heard other people talk about it in the past. Anyway I did. Several times about five years ago. Everyone I ever sent never returned. Got to the point where I couldn't in good conscience sent people to what looked to be their deaths, besides a lot of people were less than enthusiastic to accept the mission, the last few times I sent people out they just deserted. Eventually I just wrote it off that maybe the place is occupied by a superior hostile force. Just one of the reasons why I was really keen on the idea of creating an alliance with surrounding towns. Who knows when that force would decide to venture out and start heading this way? Actually a couple of years ago, I thought about sending YOU out there. I figured you being the most capable; you might actually survive and get back to be able to report something."
"What stopped you?"
"I couldn't risk lose one of my best people, especially since you were doing a good job at proving we could help protect the other towns. Besides you already got sent to one unnecessary death trap five years ago, didn't seem right to send you to another."
You're wondering where the Colonel going with all this, so you get to the point.
"So what's all this ultimately have to do with me?"
"I'm promoting you right now since I want you to take over after I die."
"What?!"
"This place needs someone stable, Harry isn't suitable. In fact, I dare say he won't be pleased with this decision... you may even have to kill him."
You're a little overwhelmed by all this.
"Whoa, whoa, hold the fucking phone! I don't want this!"
"I know you don't, but it's the best chance for the Combine's survival, because that hostile force I mentioned? It's real. And it's on its way. Recently I've been picking up radio signals and they are from the base. They didn't say much, except that they were coming to cleanse this place. I haven't told ANYONE about this yet."
"What, is it some sort of heavily armed professional military group or some shit?"
"I wish. I question if they're even human. The voice sounded cold and robotic. I think we're going to find out first hand what exactly the government and GZS were secretly working on."
"Well hold on, couldn't they be masking their voice?"
"I suppose it's possible, but I dunno... something in my heart tells me that this is going to be really bad... like it won't just stop here. I'm almost glad I won't be around to see the destruction."
"I still don't understand why you want me to take over; I'm not exactly the leader of men. In fact I'd say they'd listen to Harry before they listen to me."
"I can't argue with you anymore... maybe you're right... maybe not... the choice I suppose will be up to you... all I'll say is with Harry in charge you might as well leave the Combine now, because I don't wager you'll be alive under his reign long enough to even see the attack occur. Maybe it might even be for the best, I wonder if even the total strength of the Combine will be enough to drive this attack back."
The Colonel sounds like he's being a bit over dramatic, he's making a lot of assumptions here. You not sure you want all this responsibility, but if you're going to take it, you better do it now.
> decline
You've had your mind debates before about whether to leave or not, but it looks like this is the final one. You never sought this path and you certainly don't want to be commanding anything, but staying here really isn't an option anymore. Time to move on. In some ways you always thought it would come to this one day.
"I can't do it Colonel. Sorry."
"Very well then, I guess I can only hope Harry's ruthless nature and hamfisted way of leading works. After you leave, send him to see me. We won't speak again."
You leave and for once go find Harry. He's in the cafeteria screaming at someone to scrub the floor harder. When he sees you, he gives you the typical hostility.
"What the hell do you want Cupcake?" he sneers.
"The Colonel wants to see you, better hurry too he doesn't have much time."
Harry doesn't bother to retort, his eyes seem to light up at the prospect that the Colonel is dying and that this could ONLY mean he's getting official command. In his haste of rushing past you, he doesn't notice your foot, which you purposely stick out to trip him. He falls on floor and lands squarely on his nose, breaking it.
"AH SHIT!" he yells holding his nose while still on the floor.
"Whoops, sorry about that, cupcake." You say walking out the cafeteria.
You go back to your room and start packing your belongings and determining what might be useful, Marina is there and wondering what's going on.
"What're you doing?"
"Leaving. My time here is done; Harry's going to take control of the Combine, which probably won't be for long if the Colonel's predictions are true. Now Marina, you know I love you, and you say you love me. So if you really do, you'll come with me."
"And where the hell are we supposed to be going?"
"I know a place. A place I found in my travels which I never told anyone about, and apparently nobody else found, hopefully it's still a friendly place."
"Well hold on, isn't there some other way?"
"Not unless Harry's attitude towards me does a complete turn around. I'm not going to stay some place where my life is in constant danger and besides the Colonel's going on about some robot invasion he think is going to take place. Can't say I want to stick around for that either. And I can't say I want YOU to stick around for it. Just come with me, why is that so difficult?"
"Because I don't believe in fucking running from my home! Do you understand that THIS place has basically been my home longer than it's been yours? And that most of these people I'm friends with, and they're like a family to me? Maybe YOU don't have that bond, but I do. I'm not just going to abandon this place. Look, maybe you can talk to the Colonel, I mean he respects you more than you might think, maybe he'd see you as a more stable candidate to command this place, and then... "
"He already tried to offer me the job. I turned it down."
"You what?!"
"I turned it down! I don't want the fucking responsibility. I never did. I've always said I've always just stayed here for you and for how you rescued me from dying in a nuclear firestorm, but my survival is severely at stake if I stay here. I mean what do you want me to die for you or something?"
"I wanted you to be a fucking man and be ambitious, which I thought you were. I always saw potential in you, I saw it way back before the bombs hit. I thought you were trying to take some initiative by moving up the ranks like you did. Like you had your eyes set on becoming leader of this place. I saw you being able to really help the rebuilding process. I mean you were vital in many of our alliances. And what did you do? You just threw all of that work down the fucking drain, because you're fucking scared of more responsibility."
You've always known Marina to be a bit of a "Lady Macbeth" type with her always wanting you to strive for power and be ambitious. And out of your feelings toward her, you have tried to oblige that to a degree, but after hearing this shit, you can see you were almost nothing more than some sort of pawn. You don't need this. You never needed this. Yet, there's no point in arguing. This is hard enough as it is. You take the high road with Marina.
"Marina, I'm just gonna say this, you saw something in me that was never there to begin with. I'm sorry to disappoint you... thanks for saving my life and hopefully you have a nice one. Maybe you can marry Harry or even better, take control yourself, since you seem to have the proper mindset and already a lot smarter."
Marina is silent. You finish packing and open the door, you linger a bit hoping she changes her mind, but you can tell she isn't when she turns her head to keep you from seeing that she's obviously upset and going to cry.
You slam the door and go back up top to the surface; you take one of the motorcycles and zoom off. You do it all the time so nobody finds you leaving out of the ordinary. Eventually you head back to Lost Springs. Looks like it did when you found the place four years ago. You're welcomed again, but they tell you they still aren't interested in joining the Compound. You laugh and say that's not why you're here and immediately ask if there's any work that needs to be done since you plan of staying on a permanent basis.
A year passes relatively uneventfully in Lost Springs.
One day a wandering traveler passes through. For whatever reason he strikes up a conversation with you while you're sitting the local cafe.
"Hey friend." The traveler says.
"Hmn." You reply still reading a book.
"This place is pretty remote huh? It was only by sheer dumb luck I stumbled upon it, you guys don't get many people coming here do you?"
"Other than me, you'd be the first in a long time. We're pretty self-sufficient here and like to keep to ourselves." You say still without looking up.
"Hey, good idea. It's a crazy fucking world out there. I say you got the set up. Still, doesn't the Cybernetic Evolution worry you?"
"Cybernetic Evolution?" you ask finally looking up.
"Yeah! You never heard of them? Well I guess I should warn you then. It's this group of killer cyborgs that want to remake humanity or exterminate them if they don't comply. There's robots too, but mostly cyborgs. I heard they're lead by some nut case called Alex. They've been spreading all over the place; the Combine is losing the war with them. That's mainly why I'm trying to get out of the area."
"Hold on, the Combine?"
"Yeah! Come on you never heard of them either? Wow you are in your own little world! The Combine is an alliance of towns with the head base called Fort Justice. Of course Fort Justice was razed to the ground months ago, and now the current towns are wondering how to proceed since Fort Justice was where the line was being held not to mention where the best soldiers were. I heard nobody was spared. Now most of the towns are suffering raider attacks again who are taking advantage of the chaos as well as attacks from the CE. Looks fucking bleak man."
Bleak indeed. While the traveler concentrates on his drink, you stay silent thinking about Marina. What might've happened. Did she get killed, did she escape, or even if maybe she was turned into a cyborg? You'll never know you suppose.
"Well, I have to get going. Nice talking to you and hope the CE doesn't find this place." The traveler says finishing his drink and getting up to leave.
You continue remain silent while you reminisce. You wonder if you could've done a better job if you'd stayed behind. You do a lot of second guessing for awhile, of course that's been in your nature in the beginning.
You didn't know whether or not you wanted to buy a bomb Shelter, and you were re-thinking the decision that you didn't. You spent what you thought were going to be your last days with your co-workers and you were re-thinking that decision after you did that. You thought about leaving the Compound several times, before you actually did it and now you're re-thinking that decision as well.
"Shit, I would've made a lousy leader; it takes me forever to make up my mind and then I agonize over the decision." You say to yourself. Oddly this revelation makes you feel somewhat better, like you did make the right decision to leave.
If nothing else you've at least been able to make good decisions concerning your own survival and you're about to make another one. You go to the run down motel that you've been staying at, and pack your belongings. Its time to move on again, you figure you should get out now while you can.
You say goodbye to the few acquaintances you've had since your time here and warn them about the CE before leaving. It's up to them what they're going to do. You can't make people leave if they don't want to... even if you want them to.
And once again, you're off, with the unknown future dead ahead of you. |
You really didn't have any desire to know these people before, why bother now? You only worked there because you needed to. Now that it appears the whole world is going to hell, you might as well just stay home. You wonder if you shouldn't have prepared yourself for this inevitable event, but it's too late now. Last time you heard, the city was in complete anarchy, riots were breaking out and the National Guard was shooting people, can't get supplies from there now. The nearest general store closed up by its owner who headed up north with his family a month ago. Whatever supplies you have in your house will have to do. You start walking around armed at all times as you often think you'll be attacked by stray looters, who have escaped the city, but then again you live in a house on the dead end of wilderness, nobody ever comes out this way normally, and you never see another living soul.
You're all alone.
You spend much of your time watching TV and on the internet keeping up on events, one day blurring into the next as you often fall asleep after spending long amounts of time of being awake...
Monday 8:00 AM
You groggily wake up from the sofa.
"... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... ."
You wake up to a test pattern on TV.
This is it.
> head down to your basement
It's always been like you to do things at the last minute.
After grabbing your pistol and all the food and drink you can, then heading down in the basement with it, you think that things probably won't be that bad. After all you don't live in the city, or even by an important city, surely not EVERY place will get bombed. It's not like you live on the east or west coast, now those people are going to be fucked.
No, all you have to do is wait this out, and then things will get back to normal... okay well maybe not normal, but surely the government will restore order of some sort, you're sure they have a complex plan for this kind of thing.
Eventually you hear a very loud noise; whatever light you had on in the basement immediately goes out as you can hear your house being hit by a powerful force. You curl up in a ball and hold your ears half expecting the entire house to collapse in on you, but it doesn't happen.
You stay in the basement, for what you guess to be a week. You mostly stumble around in the darkness as reality begins to set in and destroy your previous delusions. You mainly think about how you should've planned things out better, especially since your food and drink are running out. The only thing you know really know about nuclear attacks is what you've learned from movies, video games and comic books. You can only hope some of that shit was helpful, as you have little choice, but to leave your basement, the bucket you were using to relieve yourself down there was really starting to stink anyway.
You open up your basement door, which remarkably stayed intact, along with most of your house. The windows and other glass objects have all broke, and there's no power, but that's about it. You can only guess that whatever it was that hit, was far enough away and probably very low yield. You don't really want to think about the radioactivity factor though; you'll know if you're catching a lethal dose soon enough if your hair and teeth start falling out and you begin vomiting blood.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
You check the refrigerator again for more food, but there won't be enough to last you one day. You wonder if the water is still working and turn on the faucet, of course it doesn't, you don't think you'd want to risk drinking any of it anyway. Well it looks like you can't stay in your house either; you're going to have to leave to find food and some sort of drinkable liquid.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
Well if you're going to leave, you decide some sort of protection is in order; you grab some dishwashing gloves underneath the sink, some safety goggles you've had since you college chemistry class, a winter coat and finally a scarf your grandmother knit you for one of your birthdays to wrap over your mouth. You look somewhat silly in this getup and it probably won't protect you at all, but you're back to deluding yourself again which is probably a good thing since your relapses into fantasy are keeping you from breaking down completely.
You open your dented garage door and get in your old van expecting it not to work, surprisingly it does. You thought it wouldn't due to all that stuff you remember hearing about EMP waves or something, then again your car was built in a year before they started mounting entire computers in the fucking things, so maybe that's why it still works. You don't know, you're just glad its one of the things you still have that functions, you didn't want to be riding that bike you bought and hardly ever used. You throw your backpack of useful items (flashlight, small tool set, first aid kit, etc) into the van and ponder where to go.
You've got two choices that immediately come to mind assuming both still exist; one is that "Mom & Pop" General Store that was abandoned at least a month ago. You can't imagine they took everything from the place. The other choice is to risk going to the city and finding something there. Despite all the looting and mass exodus that was going on there before any of this went down, the city's still a big place and there's probably lots of useful stuff there, the problem is wondering if you'll be heading into a death zone. That radioactivity concern is still in the back of your mind.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
> head to the general store
You might be absorbing more rads than usual now, but heading to the city would just be retarded. You'd probably die of cancer just going near the place; everything there would be contaminated anyway. You don't even want to see the survivors what the survivors might look like assuming there were any. You head for the general store, that's at least a safer bet.
You drive your Van to the general store not very far from your house. You remember the old guy who ran the place; Billy. He was always alright with you. Whenever you went in to buy food, he was always talking about how bad the state of world was getting and how he was going to be prepared for when the nukes started flying. You're guessing he probably invested in one of those Ground Zero Survival Shelters you always saw for sale on TV and took himself and his wife to it. The last time you saw the place it was all boarded up and looked closed up for good, still it's a start.
You arrive at the store which is still all boarded up like the last time you've seen it. You always found it weird that Billy bothered to board the place up, if he was going to abandon it. Surely he couldn't have thought things would be restored so quickly after a nuclear exchange that he'd be able to return some day.
You get out of your van and study the store more closely which you never bothered to do before, the windows are boarded up from the outside, but upon closer inspection the door hasn't been boarded up at all. You try the door, but it's firmly locked. Nothing else for it, but to bash it down. You begin prying, slamming, kicking and everything else to the door, but its not budging and you only succeed in bruising your shoulder. In frustration you pull out your pistol and finally just shoot at the lock and then try to open it, which it does slightly, something else is barring the door from the inside though. You're going to have to start ramming the thing again to shove it open enough to get inside.
Suddenly you hear some noise from inside and the click of a shotgun, it's also only just then you realize that Billy's pick up truck is still parked by the side of his store. He's obviously still here and you were oblivious to the fact.
"Goddamn it Martha, hasn't been a month yet an' we already got scum tryin' ta loot the place!"
It's Billy. You thought he left, but apparently not. He just made it look like he did and barricaded himself inside.
"Alright you looting shit stain, you better just get the fuck outta here right now, 'fore you find yourself with a new hole in your chest!" Billy says from inside.
"Whoa Billy it's me! I used to shop here! Come on open up, I'm not a looter!" you reply.
"... (sigh) hold on, and back away from the goddamn door."
You back away as Billy presumably moves whatever was still blocking the door. When he finally opens it up, he stands in the doorway still pointing his shotgun at you.
"Damnation boy, I coulda blown your head off! You fuckin' destroyed my lock! What the hell are you wearin'?" Billy asks looking at your silly form of protection.
"I'm sorry; I thought you abandoned this place."
"Oh and that gave you the excuse to break in? What're you think yer doin' anyway? Why aren't you in your shelter or something?"
"Cause I don't have one that's why! I was going to see if this place had any supplies and maybe stay here, if it wasn't in bad condition."
"Oh. Well, sorry to crush yer dreams, but this place is still occupied and OWNED by me. You're gonna have to skedaddle. Just enough supplies for me and my wife."
"But... "
"No buts! Now you were a good customer an' all, but this is a new world and the rules have severely changed! It's all about survival now. And it's not my fault your ass didn't prepare for somethin' that was comin' for a long time! Now if you don't leave now I'm gonna be less understanding about this lack of judgment on your part. Bye and good luck."
"No wait!"
At this point Billy slams the door shut mumbling about the lock being destroyed and going to have to fix it. Billy must have some sort of private bomb shelter of his own, if he barricaded himself inside his own store. One that must be stocked pretty well to sustain him and his wife for a good amount of time.
An idea races through your head that you never thought you'd consider, well not before the nukes hit anyway, but Billy's statement of "This is about survival" rings true. It IS about survival, and not just his.
You don't really want to do this, but you feel like you have no other choice.
Billy is still trying to barricade the door, when you take another forceful charge into it.
Your attempt is successful this time as it flies open causing Billy to fall and drop the heavy box he was going to place in front of it. The box half lands on Billy causing him crushing pain while he struggles to grab his shotgun from the floor. You're quicker though and point your own pistol at him.
"Don't grab that shotgun Billy... I don't want to kill you." you say
"Goddamn sonofabitch, you ain't taking this... "
"Billy what's... OH MY GOD!"
When you hear Martha's outburst, it startles you during this already tense moment, you end up turning around and firing. You hit Martha square in the chest; she looks down briefly in shock before falling over dead. You're a little in shock yourself.
"MARTHA!" Billy screams, causing you to face him once more, he's now actually grabbed the shotgun, and you begin babbling.
"Oh God! Oh man! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! She came up and... Billy don't do that... I don't want to... please... "
You fire again, hitting Billy in the head, splattering his brains all over the floor and killing him instantly.
You feel sick and promptly run outside to vomit. You've never killed anyone before, though you don't think it was that, that made you sick. It was the fact you murdered two people who were really innocent. You were the trespasser and when you couldn't get what you wanted, you took it by force. You acted like a criminal even if there's no such thing as "law" anymore. You sit down in a daze for a few minute trying to take all this in, before realizing you have to take care of some clean up first.
You remove the bodies of Billy and Martha from the store. (You also remove your silly "protection wear", well except the dishwashing gloves for moving the bodies) You wonder where you're going put them, but eventually you decide to just dump them in the wilderness nearby, you figure nature will take its course.
You go back to the store and re-barricade it. The store itself is empty, but in a back room, you discover a trapdoor. You descend and discover a large shelter with a treasure of food and water supplies, along with other useful items like first aid kits. Looks like Billy was more prepared than you could've imagined. One necessity you're glad to find is a bathroom facility with a sink and toilet, there's a little bit of water seeping from the cracks of the walls. Billy must've hit the jackpot and found an underground water source and built a crude plumbing system. He's also installed a small hydro generator which would explain how come there's dim lighting down here.
Finally you see some survivalist books Billy had on a small bookshelf by a bed and a couple of hunting rifles along with ammunition for them and the shotgun you've recently acquired as well.
Well you're certainly set up, and all you had to do was kill an old couple. As you lie down on the bed you think about your actions in greater depth now. You're not sure how to feel. Part of you wants to feel bad, but somehow you can't make yourself feel as bad as you probably should. In fact you're already starting to rationalize your actions. The first murder was a mistake, and the second one was self-defense.
"And this is survival." You say and fall asleep.
The next day you wake up, you feel the most refreshed than you have in a long time.
Something has changed within you. You don't recognize immediately, but as a few months go by you begin to.
Granted you were never a big one for human contact, anti-social and reclusive even, but this "line" you've crossed recently, your continued isolation, and the absence of civilization have made you become a little unhinged.
You also start becoming paranoid, about other people stumbling across your new place and attempt to break in and take it like you did. Using the knowledge you've been getting from the survivalist books, you start setting up traps, inside and outside the store. One time, you spend just about a whole day doing that. When the darkness approaches you go back to your underground haven to descend further into quiet madness, before you fall asleep.
Suddenly in the middle of the night you hear a noise and a scream from above. Sounds like it's coming from outside and from more than one person. You immediately grab your shotgun and head upstairs.
After going through the typical routine of taking down the barricades, you open the door and see a family in panic. A man is lying on the ground yelling in pain from the snap trap that has obviously broken his leg. A woman and a little boy are screaming frantically and totally clueless of what to do in this situation.
Looks like your traps work.
The family hasn't seen you yet and don't know your intentions, come to think of it, you aren't even sure of your intentions...
> finish them off
Obviously they thought they could just stroll in and take shelter here, bad mistake on
their part...
You calmly point the shotgun at the man caught in the trap and blast him before he even notices you. The little boy now really begins screaming, but the woman just becomes silent and falls into shock turning her head in your direction covered in the blood of her husband.
You don't feel sick like you did last time; you do feel an overwhelming sense of power though.
The woman grabs her son's hand and turns to run, but realizes two seconds later that she's only holding on to his hand and the rest of him is lying on the ground, one arm less, from your second blast.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" the woman screams.
"Because I can, and there's nobody around to stop me." You say and briskly walk over to the woman. After a pathetic struggle you knock her out and drag her into your new home.
After all, you're not sure when you'll get to see another woman again...
A couple days after the incident with the family (and disposing of all three bodies) you begin keeping yourself in better shape. You start exercising regularly, and fixing up your home. You need to be prepared, in case more people ever show up. You MUST defend yourself and your home. You don't get many, but every now and then another poor soul stumbles across your death lair. You're merciless. Soon you begin to arrange the vehicles of your victims to form a semi "wall" around your home and place some grisly totems as "decoration".
A year passes...
You don't get visitors anymore, though that's probably because of the unfriendly image you've projected with all the skulls you've stuck on the spikes outside. Part of you is glad that you aren't being disturbed anymore, but the other part misses the killing. You begin to wonder if you shouldn't start venturing out more, but you'd hate to leave your home.
One day you're awakened by the roar of motorcycles. You've got visitors again, you ready your weapons. As you head upstairs you hear that inevitable "SNAP!" sound followed by screaming. Yet another victim to your traps, though you hear the typical sounds of distress, you also hear some laughter, taunting even, which has got you more curious than anything.
You check through a little peephole you made and see a bunch of biker types, one is lying on the ground, his leg nearly severed by the hidden bear trap. While one is trying to free him, a couple of the others are just laughing and remarking about how it looks like it really hurts.
"AAAAAARGH! AGHHH!"
"Look are you assholes going to help or not?" one of them asks.
"Hey, I told you fuckers not to go traipsing into a place that has skulls stuck on stakes. Y'all should've known it wasn't exactly going to be a friendly place."
"We need fuckin' gas Jim, and this place has a lot of vehicles, and maybe some of them have gas. We had to go check!"
"Well yeah, but that didn't mean just walking around unaware of your surroundings... shit that leg looks bad."
"GET IT OFF! AAAAHHHH!"
"That leg is bad. Even if you did get it off of him, he's probably going to lose it to infection. I wiped my own shit on it, not to mention it was developing a nice set of rust on it when I found it. I'd say his bike riding days are over." You say standing your doorway with your shotgun ready. The bikers look in your direction, one looks like he's going to pull his pistol, but the one called Jim stops him. He's obviously the leader.
"You might be right, stranger, but that still leaves you outnumbered one to three. You sure you wanna take those odds?" Jim says.
"I'll take 'em and I'll enjoy it. It's been a long time since I've killed a whole mess of people."
"Oh, so you're a REAL killer eh?"
"Better killer than you."
"Hah! I doubt that! See me an' the boys here have been raisin' hell where ever we can. Come across a few towns and let's just say we're not real welcome there anymore. It's a brand new world, and only the strong are gonna survive it."
"Yeah? Well it looks like one of your flock isn't so strong now."
"Yeah... well you might be right about that stranger... maybe someone should put him out of his misery. Can't very well ride with one leg, that'd be kind of silly."
The biker trying to help speaks up.
"Oh come on Jim man! Clyde here saved all of our asses about a month ago!"
"Yeah? Well what has he done for us lately? The stranger's right, we gotta put him down, it's the kind thing to do really. You gonna do it, Dan?"
"No... I... mean... well... "
"Pussy. Nevermind. Ramon you gonna do it?"
"Shit yeah! Here hold on, oh fuck." Ramon says pulling out his pistol and then dropping it on the ground. Jim just shakes his head.
"Ramon, its amazing you've even lasted this long with your clumsy ass. Fuck it, I'LL do it."
> let Jim kill Clyde
As strange as it may seem, you're kind of glad for the company believe it or not, so you'd rather just let this play out and see where it leads. You can always kill them all later.
Meanwhile Jim is pointing his gun at Clyde's head in an overly dramatic manner.
"Alright Clyde you knew the risks. No begging or pleadin' now."
"Come on Jim! Don't do this! I can still ride... I'll... "
"Goddamn it, get a fuckin' hold of yourself you fuckin' sissy! Fuck, I was givin' you a chance to go out like a man! Guess you fucked that up. Die bitch!"
Jim blows Clyde's brains out, and turns his attention back to you.
"Can't say I didn't give him a fair chance."
"Yes... so what do you have planned now?" you ask, forming an idea in your mind.
"Planned? Ha ha! We don't do a whole lotta planning, we just kinda roam from place to place causing meaningless violence! I think there's a town around in this area somewhere... "
"You probably should look for a more reliable fuel source, if you're going to continue with this line of work."
"Yeah, well we'll be good after Ramon here sucks out the remaining gas from this vehicle graveyard you got here. I trust YOU won't have a problem with that right?"
"I'm sucking what?!" Ramon says with a surprised look on his face.
"No, I don't have a problem with it, but what happens when that runs out? Are you going hope you find some more in your travels?"
"It's worked so far... what the hell are you getting at?"
"Instead of spreading meaningless violence on a small scale, how about spreading meaningful violence on a grand scale for a change?"
You explain how you've been reading in the survivalist books about how to create a still, except not being a drinker; you never felt the need to create one. However that same cheap hooch could probably work as a substitute for real gas, if certain modifications were made to the vehicles. Basically the vehicles would be running on "garbage" given that's what the booze is made out of. It would smell horrible, but you get the impression that Jim and his boys wouldn't know the difference anyway. You begin to explain even more technical aspects as well, but you soon realize it's too much to process for them, so you stop before their heads explode.
They do realize you seem to be a lot smarter than the rest of them though, so they agree to your "grand" plan. You tell one of them that they should drive to the nearest town by themselves, try to get a feel of the place, to scout the entire place out, find out what the defenses are and all of that.
Ultimately Dan is chosen for this task since he can actually come off as being a nice guy. You give him some canned food and some bottled water you have. You explain that he should use the stuff as something to barter with, so it looks like he's just a wandering traveler.
While Dan goes and does some scouting, you get to work on the still and Jim and Ramon, work on their altering their bikes (At least they know how to do that) a few days pass and you all generally start getting along. Unsurprisingly Jim and the rest of his gang were criminals even before the bombs dropped. You lie and say you were in the life of crime as well, nothing too specific though and just common and vague enough for Jim to believe. Of course all the people you killed after the bombs, you don't need to lie about at all.
When Dan comes back, he does so with some interesting news. He mentions the closest town is Cinderville. He mentions it's not a completely harmonious town and it does have its rougher elements, but the local law enforcement is still in control of the place and relies on a vigilante mindset of some of the townspeople. Apparently they're trying to keep the resemblance of the "old world". He mentions there's another gang that hangs around the outskirts of it which attempts raids every now and then, but they're poorly lead. Finally he states they have a small farming area with animals like cows and pigs. Not all for eating, but to mainly produce shit for biofuel to run the law enforcement vehicles.
Originally you were just thinking you could strike hard and fast and get out, every few months to break up the monotony, with the still to keep your vehicle running so you could engage in this behavior. But with this new information, of other gangs in the area and bad elements in the actual little oasis of civilization, you wonder if you couldn't actually take over the town, at the very least you could destabilize it. The biofuel center wouldn't be a bad acquisition either. You're confident you can pull this off, you just need more help.
> recruit some of the locals
You decide that the locals have more intimate knowledge of the town and would probably be better to enlist help from. You suggest that you all go to Cinderville and do just that.
After re-trapping your home, and gathering what supplies you think you'll need, you and the bikers all take a trip to Cinderville (You take your Van). After about a day of traveling you arrive at the place.
However you don't get very far. The townsfolk remember Dan, and the cops were watching him the whole time he entered town. They didn't really buy his whole "wandering traveler" act and neither did most other people. They figured he was up to no good. So when all of you come rolling in, the cops instantly arrive and tell you to leave immediately.
Normally you might've done that and come up with another strategy, but Jim begins revving up his cycle and shooting at the fuckers and disregards whatever plan you had. His boys follow suit.
After seeing Ramon getting his head blown off and Jim get shot off his bike, you have no intention of sharing that fate, so you swerve to turn the van around... which promptly dies on the spot.
"SHIT! GODDAMN IT! I JUST FIXED IT!" you shout beating on the wheel.
"GIVE UP, ALL YOUR LOWLIFE BUDDIES ARE DEAD! GET OUTTA THE VAN NOW ASSHOLE!" you hear one of the cops shout in a bullhorn.
Do they really expect you to give up? This is a brand new world, the cops don't need to put anyone in jail anymore; they can just shoot criminals. Not to mention, Dan had mentioned a vigilante mindset of the common townsfolk. They probably have every intention in hanging your ass, assuming they don't shoot you immediately after you give up.
Fuck it; you ain't going out without a fight. Hell maybe you'll even get back home, probably not. (Sigh) you think maybe you should've just stayed in your nice home waylaying wanderers when they came by. Too late for that now though.
You grab the hunting rifle and put it on your back, check your pistol, and grab your shotgun to be your primary weapon. You take a deep breath and open up sliding door of your van and blast the first pig you see and make a break for it.
You manage to get a few blocks with the cops in pursuit, before one of the neighborhood "Rambos" shoots at you, hitting you in the leg. You fall to the street hard, dropping your shotgun which spirals out of your hand several feet from you. You get some pay back by blasting the shithead who shot you in the leg when he came closer to confirm the "kill".
You struggle to stand up, only to get hit by a fucking police car fully intent on running you down, except you go flying in the air instead and land on your face again with a pair of broken legs now. The car stops and a police woman with dreadlocks gets out, she shoots you in the arm, when you attempt to go for your pistol.
"You're under arrest suga!" she says in a high voice.
You merely turn to look at her, and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
"Fuck you bitch."
"You wish honey!"
And with that last snappy come back, she decides that you were resisting arrest and shoots you. |
As strange as it may seem, you're kind of glad for the company believe it or not, so you'd rather just let this play out and see where it leads. You can always kill them all later.
Meanwhile Jim is pointing his gun at Clyde's head in an overly dramatic manner.
"Alright Clyde you knew the risks. No begging or pleadin' now."
"Come on Jim! Don't do this! I can still ride... I'll... "
"Goddamn it, get a fuckin' hold of yourself you fuckin' sissy! Fuck, I was givin' you a chance to go out like a man! Guess you fucked that up. Die bitch!"
Jim blows Clyde's brains out, and turns his attention back to you.
"Can't say I didn't give him a fair chance."
"Yes... so what do you have planned now?" you ask, forming an idea in your mind.
"Planned? Ha ha! We don't do a whole lotta planning, we just kinda roam from place to place causing meaningless violence! I think there's a town around in this area somewhere... "
"You probably should look for a more reliable fuel source, if you're going to continue with this line of work."
"Yeah, well we'll be good after Ramon here sucks out the remaining gas from this vehicle graveyard you got here. I trust YOU won't have a problem with that right?"
"I'm sucking what?!" Ramon says with a surprised look on his face.
"No, I don't have a problem with it, but what happens when that runs out? Are you going hope you find some more in your travels?"
"It's worked so far... what the hell are you getting at?"
"Instead of spreading meaningless violence on a small scale, how about spreading meaningful violence on a grand scale for a change?"
You explain how you've been reading in the survivalist books about how to create a still, except not being a drinker; you never felt the need to create one. However that same cheap hooch could probably work as a substitute for real gas, if certain modifications were made to the vehicles. Basically the vehicles would be running on "garbage" given that's what the booze is made out of. It would smell horrible, but you get the impression that Jim and his boys wouldn't know the difference anyway. You begin to explain even more technical aspects as well, but you soon realize it's too much to process for them, so you stop before their heads explode.
They do realize you seem to be a lot smarter than the rest of them though, so they agree to your "grand" plan. You tell one of them that they should drive to the nearest town by themselves, try to get a feel of the place, to scout the entire place out, find out what the defenses are and all of that.
Ultimately Dan is chosen for this task since he can actually come off as being a nice guy. You give him some canned food and some bottled water you have. You explain that he should use the stuff as something to barter with, so it looks like he's just a wandering traveler.
While Dan goes and does some scouting, you get to work on the still and Jim and Ramon, work on their altering their bikes (At least they know how to do that) a few days pass and you all generally start getting along. Unsurprisingly Jim and the rest of his gang were criminals even before the bombs dropped. You lie and say you were in the life of crime as well, nothing too specific though and just common and vague enough for Jim to believe. Of course all the people you killed after the bombs, you don't need to lie about at all.
When Dan comes back, he does so with some interesting news. He mentions the closest town is Cinderville. He mentions it's not a completely harmonious town and it does have its rougher elements, but the local law enforcement is still in control of the place and relies on a vigilante mindset of some of the townspeople. Apparently they're trying to keep the resemblance of the "old world". He mentions there's another gang that hangs around the outskirts of it which attempts raids every now and then, but they're poorly lead. Finally he states they have a small farming area with animals like cows and pigs. Not all for eating, but to mainly produce shit for biofuel to run the law enforcement vehicles.
Originally you were just thinking you could strike hard and fast and get out, every few months to break up the monotony, with the still to keep your vehicle running so you could engage in this behavior. But with this new information, of other gangs in the area and bad elements in the actual little oasis of civilization, you wonder if you couldn't actually take over the town, at the very least you could destabilize it. The biofuel center wouldn't be a bad acquisition either. You're confident you can pull this off, you just need more help.
> approach the raiders
Entering the town again, wouldn't be a good idea. From the sound of it, the town is suspicious of outsiders, if Dan showed up again with the lot of you; they'd know something was up. Not to mention he was the most "presentable" of all of you. You figure the raiders might be a better choice. If they're poorly led, then maybe just taking care of the leader will make the rest fall in line.
"Alright Dan, you know where the raiders hang out?" you ask.
"Um, not exactly, but its somewhere in the hills near Cinderville."
"Okay let's go there. We can probably kick the leader's ass and... "
Jim all of sudden stops you in mid-sentence.
"Hold up, brain boy. I know you got all these great ideas, and you seem to be a pretty ruthless sonofabitch, and I respect that, but let's keep in mind that I'M running this fuckin' gang. Don't presume you can just order us all around about what we're going to do." He tells you in an authoritative voice and implies bodily harm if you disagree with him.
(Sigh) You had a feeling this was going to happen.
> kill Jim
"Y'know what, you're right Jim, you shouldn't have to take orders from me."
"Good, I'm glad we understand each other."
"That's why you won't be around to do it any longer!"
Before anyone can do anything, you draw your pistol and shoot Jim three times in the chest before he falls dead. Ramon and Dan look like they want to react, but don't.
"Good. Glad to see you guys are smarter than you appear. Now Dan, lead us to the raiders."
After taking some supplies you think you'll need and re-trapping your home, you all set off to leave. (You take your van)
In about a day, you arrive around in the area that Dan was talking about, in fact you don't need to look for the raiders; they instantly approach you when they see you coming. It would appear some of them have a few vehicles as well, you just hope you can pull this off.
You get out of your van and your two new lackeys stop their bikes, they don't like the looks of this, especially since you're greatly outnumbered.
"Hey, uh... maybe this isn't such a good idea... " Ramon says.
"Yeah, when I was in Cinderville, I heard these guys could get pretty crazy." Dan adds.
"Pfft, these types always fall in line when you display sufficient strength. All I gotta do is challenge the leader to hand to hand combat or some shit. Hell, you fuckers were in prison, you know how this works." You arrogantly reply.
"Yeah, but even in prison there were rules! I mean there ain't no rules at all out here! Who says they're going to accept your challenge?"
With Dan's last statement, you figure you'll soon find out when the raiders arrive and stop their own vehicles. The leader steps out of his beat up car, and steps forward. He looks mean enough, like he's been living in the wasteland from day one.
"So, you got any last words, before we fuck you and eat you?" he asks.
"Yeah, I heard you're the lame cocksucker, who can't even handle a few pigs and some wannabe vigilantes in Cinderville." You reply.
The raider leader's expression gets even meaner looking if such a thing is possible.
"Oh? And I suppose YOU can do a better job?" he sneers.
"Sure the fuck can, all I need is more people. In fact I'd say yours would do just fine, so are you going to step down from your inept leadership, or am I gonna have to beat the shit outta you and take it?"
After looking at you up and down, he speaks again.
"Shit, I doubt if you could even last five minutes. Fuck this; I'm not wasting my time. Kill these assholes."
As soon as he says those words, you immediately turn to run, ducking and trying to get into your van, but in the shooting, the raiders hit the van's front tires by the time you make it inside. Dan and Ramon speed off, with some of the raiders in pursuit, while you attempt to drive in reverse and turn around on flat tires.
The raider leader rams your van with his own car, which has been fitted with extra plating. Eventually in the mayhem of the ramming, shooting and swerving around on flat tires on an incline, you roll the van over and over down the hill. It's amazing that you don't get killed and the van didn't blow up.
You however aren't in such great shape. You barely manage to crawl from your wrecked van, and when you do, the raider leader arrives in his own car just in time to finish you off.
He finds you crawling on the ground, when he opens up his door to point a sawed off shotgun in your face and pull the trigger. |
Entering the town again, wouldn't be a good idea. From the sound of it, the town is suspicious of outsiders, if Dan showed up again with the lot of you; they'd know something was up. Not to mention he was the most "presentable" of all of you. You figure the raiders might be a better choice. If they're poorly led, then maybe just taking care of the leader will make the rest fall in line.
"Alright Dan, you know where the raiders hang out?" you ask.
"Um, not exactly, but its somewhere in the hills near Cinderville."
"Okay let's go there. We can probably kick the leader's ass and... "
Jim all of sudden stops you in mid-sentence.
"Hold up, brain boy. I know you got all these great ideas, and you seem to be a pretty ruthless sonofabitch, and I respect that, but let's keep in mind that I'M running this fuckin' gang. Don't presume you can just order us all around about what we're going to do." He tells you in an authoritative voice and implies bodily harm if you disagree with him.
(Sigh) You had a feeling this was going to happen.
> Back down
While you probably could kill this fat fucker, but for now you have to have all the help you can get and no disunity to pull this plan off, so you'll back down for now...
"Hey, I never said I was the leader, I know you are Jim."
"Good. Glad we understand each other."
"So go ahead and tell us what YOU think is the best course of action for this plan."
"Um... well... your strategy sounded pretty good." Jim says predictably
Just as you thought, you're STILL in control, just had to give the fool the appearance that he's still in control.
After taking some supplies you think you'll need and re-trapping your home, you all set off to leave. (You take your van)
In about a day, you arrive around in the area that Dan was talking about, in fact you don't need to look for the raiders; they instantly approach you when they see you coming. It would appear some of them have a few vehicles as well. Jim signals for everyone to halt and he gets off his bike. Ramon and Dan halt near Jim, but don't get off their bikes. You in the meantime grab your hunting rifle and hang in the back a bit, you just hope Jim can pull this shit off, especially since you're greatly outnumbered.
Soon the raiders arrive and stop their own vehicles. The leader steps out of his beat up car, and steps forward. He looks mean enough, like he's been living in the wasteland from day one.
"So, you got any last words, before we fuck you and eat you?" he asks Jim.
"Yeah, I heard you're the pussy ass bitch, who can't even handle a few pigs and some fuckin' vigilantes in Cinderville." Jim replies.
The raider leader's expression gets even meaner looking if such a thing is possible.
"Oh? And I suppose YOU can do a better job you fat tub of shit?" he sneers.
"Sure the fuck can asshole, all I need is more men. In fact I'd say yours would do just fine, so I'd say you'd better just step aside and see a pro in action."
"Don't think so, besides I've already seen a fag get his mouth gang fucked by a bunch of guys."
You sure hope Jim is a better fighter, because he's losing in the battle of snappy comebacks right now. In fact he can't come up with a response, so he just slugs the raider leader instead. You fully expect the shooting to start, but instead the raider leader laughs, pulls out the biggest blade you've ever seen and screams "THIS ONE IS MINE!"
During the fight, you scan all your potential greatest threats and the quickest order to pick them off, in case this all goes south. You're so busy doing that, that you're not really paying attention to the actual fight, which Jim as it turns out, is winning.
After tussling on the ground, slamming into nearby vehicles, punching, kicking and all the rest, Jim finally puts an end to his opponent by shoving his own knife through his throat. Everyone goes silent, and Jim stands up wiping the blood off of himself.
"Alright! Now listen the fuck up! Your previous leader was a lame ass who couldn't get the job done, and that changes right now! We're gonna get fuckin' organized and take that goddamn little town! Might makes fuckin' right! Are ya with me, or are ya gonna go running off like a limp wristed sissy?"
Well, it's a good thing you didn't kill Jim, because these raiders seem to really identify with him and they unanimously accept him as their new leader. You doubt if you would've had that success. You've never been a people person, regardless of who those people might've been, however you are an idea person, and now you move on to your next phase.
After Jim finally gets all the new people to listen, you begin to explain your plan, the problem before is they kept stupidly attacking from one direction, rather than doing the classic "pincer" maneuver and attacking from multiple sides. Using Dan's information, you specifically pick out areas where the most damage can initially be done with the least amount of risk. You point out the spot where there's still an old school being used to teach the children. Take control of that with the kids inside and you've severely reduced most of the townspeople's willingness to fight, which will curb the neighborhood "Charles Bronsons" from helping the police force. In fact you decide to take that job since you want Jim to lead the raiders in the main direct assault force with the cops. Dan and Ramon will be traveling with their own smaller force to attack other parts of the town, spreading out the cops' usually organized force. It's also hoped that the more disreputable elements that Dan mentioned living in the town, will join in the mayhem on your side, or at least against their side.
The raider vehicles themselves are not in the best condition, and most of them are running low on gas, but they'll do for now. You figure if all goes well, the still fuel that you created back at your home, as well as the farming area in the town with the pig and cow shit biofuel can solve those problems later. In fact you specifically mention that NO damage should happen to that area in this attack, though you don't expect them to follow that order.
You don't want to wait long to attack with this bunch, since they have the attention span of a gnat of crack. You have to attack soon when they're all hyped up. You suggest that to Jim, who agrees since he's anxious to get to this dastardly business anyway. In a couple days you're attacking the town as planned. You start on your end first, making a beeline to the school, before the main attack force arrives.
A few of the raiders are in your van itching to start creating some havoc. You stop outside of the school and run inside with your current trigger happy cohorts. A couple of them kill a few kids and you have to remind them you're SUPPOSED to be holding them hostage right now! If the townsfolk don't comply THEN you can start capping the little bastards. You tell them to go and kill the teachers if they want.
In the mean time you take the opportunity to shout from the window to the crowd gathering outside. You tell them that if any of them start trying to defend the town or help the cops, then their kids are going to be killed. To show you're really serious though, you tell one of the raiders to toss a kid out the window. A collective cry goes up from the crowd when the body hits the pavement and their pathetic begging is pleasing to your ears.
You get a few people shooting at you anyway (Obviously not parents) but having a good vantage point and a hunting rifle, you start sniping the idiots who have decided to ignore your threats. A few more kids thrown out the window causes ALL the shooting to stop.
You can hear the sounds of battle from your position; no cops have arrived so you're guessing Jim and the rest are doing their job. You're really enjoying all this chaos you've created, you were just stagnating before the bombs dropped, now in this new world you're free to embrace the darkest part of yourself that always existed, but wasn't allowed the flourish. You love this fucking shit.
Eventually you hear a roar of a motorcycle, followed by the sound of some bottles breaking. You go to check the window and see the crowd outside running and screaming, some of them on fire from the Molotov Cocktails just thrown at them. You also see Ramon shouting up to you.
"Hey! We're winning man! The remaining cops are barricaded in their fucking station, broke the Mayor's legs and dragged him through the street and best of all we got some of the other local punks to join us! There's practically no more resistance left! Its total fucking anarchy man!"
You turn around and begin smiling at the kids you're holding hostage which somehow scares them even more. You pick up a young girl and kiss her hard on the lips and laugh at the fear in her eyes. You then throw her down and tell the raiders with you they can do whatever they want, because you're going to indulge in some pure havoc on your own.
After a couple days and nights of indulging in this activity, Jim finally gets around to settling his new gang down (Which he's inventively called "Jim's Reapers") and wondering about what to do with the town now that he has control over it. He seems to have forgotten already that it was YOU, who orchestrated this. Now that the task has been accomplished perhaps this would be the time to discuss the leadership role again.
Then again, you wonder if you even want to bother. Sure there's the power and such, but there's also the headache of dealing with all these morons on a regular basis and running the town. The "fun" part is over as it were.
> kill Jim for control of the town
The whole point of this endeavor was to take control of the town and you're not going to let Jim get that glory. You go find him in the Mayor's Manor still tormenting the mayor and his wife. The mayor is currently lying on the floor bloody and helpless with his legs a useless mess. His wife is naked in a fetal position in a corner just rocking to herself in a state of perpetual shock, its apparent she's been raped over and over. Jim doesn't have anyone else with him, not even have Dan or Ramon, he's all by himself in a drunken stupor at the moment celebrating his new found power, unaware that you're about to relieve him of it.
"Heeeeey! Killer! Its you! Have a drink! This fucker's got some classy shit stashed in his cellar! (Hic!)"
"Nah, that's okay. So I see you've been having fun eh?"
"Me? Oh fuck yeah! The mayor over here has got himself one fine piece of ass! Been tryin' her out every other hour y'know what I mean? HAR HAR HAR!"
"Hmmm, yes." You say looking over at her again, while Jim continues to pontificate.
"Shit man (Hic!) I think me, you, Dan and fuckin' Ramon are the few straight bastards in this gang! Those fuckin' raiders we recruited? I ain't even seen them try to get any of the pussy in this town. They must've been in the wasteland too damn long or somethin', I think they forgot what a god (hic!) damn bitch looks like. Been cornholin' each other so much they went an' fell in love! HAR HAR HAR HAR! (hic!) Ah hell I'm not judgin'. (hic!)"
While Jim wanders into the next room still talking about his gang's sexual preference, you go over to the mayor who's been baring his mental and physical pain in silence the whole time. When you crouch near him and pull your pistol out, he thinks this is it, but you have something "special" in mind. You see that his hands are still in good shape so you keep your voice down and look him in the eyes.
"You're gonna die. Nothing can stop this. Resign yourself to this fact. Life sucks and that's all there is to it." you say unloading your pistol, but keeping one bullet in the chamber.
"... however, you can still get vengeance. I thought you might like to know that I'm the one who planned this attack. I'm the one who orchestrated this town's destruction. A town you no longer have any control over and has had many of its citizens viciously killed thanks to my actions... the fat piece of drunken shit in the next room has personally beaten you and violated your wife, repeatedly. Over and over. In front of you. His fat smelly flesh all over her while he enjoyed it the whole time. Probably shoved his cock in all three holes too huh?"
He looks at you with a mixture of fear, hate, and sorrow, while tears fill his eyes. You place the gun in his hand.
"... well anyway, there's one bullet in the gun. Remember, you got one shot, one chance for vengeance, make your choice. Better hide that, here comes Jim."
Jim comes stumbling back in room, while the mayor holds the gun close to himself in a bad attempt to hide it. The stand back waiting to see what happens next.
"... I mean hell I've fucked a few prags when I (hic!) was in prison, but... hey... what have you got there?" Jim asks seeing the mayor holding something, but not able to make it out clearly due to his inebriated state.
Jim gets closer, closer, and then mayor draws on him. He sobers up just long enough to realize he's got a bullet between his eyes.
"... what the fuuuuuuuuck... " Jim says before falling face first on the floor.
"Wow, that was pretty intense, I mean my own life was on the line there! Whew! But I figured you'd kill Jim, too bad it wasn't the right choice on your part." You say punching the mayor in the face and take your pistol back, loading it again.
"Stupid bastard, didn't it occur to you that I'd do the same thing to your wife?"
"No... don't... " he says looking up at you with blood coming from his mouth, as your own curls cruelly upward.
"Just kidding, I wouldn't stick my dick anywhere near Jim has been. Looks like you made the right choice after all!"
You put the mayor out of his misery and shoot him in the face. You then approach the mayor's wife who's still been rocking to herself this whole time. You look at her a little closer.
"Hmm, you must've been very beautiful before this all happened." You remark, caressing her damaged face, before ending her life as well.
Having had your fun, you go and announce you're the leader now. Unfortunately you don't quite have the charisma or imposing physique Jim had, so not everyone is willing to follow. (Ramon and Dan are among the first ones you kill for disobeying you) What ultimately happens is the town becomes a factional warzone where nobody is really in control and the poor Cinderville townsfolk are caught in the middle. Eventually things stabilize and a few of the "heavy weights" carve out their own territories and there's an unstable peace in the town. Fights still break out, but there's never an imbalance of power or advantage for long. (Though, maintaining a hold on the biofuel refinery gives you a little bit of an advantage... )
Four years pass...
Five years have passed since the bombs dropped and you couldn't be happier. You've accomplished more than you ever did in the old world. World War Three was the best thing that ever happened to you. You've been running your own slice of heaven in this hellish world and had the freedom to live out your true nature, which you've done for the past five years.
And now that freedom could be coming to an end.
Recently through rumors and wandering travelers who have the misfortune of finding Cinderville, you've found out that there's a growing organization trying to "tame" the wasteland. They call themselves The Combine. Apparently they're at war with another organization called the Cybernetic Collective and the Combine's been aggressively taking towns and conscripting the citizens to fight in their war. And now they've come to Cinderville.
They arrive in well taken care of vehicles, with better training, better discipline and better weapons. They begin talking to everybody they can. They aren't going to take the entire town by force, no what they intend to do is to back one of the stronger factions to wipe out the rest, and then absorb their puppet into the Combine to have control over the entire town. You're not fooled.
The question just remains is; are you going to ally with them first, or fight this threat to your freedom?
> ally with the Combine
If you have any motivation to keep your position, you'll have to ally with the Combine, for now at least. You decide to at least hear what they have to say. Two envoys come to speak to you; one of them is some rough looking man that probably thinks he's some sort of hard ass. The other is a woman, she looks like she's probably seen battle, but you're more interested in her seeing your dick up close and personal if that's possible.
"So, I hear you're one of the Warlords of this town. My name's Roger and this is Vivica. We belong to The Combine as I'm sure you already know."
"Yeah, yeah, I already know all about your little paramilitary outfit. Trying to tame the
wasteland or some shit. Futile endeavor I say. It all comes down to chaos in the end. The last world war proved that."
"Yeah, and I've ran into your type before. Typical petty despot who thrives off of the suffering around you. Let me guess, you were probably a petty criminal or prisoner in your old life. A loser. Someone who never could accomplish anything, until AFTER the bombs hit. And look at you; you can't even do that right. You don't even control this whole town. You're still a loser."
You smile at Roger's poor attempt at psychology.
"Oh, is that what I was eh? Well I guess that makes us both sides of the same coin. You were probably some boring fucktard in a boring job, with a boring life. You probably watched reality shows about cops and mercs an' shit wishing you could do that, but were too much of a sheep to go out and have adventures of your own. You just obeyed the laws and followed the rules. Now look at you. Mr. wasteland fuckin' warrior, but even in this new world you're still a fucking sheep. Still following the rules, the only reason you're having adventures now is because your superiors tell you to. You're just as much of a fucking loser as I am."
Roger noticeably grows angry by your own psychological evaluation, but Vivica steps in to mediate.
"Look, you fuckers compare dick sizes later, we ain't got time for it right now."
"Ooowee! I like the mouth on this one! I'd like it more around my dick though... you interested in seeing just what my dick size exactly is honey?"
"(Sigh) I suggest you better explain why the Combine should back you for control of this shithole town and what you'd even bring to the table other than your miniscule cock you like flapping in the wind."
"Why do I need to convince you? You're the fuckers who want the damn town, but if you must know, I already have control of a biofuel refinery. I'd say that puts me as a pretty good favorite right there."
"Eh, not really. One would wonder why someone who has such an advantage doesn't already HAVE control of the entire town. It seems like only someone who is really stupid or too incompetent to lead his side to ultimate victory would be the only logical explanation."
"Oh it's just that simple to you huh? For your information I don't exactly HAVE the same amount of people as the other warlords. I have enough to defend my territory and that's about it and sure I can refuel all my vehicles easy enough, but so fuckin' what? You think that means shit in close urban combat? Some sniper can just blast a driver riding down the street. Don't mean shit. However! My refinery can be used to help fuel YOUR vehicles in your war with... what those cyborgs right? I mean you guys are fighting in the open battlefield where you can maneuver and drive around. You can also transport supplies quicker. And I know why you also want control of this place. You want conscripts. Well, you'll get no protests from me; take anyone you want, except my workers at the refinery and myself of course."
Vivica and Roger look at each other and discuss in quiet about what you've told them, Vivica speaks up again.
"And you would be willing to join the Combine and supply us with whatever we need?"
"Sure, like I said, take anyone you want except me or the people needed to run the refinery, of course I hope this isn't a one way street, I mean I want something too... "
"Yes, of course we will transport food and water supplies if you need... "
"What? No not that shit. Fuck, I got my own private stash of food and water. And the rest of the shitheads in this town can fend for themselves. Nah, what I want is right here in front of me... " you say beginning to leer at Vivica. Now she begins to feel very uncomfortable. Good. You like that.
"Hold on we have to talk this over... " Roger says.
"WHAT?!" Vivica shouts.
"Sure, sure, you do that. Just remember, this is my offer and I might say it's a very generous one, I doubt you'll get a better one. The rest of these warlords are greedy bastards, they'll want weapons, and a bunch of other shit. All I'm asking for is for some time with a woman and your help with getting rid of the other warlords of course. After I gain control of the entire town, you'll be able to take whatever you want with no resistance. You want fuel? You got it. You want cannon fodder? You got that too. Decline my offer and well... let's just say I'll make sure I do a lot of damage before you fine Combine folks bring me down. I'll leave you to it to decide."
Vivica and Roger leave your office and you can hear arguing outside. Obviously Vivica is NOT real keen on this compromise and she's even less keen when it's decided she needs to "take one for the team".
You fucking love this shit. How far people are willing to degrade themselves for the "greater good". What a fucking joke.
Later that night, you and Vivica are ready to finalize the "deal", though she's still trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.
"Don't think you're gonna be pulling some kinda sick shit with me or hitting me either, because if that happens, I won't give a fuck about the deal, the Combine, or even if I live, but regardless of what happens, you'll be singing soprano, and pissing like a bitch for the rest of your life."
A threat without fear of consequence. Somehow you can respect that. Hell you think you might even be in love.
"Okay, calm down sweetheart, none of that's gonna happen. Now let's start off by getting that pretty mouth of yours in action like I mentioned earlier today... "
Afterwards, Vivica grabs her clothes and leaves immediately. You're a little disappointed, since you almost got the impression she enjoyed herself... oh well, back to business.
With the Combine's help, wiping out the other warlords is a snap. Indeed you could've done it yourself long ago if you'd had disciplined people and more of them. Of course none of that matters now, you're officially head of the town, though the Combine leave a few troops behind as a reminder that Cinderville is now part of it. They don't do too much though, and mostly leave you to your own devices. You're giving them free fuel, free conscripts, and even letting them use most of your remaining vehicles, and barely asking for anything in return, why shouldn't they let you do what you want? They're doing what they want. Besides they're busy at war with a bunch of cyborgs and you're so far away. They won't be interfering anytime soon.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since the bombs dropped and civilization seems to be reforming... unfortunately.
The Combine won the war with the Cybernetic Evolution a couple years ago and have had time to focus on their current holdings a lot more. This means they're focusing more on Cinderville, which you don't like. In fact more and more of a Combine influence is being felt. They're starting to supply the town regardless of what you said before. No longer are the people living in poverty and near starvation. By God, they're even trying to REBUILD parts of it! You don't like this.
You protest their meddling, but they don't pay any attention to you, Cinderville IS under Combine control after all. You're just there for looks and in fact you're not looking too good to them anymore. It seems the Combine wants to put one of their own in power here to run things. They don't need to compromise their ideology anymore now that the war's over. They don't need to associate with scum like you anymore now.
Things are truly coming to an end...
> try to acclimate yourself
You "resign" your position and leave Cinderville. Not knowing where to go, you go back to your second home outside Cinderville. You try to live a quiet isolated life like before, but you can't do it now, your urge to control, to kill, and create anarchy is too strong now.
You can't go back, so you try to go back to your past activities by visiting Cinderville every now and then to commit a few murders in the night, however being under direct Combine control now, things like that are investigated a little more now, especially when the body count starts piling up.
It's during one of your nightly visits, that you're captured and delivered quick and efficient justice by Combine troops. |
If you have any motivation to keep your position, you'll have to ally with the Combine, for now at least. You decide to at least hear what they have to say. Two envoys come to speak to you; one of them is some rough looking man that probably thinks he's some sort of hard ass. The other is a woman, she looks like she's probably seen battle, but you're more interested in her seeing your dick up close and personal if that's possible.
"So, I hear you're one of the Warlords of this town. My name's Roger and this is Vivica. We belong to The Combine as I'm sure you already know."
"Yeah, yeah, I already know all about your little paramilitary outfit. Trying to tame the
wasteland or some shit. Futile endeavor I say. It all comes down to chaos in the end. The last world war proved that."
"Yeah, and I've ran into your type before. Typical petty despot who thrives off of the suffering around you. Let me guess, you were probably a petty criminal or prisoner in your old life. A loser. Someone who never could accomplish anything, until AFTER the bombs hit. And look at you; you can't even do that right. You don't even control this whole town. You're still a loser."
You smile at Roger's poor attempt at psychology.
"Oh, is that what I was eh? Well I guess that makes us both sides of the same coin. You were probably some boring fucktard in a boring job, with a boring life. You probably watched reality shows about cops and mercs an' shit wishing you could do that, but were too much of a sheep to go out and have adventures of your own. You just obeyed the laws and followed the rules. Now look at you. Mr. wasteland fuckin' warrior, but even in this new world you're still a fucking sheep. Still following the rules, the only reason you're having adventures now is because your superiors tell you to. You're just as much of a fucking loser as I am."
Roger noticeably grows angry by your own psychological evaluation, but Vivica steps in to mediate.
"Look, you fuckers compare dick sizes later, we ain't got time for it right now."
"Ooowee! I like the mouth on this one! I'd like it more around my dick though... you interested in seeing just what my dick size exactly is honey?"
"(Sigh) I suggest you better explain why the Combine should back you for control of this shithole town and what you'd even bring to the table other than your miniscule cock you like flapping in the wind."
"Why do I need to convince you? You're the fuckers who want the damn town, but if you must know, I already have control of a biofuel refinery. I'd say that puts me as a pretty good favorite right there."
"Eh, not really. One would wonder why someone who has such an advantage doesn't already HAVE control of the entire town. It seems like only someone who is really stupid or too incompetent to lead his side to ultimate victory would be the only logical explanation."
"Oh it's just that simple to you huh? For your information I don't exactly HAVE the same amount of people as the other warlords. I have enough to defend my territory and that's about it and sure I can refuel all my vehicles easy enough, but so fuckin' what? You think that means shit in close urban combat? Some sniper can just blast a driver riding down the street. Don't mean shit. However! My refinery can be used to help fuel YOUR vehicles in your war with... what those cyborgs right? I mean you guys are fighting in the open battlefield where you can maneuver and drive around. You can also transport supplies quicker. And I know why you also want control of this place. You want conscripts. Well, you'll get no protests from me; take anyone you want, except my workers at the refinery and myself of course."
Vivica and Roger look at each other and discuss in quiet about what you've told them, Vivica speaks up again.
"And you would be willing to join the Combine and supply us with whatever we need?"
"Sure, like I said, take anyone you want except me or the people needed to run the refinery, of course I hope this isn't a one way street, I mean I want something too... "
"Yes, of course we will transport food and water supplies if you need... "
"What? No not that shit. Fuck, I got my own private stash of food and water. And the rest of the shitheads in this town can fend for themselves. Nah, what I want is right here in front of me... " you say beginning to leer at Vivica. Now she begins to feel very uncomfortable. Good. You like that.
"Hold on we have to talk this over... " Roger says.
"WHAT?!" Vivica shouts.
"Sure, sure, you do that. Just remember, this is my offer and I might say it's a very generous one, I doubt you'll get a better one. The rest of these warlords are greedy bastards, they'll want weapons, and a bunch of other shit. All I'm asking for is for some time with a woman and your help with getting rid of the other warlords of course. After I gain control of the entire town, you'll be able to take whatever you want with no resistance. You want fuel? You got it. You want cannon fodder? You got that too. Decline my offer and well... let's just say I'll make sure I do a lot of damage before you fine Combine folks bring me down. I'll leave you to it to decide."
Vivica and Roger leave your office and you can hear arguing outside. Obviously Vivica is NOT real keen on this compromise and she's even less keen when it's decided she needs to "take one for the team".
You fucking love this shit. How far people are willing to degrade themselves for the "greater good". What a fucking joke.
Later that night, you and Vivica are ready to finalize the "deal", though she's still trying to maintain some semblance of dignity.
"Don't think you're gonna be pulling some kinda sick shit with me or hitting me either, because if that happens, I won't give a fuck about the deal, the Combine, or even if I live, but regardless of what happens, you'll be singing soprano, and pissing like a bitch for the rest of your life."
A threat without fear of consequence. Somehow you can respect that. Hell you think you might even be in love.
"Okay, calm down sweetheart, none of that's gonna happen. Now let's start off by getting that pretty mouth of yours in action like I mentioned earlier today... "
Afterwards, Vivica grabs her clothes and leaves immediately. You're a little disappointed, since you almost got the impression she enjoyed herself... oh well, back to business.
With the Combine's help, wiping out the other warlords is a snap. Indeed you could've done it yourself long ago if you'd had disciplined people and more of them. Of course none of that matters now, you're officially head of the town, though the Combine leave a few troops behind as a reminder that Cinderville is now part of it. They don't do too much though, and mostly leave you to your own devices. You're giving them free fuel, free conscripts, and even letting them use most of your remaining vehicles, and barely asking for anything in return, why shouldn't they let you do what you want? They're doing what they want. Besides they're busy at war with a bunch of cyborgs and you're so far away. They won't be interfering anytime soon.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since the bombs dropped and civilization seems to be reforming... unfortunately.
The Combine won the war with the Cybernetic Evolution a couple years ago and have had time to focus on their current holdings a lot more. This means they're focusing more on Cinderville, which you don't like. In fact more and more of a Combine influence is being felt. They're starting to supply the town regardless of what you said before. No longer are the people living in poverty and near starvation. By God, they're even trying to REBUILD parts of it! You don't like this.
You protest their meddling, but they don't pay any attention to you, Cinderville IS under Combine control after all. You're just there for looks and in fact you're not looking too good to them anymore. It seems the Combine wants to put one of their own in power here to run things. They don't need to compromise their ideology anymore now that the war's over. They don't need to associate with scum like you anymore now.
Things are truly coming to an end...
> leave this lousy civilization
You can't really say you didn't see this coming entirely, The Combine may try hide beneath the guise of being some organization out to rebuild civilization, but at the core it's just another dictatorship in development. You've seen the hypocrisy first hand of how they deal with those like you when it suits their purpose, and then dispose of them, when it doesn't.
However, none of this really matters, the fact remains you can't stay here at least not in the way you'd want to anyway. You "resign" your position and return back to your second home outside Cinderville where you gather some supplies for your travels and get in your van (which has long been upgraded to function on a more reliable basis now) and decide to live life as a wandering bandit, but not without first sabotaging the biofuel refinery in Cinderville. A sabotage that results in the refinery not only blowing up and killing folks, but also spraying shit all over most of the town.
"HA HA! HAVE A NICE LIFE SHITHEADS!" you're heard saying before driving off.
Months go by and you eventually become enemy number one by The Combine for your criminal activity of destroying caravans, murdering citizens, and creating mayhem whenever you can. Sometimes you work alone, sometimes you manage to form a gang for raids, but in all cases your goal is to cause as much misery as you're able. You're determined to prove that the concept of order is doomed to failure as it always has.
Eventually along with Combine soldiers, freelance bounty hunters are set upon you. You remain free however, always one step ahead...
One day driving along an old unused road, you see a strange man standing along side it. He doesn't look quite human, you've heard stories of mutants, (and certainly seen mutated animals) but you've also heard most of them stay in the City where they were created by the radioactivity there. Of course there's always a few that wander away. Looks like this one has, in fact he looks like he has with a purpose, he pulls a gun on you as your van barrels down the road, in his other hand is a piece of paper, probably a wanted poster of you. It looks like this mutie is being dramatic, but you don't know... there's something really creepy about him. He looks like death personified with the way he's just waiting for you.
> run him down
You swerve your van in the mutant bounty hunter's direction, but he dodges out of the way so quick that you almost don't see him move.
As he dodges, you hear your tires blow out (Which is weird since you didn't hear any shots) before you to crash into some nearby rocks. You fly out the windshield and smash your head open into those same rocks, amazingly you aren't immediately killed and you manage to crawl off your hood and onto the ground.
Unfortunately a strange mutant worm like creature was making its home in the rocks and after you disturbed it, it came outside to investigate. You're in no condition to escape.
Unlike most, you became food for the worms while you were still alive. |
The whole point of this endeavor was to take control of the town and you're not going to let Jim get that glory. You go find him in the Mayor's Manor still tormenting the mayor and his wife. The mayor is currently lying on the floor bloody and helpless with his legs a useless mess. His wife is naked in a fetal position in a corner just rocking to herself in a state of perpetual shock, its apparent she's been raped over and over. Jim doesn't have anyone else with him, not even have Dan or Ramon, he's all by himself in a drunken stupor at the moment celebrating his new found power, unaware that you're about to relieve him of it.
"Heeeeey! Killer! Its you! Have a drink! This fucker's got some classy shit stashed in his cellar! (Hic!)"
"Nah, that's okay. So I see you've been having fun eh?"
"Me? Oh fuck yeah! The mayor over here has got himself one fine piece of ass! Been tryin' her out every other hour y'know what I mean? HAR HAR HAR!"
"Hmmm, yes." You say looking over at her again, while Jim continues to pontificate.
"Shit man (Hic!) I think me, you, Dan and fuckin' Ramon are the few straight bastards in this gang! Those fuckin' raiders we recruited? I ain't even seen them try to get any of the pussy in this town. They must've been in the wasteland too damn long or somethin', I think they forgot what a god (hic!) damn bitch looks like. Been cornholin' each other so much they went an' fell in love! HAR HAR HAR HAR! (hic!) Ah hell I'm not judgin'. (hic!)"
While Jim wanders into the next room still talking about his gang's sexual preference, you go over to the mayor who's been baring his mental and physical pain in silence the whole time. When you crouch near him and pull your pistol out, he thinks this is it, but you have something "special" in mind. You see that his hands are still in good shape so you keep your voice down and look him in the eyes.
"You're gonna die. Nothing can stop this. Resign yourself to this fact. Life sucks and that's all there is to it." you say unloading your pistol, but keeping one bullet in the chamber.
"... however, you can still get vengeance. I thought you might like to know that I'm the one who planned this attack. I'm the one who orchestrated this town's destruction. A town you no longer have any control over and has had many of its citizens viciously killed thanks to my actions... the fat piece of drunken shit in the next room has personally beaten you and violated your wife, repeatedly. Over and over. In front of you. His fat smelly flesh all over her while he enjoyed it the whole time. Probably shoved his cock in all three holes too huh?"
He looks at you with a mixture of fear, hate, and sorrow, while tears fill his eyes. You place the gun in his hand.
"... well anyway, there's one bullet in the gun. Remember, you got one shot, one chance for vengeance, make your choice. Better hide that, here comes Jim."
Jim comes stumbling back in room, while the mayor holds the gun close to himself in a bad attempt to hide it. The stand back waiting to see what happens next.
"... I mean hell I've fucked a few prags when I (hic!) was in prison, but... hey... what have you got there?" Jim asks seeing the mayor holding something, but not able to make it out clearly due to his inebriated state.
Jim gets closer, closer, and then mayor draws on him. He sobers up just long enough to realize he's got a bullet between his eyes.
"... what the fuuuuuuuuck... " Jim says before falling face first on the floor.
"Wow, that was pretty intense, I mean my own life was on the line there! Whew! But I figured you'd kill Jim, too bad it wasn't the right choice on your part." You say punching the mayor in the face and take your pistol back, loading it again.
"Stupid bastard, didn't it occur to you that I'd do the same thing to your wife?"
"No... don't... " he says looking up at you with blood coming from his mouth, as your own curls cruelly upward.
"Just kidding, I wouldn't stick my dick anywhere near Jim has been. Looks like you made the right choice after all!"
You put the mayor out of his misery and shoot him in the face. You then approach the mayor's wife who's still been rocking to herself this whole time. You look at her a little closer.
"Hmm, you must've been very beautiful before this all happened." You remark, caressing her damaged face, before ending her life as well.
Having had your fun, you go and announce you're the leader now. Unfortunately you don't quite have the charisma or imposing physique Jim had, so not everyone is willing to follow. (Ramon and Dan are among the first ones you kill for disobeying you) What ultimately happens is the town becomes a factional warzone where nobody is really in control and the poor Cinderville townsfolk are caught in the middle. Eventually things stabilize and a few of the "heavy weights" carve out their own territories and there's an unstable peace in the town. Fights still break out, but there's never an imbalance of power or advantage for long. (Though, maintaining a hold on the biofuel refinery gives you a little bit of an advantage... )
Four years pass...
Five years have passed since the bombs dropped and you couldn't be happier. You've accomplished more than you ever did in the old world. World War Three was the best thing that ever happened to you. You've been running your own slice of heaven in this hellish world and had the freedom to live out your true nature, which you've done for the past five years.
And now that freedom could be coming to an end.
Recently through rumors and wandering travelers who have the misfortune of finding Cinderville, you've found out that there's a growing organization trying to "tame" the wasteland. They call themselves The Combine. Apparently they're at war with another organization called the Cybernetic Collective and the Combine's been aggressively taking towns and conscripting the citizens to fight in their war. And now they've come to Cinderville.
They arrive in well taken care of vehicles, with better training, better discipline and better weapons. They begin talking to everybody they can. They aren't going to take the entire town by force, no what they intend to do is to back one of the stronger factions to wipe out the rest, and then absorb their puppet into the Combine to have control over the entire town. You're not fooled.
The question just remains is; are you going to ally with them first, or fight this threat to your freedom?
> resist them
You're not going to be some fucking puppet, if you're ever going to control this whole town, you'll do it yourself, in fact you display your feelings about the Combine immediately when their little envoy unit enters your part of the town by telling your followers to shoot them on sight.
Of course killing a few of their number doesn't endear you to them, not that it was supposed to, but unfortunately one of the other town warlords decides to take advantage of the Combine visit and isn't quite as proud as you are.
An all out battle for the town occurs again, and you're not on the winning side as the warlord who sold out to the Combine gains more ground. You vow to do as much damage as you can though, namely by burning down most of your side of the town, killing every non-combatant living under your control there, as well as destroying the biofuel refinery and ultimately fleeing Cinderville. It all comes to a final end though when you make your last stand against Combine soldiers in your old home where you killed your first victims five years ago.
After all the trouble you gave them back at Cinderville, the Combine soldiers don't even attempt a long drawn out shoot out with you. They just start bombarding the place with rockets and grenades.
The entire place is razed to the ground with you in it. |
While you probably could kill this fat fucker, but for now you have to have all the help you can get and no disunity to pull this plan off, so you'll back down for now...
"Hey, I never said I was the leader, I know you are Jim."
"Good. Glad we understand each other."
"So go ahead and tell us what YOU think is the best course of action for this plan."
"Um... well... your strategy sounded pretty good." Jim says predictably
Just as you thought, you're STILL in control, just had to give the fool the appearance that he's still in control.
After taking some supplies you think you'll need and re-trapping your home, you all set off to leave. (You take your van)
In about a day, you arrive around in the area that Dan was talking about, in fact you don't need to look for the raiders; they instantly approach you when they see you coming. It would appear some of them have a few vehicles as well. Jim signals for everyone to halt and he gets off his bike. Ramon and Dan halt near Jim, but don't get off their bikes. You in the meantime grab your hunting rifle and hang in the back a bit, you just hope Jim can pull this shit off, especially since you're greatly outnumbered.
Soon the raiders arrive and stop their own vehicles. The leader steps out of his beat up car, and steps forward. He looks mean enough, like he's been living in the wasteland from day one.
"So, you got any last words, before we fuck you and eat you?" he asks Jim.
"Yeah, I heard you're the pussy ass bitch, who can't even handle a few pigs and some fuckin' vigilantes in Cinderville." Jim replies.
The raider leader's expression gets even meaner looking if such a thing is possible.
"Oh? And I suppose YOU can do a better job you fat tub of shit?" he sneers.
"Sure the fuck can asshole, all I need is more men. In fact I'd say yours would do just fine, so I'd say you'd better just step aside and see a pro in action."
"Don't think so, besides I've already seen a fag get his mouth gang fucked by a bunch of guys."
You sure hope Jim is a better fighter, because he's losing in the battle of snappy comebacks right now. In fact he can't come up with a response, so he just slugs the raider leader instead. You fully expect the shooting to start, but instead the raider leader laughs, pulls out the biggest blade you've ever seen and screams "THIS ONE IS MINE!"
During the fight, you scan all your potential greatest threats and the quickest order to pick them off, in case this all goes south. You're so busy doing that, that you're not really paying attention to the actual fight, which Jim as it turns out, is winning.
After tussling on the ground, slamming into nearby vehicles, punching, kicking and all the rest, Jim finally puts an end to his opponent by shoving his own knife through his throat. Everyone goes silent, and Jim stands up wiping the blood off of himself.
"Alright! Now listen the fuck up! Your previous leader was a lame ass who couldn't get the job done, and that changes right now! We're gonna get fuckin' organized and take that goddamn little town! Might makes fuckin' right! Are ya with me, or are ya gonna go running off like a limp wristed sissy?"
Well, it's a good thing you didn't kill Jim, because these raiders seem to really identify with him and they unanimously accept him as their new leader. You doubt if you would've had that success. You've never been a people person, regardless of who those people might've been, however you are an idea person, and now you move on to your next phase.
After Jim finally gets all the new people to listen, you begin to explain your plan, the problem before is they kept stupidly attacking from one direction, rather than doing the classic "pincer" maneuver and attacking from multiple sides. Using Dan's information, you specifically pick out areas where the most damage can initially be done with the least amount of risk. You point out the spot where there's still an old school being used to teach the children. Take control of that with the kids inside and you've severely reduced most of the townspeople's willingness to fight, which will curb the neighborhood "Charles Bronsons" from helping the police force. In fact you decide to take that job since you want Jim to lead the raiders in the main direct assault force with the cops. Dan and Ramon will be traveling with their own smaller force to attack other parts of the town, spreading out the cops' usually organized force. It's also hoped that the more disreputable elements that Dan mentioned living in the town, will join in the mayhem on your side, or at least against their side.
The raider vehicles themselves are not in the best condition, and most of them are running low on gas, but they'll do for now. You figure if all goes well, the still fuel that you created back at your home, as well as the farming area in the town with the pig and cow shit biofuel can solve those problems later. In fact you specifically mention that NO damage should happen to that area in this attack, though you don't expect them to follow that order.
You don't want to wait long to attack with this bunch, since they have the attention span of a gnat of crack. You have to attack soon when they're all hyped up. You suggest that to Jim, who agrees since he's anxious to get to this dastardly business anyway. In a couple days you're attacking the town as planned. You start on your end first, making a beeline to the school, before the main attack force arrives.
A few of the raiders are in your van itching to start creating some havoc. You stop outside of the school and run inside with your current trigger happy cohorts. A couple of them kill a few kids and you have to remind them you're SUPPOSED to be holding them hostage right now! If the townsfolk don't comply THEN you can start capping the little bastards. You tell them to go and kill the teachers if they want.
In the mean time you take the opportunity to shout from the window to the crowd gathering outside. You tell them that if any of them start trying to defend the town or help the cops, then their kids are going to be killed. To show you're really serious though, you tell one of the raiders to toss a kid out the window. A collective cry goes up from the crowd when the body hits the pavement and their pathetic begging is pleasing to your ears.
You get a few people shooting at you anyway (Obviously not parents) but having a good vantage point and a hunting rifle, you start sniping the idiots who have decided to ignore your threats. A few more kids thrown out the window causes ALL the shooting to stop.
You can hear the sounds of battle from your position; no cops have arrived so you're guessing Jim and the rest are doing their job. You're really enjoying all this chaos you've created, you were just stagnating before the bombs dropped, now in this new world you're free to embrace the darkest part of yourself that always existed, but wasn't allowed the flourish. You love this fucking shit.
Eventually you hear a roar of a motorcycle, followed by the sound of some bottles breaking. You go to check the window and see the crowd outside running and screaming, some of them on fire from the Molotov Cocktails just thrown at them. You also see Ramon shouting up to you.
"Hey! We're winning man! The remaining cops are barricaded in their fucking station, broke the Mayor's legs and dragged him through the street and best of all we got some of the other local punks to join us! There's practically no more resistance left! Its total fucking anarchy man!"
You turn around and begin smiling at the kids you're holding hostage which somehow scares them even more. You pick up a young girl and kiss her hard on the lips and laugh at the fear in her eyes. You then throw her down and tell the raiders with you they can do whatever they want, because you're going to indulge in some pure havoc on your own.
After a couple days and nights of indulging in this activity, Jim finally gets around to settling his new gang down (Which he's inventively called "Jim's Reapers") and wondering about what to do with the town now that he has control over it. He seems to have forgotten already that it was YOU, who orchestrated this. Now that the task has been accomplished perhaps this would be the time to discuss the leadership role again.
Then again, you wonder if you even want to bother. Sure there's the power and such, but there's also the headache of dealing with all these morons on a regular basis and running the town. The "fun" part is over as it were.
> go back home
You don't want any part of this. You indulged in some chaos on a mass scale, killed a bunch of people and now you're done. You don't really want to bother running a town. You leave to go back to your home, a few days later Jim comes by asking you why you left, and you explain, you're a loner by nature and just want to live in solitude for the most part. If you ever desire to go raise some hell, you'll visit Cinderville and bust some heads or something. Jim says he gets it and says you'll always be welcome in Cinderville, as long as you don't get in his way running the place
You tell him that won't be a problem, and then you quickly shove a knife in his throat. Jim gives you a surprised look for a brief second, clutches at his bloody throat, lets out a gurgled hiss and dies. You drag his body inside and chop it up to make a new totem to put outside. You half expect someone to come looking for their new fearless leader, but nobody does, presumably someone else attempted to fill the power vacuum, actually several people did. (Ramon and Dan were among the first to try and fail miserably) Cinderville descends into a chaotic place of constant strife and you go back to waylaying travelers. Though sometimes you take a trip to Cinderville when you want to be "social", but it's mostly to better hone your survival skills, though you also take the opportunity to sadistically murder some of the poor original inhabitants of Cinderville who's lives have become a living hell now. It's like you created your own personal "gym".
Four years pass...
Five years have passed since the bombs dropped and you've enjoyed yourself more or less since it's happened, you have complete independence and freedom to do whatever you want, but as always all things do come to an end.
During your trips to the Cinderville, you've heard about some new organization called The Combine, attempting to "tame" the wasteland. It seems they're in some sort of war with another organization called the Cybernetic Evolution. From what you heard, neither one seems to be a shining beacon of light in this dark world, and that sort of reassures you too. It means that civilization won't be making a come back anytime soon, however it also means they've both been scouring the wasteland for recruits, neither one really asking for permission either. Eventually The Combine arrives in Cinderville. They quickly subdue the disorganized rabble there and place the town under their thumb. Indeed the original inhabitants are happy to put up with the totalitarianism of the Combine after the years of mindless chaos.
The Combine being the paramilitary organization it is, tends to do a lot of scouting and exploration, so you know its only a matter of time before they find you and chances are that they're not going to leave you alone.
> leave
You know when you're out numbered and outgunned, no point in sticking around waiting for them to show up. You pack your stuff, fuel up your van and leave.
You don't get far before your van finally breaks down on a permanent basis. It sucks, but you've learn enough in the past few years to survive on foot in the wilderness, which you do for a few months, until you encounter something you've never dealt with before.
Over the horizon you see some shiny figures approaching, they don't look friendly so you fire upon them immediately. As they get closer, you think they're some sort of robots, maybe cyborgs. This must be the other faction fighting the Combine.
When you realize your bullets aren't doing enough damage, you turn to run, only to have your legs blasted by some sort of laser beam. The smell of your own burnt flesh hits your nose and the sight of your new stumps hits your eyes as the cybernetic soldiers advance on your position. You pass out from the pain.
When you wake up you've been fitted with brand new cybernetic implants and legs. The only things going through your mind are to kill humans and to obey someone called Alex. As it turns out you're a very efficient killing machine, and a key cyborg resulting in the eventual destruction of The Combine. The only problem is in your new "remade" state, you are unable to enjoy any of it.
You exist only to follow orders and follow them mindlessly until the very end when you're finally blown to irreparable scrap and bones during a Combine retreat. |
Obviously they thought they could just stroll in and take shelter here, bad mistake on
their part...
You calmly point the shotgun at the man caught in the trap and blast him before he even notices you. The little boy now really begins screaming, but the woman just becomes silent and falls into shock turning her head in your direction covered in the blood of her husband.
You don't feel sick like you did last time; you do feel an overwhelming sense of power though.
The woman grabs her son's hand and turns to run, but realizes two seconds later that she's only holding on to his hand and the rest of him is lying on the ground, one arm less, from your second blast.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!" the woman screams.
"Because I can, and there's nobody around to stop me." You say and briskly walk over to the woman. After a pathetic struggle you knock her out and drag her into your new home.
After all, you're not sure when you'll get to see another woman again...
A couple days after the incident with the family (and disposing of all three bodies) you begin keeping yourself in better shape. You start exercising regularly, and fixing up your home. You need to be prepared, in case more people ever show up. You MUST defend yourself and your home. You don't get many, but every now and then another poor soul stumbles across your death lair. You're merciless. Soon you begin to arrange the vehicles of your victims to form a semi "wall" around your home and place some grisly totems as "decoration".
A year passes...
You don't get visitors anymore, though that's probably because of the unfriendly image you've projected with all the skulls you've stuck on the spikes outside. Part of you is glad that you aren't being disturbed anymore, but the other part misses the killing. You begin to wonder if you shouldn't start venturing out more, but you'd hate to leave your home.
One day you're awakened by the roar of motorcycles. You've got visitors again, you ready your weapons. As you head upstairs you hear that inevitable "SNAP!" sound followed by screaming. Yet another victim to your traps, though you hear the typical sounds of distress, you also hear some laughter, taunting even, which has got you more curious than anything.
You check through a little peephole you made and see a bunch of biker types, one is lying on the ground, his leg nearly severed by the hidden bear trap. While one is trying to free him, a couple of the others are just laughing and remarking about how it looks like it really hurts.
"AAAAAARGH! AGHHH!"
"Look are you assholes going to help or not?" one of them asks.
"Hey, I told you fuckers not to go traipsing into a place that has skulls stuck on stakes. Y'all should've known it wasn't exactly going to be a friendly place."
"We need fuckin' gas Jim, and this place has a lot of vehicles, and maybe some of them have gas. We had to go check!"
"Well yeah, but that didn't mean just walking around unaware of your surroundings... shit that leg looks bad."
"GET IT OFF! AAAAHHHH!"
"That leg is bad. Even if you did get it off of him, he's probably going to lose it to infection. I wiped my own shit on it, not to mention it was developing a nice set of rust on it when I found it. I'd say his bike riding days are over." You say standing your doorway with your shotgun ready. The bikers look in your direction, one looks like he's going to pull his pistol, but the one called Jim stops him. He's obviously the leader.
"You might be right, stranger, but that still leaves you outnumbered one to three. You sure you wanna take those odds?" Jim says.
"I'll take 'em and I'll enjoy it. It's been a long time since I've killed a whole mess of people."
"Oh, so you're a REAL killer eh?"
"Better killer than you."
"Hah! I doubt that! See me an' the boys here have been raisin' hell where ever we can. Come across a few towns and let's just say we're not real welcome there anymore. It's a brand new world, and only the strong are gonna survive it."
"Yeah? Well it looks like one of your flock isn't so strong now."
"Yeah... well you might be right about that stranger... maybe someone should put him out of his misery. Can't very well ride with one leg, that'd be kind of silly."
The biker trying to help speaks up.
"Oh come on Jim man! Clyde here saved all of our asses about a month ago!"
"Yeah? Well what has he done for us lately? The stranger's right, we gotta put him down, it's the kind thing to do really. You gonna do it, Dan?"
"No... I... mean... well... "
"Pussy. Nevermind. Ramon you gonna do it?"
"Shit yeah! Here hold on, oh fuck." Ramon says pulling out his pistol and then dropping it on the ground. Jim just shakes his head.
"Ramon, its amazing you've even lasted this long with your clumsy ass. Fuck it, I'LL do it."
> kill Clyde yourself, along with the rest of them
Before Jim can do anything, you take the initiative and splatter Clyde all over Ramon, and Dan.
"SHIT! MY BOOTS!" Ramon yells. Dan doesn't say anything, he just falls backwards on his ass, fumbling to get out his own pistol. Another blast near him, stops him from pursuing that line of action though. Jim has pulled out his own weapon and is now pointing it at you. You're not worried.
"Stop talkin' about killin' and just fuckin' do it." You say calmly.
"Oh we're gonna stop talking alright, and the killing will be continuing with YOU!"
"Still talkin'. How about we see how much of a bad ass you claim you are?"
You toss away your shotgun and step out of your home, pulling a big ass knife from a sheath attached to your waist. No don't have any fear whatsoever.
"Holy shit Jim this motherfucker's crazy!" Ramon shouts backing away.
"I don't give a shit, this dickhead wants to play it this way, I'm more than willing to oblige."
Jim tosses his pistol away and pulls out a knife as well, at which point you grab the pistol from your back. You shoot Dan in the head first, knowing that he's currently still the biggest threat, then you quickly shoot Jim in both of his legs.
"ARRGH! FUCK! TREACHEROUS BASTARD!" Jim says holding on to his kneecaps.
"Aww, look at that, looks like you won't be able to ride either; you know what that means... that's right."
"Ramon kill this fucker!" Jim yells, but Ramon's already run off to get on his motorcycle. He manages to get it started and go a couple feet, before your bullets to his back cause him to fall off and dump the bike which skids out of control and slide noisily across the empty road. Ramon's still alive, but he's not going anywhere, you turn your attention back to Jim, who's attempting to retrieve his weapon, but you prevent that from happening with a couple more shots.
Finally you go back over to Ramon's bloody limp body. He begs for his life pitifully.
"Please... don't... shoot... me... "
"I'm not; I've wasted too many bullets on you fucktards this day; I'll be finishing you off with my knife."
Four more bodies. While these types at first seemed like "kindred spirits" they really weren't. They were just more victims. You hack off their heads and put them on stakes as is your routine. You place them a little further from your home this time, as if to stretch out your "domain" a little more.
After this distraction, you go back to your usual solitary existence of talking to yourself and laughing at your own macabre jokes.
4 more years pass...
It's been five years since you embraced your mad hermit ways. Over the years you haven't had many visitors, at least not directly. You started getting bored and began venturing a bit further from your home, not too far though. For the most part you never really found anybody, except the odd bandit, or lone wanderer. You started torturing most of these people before killing them. Not for entirely for pleasure, but more for information, since you began to get curious about what else was going on in the world, or at least in your area, you found most of the information fascinating.
Apparently to a few towns, this area is considered a dangerous area inhabited by mutant cannibals and everyone advises all right thinking people to stay away! Nobody thinks it's just one person killing everyone. Some how that fills you with pride.
However, you also hear about some new organization called The Combine, attempting to "tame" the wasteland. It seems they're in some sort of war with another organization called the Cybernetic Evolution. From what you heard, neither one seems to be a shining beacon of light in this dark world, and that sort of reassures you too. It means that civilization won't be making a come back anytime soon, you LIKE the way things are.
Of course there are drawbacks, to the strongest of the fittest ideology and that's the fact there's usually someone always stronger; one day you get more direct visitors again. This time you're awakened by the sounds of a couple of vehicles and several people. You prepare you weapons and head upstairs, watching from your peephole before acting.
You see a bunch of paramilitary types; they're armed and look a lot more prepared for combat than your past visitors.
"Whoa! Watch that trap Steve! This whole area seems to be filled with them."
"Roger, why the hell are we here anyway? We should be fighting those fucking cyborgs. We've got them on the run!"
"Because Harry said the towns around this area are worried that due to their loss in man power from the current war, they'll be defenseless from the mutant cannibals that live here."
"Since when does Harry give a shit about the Combine citizens?"
"I dunno Leonard; he doesn't... though I have noticed a slight change in his personality ever since he hooked up with Marina. He's slightly less of an asshole now that he's getting some every once in awhile. Shit, I'm glad he sent us here, I was sick of killing cyborgs. Mutants would be a nice change of pace. Probably easier to take out as well."
"I don't even think there's any mutants here. I mean come on, some of you guys went to the city, and other than there and a few of them wandering around the outskirts, have you ever heard of any organized mutant presence anywhere else? It's probably just a really vicious biker gang, look at those bikes over there."
"Well that's a good point Vivica, but I doubt if its simple raiders or bikers. Those types actively attack towns, not linger in one place, though I suppose it's possible."
"You know what I think? I think its just one crazy fucker killing people in the area. I mean look at all the vehicles here. If it was mutants OR raiders, we would've come across some of them by now, and besides, since when do either extensively use traps? Nah, this is some sort serial killer survivalist. He's probably listening to us right... "
You open up the door and blast the current talkative Combine soldier with your shotgun, spraying his skull and brains all over the place.
"RUN!" Robert shouts, as all of them scatter. The one called Leonard scatters in the wrong direction though and falls into a pit trap. From his screams it sounds like the sharpened poles inside didn't kill him immediately.
The Combine soldiers hide behind the various vehicles and fire upon your position, but you've already closed and locked the door at this point, staying low to the ground as bullets begin finding their way into your home.
After the barrage of bullets, things go silent for a moment You look through your peephole only to see them all throwing grenades at your home! You immediately retreat to the backroom of the store, as the grenades explode behind you giving the Combine soldiers a way in.
> descend into your underground lair and ambush them there
You fling open the trap door and quickly climb down; you figure as soon as they attempt to come in after you, you can easily pick them off.
Unfortunately the Combine soldiers are a little too smart for that. They've been fighting cyborgs for so long that their usual response to a tricky situation is throw explosives at it. Which is exactly what they do.
They dump a few more grenades down the hatch, you see them and get cover just in time, but the explosion causes a weakening of the foundation and ultimately causing part of the store to collapse in on itself. Your murderous ways are finally put to an end when a wooden beam falls on your head and the rest of the debris buries your unconscious body forever. |
Before Jim can do anything, you take the initiative and splatter Clyde all over Ramon, and Dan.
"SHIT! MY BOOTS!" Ramon yells. Dan doesn't say anything, he just falls backwards on his ass, fumbling to get out his own pistol. Another blast near him, stops him from pursuing that line of action though. Jim has pulled out his own weapon and is now pointing it at you. You're not worried.
"Stop talkin' about killin' and just fuckin' do it." You say calmly.
"Oh we're gonna stop talking alright, and the killing will be continuing with YOU!"
"Still talkin'. How about we see how much of a bad ass you claim you are?"
You toss away your shotgun and step out of your home, pulling a big ass knife from a sheath attached to your waist. No don't have any fear whatsoever.
"Holy shit Jim this motherfucker's crazy!" Ramon shouts backing away.
"I don't give a shit, this dickhead wants to play it this way, I'm more than willing to oblige."
Jim tosses his pistol away and pulls out a knife as well, at which point you grab the pistol from your back. You shoot Dan in the head first, knowing that he's currently still the biggest threat, then you quickly shoot Jim in both of his legs.
"ARRGH! FUCK! TREACHEROUS BASTARD!" Jim says holding on to his kneecaps.
"Aww, look at that, looks like you won't be able to ride either; you know what that means... that's right."
"Ramon kill this fucker!" Jim yells, but Ramon's already run off to get on his motorcycle. He manages to get it started and go a couple feet, before your bullets to his back cause him to fall off and dump the bike which skids out of control and slide noisily across the empty road. Ramon's still alive, but he's not going anywhere, you turn your attention back to Jim, who's attempting to retrieve his weapon, but you prevent that from happening with a couple more shots.
Finally you go back over to Ramon's bloody limp body. He begs for his life pitifully.
"Please... don't... shoot... me... "
"I'm not; I've wasted too many bullets on you fucktards this day; I'll be finishing you off with my knife."
Four more bodies. While these types at first seemed like "kindred spirits" they really weren't. They were just more victims. You hack off their heads and put them on stakes as is your routine. You place them a little further from your home this time, as if to stretch out your "domain" a little more.
After this distraction, you go back to your usual solitary existence of talking to yourself and laughing at your own macabre jokes.
4 more years pass...
It's been five years since you embraced your mad hermit ways. Over the years you haven't had many visitors, at least not directly. You started getting bored and began venturing a bit further from your home, not too far though. For the most part you never really found anybody, except the odd bandit, or lone wanderer. You started torturing most of these people before killing them. Not for entirely for pleasure, but more for information, since you began to get curious about what else was going on in the world, or at least in your area, you found most of the information fascinating.
Apparently to a few towns, this area is considered a dangerous area inhabited by mutant cannibals and everyone advises all right thinking people to stay away! Nobody thinks it's just one person killing everyone. Some how that fills you with pride.
However, you also hear about some new organization called The Combine, attempting to "tame" the wasteland. It seems they're in some sort of war with another organization called the Cybernetic Evolution. From what you heard, neither one seems to be a shining beacon of light in this dark world, and that sort of reassures you too. It means that civilization won't be making a come back anytime soon, you LIKE the way things are.
Of course there are drawbacks, to the strongest of the fittest ideology and that's the fact there's usually someone always stronger; one day you get more direct visitors again. This time you're awakened by the sounds of a couple of vehicles and several people. You prepare you weapons and head upstairs, watching from your peephole before acting.
You see a bunch of paramilitary types; they're armed and look a lot more prepared for combat than your past visitors.
"Whoa! Watch that trap Steve! This whole area seems to be filled with them."
"Roger, why the hell are we here anyway? We should be fighting those fucking cyborgs. We've got them on the run!"
"Because Harry said the towns around this area are worried that due to their loss in man power from the current war, they'll be defenseless from the mutant cannibals that live here."
"Since when does Harry give a shit about the Combine citizens?"
"I dunno Leonard; he doesn't... though I have noticed a slight change in his personality ever since he hooked up with Marina. He's slightly less of an asshole now that he's getting some every once in awhile. Shit, I'm glad he sent us here, I was sick of killing cyborgs. Mutants would be a nice change of pace. Probably easier to take out as well."
"I don't even think there's any mutants here. I mean come on, some of you guys went to the city, and other than there and a few of them wandering around the outskirts, have you ever heard of any organized mutant presence anywhere else? It's probably just a really vicious biker gang, look at those bikes over there."
"Well that's a good point Vivica, but I doubt if its simple raiders or bikers. Those types actively attack towns, not linger in one place, though I suppose it's possible."
"You know what I think? I think its just one crazy fucker killing people in the area. I mean look at all the vehicles here. If it was mutants OR raiders, we would've come across some of them by now, and besides, since when do either extensively use traps? Nah, this is some sort serial killer survivalist. He's probably listening to us right... "
You open up the door and blast the current talkative Combine soldier with your shotgun, spraying his skull and brains all over the place.
"RUN!" Robert shouts, as all of them scatter. The one called Leonard scatters in the wrong direction though and falls into a pit trap. From his screams it sounds like the sharpened poles inside didn't kill him immediately.
The Combine soldiers hide behind the various vehicles and fire upon your position, but you've already closed and locked the door at this point, staying low to the ground as bullets begin finding their way into your home.
After the barrage of bullets, things go silent for a moment You look through your peephole only to see them all throwing grenades at your home! You immediately retreat to the backroom of the store, as the grenades explode behind you giving the Combine soldiers a way in.
> fight them off right here
Since these fuckers like throwing grenades, going underground would be unwise. You begin hollering in pain like the initial blast injured you.
"Arrrrgh! My arm! Shit! My leg! No!" you shout as loud as you can.
"Get that bastard who killed Reggie! I'm goin' in to finish him off!"
"Hold on get back here! Damn it Steve!"
Steve runs in the store looking around for you through the smoke left from the explosions. He finds you just in time for you blast him in the crotch, you barely have time to take cover yourself, when the rest of the Combine soldiers come blazing away behind him. They toss more grenades into the back room where you're hiding, instinctively you throw one of them back and then jump down the trap door hatch as you narrowly avoid yet another explosion, you also hear a few more yelps of pain, sounds like an explosion got some of them as well.
You still don't feel comfortable being underground like this though, in fact the couple explosions from above, result in some creaking and debris falling. You don't want to be here in case this thing starts collapsing on you. You climb back up and the whole store is smoky now, well what's left of it, half of the front is a gaping hole now exposed to the elements.
You hear a groaning Combine soldier, and pull your pistol to finish him off. This noise draws attention however.
"THERE! SHOOT THE BASTARD!"
A Combine soldier snipes you from afar with a powerful rifle when he catches your movement, still it's smoky so he doesn't get a clear head shot, and only catches you in the shoulder, however you've got really big hole in your arm now. You collapse to the floor and drop your pistol.
"I got him! Vivica! Albert! Go in!" Roger shouts.
You still have some strength left, and you're not going down this easy. You pull out your knife, stand up and charge through the smoke.
"YAAAAAARGH!" you scream and tackle into the first Combine soldier approaching, jamming the knife deep into their stomach and pushing upwards. You look at the face of your victim, it's the female one. You lick her face as the brief flash of life begins to ebb from her eyes.
"Oh shit, that fuckin' gives me a hard on." you whisper to her before she dies.
"Holy Fuck! Shoot him! Shoot him!" Albert screams seeing his comrade killed right next to him.
The other remaining Combine soldiers do fire on you, and you take multiple bullets to the body, before taking once last murderous act of stabbing Albert in the back when he attempted to run from you and get out of the way of the fire of his fellow Combiners.
Finally Roger finishes you off with a clear shot to your head, exploding half of it. Oddly in your transition to death you hear one last thing.
"Holy shit, that was fuckin' brutal. We coulda used a guy like him during the Cyborg siege of Fort Justice!" |
It's always been like you to do things at the last minute.
After grabbing your pistol and all the food and drink you can, then heading down in the basement with it, you think that things probably won't be that bad. After all you don't live in the city, or even by an important city, surely not EVERY place will get bombed. It's not like you live on the east or west coast, now those people are going to be fucked.
No, all you have to do is wait this out, and then things will get back to normal... okay well maybe not normal, but surely the government will restore order of some sort, you're sure they have a complex plan for this kind of thing.
Eventually you hear a very loud noise; whatever light you had on in the basement immediately goes out as you can hear your house being hit by a powerful force. You curl up in a ball and hold your ears half expecting the entire house to collapse in on you, but it doesn't happen.
You stay in the basement, for what you guess to be a week. You mostly stumble around in the darkness as reality begins to set in and destroy your previous delusions. You mainly think about how you should've planned things out better, especially since your food and drink are running out. The only thing you know really know about nuclear attacks is what you've learned from movies, video games and comic books. You can only hope some of that shit was helpful, as you have little choice, but to leave your basement, the bucket you were using to relieve yourself down there was really starting to stink anyway.
You open up your basement door, which remarkably stayed intact, along with most of your house. The windows and other glass objects have all broke, and there's no power, but that's about it. You can only guess that whatever it was that hit, was far enough away and probably very low yield. You don't really want to think about the radioactivity factor though; you'll know if you're catching a lethal dose soon enough if your hair and teeth start falling out and you begin vomiting blood.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
You check the refrigerator again for more food, but there won't be enough to last you one day. You wonder if the water is still working and turn on the faucet, of course it doesn't, you don't think you'd want to risk drinking any of it anyway. Well it looks like you can't stay in your house either; you're going to have to leave to find food and some sort of drinkable liquid.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
Well if you're going to leave, you decide some sort of protection is in order; you grab some dishwashing gloves underneath the sink, some safety goggles you've had since you college chemistry class, a winter coat and finally a scarf your grandmother knit you for one of your birthdays to wrap over your mouth. You look somewhat silly in this getup and it probably won't protect you at all, but you're back to deluding yourself again which is probably a good thing since your relapses into fantasy are keeping you from breaking down completely.
You open your dented garage door and get in your old van expecting it not to work, surprisingly it does. You thought it wouldn't due to all that stuff you remember hearing about EMP waves or something, then again your car was built in a year before they started mounting entire computers in the fucking things, so maybe that's why it still works. You don't know, you're just glad its one of the things you still have that functions, you didn't want to be riding that bike you bought and hardly ever used. You throw your backpack of useful items (flashlight, small tool set, first aid kit, etc) into the van and ponder where to go.
You've got two choices that immediately come to mind assuming both still exist; one is that "Mom & Pop" General Store that was abandoned at least a month ago. You can't imagine they took everything from the place. The other choice is to risk going to the city and finding something there. Despite all the looting and mass exodus that was going on there before any of this went down, the city's still a big place and there's probably lots of useful stuff there, the problem is wondering if you'll be heading into a death zone. That radioactivity concern is still in the back of your mind.
Damn you wish you bought that bomb shelter...
> head to the city
You have no real idea where to go so you head to the City.
You might live in the boonies, but you aren't an outdoorsman. You aren't some survivalist that's been training yourself for this "moment" so it's not like you can just start living off the land, and unless the City was completely flattened by a nuclear bomb, you'll probably still find something there.
As for the radiation factor, you're probably receiving a lethal dose of radiation right now. It's not like you were so far away from blasts that you wouldn't be receiving it, though you try to think back to your Grandfather who was in the army and had to witness some nuclear test blasts back in the old days. He was certainly in the danger zone, and lived a fairly long time. One of the few though.
Hopefully you've inherited that level of resistance, or at least that level of luck.
But unless you find food and water supplies you aren't going to be living long enough to die of the radiation.
You continue your drive to the city, watching the surroundings getting progressively worse looking, You then see the shattered "skeletal" remains of skyscrapers looming in the distance. The city got hit, but apparently by something "small" and probably exploded high in the air. Of course that doesn't make you feel any better. You make a mental note of all the "useful" locations you used to do your shopping. You goal is to go in and grab what you can to sustain you for a long time and leave for some place else.
When you finally reach the city, it feels a little creepy. Everything seems so empty and dead. You have the windows up, but it's not like you wouldn't be able to hear noises if there were any, which there aren't. Just the silent remains of destroyed buildings and vehicle husks. You wonder if any people survived, though you're guessing if they did they won't be in great condition. In fact it's been a week since the attack; survivors might've died by now without medical attention.
Your first stop is the supermarket. You don't have high hopes of finding anything though. You know looting was going on in the city even before the bombs hit, still this IS the reason why you came here, so you enter through one of the big broken floor windows. No lighting inside of course, but the sunlight from outside is providing enough, plus you have your flashlight if you need it. The entire place has an unpleasant odor, but you're guessing it might be rotten food from the meat section and diary section, assuming those sections even have any of those items left.
Oddly you do find that the aisles aren't completely empty. Most of the canned food gone, but there's still a ton of cereal and nothing says you have to eat it with milk! Beef Jerky survives anything as well. You can't believe people didn't take that stuff. There are some soft drinks left in the now non-working freezers. Probably flat and warm as fuck, but again you hardly care at this point. You get yourself a hand basket and start loading up on what you can.
When you get back to your van you finally hear something besides the crunch of debris underneath your own feet and the blowing wind. Its footsteps... several of them.
You then see something you only thought existed in horror movies. These must be the bomb victims you though were dead by now, but it seems they're not dead, or at least you're guessing they're not. A group of them staggers towards youMany of them have a half-crazed appearance and severe radiation burns. Apparently their minds have damaged along with their bodies. Some of them are armed with blunt instruments.
As they approach you, they just looking at you menacingly and start growling, until one of them points at you and shouts in raspy voice.
"MEEEEEEAAAT!"
"Shit! Die motherfuckers!" you shout back, shooting and quickly getting in your van as they hasten their pace towards you.
You manage to drive off, but not before they manage to smash your windshield and both of your side windows. You think you killed a few of them, you saw a few go down when you shot at them, and you know you ran that one over. Of course it's not like you hung around to see if they got back up, but you're pretty sure now they aren't reanimated corpses. Of course that doesn't make this situation any less fucked up or them any less dangerous, since they seemed intent on eating you. You need to get out of the City, but now what appeared previously empty, now appears to be more inhabited then you thought as more of these... things come out of woodwork.
You haven't gotten far, when your van is bombarded by bricks and even fired upon! Some of those bullets hit the wheels causing you to skid out of control. You attempt to regain control of the van, but fail and smash into nearby building. Attempts to restart it also fail, though you don't have that much time anyway as some of these freaks are fast approaching on your position.
You get out of the van with your supply bag and start running. You don't even know where you are right now; you were in such a hurry to get the hell out that you didn't realize you took the wrong streets, now you're in unfamiliar territory and the fact that all the landmarks have been blown to shit doesn't help. Though this looks like some sort of industrial district. You duck into one of the warehouses hoping to lose the freaks.
The place has destroyed sections of the roof. Pallets and empty boxes of varying sizes lie all over the place. You look for someplace more secure to hide just in case, but all you can find that looks suitable is what looks to be a manager's office.
When you enter, the office is also in disarray. You decide to wait here awhile to consider what to do next, during which time you inspect the various papers on the ground. You also remove the silly "protection wear", you're getting hot and it's not going to protect you from anything anyway.
After scanning through many of the documents, most have the insignia of "GZS" on them or Ground Zero Survival, that corporation that was trying to sell people bomb shelters before the war. (One you still wish you bought right now) You didn't even know they had any holdings in the City. Looks like this place shipped a lot of equipment to said Shelters during their building process. No map locations though unfortunately, just a bunch of random shelter numbers. You end up kicking the desk in frustration only to succeed in hurting your foot, and making another discovery.
When your foot moved the desk, you notice it was hiding a trapdoor! Though you wonder what the hell one is doing here. This seems a little weird, but then again the whole situation is weird, so you open it up and climb down.
The first thing you notice is what a long climb it is, the second thing you notice is there's lighting when you reach the bottom, dim, but lighting. The corridor leads to a heavy duty door not to far ahead, so you head that way, but when you go to open the door you find it locked. Before you can shoot the lock you hear a voice on the other side.
"Lisa is that you?" the voice says.
> tell the truth
"Uh, no." you reply
"Who the fuck are you?"
"I'm a survivor like you, I came to the City to get supplies, but I got attacked by some sort of mutant things or something, and I got temporarily trapped here."
"Ha ha! You are one stupid motherfucker then! Why the hell would you come BACK to a bombed out city for ANY reason?" the voice mocks.
"Well why the hell are you here?"
"Business."
"What kind of business?"
"That's for me to know and for you not to know. Now get the fuck outta here, you don't belong here. This is GZS property an' you obviously aren't an employee in any shape or form."
"Can't you let me in?"
"NO!"
"Fuck you! There's a bunch of cannibalistic mutants up there!"
"Shoulda though about that before your stupid ass came to the city."
"Oh fuck this, I'll just blow the handle off the door and..."
"You blow the handle off and I'll blow your head off as soon as you enter through door, though I doubt you will since it's also barricaded and deadbolted from the inside. You ain't getting in here unless you're packing some serious firepower. Better just go away and try to get out of the City before it gets dark."
You shout a few more things at the voice behind the door, but it doesn't reply back, you think about shooting at the door, but you'll probably only be wasting bullets that you'll undoubtly need.
Having no other options you head back to the surface where after making a quick check to see if the coast is clear which it is so you continue your attempt at escape from the city as night begins to fall.
Unfortunately you don't get far before the roving gangs of mutants stumble upon you again; these ones seem even more vicious and organized though. After a short game of shoot and run, eventually they manage to surround and trap you. Sensing that your death is near, you shoot yourself in the head to save yourself the pain of being eaten alive.
The mutants seem disappointed, but they eat you anyway. |
You have no real idea where to go so you head to the City.
You might live in the boonies, but you aren't an outdoorsman. You aren't some survivalist that's been training yourself for this "moment" so it's not like you can just start living off the land, and unless the City was completely flattened by a nuclear bomb, you'll probably still find something there.
As for the radiation factor, you're probably receiving a lethal dose of radiation right now. It's not like you were so far away from blasts that you wouldn't be receiving it, though you try to think back to your Grandfather who was in the army and had to witness some nuclear test blasts back in the old days. He was certainly in the danger zone, and lived a fairly long time. One of the few though.
Hopefully you've inherited that level of resistance, or at least that level of luck.
But unless you find food and water supplies you aren't going to be living long enough to die of the radiation.
You continue your drive to the city, watching the surroundings getting progressively worse looking, You then see the shattered "skeletal" remains of skyscrapers looming in the distance. The city got hit, but apparently by something "small" and probably exploded high in the air. Of course that doesn't make you feel any better. You make a mental note of all the "useful" locations you used to do your shopping. You goal is to go in and grab what you can to sustain you for a long time and leave for some place else.
When you finally reach the city, it feels a little creepy. Everything seems so empty and dead. You have the windows up, but it's not like you wouldn't be able to hear noises if there were any, which there aren't. Just the silent remains of destroyed buildings and vehicle husks. You wonder if any people survived, though you're guessing if they did they won't be in great condition. In fact it's been a week since the attack; survivors might've died by now without medical attention.
Your first stop is the supermarket. You don't have high hopes of finding anything though. You know looting was going on in the city even before the bombs hit, still this IS the reason why you came here, so you enter through one of the big broken floor windows. No lighting inside of course, but the sunlight from outside is providing enough, plus you have your flashlight if you need it. The entire place has an unpleasant odor, but you're guessing it might be rotten food from the meat section and diary section, assuming those sections even have any of those items left.
Oddly you do find that the aisles aren't completely empty. Most of the canned food gone, but there's still a ton of cereal and nothing says you have to eat it with milk! Beef Jerky survives anything as well. You can't believe people didn't take that stuff. There are some soft drinks left in the now non-working freezers. Probably flat and warm as fuck, but again you hardly care at this point. You get yourself a hand basket and start loading up on what you can.
When you get back to your van you finally hear something besides the crunch of debris underneath your own feet and the blowing wind. Its footsteps... several of them.
You then see something you only thought existed in horror movies. These must be the bomb victims you though were dead by now, but it seems they're not dead, or at least you're guessing they're not. A group of them staggers towards youMany of them have a half-crazed appearance and severe radiation burns. Apparently their minds have damaged along with their bodies. Some of them are armed with blunt instruments.
As they approach you, they just looking at you menacingly and start growling, until one of them points at you and shouts in raspy voice.
"MEEEEEEAAAT!"
"Shit! Die motherfuckers!" you shout back, shooting and quickly getting in your van as they hasten their pace towards you.
You manage to drive off, but not before they manage to smash your windshield and both of your side windows. You think you killed a few of them, you saw a few go down when you shot at them, and you know you ran that one over. Of course it's not like you hung around to see if they got back up, but you're pretty sure now they aren't reanimated corpses. Of course that doesn't make this situation any less fucked up or them any less dangerous, since they seemed intent on eating you. You need to get out of the City, but now what appeared previously empty, now appears to be more inhabited then you thought as more of these... things come out of woodwork.
You haven't gotten far, when your van is bombarded by bricks and even fired upon! Some of those bullets hit the wheels causing you to skid out of control. You attempt to regain control of the van, but fail and smash into nearby building. Attempts to restart it also fail, though you don't have that much time anyway as some of these freaks are fast approaching on your position.
You get out of the van with your supply bag and start running. You don't even know where you are right now; you were in such a hurry to get the hell out that you didn't realize you took the wrong streets, now you're in unfamiliar territory and the fact that all the landmarks have been blown to shit doesn't help. Though this looks like some sort of industrial district. You duck into one of the warehouses hoping to lose the freaks.
The place has destroyed sections of the roof. Pallets and empty boxes of varying sizes lie all over the place. You look for someplace more secure to hide just in case, but all you can find that looks suitable is what looks to be a manager's office.
When you enter, the office is also in disarray. You decide to wait here awhile to consider what to do next, during which time you inspect the various papers on the ground. You also remove the silly "protection wear", you're getting hot and it's not going to protect you from anything anyway.
After scanning through many of the documents, most have the insignia of "GZS" on them or Ground Zero Survival, that corporation that was trying to sell people bomb shelters before the war. (One you still wish you bought right now) You didn't even know they had any holdings in the City. Looks like this place shipped a lot of equipment to said Shelters during their building process. No map locations though unfortunately, just a bunch of random shelter numbers. You end up kicking the desk in frustration only to succeed in hurting your foot, and making another discovery.
When your foot moved the desk, you notice it was hiding a trapdoor! Though you wonder what the hell one is doing here. This seems a little weird, but then again the whole situation is weird, so you open it up and climb down.
The first thing you notice is what a long climb it is, the second thing you notice is there's lighting when you reach the bottom, dim, but lighting. The corridor leads to a heavy duty door not to far ahead, so you head that way, but when you go to open the door you find it locked. Before you can shoot the lock you hear a voice on the other side.
"Lisa is that you?" the voice says.
> make up a story
Given the whole suspicious nature of this set up you have a feeling the truth will not help you here; you'll have to bullshit your way it. You try to remember some of the stuff you were reading on the documents upstairs.
"No, I'm from GZS Headquarters, Shipping Division. And I hope you got some answers because there's been a bunch of fucking mistakes in where things were getting transported! Who are YOU?"
"... I'm Owen! What the fuck? I ain't in charge of that! I'm just security!"
"I don't give a shit WHO you are! Where's your supervisor?"
"... I..uh... I guess Lisa is my supervisor, but she's not here!"
"Oh? And where the hell is she? GZS Headquarters is VERY displeased!"
"I don't understand, Lisa wasn't in charge of any kind of shipping. She was an egghead! A researcher! We were down here for... other reasons... but you should know that!"
"LOOK! I work in a cramped fucking office with boring paper work all goddamn day, I don't have a window, someone keeps stealing my stapler, and they don't tell me shit unless it's to scream at my fucking face. I don't care WHY you're here! All I know is; I got my ass chewed out by HQ for someone else's fuck ups! We got Shelters all over the goddamn tri-state area with mixed up equipment during the building process and we're only NOW just finding out about it! You know how BAD that makes us look to our customers? I got sent down here to see if I could find out anything and all I've found out is the goddamn City is crawling with fucking cannibalistic mutants! Now that I've FOUND someone who might have some answers for me, I'm not just gonna dismiss that! So open up the goddamn door and let me in!"
Your act and tone is very convincing of someone who's had to deal with red tape and silly corporate orders. (Though you do know something of them having had to deal with them at your own job in your "old life") obviously the security guard knows about them as well, because he lets you in.
When the door opens up, you see a surprisingly scrawny man. You were expecting someone a little more burly, but he still wields an assault rifle slung around his shoulder making the need for physical strength unnecessary.
"You... you don't look like a GZS employee... shouldn't you be in a suit and tie or something?"
"I'm not gonna be running all over the nuclear wasteland in a hot ass suit and tie! Shit, I swear we hire dumber and dumber security guards each year. Just goes to show even natural selection fails sometimes in the face of near mass extinction. So where the hell is this Lisa?" you ask walking past him and noticing the well lit room and its sterile appearance. Some sort of generator sits in a corner giving off a low hum.
"I told you she's not here; she went to the surface again. She should be back soon." The security guard says still eyeing you suspiciously.
"Again? Why's she going up there in the first place? Ain't nothing left up there."
"You're telling me. I went up once and nearly got myself killed. Since then Lisa says she'd rather me stay guard here and not get in the way of here so called research. Fine by me."
"I still don't understand, what's this research?"
"Uh... well... um... it's supposed to be a secret. I'm really surprised you being from HQ that you don't know about it... "
"I told you, I get BURIED in paperwork, and they don't tell me shit. I mean I've heard things here and there, but I don't know what else was going on here."
"Well... I guess it really doesn't matter now... I mean what's done is done and HQ probably should know anyway... okay well you know how GZS has dealings with the military and the government and shit right?"
"Sure."
"Well it's something like that going on, but I don't know the intricate details about it, just what I know from Lisa, but I guess GZS was trying to develop some sort of radiation drug, y'know something to make the body immune to the shit."
"That does sound pretty useful, but this place doesn't exactly look like a complex lab for doing something like that."
"Oh, its not. This is just a research outpost as it were. The real drug was made somewhere else, but it needed to be tested right? So they decided to test it here, a batch of it got dumped in the water supply months before the bombs hit. The idea is that the survivors of the initial blast would still be able to live and not get cancer, sterility or tumors and all that other bad shit that radiation causes. So even people caught in the cities would survive and be able to eventually rebuild and get civilization up and running again. I think they wanted to dump the drug into ALL the major cities, but it looks like world war three happened sooner than they though eh?"
What you just heard sounds like some sort of science fiction tale! Then again being the cynic you are, you can't say you're completely surprised by it. Though now you have a more important question.
"Okay, but if that was the intention... what's with all the mutants in the City trying to eat me?"
"Uh... well... I guess it didn't work the way it should've? That's sort of why Lisa and me were still here. Lisa was supposed to record the results of the drug after the bombs hit and that's what she's been doing. Lisa says the drugs are affecting people's minds, and combined with the already fucked up situation I'd say it probably explains a lot already. Though I gotta say there was some pretty bad rioting even before the bombs dropped so I wonder if the drug was starting to affect the minds of people even then... but that's silly I mean me and Lisa haven't been affected by it at all, I dunno."
"YOU and her drank the water too?"
"Well yeah, our personal water recycling system has it. I mean if we were going to be here, we damn well had to be pretty resistant to radiation... wait a minute I just realized something... you mean GZS sent you down here without this knowledge? Oh shit! You realize how many rads you've probably soaked up without the drug's protection? Oh man, you were right! They must hate your guts at HQ! Ha ha ha ha ha! Sucks to be you!" Owen laughs uncontrollably
"Yeah, yeah... "
"Man, I mean shit! They pretty much sent you to die! I mean really why the hell would they worry about whether shelters got the right equipment shipments now for anyway? GZS already got their money, did you actually think they were going to go send someone personally to each shelter correct the mistakes? They were already built man! Use your head!"
"Uh huh, so... "
"Ha ha ha ha! I mean damn, you work in shipping, GZS fucking up shouldn't even be news to you! Look at what happened with this goddamn anti-radiation drug! I mean what asshole fucking moron thought up those shelter elevator designs?"
"Why what's wrong with the elevator designs?" you ask innocently, which suddenly puts Owen in a less jovial mood, he begins to get suspicious again.
"Something ain't right here... anyone who works for GZS knows how idiotic the computerized shelter elevator set up is. People got fired for that one. Why hell why do you think WE have a ladder? You claim you're from HQ and you don't know? I don't care HOW much you say you're out of the loop... I'm a lowly security guard and even I heard about the fucked up elevator designs!"
Owen goes for his assault rifle slung on his shoulder, and you charge slamming him into the wall with an elbow to his face. You then pistol whip him a couple times before taking his rifle away from him. He holds on to his bloody face looking at you.
"Ughhhh, shit... my face... " he groans.
"Okay look, I was probably wrong for lying about working for GZS and... "
"Fuck you... you goddamn piece of shit... "
"HEY! Asshole! I'm the one with the gun here! Now I don't want to kill you, but... "
Owen unsuccessfully tries to grab his rifle back, you kick him back down.
"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? I nearly shot you, dumb fuck! I'd probably be able to kick your ass even without these guns, so you better just calm... "
Owen once again attempts to attack you, this time you butt him with the rifle hard, and kick him out the door then lock it.
"Fuck you then asshole! Let the mutants eat you!" you shout, you expect to hear banging on the door, or even pleading, but you don't hear anything. After a few hours pass, you open up the door, and Owen is gone. You close the door back up and explore your surroundings a bit more.
There's not much to explore though, just two simple bedrooms, an eating area, bathroom and the "living area" which you're already familiar with. The generator provides power, and a water recycling system provides water. Looks like there's some sort of food dispensing system as well, though what it dispenses isn't particularly tasty. You could be set up here for awhile if you wanted to be, though perhaps you just want somewhere to rest first before getting out of the city.
> leave the city
You don't really want to stick around here any longer than you have to, so as soon as you're rested up, you're going to leave in the morning.
You think about what Owen said about the water supply and the anti-radiation drugs in it then you think about what happened to a majority of the survivors. It didn't seem to do them any good, so you decide not to risk drinking any of the water or taking any with you. You also wonder about Owen's supervisor Lisa. He did say she was supposed to return soon, you form some ideas on how to handle the situation, but as it turns out, she never does. Probably got killed no doubt.
The next morning you leave. You half expect Owen to be waiting to ambush you, but he's completely gone. After making sure the coast is clear you get your bearings again, and make haste for leaving the City. Luckily you have no further encounters, and you're just a little bit safer for leaving the City of course now there's the problem of find another stretch of civilization, but you think you have enough supplies.
A few days go by and you eventually do stumble upon a small town. Its more like a ghost town actually, barely anyone lives there, but that suits you just fine after having to deal with mutant cannibals.
You take residence in one of the abandoned houses, you figure it's going to be temporary before you move on in the future, but you're starting not to feel too well so you stick around. About a month passes and you feel tired all the time, you get the shakes pretty bad, and soon, you start vomiting blood, then there's the hair loss...
You lie on the dirty bed in the house lamenting how ill prepared you really were for all this and the bad decisions you chose that made it worse.
You can't go on waiting for the end, you're in hell right now, and a quick death would be a welcome release. You get the idea to shoot yourself, but you're so weak now that you merely collapse when you try to reach for your pistol, however as it turns out your wish is shortly granted during this time when you also fall unconsciousness and lapse into a coma.
Death soon follows. |
You see where this is going; the Zeropolis Guard is fully intent on their delusional plan and they're going to be the top assholes in this area, so you might as well join them to reap the benefits. It's better than being at their complete mercy and it's certainly better than living in fear of the Shadow Horde, at least the Guard seems to want to restore order.
The next day you go find Captain Salazar who is pretty easy to find since he's currently giving speeches in the streets to the Dust District inhabitants of how they should actively join the Zeropolis Guard. Not too many takers, but none of them are in any position to argue with the occupation. When you go up to Salazar to tell him you're interested in joining, he's pleased to just have someone taking him up on his offer.
Of course he wants to know more about you and where you're currently staying, and you do tell him about the warehouse, just not about the secret GZS rooms underneath. He's a little bewildered of why you're staying there rather than a proper house in one of the neighborhoods, or even your own house. To this you reply that you used to live in one of the Downtown apartments, and couldn't live there anymore due to the danger. You mention during your time of madness you ended up wandering this way and just took up residence there and now even though you're better, you've made it your home and feel comfortable at that place. You also go on to say that you prefer to be away from large crowds of people.
Captain Salazar frowns at that last statement.
"Y'know we are a military unit, teamwork is encouraged here... though I suppose we need all the help we can get right now, so I guess you'll be on scouting duty. Maybe if you prove yourself, I'll put you on sniper duty. As for your living arrangements... I guess you can stay there. That area is pretty empty and there isn't anything there except a few warehouses, we're more interested in the plant and factory. However it's the perfect place where the Shadow Horde might stage a sneak attack from due to its remoteness. So consider yourself the sentry in that area. I wish we could use our radios, but the radiation levels here... well are sort of screwing up the signals. We've been trying to train messenger rats, but so far the little furry bastards just run off to the nearest source of food, so you'll be reporting to me personally every two days where I'll either give you new instructions or tell you to continue what you're doing. Unless I hear otherwise and you don't report, I'll give you one more day and then I'll assume you're either dead or have deserted. If you're dead then you're dead, but if I find out you've deserted, my wrath will be terrible, and you'll wish you were dead."
"Okay, but what if I was captured?"
"Ha ha ha ha! You're joking right? Not really much of a chance of that happening. Ferals just kill, and the Shadow Horde might capture you, but they won't let you live afterwards. I trust you won't let yourself get captured then right?"
"Guess not."
"Good. Let's see, what can you do... I got everyone else working on other things, right now we're tracking down all the sewer manholes in the area and shoving the remains of cars on top of them. Others have been sent to raid nearby police stations in the hopes of finding more weapons and ammo. Okay what you'll be doing is scouting and clearing out the factory; we've discovered that all the Feral activity in the area has been coming from those places. At least that's where we've seen them all run off to, you can go retrieve your assault rifle seeing as I haven't given it to anyone else yet."
"Am I working by myself, or with others?"
"Well from the impression of getting, you'd probably prefer working alone, but that's simply too dangerous for what I'm sending you in to do, you'll need someone watching your back, so I'm sure you're familiar with Private Ackman here... "
You then see the soldier who kicked you yesterday. He doesn't look any friendlier and just nods at you.
"There will be other small detachments exploring various parts of the factory as well so more ground can be covered, but for the most part you two are on your own. Dimissed."
You and Ackman go carry out the mission in relative silence. Private Ackman doesn't seem to care for you, or at best he doesn't want talk to you unless it's absolutely necessary. This doesn't really bother you though since he is a good fighter, and is making this mission a lot easier. The factory is a huge place though even in its current devastated state; there are several sections, multiple levels and it covers a lot of land. It's going to take awhile.
After a few months of factory clearing you and Ackman have the highest Feral body count so far, and their attacks on the Dust District are becoming non-existent. Due to this accomplishment, many of the inhabitants have a little more confidence in the Zeropolis Guard and as a result more people have volunteer to help, either by joining directly or by attempting to fix the power plant. Shadow Horde attacks occur sometimes, but even those aren't as frequent. Zeropolis is a big place, and presumably they've turned their attention to easier areas.
Four years pass...
It's been five years since you set foot in Zeropolis, and the place has changed quite a bit, well in your area anyway.
Most of the factory has been safely stripped to help rebuild the district. The nearby plant has parts of it fixed and partial electricity has been restored to the district as well. Feral attacks are completely unheard of in the area now, they've either all been killed, or in a few cases, managed to retain their sanity again.
The Zeropolis Guard has firm control of the area and has been attempting to restore a few old vehicles to work again mainly using jury-rigged steam engines, though the many stills created to make hooch certainly serve the same purpose to create "Garbage fuel" as it were for vehicles. Oddly one thing that has surprised everyone is that new mutants are actually being born! Not many, but it still came as a surprise when one of the female mutants found out she was pregnant, when it was assumed everyone would've been sterile due to the radiation, but then again the fact that you're all still alive is proving that you're all working on a different biological level now.
You've risen in rank with your superior sniping skills, and saving others you've effectively become second in command. You're looked upon as sort of a "hero" figure among the Dust District.
The Shadow Horde is still around, but attacks have less frequent. This perpetual war with them is basically at a standstill. The Zeropolis Guard has many more resources, but not nearly enough people. Captain Salazar is irritated by this fact, but there's not much he can do about it. His big idea of bringing order to the entire City is slowly being crushed as he realizes this might never be possible. In desperation he's sent a few people OUT of Zeropolis in the hopes of somehow getting help, but so far all his efforts have resulted in failure. People don't like or trust mutant, and it's mainly due to another organization attempting to "tame the wasteland" known as The Combine. With most of the outside towns under their control, they've developed "a shoot mutants from the City on sight" policy. Salazar's behavior which was at one time just pleasantly dedicated is now becoming obsessively totalitarian.
However, you're standing by your warehouse home one day when you see some outsiders visit Zeropolis. They aren't entirely human though, they look like cyborgs. Which would explain why they have no rad suits.
There have been reports of The Combine currently at war with their own enemy called the Cybernetic Evolution. You're not sure what it's all about, but you're guessing they probably see themselves as superior to humans. (You've seen enough movies in the past to know that's always the case!)
You can't imagine what they'd be doing here, unless they intend on proving themselves superior to mutants as well. There aren't many of them, but most of them are heavily armed.
> open up dialogue
You wonder if you've lost your mind again, because you can't believe you're even considering this...
"Hey! Uh, hello! This is Zeropolis Guard territory! What do you want?" you call out to the group of cyborgs. One of them briefly talks to its heavier armed brethren and then steps forward to meet you; it's a female, mostly human looking cyborg. She's sort of cute, well cuter than what you're used to around here anyway.
"Yes, greetings. I am AVA-93, former human remade, emissary prototype, from the Cybernetic Evolution." She says unemotionally.
"Prototype?"
"Yes, I am one of a kind. The Cybernetic Evolution typically does not believe in wasting time with words. We prefer a more direct course of action as we are attempting to remake humanity to a higher state of evolution."
"I see... so what purpose do you serve then since you guys tend to shoot first and ask questions later?"
"Why to make contact with you mutants of course. The Cybernetic Evolution is currently at war with a human organization called the Combine. They refuse to see the light, are a committed foe and greatly outnumber us. So we must find every means available to defeat them. We have heard that mutants are victims of human prejudices and that you are typically shot on sight when found outside the City."
"Well I suppose you could say that, though I can sort of see why they might be suspicious of us, many of us aren't exactly friendly types."
"Yes, I have heard that most mutants are completely hostile, I am surprised to see the amount of organization you have shown as I thought this was not the case."
"Around here, we're the exception rather than the norm, so what did you have in mind?"
"An alliance of course. We would like you to help us destroy The Combine."
"Whoa, hold on there. I'm not exactly in charge of this place; you'll have to talk with Captain Salazar, as he runs the Zeropolis Guard. There's also the fact that we're in a war ourselves with a group of mutants that outnumber us, we wouldn't be able to help much. Then there's the whole fact... "
You hesitate, but AVA-93 demands that you continue.
"Yes?"
"Well there's that fact that if you're trying remake humans into cyborgs, what happens after you defeat all the humans? Will you try to remake us as well?"
"A thoughtful question. At the present time, you mutants are not suitable candidates for remaking, though what the future holds is unknown. However you can be rest assured that if we ally we will never attack you as long as we are at war with The Combine."
That answer doesn't really make you want to suddenly be their friend, though it was an honest answer. The only thing you can think of is let Captain Salazar decide how he wants to handle this, so you take AVA and the rest to see him.
During the talks Salazar doesn't seem very concerned about what might happen in the future so much as what an alliance can do for him now. AVA mentions that they can supply him with their own high tech weapons to help in the war with the Shadow Horde, if the Zeropolis Guard starts raiding nearby Combine towns. He immediately agrees, and AVA leaves explaining that the first shipment will arrive as soon in the mean time they want an attack launched on the Combine immediately.
You advise strongly against this course of action. The Shadow Horde hasn't even been attacking in large groups like it once did. You don't like the idea of fighting a two front war and spreading your strength so thin, and you still don't like the idea of allying with a bunch of cyborgs with a superiority complex. Salazar doesn't want to hear it though; his vendetta against the Shadow Horde is too great. He wants them gone and is willing to do anything for the chance. In fact he's pissed off at you for advising against it, so he says he's sending YOU along with a few others to start attacking the Combine towns!
You leave Zeropolis for the first time in five years; it's very odd to you. Everything seems different, like cleaner. Even the air seems fresher. You almost feel like you don't belong here anymore, the others traveling with you feel the same way. Soon you approach a nearby town; of course you stay away for awhile plotting of how to approach this situation.
Over the course of a few months you organize successful raids on Combine towns, mostly at night, taking advantage of your night vision. (Which seems perfect at this point)
While you do feel superior to them, you don't have any particular hatred for humans; this is just job to you, nothing more. You don't have too much resistance for the most part. Most of the Combine force is holding off the Cybernetic Evolution. But you do lose people under your command, some through the attacks, but some due to being called back to Zeropolis. Apparently the Captain is having a lot more difficulty than he thought when he started sending troops down into the sewers to take the fight to the Shadow Horde. Eventually you're all by yourself! In fact you're wondering why Captain Salazar hasn't called you back since you're his second in command, you know he was pissed at you, but if he's calling everyone else back, why not you?
At this point you can't even really do too much, except maybe hang out in the wilderness sniping the occasional Combine citizen or soldier. In fact given this situation, you get the feeling he's pretty much abandoned you.
Maybe you should just leave. It's not like you couldn't survive out here. Your time in Zeropolis has made you better in everyway. You could even withstand long periods of food and water if need be. (Though lately you've been eating the mutant wildlife and drinking their blood to sustain you, so it isn't really a problem)
> wait awhile
You figure you'll give it some time; you're not in a hurry to go anywhere.
A week later and you wake up to a little mutant getting ready to push you to see if you're awake, you immediately wake before he can do anything, slam him to the ground and put your knife to his throat.
"Hey! Stop! I'm on your side!" he gasps.
"Oh? What the hell are you doing here? Did the Captain finally decide to send me some help again?"
"The Captain's dead!"
"He's fuckin' dead?"
"Yeah! He got assassinated by some big ass motherfucker! Anyway that's why I was sent to get you! You're next in line to take charge."
"Wow. I would've thought someone would've just taken power themselves and left me to rot out here."
"Well, I think a couple of people had that idea... but then they realized the job wasn't worth it. The Shadow Horde has been taking the offensive ever since Captain Salazar insisted on pursuing them in their sewers. We need a leader to get us out of this mess and you're the only one we have!"
See you knew no good was going to come of this.
"Alright, let's see how much shit we're in... "
You make your way back to Zeropolis and the Dust District is showing signs of battle, which is difficult to do since the place was a wreck to begin with. Dead bodies are being moved out of the street and the people look hopeful that you can somehow get them out of this mess.
First thing you do is order a complete pull out of the sewers and reinforce your defenses in the Dust District. There's no point in pursuing an enemy that's lived in the damn sewers for years and knows them like the backs of their hands. Right now you need to regroup after the losses Salazar has incurred due to his recklessness.
Second thing you do is order no more attacks on Combine towns, you can't afford the man power and you didn't like allying with the Cybernetic Evolution anyway. However, another shipment of weapons was already on its way when you enact this order. The cyborgs who arrive wonder why they haven't heard any reports of mutants attacking the Combine. Seeing that this alliance is over anyway. You immediately have the cyborgs killed (Which is easier than you thought it would be) and keep the weapons to help your own struggle.
A couple more cyborgs arrive a month later probably to investigate what happened to their fellows, and you have them killed as well. Your hope is that the CE will think they're losing them to Combine ambushes and will eventually just forget about you. And apparently they do because no more cyborgs are sent. You just hope the CE doesn't win against The Combine.
Eventually you manage to restore relative safety to the Dust District, its not safe like it once was though, but at least it isn't on the brink of disaster due to Salazar's mad plan. Being in charge isn't exactly a fun job, and its obvious why to as why nobody wanted to do it. Still the people see you as a savior of sorts and generally like you as a leader.
The warehouse that you live in, has been converted into the new head quarters, though you still live in the secret underground part that only you have access to... well at least you thought you did.
One night you wake up in your room to a very pale woman by your bed. Obviously she's a mutant, but she's somehow managed to avoid the ugliness and scaring that goes along with it, though she does have part of her face covered. She holds a pistol, but seems to be inspecting the place more than paying any attention to you.
"Boy this was so long ago and another life time... please don't go for your gun, I'm here to talk... my, you are a pretty one. Almost human looking... almost." she says finally paying attention to you.
"How the hell did you get past the guards?" you answer calculating how quickly you might be able to reach her before she can get off a shot.
"This war between our respective groups has taken a toll on both of us for quite sometime... I would ask that we finally have peace." She says ignoring your question.
You gather she's from the Shadow Horde, though you've never seen one like her. She's not brimming with muscles or trying to rip your head off for one thing. (And somehow she actually smells nice and unsewer like!) She is exuding a weird aura though, like you have a great desire to follow whatever she says. It's difficult to shake off these effects, but you try to keep a level head.
"Peace? You're ones always coming out at night to eat people! We were just trying to defend ourselves!"
"... yes I have come to understand that now... and I appreciate your desire to exist. You have held out against us for years and accomplished much within that time. However I would say that your most recent attack on us was most definitely equally as brutal. You came into our sewers... our home and murdered innocent women and children, decreasing the ranks of our future warriors and birth givers. You came in using weapons of unparalleled power and destruction, unleashing blinding rays of light, incinerating at a touch."
"Yeah, well like I said, YOU started it... however that recent attack wasn't my idea. I thought we shouldn't spread ourselves out so thin."
"Yes, I'm aware of that, your Captain Salazar is dead and you have taken his place, which is why I feel I can talk to you about coming to you about putting an end to this conflict once and for all. I know of your deeds and you seem to be a lot more rational and reasonable than your predecessor. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that this conflict is only going to harm us in the long run. We have to think about the future. The future of mutant kind relies on us no longer fighting each other. I thought survival of the fittest was enough when I first embraced my evolution, I believed that only the strong should be allowed to rule... but now I see that isn't enough if we wish to thrive, we have to unite."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"Oh come on, you know that we're the next stage of evolution. Humanity is the past, we're the future."
"Hmmm, I think I know some cyborgs that feel the same way."
"Ah yes your cybernetic allies who you temporarily allied with, only to ruthlessly back stab later. Obviously they aren't the future if they needed your help to defeat some humans. Listen to me, this City just isn't divided between the Zeropolis Guard and the Shadow Horde you know... there are other factions. You just never come on conflict with them because you're sectioned off in one corner of the City constantly fighting us and never able to spread out effectively. All these factions fight each other and that's not counting the Ferals. I'm proposing that we could take the first steps in truly uniting Zeropolis. We could first approach in friendship, and if that regrettably failed, we could take by force. Who could stop us? The Shadow Horde has a higher birth rate and the numbers, while the Zeropolis Guard has the resources. You'd attack on the surface and we could attack from below. We could rebuild the world in our image."
This rant is followed by her putting down her pistol, climbing on to your bed and seductively crawling closer to you, while taking off her strange protective mask revealing that the rest of her face isn't all scarred or mutated either. You feel really compelled to give in to her, and it's not just the fact that it's been awhile since you've been with a "human looking" chick. It's whatever aura she's exuding. It must be some sort of weird mutant ability she developed, but even though you're aware of it, that doesn't make it any less likely for you to want to resist. She's making a point you haven't considered before... you're in a position of power, why not use it effectively?
Her face is an inch away from yours and the only thing you can sputter is...
"What's your name?"
"I'm known as the Queen by the Horde, but you can call me Lisa." She replies before kissing you passionately.
> give in
You have no desire to resist her advances and you totally give in to consummate this new alliance in a very special way...
Afterwards you and Lisa get to know one another a little better. It's funny that she finally returned to the GZS research outpost after all these years. At the time you were kicking Owen's ass to take refuge here, she was attacked and nearly killed by Ferals and had to hide for several days struggling to survive. She mentions how she nearly died, how she got sick, how she came to accept the changes in her body, and how she managed to unite the sewer dwelling mutants.
You and Lisa talk about how you do both feel a sense of superiority to humanity, though it would seem Lisa has felt this way for a lot longer than you have and has stronger feelings about it, whereas you never really thought about it until you were actually killing Combine members. Indeed she does have a stronger feeling of only the strong should survive mindset, though that might be due to the harder path she had when trying to survive during those first few years.
You and Lisa begin to make plans for unifying Zeropolis. It isn't widely accepted at first, as there are hard feelings on both sides. Your side is willing to stop the fighting, but their a little leery of an alliance. However, your standing is good so you don't suffer outright rebellion, just a lot of grumbling. Lisa's side is even less receptive; you honestly don't know how she manages to keep those big hideous freaks in line even if she does have mutant pheromones and a strong force of will. As it turns out, the Shadow Horde for the first time splits and bickers among itself. Lisa manages to keep control of most of it, but not without an underground civil war.
After all the smoke clears, the Shadow Horde and the Zeropolis Guard (Which you've renamed the Zeropolis Legion) maintain a shaky alliance.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since you decided that going to the City would be a great place to find supplies...
Unification of Zeropolis has been going as planned, but its still slow going. Most of the Ferals still alive have managed to overcome their relentless need for violence and food, but that doesn't mean they are any nicer. The Shadow Horde has more success with those types as great display of strength, intimidation and fear work well. On your end you've managed to employ more peaceful means of incorporating the less hostile groups of mutants, such as restoring power to their areas and rebuilding. (The messenger rat system for long range communication even works well now)
You and Lisa could be considered "together" but it's a distant relationship. She runs her part, you run your part and every now and then you get together. She has some sort of feelings for you, but she's very much in her own world sometimes. Though the same could be said for you, but you do have feelings for her as well.
Lisa has also had your child. (Predictably 9 months after your "agreement" to the alliance.) A son, though you don't get to see him too much, mainly because Lisa wants him to be closer to her. In fact you get the impression one of the reasons she had sex with you was in order to have a fairly "normal" looking child. She called him Adonis. It would seem that for all her talk on mutant supremacy, she still holds the "human" standard of beauty in high regard, (though to be honest so do you!) She's already training him to be self-sufficient with minor "tests" she sets up in the sewers; however despite this rather harsh training Lisa is very protective of Adonis.
The main faction standing in the way is one that has somehow gained momentum relatively recently over the last few years. A cult of mutants called the Glow Children, have taken over a great portion of Zeropolis through their weird faith. They follow a leader calling themselves the Savior. In your experience, groups with any type of religious faith behind them are never willing to negotiate and they aren't an exception. They are utterly fanatical and devoted to their cause. They also engage in attacks from the sewers as well, causing you to believe that ex-Shadow Horde members fill their ranks. They've made their headquarters (or Cathedral as it were) at the old hospital.
You and Lisa are supposed to meet tonight with the rest of your respective cabinet tonight to determine how to best approach the Glow Children problem. You're walking out of your headquarters with your guards when from out of the street a very very LARGE creature appears with the biggest fucking gun you've ever seen. Its resemblance to humanity is superficial even by Shadow Horde standards. You haven't seen ANYTHING like this before.
"Goddamn it Lisa what the fuck are your people doing!? You're supposed to be defending that area!" you yell to yourself ducking back inside your headquarters and lying flat. The creature's weapon rips through the door and the walls, killing many of your men. You hear gun fire outside followed by screams.
You know damn well it's probably going to laugh at normal weapons so you run to grab those old CE weapons you haven't used since the Alliance. Time to use those plasma guns again.
The creature breaks through the remaining bit of wall ignoring the bullets flying into its back, a Shadow Horde member presumably coming from the sewers jumps on it and stabs it in the head, but the giant aberration only grabs him and breaks his neck with a squeeze of his own enormous hand and throws the lifeless body through the nearby wall. You've never seen a Shadow Horde member treated like such a mere annoyance, and for once in a long time you really are scared.
You grab a plasma gun while the creature is still preoccupied with your guards doing their best to bring it down and that's when you fire a hot bolt of plasma into its massive body, again, again, and again, until the damn weapon overheats and burns your hands, causing you drop it. Fortunately you've melted enough of its internal anatomy to cause it to finally collapse and die.
"Alright what the fuck IS that thing?!" you shout wincing from the pain in your hands.
"It's a fucking big ass freak, that's what it is." One your men says. "You don't think it's a Horde member do you? You think they... "
"No, no, shit I hope not. Besides I just saw it kill a Horde member with its bare hands like it was nothing, never seen that before. Might've been an Ex-horde member at one time though."
Another one of your soldiers comes in through the hole in the wall and has more news for you.
"Just got word from one of the horde, they got a similar attack on their Queen. Don't worry though, she's alive and so is your son. She said she'll be arriving soon."
That relieves you on several levels; you were sort of worried about them even if you all aren't exactly a proper family unit. You and some of the others inspect the body of the fallen creature. Damn thing is huge, but what disturbs you more is the fact you're seeing cybernetic implants... not to mention its weapon is pretty high tech stuff, similar to the same ones you received from the Cybernetic Evolution...
"Oh shit, we got cyborg mutants." You say.
"What? But how? I mean... last we heard The Combine won that war. Just barely, but they won." One of your soldiers replies.
"Yeah, well it looks like there were survivors and they probably want revenge on us and what better way of doing that then by helping our enemies? (Sigh) the only good thing is that they can't possibly be able to have access to a lot of this high tech stuff anymore; they don't even have the means of manufacturing it since we own the factories. They're probably just using scraps and pieces they managed to take with them after the beat down they suffered from the hands of the Combine."
Though those "scraps and pieces" can still do a lot of damage, and that's not even counting the regular fanatical cultists. You'll really have to get this attack plan with Lisa organized quickly. Suddenly you hear MORE sounds of battle! The Glow Children have sent more of their suicidal attackers to wreak havoc in your territory, most likely attempting to get to you though. Your guards suggest you descend down into you private quarters for protection, until Lisa arrives.
> wait in your quarters
It won't do anyone any good if you're dead so you decide to follow your guards' advice and enter your quarters. Should at least be safe down there.
At least that's what you think. When you enter your living area, you're immediately attacked by another hidden assassin! He stabs you several times before you throw him off of you. You weakly pull your pistol and blast the mutant cultist several times, but he absolutely refuses to die!
"FOR THE SAVIOR!" he screams and finishes you off by shoving his knife in your throat, before he dies. |
You have no desire to resist her advances and you totally give in to consummate this new alliance in a very special way...
Afterwards you and Lisa get to know one another a little better. It's funny that she finally returned to the GZS research outpost after all these years. At the time you were kicking Owen's ass to take refuge here, she was attacked and nearly killed by Ferals and had to hide for several days struggling to survive. She mentions how she nearly died, how she got sick, how she came to accept the changes in her body, and how she managed to unite the sewer dwelling mutants.
You and Lisa talk about how you do both feel a sense of superiority to humanity, though it would seem Lisa has felt this way for a lot longer than you have and has stronger feelings about it, whereas you never really thought about it until you were actually killing Combine members. Indeed she does have a stronger feeling of only the strong should survive mindset, though that might be due to the harder path she had when trying to survive during those first few years.
You and Lisa begin to make plans for unifying Zeropolis. It isn't widely accepted at first, as there are hard feelings on both sides. Your side is willing to stop the fighting, but their a little leery of an alliance. However, your standing is good so you don't suffer outright rebellion, just a lot of grumbling. Lisa's side is even less receptive; you honestly don't know how she manages to keep those big hideous freaks in line even if she does have mutant pheromones and a strong force of will. As it turns out, the Shadow Horde for the first time splits and bickers among itself. Lisa manages to keep control of most of it, but not without an underground civil war.
After all the smoke clears, the Shadow Horde and the Zeropolis Guard (Which you've renamed the Zeropolis Legion) maintain a shaky alliance.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since you decided that going to the City would be a great place to find supplies...
Unification of Zeropolis has been going as planned, but its still slow going. Most of the Ferals still alive have managed to overcome their relentless need for violence and food, but that doesn't mean they are any nicer. The Shadow Horde has more success with those types as great display of strength, intimidation and fear work well. On your end you've managed to employ more peaceful means of incorporating the less hostile groups of mutants, such as restoring power to their areas and rebuilding. (The messenger rat system for long range communication even works well now)
You and Lisa could be considered "together" but it's a distant relationship. She runs her part, you run your part and every now and then you get together. She has some sort of feelings for you, but she's very much in her own world sometimes. Though the same could be said for you, but you do have feelings for her as well.
Lisa has also had your child. (Predictably 9 months after your "agreement" to the alliance.) A son, though you don't get to see him too much, mainly because Lisa wants him to be closer to her. In fact you get the impression one of the reasons she had sex with you was in order to have a fairly "normal" looking child. She called him Adonis. It would seem that for all her talk on mutant supremacy, she still holds the "human" standard of beauty in high regard, (though to be honest so do you!) She's already training him to be self-sufficient with minor "tests" she sets up in the sewers; however despite this rather harsh training Lisa is very protective of Adonis.
The main faction standing in the way is one that has somehow gained momentum relatively recently over the last few years. A cult of mutants called the Glow Children, have taken over a great portion of Zeropolis through their weird faith. They follow a leader calling themselves the Savior. In your experience, groups with any type of religious faith behind them are never willing to negotiate and they aren't an exception. They are utterly fanatical and devoted to their cause. They also engage in attacks from the sewers as well, causing you to believe that ex-Shadow Horde members fill their ranks. They've made their headquarters (or Cathedral as it were) at the old hospital.
You and Lisa are supposed to meet tonight with the rest of your respective cabinet tonight to determine how to best approach the Glow Children problem. You're walking out of your headquarters with your guards when from out of the street a very very LARGE creature appears with the biggest fucking gun you've ever seen. Its resemblance to humanity is superficial even by Shadow Horde standards. You haven't seen ANYTHING like this before.
"Goddamn it Lisa what the fuck are your people doing!? You're supposed to be defending that area!" you yell to yourself ducking back inside your headquarters and lying flat. The creature's weapon rips through the door and the walls, killing many of your men. You hear gun fire outside followed by screams.
You know damn well it's probably going to laugh at normal weapons so you run to grab those old CE weapons you haven't used since the Alliance. Time to use those plasma guns again.
The creature breaks through the remaining bit of wall ignoring the bullets flying into its back, a Shadow Horde member presumably coming from the sewers jumps on it and stabs it in the head, but the giant aberration only grabs him and breaks his neck with a squeeze of his own enormous hand and throws the lifeless body through the nearby wall. You've never seen a Shadow Horde member treated like such a mere annoyance, and for once in a long time you really are scared.
You grab a plasma gun while the creature is still preoccupied with your guards doing their best to bring it down and that's when you fire a hot bolt of plasma into its massive body, again, again, and again, until the damn weapon overheats and burns your hands, causing you drop it. Fortunately you've melted enough of its internal anatomy to cause it to finally collapse and die.
"Alright what the fuck IS that thing?!" you shout wincing from the pain in your hands.
"It's a fucking big ass freak, that's what it is." One your men says. "You don't think it's a Horde member do you? You think they... "
"No, no, shit I hope not. Besides I just saw it kill a Horde member with its bare hands like it was nothing, never seen that before. Might've been an Ex-horde member at one time though."
Another one of your soldiers comes in through the hole in the wall and has more news for you.
"Just got word from one of the horde, they got a similar attack on their Queen. Don't worry though, she's alive and so is your son. She said she'll be arriving soon."
That relieves you on several levels; you were sort of worried about them even if you all aren't exactly a proper family unit. You and some of the others inspect the body of the fallen creature. Damn thing is huge, but what disturbs you more is the fact you're seeing cybernetic implants... not to mention its weapon is pretty high tech stuff, similar to the same ones you received from the Cybernetic Evolution...
"Oh shit, we got cyborg mutants." You say.
"What? But how? I mean... last we heard The Combine won that war. Just barely, but they won." One of your soldiers replies.
"Yeah, well it looks like there were survivors and they probably want revenge on us and what better way of doing that then by helping our enemies? (Sigh) the only good thing is that they can't possibly be able to have access to a lot of this high tech stuff anymore; they don't even have the means of manufacturing it since we own the factories. They're probably just using scraps and pieces they managed to take with them after the beat down they suffered from the hands of the Combine."
Though those "scraps and pieces" can still do a lot of damage, and that's not even counting the regular fanatical cultists. You'll really have to get this attack plan with Lisa organized quickly. Suddenly you hear MORE sounds of battle! The Glow Children have sent more of their suicidal attackers to wreak havoc in your territory, most likely attempting to get to you though. Your guards suggest you descend down into you private quarters for protection, until Lisa arrives.
> stay where you are
As much as you probably regret getting yourself into this mess by EVER returning to the City, you are a leader now and you're determined to continue to act as such.
Sometimes you wonder what would've happened had you bought that bomb shelter...
You stay and demand to be informed on the current situation so you can position the defenses better. You want double security on the borders. You also order that all non-combatants should stay in their homes.
When Lisa arrives she has Adonis with her, as well as her own retinue of guards. After telling a couple of your men to take Adonis to your quarters and look after him, you and Lisa begin to talk in your half ruined warehouse.
"We've been getting attack from all sides here you know." You say.
"So have we, the ex-members that broke off from my Horde have been leading many of these attacks at least as far as the sewers are concerned."
"Yeah well we got bigger problems, have you noticed some of the firepower a few of these Glow Children are packing?"
"Yes, the same type that you used against us five years ago. Some of my people are starting to think that this is some complex ZL plot to wipe us out again, I've had to alleviate those concerns though I can't say it didn't cross my mind."
"Hey, I nearly got wasted by that colossus lying on the floor over there! And as you said your own ex-disgruntled employees are leading a lot of the attacks so don't think the same thoughts of treachery haven't gone through our mind up here as well!"
"Funny that you should think that about us since we don't have the history of betraying our allies... "
An argument about accusations breaks out until gunfire from your quarters is heard.
"Adonis!" Lisa says stopping her ranting at you.
"Oh fuck!" you say and run to the ladder with everyone else not far behind.
When you get to your quarters, you see a dead mutant cultist lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds, one of your men lies dead with multiple stab wounds and happily Adonis is still alive with one of your guards breathing hard. Adonis immediately runs to Lisa when he sees her.
"Whew! That motherfucker did NOT want to die!" he says.
After thanking the soldier profusely, you make a check wondering how the fuck the assassin got in, the only one who ever got through the door before was Lisa and that was because she managed to subdue your guards and had prior knowledge of the place.
And that's when you see a hole in the wall in one of the bedrooms, that hole now leads to the sewers. Knowing damn well that Lisa would make it known that harm should NEVER come to Adonis, any theories that the Shadow Horde is somehow behind things are out of your mind. Lisa's speculations for you are squashed as well.
"See, the enemy is trying to sew the seeds of mistrust. The old divide and conquer, well to hell with that, they fucked up big time with this clumsy assassination attempt. That's it we're mobilizing every fucking thing we got, we're pooling our resources and... "
You get another report while in the middle of your speech.
"SIR! THEY'RE ATTACKING DOWNTOWN!" a soldier shouts from the upstairs.
"Fuck!" you exclaim and rush to the scene.
When you arrive cultists are throwing home made bombs all over the damn place, some of them are purposely blowing themselves up.
"Aim for the goddamn explosives on their chests before they get close!" you order, while you engage in your own fighting from afar with your rifle. They're coming like swarms of lemmings though and the body count is growing, monstrosities like the one that tried to kill you earlier are proving cover fire for the gibbering suicide cultists.
You need to get into a better position to do the maximum amount of damage, so you look for higher ground while Lisa directs from the street level. You enter one of the buildings and begin running up the stairs to get to the roof. In the process of the excitement, you notice something.
"Damn, I used to work in this building."
After this brief thought of the past you make it to the roof, where upon you're kicked in the face as soon as you exit the door, dropping your rifle.
"Good! I'm glad you avoided the assassins, I was hoping to finish you off myself."
As you stand up, you see a nasty looking creature, with a hideous appearance.
"You're going to pay for what you did to me, YOU turned me into this! With your lies and your assault! I was NORMAL until YOU came and ripped me from my protective sanctuary!"
You immediately know who this is.
"Owen?"
"Silence! I'm the High Priest! Owen DIED when you threw me into the blasted City! Do you know how much pain and sickness I suffered? How many years I wandered the streets of Zeropolis little more than an intelligent Feral? You realize how long it took me to get over the madness?"
"Well from where I'm standing I don't think you're quite over it."
"Oh you're wrong, quite wrong, when the Savior came, she brought clarity to us all. She will bring true order to this City, not the Horde and not the Legion, but the Children! For the Children ARE the future!"
"Yeah... and you say you got over the madness?"
"It doesn't matter what you think! What matters is you're going to pay for ALL your lies and treachery tonight! To me AND the Savior! YAAAAGH!"
Owen attacks you, which you narrowly dodge and trip him to the ground, he rolls out of the way and jumps back up.
"Owen, you really want to continue this exercise in futility?"
Owen attacks you again at which point you punch him in the face followed by a kick to his nuts. While he crumples to the ground you retrieve your rifle.
"Alright Owen, you know what happened last time... and trust me I WILL be shooting if you attack again, now what are the defenses of the Savior at the... "
Owen pathetically tries to grab the rifle from you, at which point you blast him in the head splattering his brains and skull all over the roof.
"Idiot."
You grab Owen's corpse and throw it on to the street battle below. His body lands in a bloody broken heap before some of the Glow Children. Upon seeing one of their top leaders dead, this is a great blow to their morale.
"YEAH, THAT'S ONE OF YOUR LEADERS DOWN, NOW GO TELL THE FUCKIN' SAVIOR SHE'S NEXT!" you shout and begin sniping the ones in retreat.
After attempting to mop up the stragglers, the general report is that the Glow Children greatly expended a lot of their manpower in this last attack. It's odd; it's almost as if this "Savior" doesn't really care about controlling the city at all, just destruction.
Lisa suggests an attack be made immediately before they can put up a suitable defense, she's still upset about Adonis nearly being killed, but you'd like to at least regroup and mount an organized attack.
> attack now
Lisa's emotions might be running high, but it does make some sense to attack now. You order a full push to the hospital and not to stop until everyone of the Glow Children are dead along with their Savior.
The battle to the hospital lasts a couple days mainly because your forces aren't in a cohesive attack group, you're getting reinforcements, but it would've been more efficient regroup first and come at the GC with some sort of battle plan rather than relentlessly throwing troops into the fray until you break through.
By the time you get to the hospital, that's where you meet the last stand of the Glow Children, and it's also where their battle elite are. The last cybernetically enhanced mutants come out in force and begin mowing down the Alliance troops at an alarming rate, you have order a retreat.
During this retreat, one of those giant battle monsters that tried to assassinate you a few days ago targets its weapons on you and mortally wounds you. You lie on the ground and lift your head up long enough to see both of your legs have been blown off and your guts are hanging out. The creature now stomps in your direction ready to finish you off.
You sure hope Lisa can finish this war by herself, because it's over for you. |
As much as you probably regret getting yourself into this mess by EVER returning to the City, you are a leader now and you're determined to continue to act as such.
Sometimes you wonder what would've happened had you bought that bomb shelter...
You stay and demand to be informed on the current situation so you can position the defenses better. You want double security on the borders. You also order that all non-combatants should stay in their homes.
When Lisa arrives she has Adonis with her, as well as her own retinue of guards. After telling a couple of your men to take Adonis to your quarters and look after him, you and Lisa begin to talk in your half ruined warehouse.
"We've been getting attack from all sides here you know." You say.
"So have we, the ex-members that broke off from my Horde have been leading many of these attacks at least as far as the sewers are concerned."
"Yeah well we got bigger problems, have you noticed some of the firepower a few of these Glow Children are packing?"
"Yes, the same type that you used against us five years ago. Some of my people are starting to think that this is some complex ZL plot to wipe us out again, I've had to alleviate those concerns though I can't say it didn't cross my mind."
"Hey, I nearly got wasted by that colossus lying on the floor over there! And as you said your own ex-disgruntled employees are leading a lot of the attacks so don't think the same thoughts of treachery haven't gone through our mind up here as well!"
"Funny that you should think that about us since we don't have the history of betraying our allies... "
An argument about accusations breaks out until gunfire from your quarters is heard.
"Adonis!" Lisa says stopping her ranting at you.
"Oh fuck!" you say and run to the ladder with everyone else not far behind.
When you get to your quarters, you see a dead mutant cultist lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds, one of your men lies dead with multiple stab wounds and happily Adonis is still alive with one of your guards breathing hard. Adonis immediately runs to Lisa when he sees her.
"Whew! That motherfucker did NOT want to die!" he says.
After thanking the soldier profusely, you make a check wondering how the fuck the assassin got in, the only one who ever got through the door before was Lisa and that was because she managed to subdue your guards and had prior knowledge of the place.
And that's when you see a hole in the wall in one of the bedrooms, that hole now leads to the sewers. Knowing damn well that Lisa would make it known that harm should NEVER come to Adonis, any theories that the Shadow Horde is somehow behind things are out of your mind. Lisa's speculations for you are squashed as well.
"See, the enemy is trying to sew the seeds of mistrust. The old divide and conquer, well to hell with that, they fucked up big time with this clumsy assassination attempt. That's it we're mobilizing every fucking thing we got, we're pooling our resources and... "
You get another report while in the middle of your speech.
"SIR! THEY'RE ATTACKING DOWNTOWN!" a soldier shouts from the upstairs.
"Fuck!" you exclaim and rush to the scene.
When you arrive cultists are throwing home made bombs all over the damn place, some of them are purposely blowing themselves up.
"Aim for the goddamn explosives on their chests before they get close!" you order, while you engage in your own fighting from afar with your rifle. They're coming like swarms of lemmings though and the body count is growing, monstrosities like the one that tried to kill you earlier are proving cover fire for the gibbering suicide cultists.
You need to get into a better position to do the maximum amount of damage, so you look for higher ground while Lisa directs from the street level. You enter one of the buildings and begin running up the stairs to get to the roof. In the process of the excitement, you notice something.
"Damn, I used to work in this building."
After this brief thought of the past you make it to the roof, where upon you're kicked in the face as soon as you exit the door, dropping your rifle.
"Good! I'm glad you avoided the assassins, I was hoping to finish you off myself."
As you stand up, you see a nasty looking creature, with a hideous appearance.
"You're going to pay for what you did to me, YOU turned me into this! With your lies and your assault! I was NORMAL until YOU came and ripped me from my protective sanctuary!"
You immediately know who this is.
"Owen?"
"Silence! I'm the High Priest! Owen DIED when you threw me into the blasted City! Do you know how much pain and sickness I suffered? How many years I wandered the streets of Zeropolis little more than an intelligent Feral? You realize how long it took me to get over the madness?"
"Well from where I'm standing I don't think you're quite over it."
"Oh you're wrong, quite wrong, when the Savior came, she brought clarity to us all. She will bring true order to this City, not the Horde and not the Legion, but the Children! For the Children ARE the future!"
"Yeah... and you say you got over the madness?"
"It doesn't matter what you think! What matters is you're going to pay for ALL your lies and treachery tonight! To me AND the Savior! YAAAAGH!"
Owen attacks you, which you narrowly dodge and trip him to the ground, he rolls out of the way and jumps back up.
"Owen, you really want to continue this exercise in futility?"
Owen attacks you again at which point you punch him in the face followed by a kick to his nuts. While he crumples to the ground you retrieve your rifle.
"Alright Owen, you know what happened last time... and trust me I WILL be shooting if you attack again, now what are the defenses of the Savior at the... "
Owen pathetically tries to grab the rifle from you, at which point you blast him in the head splattering his brains and skull all over the roof.
"Idiot."
You grab Owen's corpse and throw it on to the street battle below. His body lands in a bloody broken heap before some of the Glow Children. Upon seeing one of their top leaders dead, this is a great blow to their morale.
"YEAH, THAT'S ONE OF YOUR LEADERS DOWN, NOW GO TELL THE FUCKIN' SAVIOR SHE'S NEXT!" you shout and begin sniping the ones in retreat.
After attempting to mop up the stragglers, the general report is that the Glow Children greatly expended a lot of their manpower in this last attack. It's odd; it's almost as if this "Savior" doesn't really care about controlling the city at all, just destruction.
Lisa suggests an attack be made immediately before they can put up a suitable defense, she's still upset about Adonis nearly being killed, but you'd like to at least regroup and mount an organized attack.
> regroup
"We need to get our shit together first, look, we got people all over the damn place and wounded everywhere." You say surveying the damage.
"You can't be serious! We need to attack NOW! Or don't you remember what they nearly did to our son?" Lisa exclaims.
"Christ Lisa, I'm aware of ALL the shit they've done! What I'm saying is we need to organize here, and not just throw people at them until something happens! I understand that's the Shadow Horde way of doing things but... "
At this point Lisa slaps you, and while your skin is tough, it still manages to sting.
"Oh fuck you; if it hadn't been for YOUR duplicity we wouldn't even BE in this situation!"
"Look Lisa, we NEED to at least regroup. I'm sure that hospital is going to be their last stand and we can't go in attacking half assed. We need to attack from all sides and cut off all avenues of escape so we don't have to deal with guerilla hold outs after the main attack is over. We want to kill them ALL in one fell swoop; we don't want the fucking Savior to escape to cause trouble later!"
After a little more debate, Lisa finally agrees and you quickly gather your troops and implement a plan while Lisa takes care of her own end of things. Within a couple days you're ready, but Lisa still being strong willed sort she is, jumps the gun and begins before you.
"Goddamn it Lisa... "
The battle to the hospital is a slaughter on the Glow Children's side. They still haven't recovered from the battle of Downtown and they've been losing many to the Shadow Horde. The Zeropolis Legion doesn't lose too many troops, though the Shadow Horde is taking a beating due to the fact that they're taking the brunt of the Glow Children's hospital defenses. That needn't had been the case had Lisa not attacked so soon. By the time you make it to the hospital most of the heavy fighting has been done. Dead bodies of both Glow Children and the Shadow Horde are littering the streets. Lisa stands outside the hospital seemingly unconcerned.
"What the fuck Lisa? I told you to fuckin' wait! You look like you lost your whole goddamn Horde trying to storm this hospital!"
"Who cares? If they aren't strong enough to survive then they can die like the rest. They're meant to serve me anyway, and the Glow Children MUST pay for what they nearly did to my son, no matter what the costs. Now go in and PROVE you're a father by doing what needs to be done. Should be easy... I did most of the work for you."
You shake your head trying to reason with Lisa's recent volatile emotions, and head into the hospital with your own people. Sounds of battle are heard and body parts are all over the place. After a few shoot outs with the few wretched hold outs, you eventually track down the infamous Savior. Yet another old face that looks a lot different from when you last saw it.
A severely burned female cyborg attempting to fix up one of her Glow Children on an operating table throws her scalpel down in frustration when she realizes nothing more can be done and sees you enter the room.
"Mutants! Fucking goddamn back stabbing mutants... you're no good for anything!" she shouts.
"Wow, AVA that's a lot of emotion for a cyborg." You say calmly.
"Let's see how emotionless you remain when you see YOUR future destroyed before your eyes. This is all your fault! YOU caused all this! You did this to me!"
"Yeah, yeah, I've been getting that line from everyone lately. It's getting old."
"Fool. We would've brought unity to the world; mutants would've been incorporated too. All you had to do was help, but instead you betrayed us to those who hate you!"
"Yeah and that incorporation would've been the total loss of free will I'm sure. No thanks, I'd rather take my chances with some disjointed puny humans than an army of unified cyborgs."
"Ah, of course. You mutants think YOU are fit to rule the world. Huh. You're little better than humans. You still act on emotion rather than clarity. Look at your wife... she sacrificed hundreds of her own people who she claimed she looked after all for a mere child. Don't look so surprised that I know about that act of total illogic, I could hear her screaming her rants of vengeance when I first saw her approach the hospital with her mutant rabble."
"First of all she's not my wife. And what about what you did? Are you saying sending in multitudes of brainwashed mutants was so different?"
"YES! Yes it was! My purpose was NOT based on emotion! I was trying to kill as many as mutants as possible! I had a clear goal! A clarity of purpose! What do I care what mutants died on who's side? I am not one of them!"
"Uh... yeah. Well sounds pretty emotional to me. Sounds like good ol' fashioned revenge. And I suppose those assassination attempts on me was just business to eh? Nothing personal?"
AVA shakes her head in dismay and looks up at the ceiling. Tears stream from her non-cybernetic eye.
"You'll never understand mutant... it... it should've been us... we... I'm sorry Alex... I'm sorry my father... I have ended up like you... trapped and surrounded by my enemies with only death awaiting me... forgive me... "
Strangely, you almost feel sorry for AVA, putting her out of her misery is probably an act of kindness at this point. And so you do with a couple of well placed bullets.
"(Sigh) Well AVA, if it's any consolation, you did a lot of damage to us, a lot of damage... "
When you exit, Lisa is still waiting outside, she looks like she's deep in thought.
"Yeah, the Savior's dead and from what I can tell so are all the other Glow Children as well as most of your Shadow Horde... " you say to Lisa
"Given the temporary mistrust both side had for each other, perhaps its for the best... perhaps this alliance needs to be dissolved and simply unified under one banner, one name, we are all mutants, no one is better than another, but we are all better than humans."
"So what're you saying exactly?"
"I'm saying we should be joined officially... with this latest annoyance out of the way, Zeropolis will soon be under our total control and then it will be time to handle the humans. I'm already a Queen, and you shall be my King and Adonis... shall be a Prince... heir to our new mutant dynasty."
You're a little surprised by this sudden suggestion
"Whoa! What the hell? You want us to get fuckin' married?"
"Yes, do you not have feelings for me?"
"Well uh... yeah I guess... I mean... "
"Am I not the mother of your son?"
"Well of course."
"Do you not see the wisdom in this action?"
"I suppose, but... "
"Then it's settled... and be honest wouldn't you like to be able to spend more time with your son? Spend more time with me... and be closer to you... "
Lisa's manages to convince you in that way she does through her seductive embraces and strong commanding will. You swear she has some sort of mutant ability to control minds.
A festive wedding is soon held after the celebration of the Glow Children's destruction.
Ten years pass...
Twenty years have passed and the unification of Zeropolis is complete. One City of unified mutants and you are their KING. What was once a warehouse has now been turned into a palace.
War against the humans is also in full swing. Lisa made sure that was the first thing on the agenda the moment Zeropolis was completely unified. The Combine wasn't even prepared for the first few attacks, as entire towns were taken over with relative ease. Never before had mutants been so organized, and are now the greatest threats to them since the Cybernetic Evolution, worse even, since you can breed, and not just with other mutants...
The Combine and The Zero Dominion (That being its new name) fought for a long time, but The Combine lost mainly due to its own internal turmoil. After a couple years of your attacks the government collapsed and splintered into several factions. Some of those factions willingly surrendered to you. Human traitors were not unheard mainly because rule under The Combine was little better. It was a corrupt and decadent organization that bullied its citizens, while human subjects living under your occupation are treated fairly well as long as they know their place and they are certainly well protected from other humans like the outlaw scum who lurk in the wastelands. With the Combine completely destroyed, mutants now rule everything within the area ranging from towns to even the Ground Zero Shelters still containing their inhabitants. (Actually many of those genuinely thanked you for releasing them from those underground coffins! Lisa of course wasn't surprised by the shoddy workmanship that went into most of them given that she used to work for the corporation)
Now eyes of conquest look ever further, but despite all this, you're a relatively benevolent dictator.
Though Lisa often thinks you're too lenient on the humans, and claims you must set a better example for Adonis who shall take over from you one day. Adonis is only a teenager, but has the arrogance of a god. The tests and training Lisa insists that he engage in continue, and have produced a superior specimen of mutanthood thus far. Already he is eager to shed the blood of humans, you sometimes have to tell him that he shouldn't let something like that dominate his thoughts as it can lead to recklessness, but he's very much like his mother despite the fact that you've had regular contact with him now.
Your daughter Venus on the other hand is different. She's still young, but even now you can see that she will be a very dissimilar person than her brother. While you'd think Lisa would want to spend time with her own daughter, she still concentrates only on Adonis. Leaving you to take up that role, but even that is only minimal as Venus often prefers spending time by herself. She reminds you of... well you. Over the recent years, you've often wished you could spend time by yourself like you used to, but that's a rare luxury nowadays...
But heavy is the head that wears the crown and you have a host of concerns as of late to attend to and they only stack up. Hell, you don't even know where to begin anymore. You begin to wonder if any of this is even worth it. You know you're better than humans, but is constant ongoing warfare REALLY what you want?
> continue the war
You think back to when you first entered Zeropolis and how you hoped that you'd somehow be as lucky or as radiation resistant as your grandfather was when he witnessed nuclear blast tests back when he was in the army. As it turns out you were, well lucky that is, the radiation resistance came later.
During your entire stay in Zeropolis, you've always tried to do what you thought was best for you, but many times you've felt like you were railroaded into this path, and indeed sometimes you had little choice in some of your major decisions.
However, ultimately they were your choices and even you have to admit you've done far better than you could've expected. Lisa's a better wife than you really could've hoped for before the bombs turned the world into nuclear ash, let alone after the bombs. You son Adonis is obviously going to be a fine ruler someday, he certainly has all the necessary traits and if Venus is as much like you as she appears to be, she'll do just fine. Their future is what's important, and as such you have come to the realization that making sure they have a great empire to rule is the best thing you can give them. Not just for them, but for their children as well. You finally understand Lisa's dedication to conquest and why she's always pushed you to be a little more enthusiastic about it.
Sure she gets a bit intense as far as the human thing sometimes, but that's just part of her personality. You never quite understood why she's exactly so obsessed on the whole mutant superiority thing (Whereas you just take it for granted that you're better and just leave it at that) especially given that she herself has never even had contact with another one since her transformation. (You have though, one thing that always seem to get her hot is when you recount your time when you were doing raids on Combine town during your alliance with the Cybernetic Evolution) You've always had a strange sort of relationship with Lisa, but it is love though, a weird form of it, but love nonetheless.
People have been fighting wars and taking shit from others since the beginning of time, and from what you can tell they're still doing it. All for various reasons. So your reasons are for love and family. There's certainly more selfish and worse reasons.
After coming to this epiphany you finally have eliminated any lingering doubts and reservations about anything you've ever done or will do in the future. You immediately go find Lisa who's watching Adonis train against one of the few former Shadow Horde mutants left. He's managed to take the giant down with his bare hands too, not many can make that boast, let alone at the young age he has. When you arrive in the gym, Lisa approaches you.
"Well, I didn't expect to see you until tonight. I know how you like to spend long periods of time by yourself... I always found that strange for someone in a position of leadership."
"Not really Lisa, people who rule are often isolated, however I have come to the realization that I'm not alone. The future of our dynasty is important, I see that now and I'm going to ensure what we've built doesn't end."
You think it's the first time you've seen overwhelming joy in Lisa's face, but she immediately hugs and kisses you. You think this is also the first time you've actually heard her say "I love you." to you. Adonis stops his training and wonders what's going on and that's when you turn your attention to him and point your finger directly at him.
"And YOU, you will be the next ruler! But if you want ANY chance of it, you're going to have to beat the me first!"
"Hah! You're kidding right? I just beat an Ex-Shadow Horde mutant with my bare hands! I can easily take you on old man!" he laughs.
"Think so? Show me what all your training has done then, don't worry I'll go easy on you, wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face of yours, you sure you're not my daughter?"
"You're going down old man!"
"Not likely, now stop talking and hiding behind your mother's skirt, mama's boy!"
That one had the desired effect.
Unsurprisingly your minor taunts make Adonis angry causing him to charge at you hard and you immediately drop to the ground and trip him. When he falls on his face you grab his arm and twist it behind him while putting your knee in his back.
"See? You let yourself get too emotional and it threw off your game. You need to learn more about fighting than just the basics. I'll make sure I'll teach you that. Now get up."
From that point on you take a more active role in training Adonis. Particularly in the more psychological and strategic aspects of it. He learns quickly, and in time learns to reign in the arrogance and some of his mother's views on humans, but he always retains his desire to fight. In the years to follow he joins the Dominion army and quickly rises through the ranks. Lisa is very proud and you are as well.
As for Venus, she of course remains her usual quiet self, though she does surprise everyone when she later joins the Dominion army as well, as a scout though. She turns out to be an excellent sniper.
As always there is resistance, but for the most part the Zero Dominion only grows larger under your rule.
Thirty years pass...
Fifty years have gone by since you first set foot in Zeropolis and you're eternally glad you did. It could've only been destiny that guided you to what you thought was most likely a death zone, only to turn out to be the place where you would achieve greatness.
You remember how humans used to shoot mutants on sight mainly to discourage them from venturing far from Zeropolis, but now mutants now control a vast portion of territory, their population has grown much much larger, and half-breed mutants from humans are in large numbers as well. A new era is being ushered in for a newly evolved being that will eventually replace humanity.
Never did you think that you'd actually live long enough to die peacefully in your own bed. But that's what is occurring now, you feel the approach of death occurring and you have no regrets. Right now you're surrounded by your family. Lisa, Adonis, Venus and their children as well. You can die knowing that you've made the world a better place for them.
You've made all of this happen and as you pass your throne to Adonis, while holding on to Lisa's hand who sits by the side of the bed, you say your last words:
"I love you all and finish what I started, my children ... " |
"We need to get our shit together first, look, we got people all over the damn place and wounded everywhere." You say surveying the damage.
"You can't be serious! We need to attack NOW! Or don't you remember what they nearly did to our son?" Lisa exclaims.
"Christ Lisa, I'm aware of ALL the shit they've done! What I'm saying is we need to organize here, and not just throw people at them until something happens! I understand that's the Shadow Horde way of doing things but... "
At this point Lisa slaps you, and while your skin is tough, it still manages to sting.
"Oh fuck you; if it hadn't been for YOUR duplicity we wouldn't even BE in this situation!"
"Look Lisa, we NEED to at least regroup. I'm sure that hospital is going to be their last stand and we can't go in attacking half assed. We need to attack from all sides and cut off all avenues of escape so we don't have to deal with guerilla hold outs after the main attack is over. We want to kill them ALL in one fell swoop; we don't want the fucking Savior to escape to cause trouble later!"
After a little more debate, Lisa finally agrees and you quickly gather your troops and implement a plan while Lisa takes care of her own end of things. Within a couple days you're ready, but Lisa still being strong willed sort she is, jumps the gun and begins before you.
"Goddamn it Lisa... "
The battle to the hospital is a slaughter on the Glow Children's side. They still haven't recovered from the battle of Downtown and they've been losing many to the Shadow Horde. The Zeropolis Legion doesn't lose too many troops, though the Shadow Horde is taking a beating due to the fact that they're taking the brunt of the Glow Children's hospital defenses. That needn't had been the case had Lisa not attacked so soon. By the time you make it to the hospital most of the heavy fighting has been done. Dead bodies of both Glow Children and the Shadow Horde are littering the streets. Lisa stands outside the hospital seemingly unconcerned.
"What the fuck Lisa? I told you to fuckin' wait! You look like you lost your whole goddamn Horde trying to storm this hospital!"
"Who cares? If they aren't strong enough to survive then they can die like the rest. They're meant to serve me anyway, and the Glow Children MUST pay for what they nearly did to my son, no matter what the costs. Now go in and PROVE you're a father by doing what needs to be done. Should be easy... I did most of the work for you."
You shake your head trying to reason with Lisa's recent volatile emotions, and head into the hospital with your own people. Sounds of battle are heard and body parts are all over the place. After a few shoot outs with the few wretched hold outs, you eventually track down the infamous Savior. Yet another old face that looks a lot different from when you last saw it.
A severely burned female cyborg attempting to fix up one of her Glow Children on an operating table throws her scalpel down in frustration when she realizes nothing more can be done and sees you enter the room.
"Mutants! Fucking goddamn back stabbing mutants... you're no good for anything!" she shouts.
"Wow, AVA that's a lot of emotion for a cyborg." You say calmly.
"Let's see how emotionless you remain when you see YOUR future destroyed before your eyes. This is all your fault! YOU caused all this! You did this to me!"
"Yeah, yeah, I've been getting that line from everyone lately. It's getting old."
"Fool. We would've brought unity to the world; mutants would've been incorporated too. All you had to do was help, but instead you betrayed us to those who hate you!"
"Yeah and that incorporation would've been the total loss of free will I'm sure. No thanks, I'd rather take my chances with some disjointed puny humans than an army of unified cyborgs."
"Ah, of course. You mutants think YOU are fit to rule the world. Huh. You're little better than humans. You still act on emotion rather than clarity. Look at your wife... she sacrificed hundreds of her own people who she claimed she looked after all for a mere child. Don't look so surprised that I know about that act of total illogic, I could hear her screaming her rants of vengeance when I first saw her approach the hospital with her mutant rabble."
"First of all she's not my wife. And what about what you did? Are you saying sending in multitudes of brainwashed mutants was so different?"
"YES! Yes it was! My purpose was NOT based on emotion! I was trying to kill as many as mutants as possible! I had a clear goal! A clarity of purpose! What do I care what mutants died on who's side? I am not one of them!"
"Uh... yeah. Well sounds pretty emotional to me. Sounds like good ol' fashioned revenge. And I suppose those assassination attempts on me was just business to eh? Nothing personal?"
AVA shakes her head in dismay and looks up at the ceiling. Tears stream from her non-cybernetic eye.
"You'll never understand mutant... it... it should've been us... we... I'm sorry Alex... I'm sorry my father... I have ended up like you... trapped and surrounded by my enemies with only death awaiting me... forgive me... "
Strangely, you almost feel sorry for AVA, putting her out of her misery is probably an act of kindness at this point. And so you do with a couple of well placed bullets.
"(Sigh) Well AVA, if it's any consolation, you did a lot of damage to us, a lot of damage... "
When you exit, Lisa is still waiting outside, she looks like she's deep in thought.
"Yeah, the Savior's dead and from what I can tell so are all the other Glow Children as well as most of your Shadow Horde... " you say to Lisa
"Given the temporary mistrust both side had for each other, perhaps its for the best... perhaps this alliance needs to be dissolved and simply unified under one banner, one name, we are all mutants, no one is better than another, but we are all better than humans."
"So what're you saying exactly?"
"I'm saying we should be joined officially... with this latest annoyance out of the way, Zeropolis will soon be under our total control and then it will be time to handle the humans. I'm already a Queen, and you shall be my King and Adonis... shall be a Prince... heir to our new mutant dynasty."
You're a little surprised by this sudden suggestion
"Whoa! What the hell? You want us to get fuckin' married?"
"Yes, do you not have feelings for me?"
"Well uh... yeah I guess... I mean... "
"Am I not the mother of your son?"
"Well of course."
"Do you not see the wisdom in this action?"
"I suppose, but... "
"Then it's settled... and be honest wouldn't you like to be able to spend more time with your son? Spend more time with me... and be closer to you... "
Lisa's manages to convince you in that way she does through her seductive embraces and strong commanding will. You swear she has some sort of mutant ability to control minds.
A festive wedding is soon held after the celebration of the Glow Children's destruction.
Ten years pass...
Twenty years have passed and the unification of Zeropolis is complete. One City of unified mutants and you are their KING. What was once a warehouse has now been turned into a palace.
War against the humans is also in full swing. Lisa made sure that was the first thing on the agenda the moment Zeropolis was completely unified. The Combine wasn't even prepared for the first few attacks, as entire towns were taken over with relative ease. Never before had mutants been so organized, and are now the greatest threats to them since the Cybernetic Evolution, worse even, since you can breed, and not just with other mutants...
The Combine and The Zero Dominion (That being its new name) fought for a long time, but The Combine lost mainly due to its own internal turmoil. After a couple years of your attacks the government collapsed and splintered into several factions. Some of those factions willingly surrendered to you. Human traitors were not unheard mainly because rule under The Combine was little better. It was a corrupt and decadent organization that bullied its citizens, while human subjects living under your occupation are treated fairly well as long as they know their place and they are certainly well protected from other humans like the outlaw scum who lurk in the wastelands. With the Combine completely destroyed, mutants now rule everything within the area ranging from towns to even the Ground Zero Shelters still containing their inhabitants. (Actually many of those genuinely thanked you for releasing them from those underground coffins! Lisa of course wasn't surprised by the shoddy workmanship that went into most of them given that she used to work for the corporation)
Now eyes of conquest look ever further, but despite all this, you're a relatively benevolent dictator.
Though Lisa often thinks you're too lenient on the humans, and claims you must set a better example for Adonis who shall take over from you one day. Adonis is only a teenager, but has the arrogance of a god. The tests and training Lisa insists that he engage in continue, and have produced a superior specimen of mutanthood thus far. Already he is eager to shed the blood of humans, you sometimes have to tell him that he shouldn't let something like that dominate his thoughts as it can lead to recklessness, but he's very much like his mother despite the fact that you've had regular contact with him now.
Your daughter Venus on the other hand is different. She's still young, but even now you can see that she will be a very dissimilar person than her brother. While you'd think Lisa would want to spend time with her own daughter, she still concentrates only on Adonis. Leaving you to take up that role, but even that is only minimal as Venus often prefers spending time by herself. She reminds you of... well you. Over the recent years, you've often wished you could spend time by yourself like you used to, but that's a rare luxury nowadays...
But heavy is the head that wears the crown and you have a host of concerns as of late to attend to and they only stack up. Hell, you don't even know where to begin anymore. You begin to wonder if any of this is even worth it. You know you're better than humans, but is constant ongoing warfare REALLY what you want?
> stop it
You don't really want this, you never really did. You feel like every decision you've ever made has either because you had no choice or because you felt influenced in some way. Well you're in charge now and if you don't want to wage an ongoing war with humans then you're not going to!
You immediately call a halt to all further acts of aggression on human settlements. You say you're going to concentrate on defending and holding on to what you have. Lisa isn't too pleased with this decision. You argue that what is the point of it all since you've eliminated the greatest threat to mutants, while Lisa says as long as humans are around they'll always be a threat to mutants. You're not going to change your mind though; you've made your decision.
Adonis naturally feels like you've cheated him out his chance to prove himself in true battle against humans. In the years to follow he joins the Dominion army and entertains himself by being cruel to the human subjects. One day in a human settlement called Ashtown, he goes too far and one of them actually fights back. In the ensuing struggle Adonis' face is hit by a small explosion, severely disfiguring his once relatively human looking appearance. Now all that is left is a horrific skinless face and little of his remaining sanity. In retaliation he orders the complete destruction of Ashotwn. When Lisa hears of this she wants even more vengeance and goes over your head as well to order the destruction of another town called Cinderville, by the time you can call a stop to any of this, both places have been razed to the ground and its inhabitants butchered.
Previously the humans under your rule were scared just enough not to start an uprising, some of them were even loyal, you always made sure never to be unnecessarily brutal even though Lisa and Adonis would prefer otherwise; so what occurs next isn't too surprising to you. These events as well as the liberties Adonis has been taking, has pushed them over the realms of fear and into hatred. You begin to have uprisings, and guerilla attacks all over the Dominion, some of the more fanatical ones even launch suicidal attacks on targets in Zeropolis.
You do your best to try to stop the attacks while at the same time trying to still be fair to the humans, but the time for that is long gone. Instead the mutant citizens just think you're being too weak.
More years go by and you're getting assassination attempts by other mutants calling for your blood. Parts of the Dominion begin to splinter as you unsuccessfully attempt to hold everything together. It's just like what happened to the Combine. Now you you're forced to become brutal just to keep everyone in line for a few months, but it's too late, now nobody likes you, not even your family which has been apparent for quite some time, but one time it goes to the point of no return.
One night while you're brooding to yourself in your private chambers, Adonis shows up before you with his own personal guards. You can't say you didn't see this coming as well.
"Old man you are no longer fit to rule the Zero Dominion! I'm taking over!"
"You think you are...you're mother will be the one really running shit, because as far as I can tell you're barely capable of staging a coup."
"SHUT UP! KILL HIM!" Adonis screams.
You might be older, but you're still relatively quick. You dodge for cover as Adonis' guards attempt to kill you. You pull your own weapon and with your usual deadly accuracy you blast every one of them, though Adonis has managed to sneak around behind you at this point. Being dramatic is his downfall as he attempts to slit your throat, but you manage to grab his arm and break it, before he can. He falls to the ground clutching his arm.
"Stupid ass kid, don't bring a knife to a gun fight!" you say standing up.
"Yeah, and don't talk when you have the advantage, old man!" Adonis retorts and a blade from his boot suddenly appears as he kicks up at your stomach, impaling you with it.
"Fuck!"
You quickly dislodge yourself from the blade and stagger a bit before dropping your pistol. Adonis takes the advantage and side kicks you in the face, this time taking out one of you eyes. Oddly you don't even feel the pain; in fact you're beginning to feel pretty numb to everything right now.
"Mom always said you were weak."
"Yeah, well I'm not the one who's the mama's boy... I think you should call her, you need all the help you can get."
This little taunt throws Adonis off his game and he charges at you. You drop to the floor and trip him. When he falls face first to the ground you immediately shove your knee in his back and break his other arm.
"Sorry son, but your name is Adonis, not Oedipus and you ain't gonna be killing me."
And with that last statement you snap his neck.
Now you start to feel the pain of your wounds, you've lost quite a bit of blood, but you'd probably be able to survive if you had the chance to get to the doctor, but you know you aren't going to get that chance.
Lisa walks in with pistol in hand, and at this point you don't even want to stop her even if you were in a position to do so.
"You killed my poor son, he would've ruled... "
"Think of it this way, now you can eliminate the middle man and just rule directly, just like you've always wanted, just like you did with the Shadow Horde... (groan) I think I'll just rest here for awhile. Yeah that's better."
"You're going to die for what you've done!"
"Yeah, I kind of figured that, look I don't care anymore, don't you see that? It's been nothing but a fucking headache anyway. ... now if you're going to shoot, you go ahead, or just let me bleed to death because I just don't care anymore."
Lisa looks genuinely upset, and you don't think it's solely over Adonis. Even after thinking you're unfit to rule or be her husband anymore, she's still reluctant to kill you.
"Goddamn it, what happened to you? Why couldn't you have just done what I wanted? To create a dynasty to last forever!"
All I ever wanted was to live a peaceful life, well that didn't happen for a variety of reasons, but I guess I can say it wasn't boring. And there was the fact that I did get to meet you... Lisa don't prolong this, just do it. It'll be easier for all of us. Tell Venus I love her as much as I still love her mother."
Lisa sheds a few tears and then carries out your request.
Soon after your death Lisa takes over the Zero Dominion and does a much better job than you or Adonis could've ever done. In the years to follow, she restores order and quells all rebellions. She might've even brought in further territory had she not been assassinated by Venus, who always stayed quiet and in the background plotting and waiting for the right moment to strike. Strangely Venus never took over; instead she left Zeropolis and the Dominion altogether, letting it collapse into multiple civil wars until it destroyed itself.
Where she wound up is unknown, but being her father's daughter, it was probably someplace quiet and isolated. |
You figure you'll give it some time; you're not in a hurry to go anywhere.
A week later and you wake up to a little mutant getting ready to push you to see if you're awake, you immediately wake before he can do anything, slam him to the ground and put your knife to his throat.
"Hey! Stop! I'm on your side!" he gasps.
"Oh? What the hell are you doing here? Did the Captain finally decide to send me some help again?"
"The Captain's dead!"
"He's fuckin' dead?"
"Yeah! He got assassinated by some big ass motherfucker! Anyway that's why I was sent to get you! You're next in line to take charge."
"Wow. I would've thought someone would've just taken power themselves and left me to rot out here."
"Well, I think a couple of people had that idea... but then they realized the job wasn't worth it. The Shadow Horde has been taking the offensive ever since Captain Salazar insisted on pursuing them in their sewers. We need a leader to get us out of this mess and you're the only one we have!"
See you knew no good was going to come of this.
"Alright, let's see how much shit we're in... "
You make your way back to Zeropolis and the Dust District is showing signs of battle, which is difficult to do since the place was a wreck to begin with. Dead bodies are being moved out of the street and the people look hopeful that you can somehow get them out of this mess.
First thing you do is order a complete pull out of the sewers and reinforce your defenses in the Dust District. There's no point in pursuing an enemy that's lived in the damn sewers for years and knows them like the backs of their hands. Right now you need to regroup after the losses Salazar has incurred due to his recklessness.
Second thing you do is order no more attacks on Combine towns, you can't afford the man power and you didn't like allying with the Cybernetic Evolution anyway. However, another shipment of weapons was already on its way when you enact this order. The cyborgs who arrive wonder why they haven't heard any reports of mutants attacking the Combine. Seeing that this alliance is over anyway. You immediately have the cyborgs killed (Which is easier than you thought it would be) and keep the weapons to help your own struggle.
A couple more cyborgs arrive a month later probably to investigate what happened to their fellows, and you have them killed as well. Your hope is that the CE will think they're losing them to Combine ambushes and will eventually just forget about you. And apparently they do because no more cyborgs are sent. You just hope the CE doesn't win against The Combine.
Eventually you manage to restore relative safety to the Dust District, its not safe like it once was though, but at least it isn't on the brink of disaster due to Salazar's mad plan. Being in charge isn't exactly a fun job, and its obvious why to as why nobody wanted to do it. Still the people see you as a savior of sorts and generally like you as a leader.
The warehouse that you live in, has been converted into the new head quarters, though you still live in the secret underground part that only you have access to... well at least you thought you did.
One night you wake up in your room to a very pale woman by your bed. Obviously she's a mutant, but she's somehow managed to avoid the ugliness and scaring that goes along with it, though she does have part of her face covered. She holds a pistol, but seems to be inspecting the place more than paying any attention to you.
"Boy this was so long ago and another life time... please don't go for your gun, I'm here to talk... my, you are a pretty one. Almost human looking... almost." she says finally paying attention to you.
"How the hell did you get past the guards?" you answer calculating how quickly you might be able to reach her before she can get off a shot.
"This war between our respective groups has taken a toll on both of us for quite sometime... I would ask that we finally have peace." She says ignoring your question.
You gather she's from the Shadow Horde, though you've never seen one like her. She's not brimming with muscles or trying to rip your head off for one thing. (And somehow she actually smells nice and unsewer like!) She is exuding a weird aura though, like you have a great desire to follow whatever she says. It's difficult to shake off these effects, but you try to keep a level head.
"Peace? You're ones always coming out at night to eat people! We were just trying to defend ourselves!"
"... yes I have come to understand that now... and I appreciate your desire to exist. You have held out against us for years and accomplished much within that time. However I would say that your most recent attack on us was most definitely equally as brutal. You came into our sewers... our home and murdered innocent women and children, decreasing the ranks of our future warriors and birth givers. You came in using weapons of unparalleled power and destruction, unleashing blinding rays of light, incinerating at a touch."
"Yeah, well like I said, YOU started it... however that recent attack wasn't my idea. I thought we shouldn't spread ourselves out so thin."
"Yes, I'm aware of that, your Captain Salazar is dead and you have taken his place, which is why I feel I can talk to you about coming to you about putting an end to this conflict once and for all. I know of your deeds and you seem to be a lot more rational and reasonable than your predecessor. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that this conflict is only going to harm us in the long run. We have to think about the future. The future of mutant kind relies on us no longer fighting each other. I thought survival of the fittest was enough when I first embraced my evolution, I believed that only the strong should be allowed to rule... but now I see that isn't enough if we wish to thrive, we have to unite."
"What exactly are you getting at?"
"Oh come on, you know that we're the next stage of evolution. Humanity is the past, we're the future."
"Hmmm, I think I know some cyborgs that feel the same way."
"Ah yes your cybernetic allies who you temporarily allied with, only to ruthlessly back stab later. Obviously they aren't the future if they needed your help to defeat some humans. Listen to me, this City just isn't divided between the Zeropolis Guard and the Shadow Horde you know... there are other factions. You just never come on conflict with them because you're sectioned off in one corner of the City constantly fighting us and never able to spread out effectively. All these factions fight each other and that's not counting the Ferals. I'm proposing that we could take the first steps in truly uniting Zeropolis. We could first approach in friendship, and if that regrettably failed, we could take by force. Who could stop us? The Shadow Horde has a higher birth rate and the numbers, while the Zeropolis Guard has the resources. You'd attack on the surface and we could attack from below. We could rebuild the world in our image."
This rant is followed by her putting down her pistol, climbing on to your bed and seductively crawling closer to you, while taking off her strange protective mask revealing that the rest of her face isn't all scarred or mutated either. You feel really compelled to give in to her, and it's not just the fact that it's been awhile since you've been with a "human looking" chick. It's whatever aura she's exuding. It must be some sort of weird mutant ability she developed, but even though you're aware of it, that doesn't make it any less likely for you to want to resist. She's making a point you haven't considered before... you're in a position of power, why not use it effectively?
Her face is an inch away from yours and the only thing you can sputter is...
"What's your name?"
"I'm known as the Queen by the Horde, but you can call me Lisa." She replies before kissing you passionately.
> resist
As lovely of a creature she is, she's been the one leading your current enemy for years. She's most likely trying to lull you into a false sense of security to kill you; you won't allow yourself to fall for it.
As Lisa kisses and grinds into you, you muster all your strength and grab her to roll her over so that you're on top and firmly in control.
"Ohhh... okay... if that's the way you want to do this, I don't mind." Lisa says and for a brief moment you think she might've been telling the truth about the alliance, however you go through with your plan.
"Sorry baby, but I could never trust you. Maybe next life." You reply and snap her neck with one quick twist.
After the deed is done you sit by the bed for quite some time by her lifeless body. You really wish you hadn't felt the need to do that, but given the fact that you've been the perpetrator of as well as a victim of betrayal in the past you felt you had no choice. Still, you always wonder what if...
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed since you decided that going to the City would be a great place to find supplies...
After the death of Lisa, the Shadow Horde became disorganized and eventually began to fight amongst themselves. They became much less of a direct threat, and as head of the Zeropolis Legion (As you renamed it) you were able to make the Dust District relatively safe once again. The idea of taking over the entire City was never something you want to pursue, so you just concentrated on building up the Dust District, however events conspire against you from living out a relatively conflict free life.
Recently over the last few years, a cult of mutants called the Glow Children, have taken over a great portion of Zeropolis through their weird faith. They follow a leader calling themselves the Savior. In your experience, groups with any type of religious faith behind them are never willing to negotiate and they aren't an exception. They are utterly fanatical and devoted to their cause. They turn out to be worse than the Shadow Horde (In fact they also engage in attacks from the sewers as well, causing you to believe that ex-Shadow Horde members fill their ranks.) They've made their headquarters (or Cathedral as it were) at the old hospital.
They attack the Dust District relentlessly, but the most disturbing thing you notice is how some of them carry high tech weaponry similar to the kind that you used to fight the Shadow Horde. Later you see some of the bigger Glow Children fitted with cybernetic implants. You know that the Combine won the war against the Cybernetic Evolution, but it would appear at least one of their number survived and are obviously remembering your past treachery. The day of reckoning is soon at hand.
Eventually one day while you're arranging yet another plan to take back parts of the Dust District you've lost control over, your head quarters is attacked by several of the biggest mutants you've ever seen. Many of them are of the cybernetic variety armed with weapons of devastating power that make quick work of your elite guards.
As you make your futile last stand with a plasma gun, one of the giant aberrations takes two shots to the chest and still manages to pick you up and rend you limb from limb with minimal effort on its part. |
You wonder if you've lost your mind again, because you can't believe you're even considering this...
"Hey! Uh, hello! This is Zeropolis Guard territory! What do you want?" you call out to the group of cyborgs. One of them briefly talks to its heavier armed brethren and then steps forward to meet you; it's a female, mostly human looking cyborg. She's sort of cute, well cuter than what you're used to around here anyway.
"Yes, greetings. I am AVA-93, former human remade, emissary prototype, from the Cybernetic Evolution." She says unemotionally.
"Prototype?"
"Yes, I am one of a kind. The Cybernetic Evolution typically does not believe in wasting time with words. We prefer a more direct course of action as we are attempting to remake humanity to a higher state of evolution."
"I see... so what purpose do you serve then since you guys tend to shoot first and ask questions later?"
"Why to make contact with you mutants of course. The Cybernetic Evolution is currently at war with a human organization called the Combine. They refuse to see the light, are a committed foe and greatly outnumber us. So we must find every means available to defeat them. We have heard that mutants are victims of human prejudices and that you are typically shot on sight when found outside the City."
"Well I suppose you could say that, though I can sort of see why they might be suspicious of us, many of us aren't exactly friendly types."
"Yes, I have heard that most mutants are completely hostile, I am surprised to see the amount of organization you have shown as I thought this was not the case."
"Around here, we're the exception rather than the norm, so what did you have in mind?"
"An alliance of course. We would like you to help us destroy The Combine."
"Whoa, hold on there. I'm not exactly in charge of this place; you'll have to talk with Captain Salazar, as he runs the Zeropolis Guard. There's also the fact that we're in a war ourselves with a group of mutants that outnumber us, we wouldn't be able to help much. Then there's the whole fact... "
You hesitate, but AVA-93 demands that you continue.
"Yes?"
"Well there's that fact that if you're trying remake humans into cyborgs, what happens after you defeat all the humans? Will you try to remake us as well?"
"A thoughtful question. At the present time, you mutants are not suitable candidates for remaking, though what the future holds is unknown. However you can be rest assured that if we ally we will never attack you as long as we are at war with The Combine."
That answer doesn't really make you want to suddenly be their friend, though it was an honest answer. The only thing you can think of is let Captain Salazar decide how he wants to handle this, so you take AVA and the rest to see him.
During the talks Salazar doesn't seem very concerned about what might happen in the future so much as what an alliance can do for him now. AVA mentions that they can supply him with their own high tech weapons to help in the war with the Shadow Horde, if the Zeropolis Guard starts raiding nearby Combine towns. He immediately agrees, and AVA leaves explaining that the first shipment will arrive as soon in the mean time they want an attack launched on the Combine immediately.
You advise strongly against this course of action. The Shadow Horde hasn't even been attacking in large groups like it once did. You don't like the idea of fighting a two front war and spreading your strength so thin, and you still don't like the idea of allying with a bunch of cyborgs with a superiority complex. Salazar doesn't want to hear it though; his vendetta against the Shadow Horde is too great. He wants them gone and is willing to do anything for the chance. In fact he's pissed off at you for advising against it, so he says he's sending YOU along with a few others to start attacking the Combine towns!
You leave Zeropolis for the first time in five years; it's very odd to you. Everything seems different, like cleaner. Even the air seems fresher. You almost feel like you don't belong here anymore, the others traveling with you feel the same way. Soon you approach a nearby town; of course you stay away for awhile plotting of how to approach this situation.
Over the course of a few months you organize successful raids on Combine towns, mostly at night, taking advantage of your night vision. (Which seems perfect at this point)
While you do feel superior to them, you don't have any particular hatred for humans; this is just job to you, nothing more. You don't have too much resistance for the most part. Most of the Combine force is holding off the Cybernetic Evolution. But you do lose people under your command, some through the attacks, but some due to being called back to Zeropolis. Apparently the Captain is having a lot more difficulty than he thought when he started sending troops down into the sewers to take the fight to the Shadow Horde. Eventually you're all by yourself! In fact you're wondering why Captain Salazar hasn't called you back since you're his second in command, you know he was pissed at you, but if he's calling everyone else back, why not you?
At this point you can't even really do too much, except maybe hang out in the wilderness sniping the occasional Combine citizen or soldier. In fact given this situation, you get the feeling he's pretty much abandoned you.
Maybe you should just leave. It's not like you couldn't survive out here. Your time in Zeropolis has made you better in everyway. You could even withstand long periods of food and water if need be. (Though lately you've been eating the mutant wildlife and drinking their blood to sustain you, so it isn't really a problem)
> leave
You know when you're not wanted. If your help is no longer appreciated then fuck it, you'll miss your home, but you can find another. In fact maybe it's for the best, if Salazar was calling people back, then maybe the Shadow Horde was winning and you certainly don't want to be living there with them in charge.
You know that being a mutant, you won't be liked among humans either, (Especially since you've been attacking them!) but maybe that isn't the case everywhere. The Combine isn't everywhere and their policies against mutants might not be the norm in other parts of the country. Hell, even without the Combine around there's still the Cybernetic Evolution that you don't trust.
In fact this whole area is fucked. Time to leave!
With this in mind you begin to walk, not knowing where you'll end up, but definitely someplace better. |
Something you wouldn't ever consider eating before suddenly makes a lot of sense to you. You start off by grabbing the nearest crawling roaches you see and start popping them in your mouth and chew.
They taste terrible, somehow though you don't suffer a gag reflex though. You just find them unpleasant, like eating something bitter rather than disgusting. After having had enough of eating bugs you try to catch a rat. It takes awhile, but eventually you stomp on one severely crippling it and then stomp once more to kill it.
Eating a raw rat doesn't particularly taste any better, but again you don't suffer any sort of natural revulsion during this act. It would seem you've gone through a change of some sort, one that has put you in a better frame of mind for survival. One that has also put your body in better condition for survival as well since you suffer no ill effects from eating such unclean creatures under equally unclean conditions. You temporarily have some problems with lice and fleas you catch from the rats, but even that doesn't really become a problem considering the rest hair has fallen out now. (Well you have a few wisps left) You skin also begins to harden in time, making fleas no longer a problem. Whatever internal parasites any of these might've carried also have no effect as it seems your resistance and immunity system has increased quite a bit.
You look in the bathroom mirror one day and see that you've changed alright. Changed into something better. You aren't going to win any beauty contests, but you're going to live...
A year passes...
You've been living a relatively simple life of eating and sleeping and it's basically been enough. For the past year your mind hasn't really been the most stable, so you haven't really thought about anything other than your immediate survival, and given you have a water supply and the rats and roaches for food, you haven't ventured outside of the GZS warehouse since you entered.
That's starting to change.
Lately your mind seems to have a little more clarity. Indeed you're starting to feel like "yourself" before the change. Not entirely like yourself, but you don't go shithouse rat crazy screaming at the walls like you used to.
You've been getting a little curious about the rest of the City. If you're mostly sane now, maybe other survivors are as well. Maybe even some things have been fixed; it would be nice if they were, as its getting boring where you're currently staying. Taking your weapons with you, you leave your new home to explore. (Making sure to hide the trapdoor before leaving of course)
The City streets are still as desolate as you remember them, and mostly empty as well. You expect to run into gangs of mutants though. You suddenly stop and think about that for a moment and realize that YOU are also a mutant now!
Still, that doesn't necessarily mean mutantism is a club. You're sure there's a lot of fighting for resources. In fact you come across some fighting, though in a different way than you'd imagine. While you're walking through a neighborhood by a corner store that has all its windows boarded up, you hear voices inside. You step through the open doorway to investigate. It's dark inside, but some candles light up the place.
"Ted, what do you mean you won't gimme anything for this? This is a solid gold watch man!" a skinny mutant asks an exceptionally ugly one eyed mutant he has pistol strapped to his side.
"Goddamn it Carl, would you fuckin' think? What the hell am I gonna do with a gold piece of shit that doesn't even work anymore in the first place?"
"Well can't you trade it for something? I mean gold's gotta be worth something to someone! It's not like I gave you a sack of dollar bills!"
"Didn't stop you from trying though did it? Look Carl, unless it's something useful you know damn well I ain't taking it. Bring back some batteries, a first aid kit, hell some canned corn would be a welcome change of pace than watery roach soup! Just stop bringing me shit I have no use for!"
"But Carl! I need some bullets! You can't expect me to do any scavenging downtown without bullets for my pistol! How will I defend myself against the Ferals or how about at night when the Shadow Horde comes out?"
"Cry me a river Carl, you're a fast guy I'm sure you can outrun the roving gangs of Ferals, ain't that hard. And second of all you shouldn't even BE out at night! If you get caught out at night I got no sympathy for what happens to you! Now... " suddenly Ted's one good eye catches sight of you.
"Who the fuck are you pretty boy?" Ted asks, Carl just backs off when he sees the assault rifle strapped to your back.
"Pretty boy? Have you seen my face?" you retort.
"Yeah, I see your fucking face an' you're a fuckin' pretty boy as far as I'm concerned. Shit you ain't even got any scars. So what the hell do you want, I ain't seen you before. Ain't seen too many here with an assault rifle either. You part of the Zeropolis Guard? Then again you don't wear the uniform... maybe you just killed one of them then? Heh heh."
"Who are the Zeropolis Guard?"
"You ain't heard of them? Huh, well they've only just been making scouting missions in this area. Basically a collection of ex-National Guardsmen that insisted on staying here to the very end. They got the best hardware as far as I know, but the delusional fuckers think it's STILL their job to keep peace in the damn City. Ain't no peace in Zeropolis!"
"What's Zeropolis exactly?" you ask feeling completely out of the loop, which only gets you some mighty strange stares by Carl and Ted.
"Uh, Zeropolis, y'know... The City? That's what this place is called now." Carl says.
"Holy shit pretty boy, you been livin' under a damn rock or something?"
"Well, uh sort of... "
"I guess so! Where the hell ARE you from?
"Er... I never actually lived in the City...I guess you can kind of say I got trapped here and then shortly after went mad for a little while and I'm only just now starting to feel like myself." You explain without giving too much information out.
"Hmm, well that might explain some things. I think we all know about that madness you're speaking of. Think it happened to everyone after this place got nuked, still going on for most people. You get that hunger craving and violent thoughts pervade your mind... though the first one I killed and ate was my wife so it wasn't ALL bad har har har!" Ted laughs. "Hey how many people did you eat during that time?"
"Uh, none actually."
"None? Ah, you must be like Carl here. He just ate roaches and rats because even when the madness hit him he still was a big pussy!"
"Fuck you Ted! I'M the one going out risking my ass scavenging, not YOU! I... just didn't want to eat anybody... I guess I just never suffered the madness as much as the rest."
"Yeah, well anyway what do you guys actually sell here?" you ask.
"Well Carl doesn't sell shit, because he doesn't own this place, I do. And as you can probably tell we run on the barter system here that being the only real way to do business anymore. However I have a wide variety of items, but not obviously not right here, since this part of the store ain't the most secure as you can see, but bring me something I might find useful and maybe we can do business; just don't bring fuckin' broken gold watches!" Ted exclaims looking back at Carl.
"There's a lot of stuff downtown to scavenge, hey... maybe you could come with me?" Carl suddenly asks hopefully.
> go back home
"Nah, that's alright. I guess I'll be heading out." You reply and leave the shop with the full intent on going home.
On your way back home you unfortunately run into a couple of the Zeropolis Guardsmen who seem intent on giving you a hard time.
"Whoa there, who the fuck are you, and where do you think you're going with that rifle on your back?" one asks.
"What the hell difference does it make to you?"
"It makes a difference because we patrol this area all the damn time and we've never seen you before. Not to mention you look fucking suspicious with an assault rifle on your person!"
"... What the fuck? What about you guys?! You got damn machine guns and grenades!"
"Yeah, well WE'RE members of The Zeropolis Guard! We need this shit in our war with the Shadow Horde, while you're just a lowly civvy! We're going to be occupying this area soon and you won't need something like that as protection anymore. In fact a fine weapon like that would be better put to use by The Zeropolis Guard, so you probably should hand it over right now."
"Ha ha, you're a funny guy. I don't think so." You say.
"That wasn't a request, that was a goddamn order!"
"Sorry, but as you just pointed out I'm just a lowly civvy, so I'm not inclined to follow your stupid ass orders."
This last remark does it. The two soldiers now have their excuse, they raise their weapons and you do like wise. A small shoot out occurs in which you end up killing one of them and wounding the other, however they manage to wound you severely as well. As you attempt to take cover behind a wrecked car, the surviving Guardsmen throws a grenade in your direction which you are unable to react to in time before it blows you up. |
You decide to stay, and think about what Owen said about the water supply and the anti-radiation drugs in it then you think about what happened to a majority of the survivors. It didn't seem to do them any good, but he was right; it WAS stupid to come here! You can't really do much about it now, but you're hoping that water can keep you from dying a slow horrible death, though you don't know how it works exactly since you weren't drinking it before you absorbed rads. Still, you'll try anything now.
The first thing you do is start drinking the water, and a lot of it. You also wonder about Owen's supervisor Lisa. He did say she was supposed to return soon, and you form some ideas on how to handle the situation when it arises (to keep your mind occupied), but as it turns out, she never does. Probably got killed no doubt.
A few days go by and there's not much to do for entertainment purposes and you're reluctant to leave your "safe haven" now. There are some books in what is Lisa's room that you peruse through. You also look for maybe some notes on her research since the stuff Owen told you about did sound interesting. Maybe even ideas on what the drugs in the water supply might've done to people (Something ELSE you're starting to worry about) but unfortunately you don't find anything. She must've taken those with her. Owen's room has an old TV set which amusingly has an equally as old game console hooked up to it. You spend a lot of time shooting different colored circular objects with your white triangle on the screen.
After a week you start feeling weird. Like mildly delirious. You start lying in bed a lot, only getting up to quench your thirst since you don't have much of an appetite.
After a month you start feeling sick. You begin throwing up and having diarrhea even though you've barely been eating anything. You have the shakes and you often just lie on the floor aching all over you body. You drink the water in the steadily failing hopes that it will miraculously cure you.
When patches of your hair start falling out, and cough up bits of blood, you really start to lose all hope.
"Oh fuck... I don't wanna die like this... shit... " you sob.
You begin thinking about suicide, but you're so weak that the one time you seriously attempt it; you collapse on the floor when reaching for your pistol and fall unconscious for a full day.
When you wake up, you feel a little better physically, but not much. However your mind is a little warped. As it turns out this is somewhat fortunate as you don't worry about dying so much anymore. You do start talking to yourself at great lengths though. You begin having bizarre thoughts about things in general. Sometimes you go into a fit and start ranting until you're hoarse.
Another month passes and you're completely better physically, in fact you feel stronger than you ever did before. Your mind is still in la la land though. You begin to get very violent. You begin punching the walls (and even doing some damage to them) and ripping up books. What temporarily "sobers" you up is when you smash the food dispenser, breaking it completely. While you still have real food left you've just destroyed your only means of food-substitute when the real stuff runs out.
"SHIT!" you yell. "I gotta get a fuckin... grip... I gotta get fuckin' food!"
You grab your pistol and assault rifle and throw open the door in search of food.
After climbing back up to the surface, you notice that you can see pretty well in the dark warehouse. It would appear you've developed some minor "dark vision". In the darkness you also notice that the warehouse has lots of rats and roaches crawling around in it.
Those could be food...
> find something else
NO! You must have something of substance! Something with more meat! You quickly leave the warehouse and go loping around the City like some sort of animal.
You stalk the streets in search of prey but find nothing! You begin snarling to yourself and getting madder, but suddenly you hear someone talking loudly nearby. You get quiet and slowly look around the corner and see three men in radiation suits carrying weapons.
"Albert, for the last time will you fucking calm down, there ain't gonna be nobody here! If you think this place is going to be crawling with mutant creatures, you've been watching too many movies!"
"Well how do YOU know, Roger? I mean how do we know it won't be?"
"Look, Harry gave us this mission to do some scouting, not standing around with our thumbs up our asses arguing, now come on!"
"Shh! Did you hear that?"
"Christ, Steve not you too... "
Before Roger can complete his retort you come around the corner and fire your assault rifle at them haphazardly. You hit two of them before one of them runs off. One of them lies completely still as you approach, but the other is still twitching and convulsing as their body begins to shut down. You finish him off with a couple of blows to the head with your rifle butt before ripping the protective suit to get to the precious meat inside. However the noise of your weapon has caused other mutants to suddenly come out of the woodwork. They too want the flesh of these humans, but you won't let them have it! This is YOUR kill!
The other mutants aren't as well armed as you are, and when they try to take your kill you fire at them and begin trying to drag it back to your home. You only have so many bullets though and eventually it's a feeding frenzy where you're all fighting for the biggest piece. Eventually you grab a leg and an arm and run back to your lair to eat in solitude. When you're finished you belch in satisfaction and fall asleep.
In the months to follow, you will continue to participate in these activities, though mutant flesh never seems to taste as good as that of human. You cease keeping up any sense of appearances or hygene, you don't even sleep in the GZS research room anymore, preferring to sleep in the actually warehouse along with the rats and roaches. (Though you still go to drink from the water recycler down there) You've completely given in to the madness.
A year passes...
You wake up again like you always do, slightly hungry. You grab a nearby roach and chomp on that until you can find something more substantial. It's getting more difficult to hunt in this area though. For some reason most of the mutants here don't seem to act like you do anymore. Many of them have gotten "better" and have even been engaging in somewhat normal activities. You know there are still hunting groups of others like you holdup in some nearby factories, but you were never a social animal, you're a lone hunter. You don't like to share. You also know not to stay out after night, as you've seen mutants much larger than yourself to stalk the streets, even you don't want to mess with them if you don't have to.
So far you've been successful despite the odds steadily becoming against you, however it would seem that event continue to conspire against you. A large group of mutants dressed in uniforms have been patrolling the area as of late in fact they've been purposely trying to make it safe by wiping out your types. You've come in conflict with a couple of them, but the firepower they pack is too much for you and you've long since run out of bullets. (At this point you're just beating others over the head with the rifle or pistol whipping them)
Granted life has never been safe or easy, but now it's been getting particularly dangerous. Even in your simple delusional state, you're wondering if you should find new hunting grounds.
> stay where you are
You know this area, and you don't want to leave, so you attempt to keep a lower profile. It's very difficult at first, and you struggle to keep your violent urges in check. You keep to eating rats and roaches. As a few month go by you begin to feel somewhat different. You don't feel quite as "insane" anymore though your mind is still a little around the bend. You never really leave the warehouse anymore and begin sleeping in the GZS outpost again, spending hours talking and laughing to yourself in between snacks.
Eventually the uniformed mutants find your little hideaway. When you see them you're surprised and annoyed, but you don't feel the need to attack them. (Though you wouldn't anyway since they're heavily armed)
"Hey! Get out of my house!"
"See I knew this place had Ferals." One of them says.
"I dunno, he hasn't attacked us yet, you sure he's a Feral?"
"Hm, you might be right, he sort of looks like one though, of course maybe he's gotten better, y'know the Captain said it happens sometimes."
"Hey! I said get outta my house!" you exclaim again.
The uniformed mutants continue to ignore you.
"What the hell do you think this place is?"
"I dunno, but the Captain will be interested, with the fact there's a generator and water recycler here... alright sorry to do this, but you gotta leave. This place is now the property of the Zeropolis Guard, which is us, and not you. So get your stuff and leave. You can go move into one of the many abandoned buildings in one of the neighborhoods."
You attempt to protest, but the soldiers just roughly grab you and force you out of your home and throw you out on the street. They then warn you not to try that again or else they won't be as nice next time. Having nowhere else to go, you follow their instructions and begin living in one of the abandoned buildings in one of the neighborhoods.
Months go by and you learn more about the things going on in the Dust District. (The area that you've been dwelling in) You don't really understand all the intricate details, but from what you can tell, The Zeropolis Guard is attempting to make this area their base of sorts in their war against the Shadow Horde (The sewer mutants) part of this organizing involves killing out the remaining Ferals in the area and rebuilding it.
As you are basically under the protection of the Zeropolis Guard, you're also subject to their whims and they expect you to pitch in and be a productive citizen like everyone else. In your case this means conscription.
You're in the army now, but you're still just trying to keep your mind from wandering. You never really did get over the "year of madness" that you suffered. Your mind is still disjointed, though when you kill Shadow Horde members, you do feel a sense of fulfillment, so it isn't all bad. Many of your fellow soldiers kind of stay away from you though and you aren't really considered for anything greater than just a regular soldier.
Eventually during one of the many battles with the Shadow Horde, you are struck down by a brutal blow to head with a very large piece of steel. You maintain consciousness for a few seconds before seeing a big boot come down on your face, making you just one of the many causalities in this mutant war. |
Monday 8:00 AM
You groggily wake up from the sofa like you always do, dreading to have to go to work at your pointless job. You haven't been sleeping well lately, you don't know what the hell the problem is, and all you know is you're going to be tired for work again. As you go through your routine of getting ready, the TV can be heard; as usual you left it on from the night before.
"... And peace talks broke down today, as several ambassadors engaged in a physical fight at the UN... Neo-Communist party gaining favor in Russia... more terrorist bombings in European Union cities... US troops won another victory in the Middle East... mysterious epidemic in China, several million dead... skirmishes on the Indian-Pakistan border... world wide tensions at an all time high... "
Same old doom and gloom on TV; you wonder why you even bother watching the news anymore. Still it does seem like things are getting worse, late at night when you're suffering from your usual insomnia, you've been catching infomercials attempting to sell bomb shelters, like something out of a 1950s propaganda film. It seems silly, but you do wonder if it's only a matter of time before someone presses the button.
Then again you live out in the boonies, you've always thought that if the world ever did blow up; you'd doubt you'd even notice until you drove to work the next day and saw the ruins of the city. Speaking of which you better get going or you'll be late.
> buy a bomb shelter
Fuck work, the world's about to end soon and you need to prepare yourself for that! You immediately call up the number that the infomercial mentioned. You know the damn thing by heart since you've been watching it night after night. Eventually a chipper female voice picks up on the other end.
"Ground Zero Survival Inc. How may I help you?"
"Uh, yeah I'd like to buy a bomb shelter."
"That's wonderful sir! In these uncertain times you can never be too careful and we here at GZS are thrilled that you've chosen to trust us in your continued existence! You and your family's utmost protection is as important to us is it is to you! Our shelters are the best you'll find and, we have many shelters still available at various prices, but really can you put a price on your loved ones protection? Of course not! So I'm sure you'll want one of our top of the line models that are still left! Okay so how many are in your family?"
"Um, just me."
"Oh... " the voice suddenly gets less chipper.
"What?"
"Sir, don't you have ANY family? Like a wife at least, maybe a cousin?"
"No, not really."
"Oh dear... "
"WHAT!?"
"Well sir, its just that, we here at GZS are a family friendly business and we feel that the survival of the human race will best be served by those who have a strong sense of family ties and a respect for the family unit. We aren't in the business of selling shelters to those of low moral fiber sir... "
"What the fuck?! Just because I'm single I gotta be some sort of low life? I'm not luring fuckin' little girls into my car with lollipops! I have a fucking job and pay my goddamn taxes!"
"Sir, I don't like you taking that tone with me when there isn't any call for it and I would appreciate it if you didn't blaspheme, I'm a God fearing woman. Now then I understand your frustration, but there's nothing we can do. Our shelters were primarily built for families of at least four. To put singles in them wouldn't be fair to families that have children who shall surely be the ones to rebuild civilization, not to mention it would be a waste of resources. A single person would have an overstock of food and water since as I said we primarily cater to families and stock the shelters with families in mind."
"I fail to see how me having MORE than enough food and water is a bad thing... "
"I see sir, so you would be selfish and deprive a possible family of survival?"
"I didn't say that! And wait a minute; wouldn't I be doing that anyway if I had a family of my own?"
"Yes, but it would be different."
"How?"
"You would have a family sir."
You're about ready to throw the phone against the wall in frustration.
"So basically what you're telling me is you're not selling me a shelter."
"Ah now I didn't say that sir! Since you're interested in buying our product and by your previous outburst I can tell you ARE a productive member of society. And it is only due to your poor social skills that you have been unable to take the necessary steps to have a family of your own! But never fear, GZS HAS kept your type in mind!"
"Gee, thanks... "
"You're quite welcome sir! We have the Community Shelters for singles! It is basically a giant shelter filled with singles such as yourself. You will be given a separate room to live in, but everything else you must share. Don't worry we have stocked these shelters with supplies to last for years! It is our hope that nature will take its course and when it comes time to return to the surface a fully functional tight knit community of families will emerge to rebuild civilization once again!"
Sharing isn't something you're good at. You like your privacy and your space and your solitude. You can't imagine sharing stuff when your very survival is at stake.
"Look, don't you have ANYTHING I can get by myself?" you demand.
"Are you serious sir? You actually want to be alone?" the voice says as if you must be nuts to ask that kind of question.
"If possible yeah."
"Well... I shouldn't really tell you sir, because you snapped at me earlier, but it is my job to make sure any potential customer is serviced to the best of my ability. That and the fact that these other Special Shelters we have are a bit... experimental."
"Experimental? What do you mean?"
"Well I don't know too much about these Special Shelters myself sir, all I know is they have been equipped with the latest technology and VERY expensive. Anyone can buy one as long as they have the money to do so."
"Well how experimental are these things exactly?"
"As I said sir, I know little about these Special Shelters other than they are equipped with the latest technology. GZS has run tests and they are considered very safe and will protect you in the coming apocalypse, however due to time constraints GZS may have missed a few minor things, and as such we are legally required to warn... er inform potential customers before they buy them."
> buy a room in the Community Shelter
As much as you're not keen on sharing, you're less keen on the idea of being shoved in an experimental shelter. Sounds like they didn't work all the bugs out of the system, and it's filled with hi-tech equipment? God help you if something broke down. You wouldn't know how to fix it. At least if you're with other people, there's bound to be people with different skills to compliment each other.
Of course everyone could just be incompetent like they usually are.
You're not going to dwell on it too much, you'll take the safer choice; maybe it won't be so bad.
"Okay I'll take a room in the Community Shelter."
"Wonderful sir! You won't regret this decision! Now I'll need to know some vital information about yourself before I can direct you to our nearest Community shelter in your area where upon you shall pay the automatic teller just inside the foyer of it so that the main door can open and you will be able to enter your new residence during Armageddon! Okay let's start with your name sir."
You give out your name, address and such. It's all pretty routine stuff until the questions get more personal.
"Have you ever committed a felony sir?"
"No."
"Do you have a history of mental illness sir?"
"No."
"Are you a drug addict or smoke sir?"
"No."
"Are you handicapped in anyway sir?"
"No."
"Do you believe in God sir?"
"Huh? Uh... sure I guess."
"Hmmm... okay... " the voice says a bit disapprovingly. "Do you have any physical diseases or suffered from any in the past sir?"
"No."
"Do you have AIDS or any other STDs sir?"
"What the hell? I just told you I don't have any diseases! Sexual or otherwise!"
"Are you sterile sir?"
"What?!"
"I said are you shooting blanks sir?"
"What difference does that make?"
"Please sir, just answer the question."
"(Sigh) No. As far as I know, I'm packing a loaded fucking weapon. I know because I had to take an overly thorough physical for work recently."
"Wonderful sir! Okay are you a homosexual or ever had homosexual feelings?"
"WHAT THE FUCK?! NO!!"
"Sir, I told you before don't take that tone with me."
"Well you're asking me a lot of fucking personal questions! Why do you need to know all this shit?"
"Sir, as I said, we are a family orientated business, we aren't just a money motivated corporation, we are interested in the survival and well being of the human race. The human race can't thrive if people don't meet the necessary... requirements. How can civilization be re-built if children aren't being born? I mean would you want to live in a society built by drug addicted mentally ill homosexual criminals? That's the reason the world is ending now, because people have turned away from a righteous way of living!"
"Look I'd live in a fucking society with transsexual midgets if it'll get me to the fucking shelter already!"
"Hmmm, well despite that comment, your non-committal answer on the belief in God, and your overall anti-social tone, you do qualify for one of our rooms in the Community Shelter in your area. I can only hope some of the other more sociable residents rub off on you, and cause a change in your personality. I'll give you the location of the shelter sir."
You are given the location of the Community Shelter which you are surprised to find out is closer then you think, it shouldn't take too long for you drive there. You are then given the price, which is pretty steep, but you can afford it. Besides if the world is ending it's not like you're really going to need money anymore. Which makes you wonder why GZS is in business at all. What's the point of going to the trouble of building bomb shelters for Armageddon if all the profit they make is most likely going to be useless in the aftermath?
Oh well that's not your concern, you're just glad you passed the damn interrogation and got into the shelter. Of course now you're subjected to some last minute rules.
"Okay sir, you are now in the system and registered. You may move into the Shelter at anytime as long you pay the fee required to the automatic teller as previously described to you. If you don't pay, you can't get in obviously. Cash, check, or debit card are acceptable. NO Credit Cards will be accepted! Now then some rules. You do not have to bring anything with you, but it is recommended that you do bring your own clothing if you wish to wear something different as the days go by. Food and drinkable liquids are acceptable, but not necessary. Do not bring in private medical supplies or repair equipment, the shelter has been stocked with those items, we do not want people bringing in potential weapons or illegal drugs. Speaking of which, DO NOT attempt to bring in any kind of weapon! Guns and knives are strictly prohibited! Attempting to bring in either one will result in non-admittance of the shelter! Same goes for drugs of any kind. Alcohol is frowned upon, but accepted. There WILL be a machine to scan you before you're allowed to enter, so do not think you will be able to sneak anything in! Now then I trust our transaction has ended. If you have anymore questions please contact our customer service line. Good day sir, may your first child be a masculine one and thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!"
That's it, all you have to do is get what stuff you want to take with you and move in, might as well do it now, no sense in waiting until you see the nuclear cloud. You wonder if you shouldn't try to "beat the system" by sneaking your weapon in though.
Ultimately you decide this is survival. You need every advantage you can get. You don't know what kind of people you're going to be stuck with, so you take your pistol with you and a few "non-lethal" supplies such as duct tape. You also you just pack some clothing, food and water. You then set off on your way.
After a couple days of driving you finally arrive at the location that you were given. It's in a fairly desolate place with a single solid metal structure with a door standing there. There's also a few other cars parked nearby, you obviously aren't the first one here. You park your van and enter the structure with the items you brought with you. You're in a small foyer with an elevator door and ATM like machine; you're guessing that's the automatic teller you were told about.
Before you start pressing buttons you need to figure out how you're going to get your pistol through the scanning process, because you can be sure if you fail something nasty will happen...
> duct tape the pistol to the ceiling
GZS probably has some sort of scanner that does a little more than just scan your body, so just not having the gun on your person most likely isn't going to work.
You get the idea that the machine is probably not going to scan the ceiling though, so you get out your duct tape and fix it to the pistol, you then climb on top of the automatic teller and jump up to stick the pistol on the ceiling. You end up falling on your ass, but you succeed. You then press some buttons on the machine, where it proceeds to ask your name and how you're going to pay. You type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it drains most of your account. The door you stepped through sudden shuts and a hum is heard. You take a deep breath and hope for the best.
"Now scanning for unauthorized items... Scanning... Scanning... Scanning complete. You have been allowed entry, the elevator doors will now open, your room number is 23, thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!" an emotionless electronic voice remarks as the elevator doors open. It worked!
You quickly climb back up on to the teller and jump up to grab your pistol, (this time able to maintain your balance better) toss it into the elevator opening and then rush in with all your belongings and take the long elevator trip down.
When you get to bottom the elevator door opens to large sterile hallway with lines of other closed metal doors on either side As soon as you enter, the elevator doors slam shut and you hear it going back up, you also notice there aren't any buttons to call it back... before you're able to worry about that little detail you're met by a few of your new neighbors. One is some tall skinny guy another is a brunette woman who begins talking to you.
"Hey, another new neighbor! My name is Nina and this is Ron, what's your name?"
She is entirely too fucking friendly given the situation.
"Why aren't there call buttons back on the elevator?" you ask ignoring her question.
"Huh? Oh I guess it's a safety feature. The elevator automatically goes back up so the other people can get in as quickly as possible. Ron suggested that they might've thought someone would deliberately try to keep the elevator down here to prevent anyone else from seeking shelter. Though I can't honestly imagine that anyone would do such a horrible thing."
"Been living on earth long Nina?" you ask rhetorically. "Great, so I'm basically trapped down here due to the brilliant engineering minds of GZS... so is it just us so far or are their other people here too?"
"There are a few others, if you come with us we can introduce you to... "
"Maybe later, look we're gonna be stuck down here for a long time so I'll get to know everyone soon enough, right now I just want to go to my room and rest."
"Erm, okay... " Ron says as you push past them both.
You head to your room which is equipped with the basic requirements; food and water dispenser, shower, bed, and a cabinet. (You hide your pistol in your mattress) There's a standard Shelter Operations Manual sitting on the table as well as a Shelter Booklet about socialization, rules, guidelines and such, both of which you skim through every now and then. There's a big public recreation area and a couple of other public rooms where your neighbors gather, but you stay in your room and keep to yourself for the most part. Sometimes in the middle of the night when nobody else is around you'll watch the TV in the living area to keep up on current events.
You hear other people arriving over the month. Ron and Nina greet them all, you can tell those two are going to be the ones to "organize" shit and probably try to decide what's "best" for everyone. Always saying stuff that they read in the booklet.
"Fucking busy bodies... " you say as you fall asleep watching the world in its death throes on TV...
Monday 8:00 AM
"... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... "
You groggily wake up and see a test pattern on TV.
This is it.
You feel a small tremor and then you turn off the TV, just as Nina and Ron come walking in.
"What was that?" Nina asks.
"Test pattern, I think Armageddon arrived." You answer.
"What?! I can't believe it!" Ron exclaims.
"Why are you so surprised? I mean that was the whole point of coming down here right?"
"Yeah, but I dunno... I just wasn't prepared for it actually happening."
"Christ, Ron I've overheard you say you were the first one in this goddamn shelter, you of all people should've long gotten used to the idea of living down here."
"What is your problem? You been nothing but hostile since you've got here!" Nina exclaims.
"My problem is I'm stuck down here with a bunch of people I don't really know and if you two are any indication I don't want to know."
"How did you even qualify to get a room down here?"
"Good clean living I guess, so is there supposed to be something special we do now?"
"Uh, yeah I think so, it mentions something in the booklet I was reading that came with the shelter, we're supposed to gather everyone and tell them."
"Okay well I guess you guys go do that then. I'm just going to check on something here."
"Okay, but we're supposed to have some sort of vote to decide on how this place is going to be run, if you don't show up you don't get a vote." Ron reminds you.
"I know Ron, I've read the booklet." You answer unenthusiastically.
Ron and Nina leave you and go tell the others of the situation and follow other things it states in the booklet. You're wondering if you should even stay down here. All these people seem completely different than you. You wish there was someway to call the elevator back down, but after checking a GZS computer it states that it won't come back until it detects that the surface is safe for habitation again... which basically means not in your lifetime.
It's probably just as well since the surface probably isn't the safest place you'd want to be, lord knows what the hell it looks like now, not to mention the radiation factor. Then again you'd still like the option to leave if you wanted to. You go back to your room, read and enjoy the solitude until Nina comes to get you.
"Hey! You didn't show up for the meeting! We're discussing which ways this place could be run, are you coming or what?"
> go vote
"(Sigh) Fine, I'll attend this exercise in futility, but what the hell are we doing exactly, so I'm not just jumping into shit." You ask as you and Nina walk towards the conference room.
"Well right now we're voting on a shelter leader. Someone to make the final decisions about important things. So far Ron is tied with another. In fact the only reason why I came to get you, was so you could break the tie."
"Whoopie, I feel honored I can take an important part in this democratic process. So who's the other person?"
"Oh, that would be Elliot. He was one of the later arrivals, but is very personable. Not that you'd know since I doubt you've even seen him given that you lock yourself in you room all the time."
"Yeah, yeah, I know who he is, bald guy. So I take it you want Ron to win huh?"
"Well... I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but Elliot's seems like a good guy too, so I'm sure he'd make a good leader as well."
"Why haven't you run? I mean you seem to like to organize things."
"Me? Oh no, I'm not a leader."
"Well from what I've seen of Ron, he isn't either."
Nina stops you in the corridor.
"Damn it, stop being an asshole! At least Ron makes an attempt to get involved in things! You haven't done shit since you got here except insult people and lock yourself away! Like it or not we're ALL in this together! And you better start getting with the program and contribute!"
"What the fuck? I am contributing; I'm going to this goddamn meeting aren't I? And you better watch your tone; remember I'M the swing vote for your boyfriend."
"Ron isn't my boyfriend! I mean... not yet... uh... "
"What? You mean he isn't taping your ass yet? Shit, he's stupider than I thought then, because he'd be lucky to get someone who looks like you even if you are annoying."
Nina stands and stares at you in disbelief.
"... could you possibly be any more vile?"
"Probably, but we don't have time for that, I gotta vote for some dickhead."
You continue to the conference room (with Nina no longer walking with you) and when you finally arrive everyone is there as if they've been waiting for you. You don't even really care who's in charge since more than likely no matter who you vote for is going to be an intrusive bastard wanting everyone to do something.
You can vote for Ron. As far as leadership material, you don't really see him as one, though he seems to have some planning skills and friendly to people so maybe he's got the stuff.
Elliot you barely know anything about, he also seems to be an organizer and friendly to everyone, but not to the point that it's irritating. Though to you there's something a little creepy about him.
Ah what the hell, you know this is something Ron wants more than anything why not give it to him? Besides he's not very "strong" which means you can probably get away with disobeying him on a regular basis without causing a big scene.
"I'll vote for Ron." You say, Nina looks surprised and Ron jumps up and down like an idiot in celebration. You take that as your opportunity to go back to your room, Nina once again stops you in the corridor.
"I just wanted to say thanks for doing this; I know you don't even like Ron... "
"I don't care one way or another about him, if he wants the headache of running this place he can have it, he better just not ask too much of me, I did my bit. You can think of me as his kingmaker. See ya around."
You go back to your room and that's where you spend a majority of your time. You don't really mix with anyone, and nobody really makes the attempt with you either. You're asked to contribute to some "events" sometimes, but you always ignore such requests and nothing happens. Nina still hangs around Ron like a love sick school girl, but for god knows what reason he seems completely oblivious to the fact. And obviously she hasn't told him how she feels about him. You watch this comical display replay itself over and over.
"Yeah, GZS really picked some excellent candidates to pair up to create families for the so called future, what a joke." You mutter to yourself.
Time goes by and Ron goes about his duties which mainly consist of discussing pointless plans in the conference room. The idiot can't do ANYTHING without talking about it with others he appointed as advisors first! If somebody's shower is broken they have to discuss when, how and WHY it has to be fixed! Naturally everyone disagree about one point and they have to start all over again which usually means nothing gets done. A lot of planning and organizing of ideas, but no actual implementations of those same ideas.
The shelter starts falling into disrepair, a few fixes are made here and there, but they're more jury-rigged ones more than anything. Nobody has perfectly functioning rooms from what you know... well except yours since you do nothing, but study the shelter manual all the time attempting to learn more about how it works giving you an edge in repairing your own room. (In fact you just permanently took a repair kit for yourself out of the equipment room) You really don't understand why other people aren't doing the same instead of waiting around for things to get repaired or complaining about needing things to get repaired. Everyone has the same damn operations manual. Read it!
About six months go by and finally you're given an unexpected visit during the night. You answer your door. It's Elliot and some other people.
"May we come in?" Elliot asks.
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk about the future of the shelter."
"Yeah? Well you can talk to Ron about that, he's the big shelter leader."
"Yes he is, thanks to you. And that's also why this shelter is in such bad shape. Ron is ruining this place with his ineptitude."
"Oh no, don't blame that shit on me, that's RON'S fault, not mine. And besides MY room works fine. If you lazy bastards would actually read the damn shelter manual you wouldn't have any problems."
"Oh I've read the manual, I'm sure many people have. But surely you must realize most people don't have the natural talent to fix thing that perhaps you have. Besides I'm sure you must also be aware that in a community each person has his own talents. For example Leon behind me used to be a bouncer. Don't you think with his skills he'd make an excellent head of security around here?"
Leon folds his big black arms almost daring you to say "No." before Elliot continues.
"My point is me and a few others are planning to take Ron out of office for gross incompetence. Did you know Fred and Greta are planning to have a baby? The first one to be born in here. The population in this shelter isn't going to be stable forever. It's going to grow and we NEED to keep this place running efficiently if we're ALL going to survive. I know you're a solitary person... I even respect that, but the time has come for you to choose between life or death. By joining our group, you're choosing life. By remaining locked away in here, you're choosing death not just for all of us, but for yourself. No man is an island."
Elliot has a bit of duality to his speech. Part of him sounds genuinely concerned for the future of the shelter; he may even have a point. But the other part of him sounds like he's politely threatening you. And you're not sure of the whole "taking Ron out of office" thing. It almost sounds like he plans on taking over by force. You get the impression he and his little group are going to do just that regardless of whether you join or not.
> decline
"Yeah, well you do what you have to do, just leave me out of it. Your little power struggle with Ron isn't any of my concern. And if and when you do take power don't think you're going to be ordering me around either."
Elliot's expression changes to that of someone very perturbed by your response.
"I'm very disappointed to hear you say that, I really thought you could have a place in the new community I was planning."
"Think again, now get outta here... "
You begin to shove Elliot out of your doorway, but Leon reaches over his shoulder and shoves you back with great strength. You fall backwards on to your floor, Elliot and his gang start to enter. He pulls out a scalpel, something he probably got from the medical supplies. You happen to be right next to your mattress, so you reach in and grab your pistol to point it directly at Elliot. Now they all look like they just seen a ghost and all the bravery has drained out of them except Leon, who looks like this isn't the first time he's had a gun pointed at him, but he's still stepping back.
"You wanna fuckin' take another step motherfucker? Go ahead, I fuckin' dare you!"
"Holy shit, he's got a fuckin' gun Elliot!" a women in his group says.
"I can see that Brenda! Okay, look maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. I mean obviously you're a more resourceful man than I thought... I mean as far as I know you're the only one in this place with a goddamn gun. How'd you manage that?"
"Never you mind, just get the fuck outta here!"
"Very well, but remember, you don't have any friends in this place, and you can't watch your back all the time... "
Elliot has just announced his intentions of eliminating you whenever it's possible. You'll have to live in constant paranoia now. Unless...
> shoot him now
Always one to solve a problem before it starts...
You pull the trigger and blast Elliot square in the chest. He looks down in disbelief and then slumps down on the floor by your feet. You then get up from the floor as everyone else runs out of the room.
"Yeah that's what I thought! So much for your fearless leader!"
As you drag Elliot's body out of your room, everyone else in the shelter has come out of their own rooms after hearing the gun shot and screaming.
"OH MY GOD! HE'S GOT A GUN!" someone shouts.
"HE'S KILLED ELLIOT!" another screams.
Everyone is very afraid of what you're going to do next. Only Nina dares approach you.
"You... you killed him? I always knew you were anti-social, but... oh my god... "
"Yeah I fuckin' killed Elliot! And YOU of all people oughta be damn well glad I did! He was planning on taking over this place from your boyfriend Ron!"
"Ron's not my boyfriend! And I don't believe you! Elliot was gracious in his defeat! He was a good man unlike you!"
"Yeah he was so good he tried to recruit me for his little rebellion gang, and don't try to hide in the fuckin' crowd Leon and act like you weren't there! All of you fuckers hiding right now, came to my room with Elliot! And lemme ask you this, WHY the hell would ANY of them come to MY room? Everyone knows I don't invite people!"
"I dunno what to say right now... please just put down the gun... I don't want you to kill anyone else... "
"For fuck's sake Nina I'm not a mass murderer! It was self-defense! He was gonna kill me, just like he was gonna kill Ron and shit maybe he should've, the fuckstick's supposed to be the shelter leader and he's not even here for this! Where is Ron?"
Nina suddenly wonders where he's at as well, she runs over to his door which is still shut.
"Don't tell me, he's THAT much of deep sleeper." You mutter while standing by Elliot's dead body.
Nina doesn't even knock, apparently she's got her own key to get in his room. You're STILL wondering why nothing has happened between those two yet, your questions are soon answered, and everyone is in for another surprise this eventful night.
"EEEEEEEEEEEK! NO!" you hear Nina scream when she goes inside the room and then runs back out crying. Ron steps out in his underwear.
"No, wait! Nina, its not what it looks like!" he shouts to her and then another guy in his underwear comes out. You think his name is William, you never knew too much about him before, but you know MORE than you wanted to now!
"Get back inside William!" when Ron sees that there's a whole crowd of people staring in various states of shock. It's too late though now, everyone knows.
"Wow Nina sure is a good judge of character, she thought Elliot was a good man and she thought you were straight. Looks like I wasn't the only one with a secret in this shelter! Heh heh."
Ron finally turns to you and sees what you've done.
"... You got a gun? YOU FUCKIN' KILLED ELLIOT?"
"(Sigh) Not this again! Yeah I fuckin' killed him. He tried to kill me and he was planning on killing you to take over this dump!"
"Now just calm down, and put down the gun... "
"I'm not putting down shit and I'm not killing anyone else unless someone gives me cause to do so! What the fuck, was the dick in your mouth so good to you, you didn't hear the gunshots and screaming out here? I'm sick of explaining this twice! Now I'M going back into MY room to get some sleep! And none of you better fucking disturb me for the rest of the night! And someone better clean up Elliot's carcass from in front of my room when I wake up tomorrow!"
You return to your room.
"Yeah, I think that went well." You say to yourself.
After the night of multiple "incidents" a lot of things happen. The first, is Elliot's body being the first one dumped into the incinerator. The second being that Ron is immediately voted out by his own council who all follow the GZS guidelines. Apparently being gay was more of an offense than being incompetent, since GZS guidelines were explicit in not wanting homosexuals in the Community Shelters which he obviously lied about. Nina is unsurprisingly the most vocal about his vote out; in fact she ends up taking over. Ron and William move into a separate far room together and become social pariahs. Everyone who was previously friendly with Ron suddenly starts treating him like garbage. You never really cared for him, and thought he was an incompetent moron, but even you think it's shitty for them to all just turn on him over who he happens to be fucking. But that's how people are and that's why you try to avoid them.
Your situation is a little different, they can't really treat you like a social pariah mainly because you were always one to begin with and another because everyone's afraid you'll shoot them. All of Elliot's former friends have no doubt reinforced the belief in others that you're dangerous. You don't really care though, just as long as nobody fucks with you and stays out of your way (Which everyone does for the most part since you now walk around with it at all times)
A year passes...
The shelter sees its first baby born and there are a couple of other pregnant women ready to pop as well. Nina has improved the place a little bit more. No doubt without anyone to fawn over now she's throwing herself into her work. There's actually a guy (Kyle) who's has some medical knowledge now, they still don't really have a good "tech guy" though and things are still being jury-rigged. Nina knows with a growing population this shelter needs to be in tip top running condition.
You get that expected knock on the door.
"Hello, Nina." You say.
"Yeah hi. Look, I just want to know if you have any intention of helping us out or if you're still going to remain an isolated asshole."
Nothing like being blunt. Politics has really hardened Nina, she's all business now it seems and lot less naïve.
How strangely appealing...
> help out the community
"You know what Nina? I'm in a charitable mood. What do you need?"
"We need you to hack into the central GZS computer system to bring the elevator down."
"Wow, I didn't expect that one. What's going on?"
"Can you do it?" Nina asks without answering your question.
"Well in theory I might. I've fucked around with that computer when nobody was around in the past, but I've never really gotten into the inner workings of the system, and I've read as much as I can about the shelter itself. Damn thing's touchy though. I just worry that if I do the wrong thing I'll end up shutting the whole shelter down and doom us all."
"You mean doom yourself."
"Well that too, but you still never told me what you want to bring the elevator down for."
"Are you gonna do it or not?"
"Okay, what happens if I don't?"
"I'll just get one of my own people to attempt it and hope they don't doom us all accidentally."
"(Sigh) Well played Nina, you know I'm gonna do it now. Alright, let's go."
You and Nina enter the Community Shelter computer room, where a couple of Nina's tech's are tinkering with the Central GZS computer.
"What are you doing!? Give me that!" you yell taking a screw driver away from one of them. You recognize them both Todd and Charles if you remember correctly.
"Oh man, its you! Okay, don't get mad!" Todd says backing off. Charles does like wise.
"Sheesh, I'm not going to shoot you! I'm just trying to prevent you from fucking up what's basically our life support system! Its barely working right as it is! I swear GZS put us in a death trap down here."
"Alright then do you need any help? Or should we leave you alone while you do this?" Nina asks.
"What do you think fearless leader?"
"Right. Come on let's go."
Nina and the other two leave and you get to work. You first do a system scan to what's going on exactly. Wow, this place really is in some bad shape! You can see where some fixes have been made, but without a really skilled technician routinely checking in on stuff, things are never going to get better in this place, you shutter to think what would've happened with Ron still in control. This place might've very well lost all power. You're sort of glad you've begun to take an interest. MAYBE after you manage to get the elevator down you might just volunteer to upkeep this thing.
You start delving into the inner working of the system; GZS really didn't want folks bringing the elevator down! You accidentally cut some lighting temporarily which causes you to hear some yelling from a distance.
"Oh toughen up." You say to yourself.
You continue to work and eventually you successfully override the safety protocol for the elevator and it starts its decent.
"Ha ha, I rule." You say as you come out of the computer room.
"Did you do it?" Nina asks.
"Sure did. NOW are you going to tell me why we're bringing it down?"
"You'll see for yourself. Leon, bring both of the perverts out, this has been a long time coming... "
You notice that everyone's standing around right now, like some special event is going down. Leon eventually comes back with Ron and William in tow, and he looks like he roughed them up first so they'd struggle less.
The elevator door opens up for the first time.
"Put both of these... criminals in the elevator Leon." Nina says. Leon does so, with a lot of protesting and pleading from both, but another couple punches shut them up. Now you know why Nina wanted you to bring the elevator down... exile. If this was a year ago and they were throwing Ron out in the wasteland for his bungling of shelter management, you'd probably be the first to applaud. But what's going on right now is for the wrong damn reasons, and you know Nina's just being a petty bitch who's still harboring resentment for shit she really brought on herself with completely clueless judgment on her part.
"Alright, Nina I know you're fucking upset because your make believe boyfriend turned out to be a fag, but that was a goddamn year ago... "
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with that! This is about justice! These two are in violation of GZS guidelines carrying on with... "
"Oh will you shut up about that shit? I'm starting to believe the entire GZS Corporation were a bunch of fucking loonies with too much time on their hands! They build these fucking shelters that break down all the goddamn time, with no way to get back to the surface and trapping everyone down here."
"Why the hell are you defending these two? You've never been one to give a fucking shit before! You know I've never seen you pursue any women around here even if you were slightly appealing enough for any of them to have you. What are you gay too?"
"(Sigh) No, Nina because if I was I'm sure you would've been the first one to want to spread your legs for me. Look I'm just saying this ain't fucking right okay?"
"Oh and YOU'RE the fucking expert on what's right? You fucking KILLED a man! You fucking snuck a gun in here a shot somebody! So is the gun an extension of your manhood and you just couldn't live without it?"
"Y'know Nina, you seem awfully pre-occupied with my sexual habits. Shit, if you want me to fuck you already just come out and say it and stop beating around bush. I'd say that's what you've been needing since you got in here anyway, because I haven't seen YOU with anyone either, that didn't turn out to be a complete fucking homo of course."
Your remark is met with a long period of silence. The rest of the shelter population has been in absolute awe, this is probably the most exciting thing that's happened since you shot Elliot. Nina looks at you hard and recomposes herself.
"Are you going to send the elevator up, or not?"
> send the elevator up
You throw your hands up.
"Alright, fuck it then. You're right. What the hell do I care? Shoulda been more careful Ron."
You turn around and go back to the computer room to send the elevator up, you hear the pitiful begging from Ron, followed up by a couple of verbal abusive insults from Nina. Sheesh, she's turned into a real bitch. You better make yourself semi-useful so that vengeful attitude doesn't turn too much on you. You figure the best way to do that is to start monitoring and working with the GZS central computer, besides you need to look after this thing anyway. You don't feel safe with those other two idiots looking after it.
"(Sigh) Looks like I'm working again." You say as you press the button to send the elevator up.
Four years pass...
You've been here five years and things have changed.
The population has grown a bit, but not a lot since Nina's pettiness helps keep the population down. Nina, has thrown at least ten people into "exile". Anyone who only mildly displeases or disagrees with her, is often shown the elevator... unless they happen to be providing a useful skill like you. Nina really hates the fact that you're the only competent technician she has. You manage to keep things from breaking down constantly like they were, but only just the minimum. You purposely don't keep things running at maximum efficiency, since as long as you're needed you won't be in danger... of course there IS the fact you have a gun that also keeps you safe, but there's never any harm in having a couple of safety nets. The more the better.
In fact, you wonder about losing one of your safety nets. Todd and Charles have increased in their technical knowledge over the years, and granted they still aren't as skilled as you; they might actually be competent one day. And they do a lot less back talking than you...
You wonder if you should do something to ensure your position. Todd and Charles come in talking about some old movie they watched in the community living area. It would be really easy to just shoot them. Who would stop you? And what could anyone do about it?
> shoot them both
Oh well, you were never that close to them anyway...
You reach for your weapon, while Todd and Charles are still talking. You blast Charles in the neck making blood spurt all over Todd who stares in shock. Your next shot hits Todd in the head.
With both of them dead you suddenly feel a whole lot better and go back to work. Naturally the sound of the shots brings people to come running.
"OH NO! HE'S DONE IT AGAIN!" someone shouts and runs back out of the room. Pretty soon Nina and her goon Leon come in. Nina sees the two bodies on the floor and looks more pissed off than afraid of you.
"What the fuck did you do that for?"
"Just ensuring my position Nina, I'm sure you understand."
"You fucking psychotic sonofabitch! You can't just go around shooting people!"
"Oh don't EVEN be claiming moral superiority here Nina, you who throws people into Exile just because they're looking at you funny! In fact Todd and Charles deaths are your fault not mine, I can't help if I feel threatened that you might replace me and throw me out on to the surface as well."
"Goddamn you, if you didn't have that gun or the only reliable tech, I'd throw you out of here so fast... "
"Exactly! So I'm glad we're in agreement... it's all your fault."
"What the... look, just because you got that fuckin' gun doesn't mean shit! I'M still in charge of this place!"
You stand up and shoot Leon three times, he falls backwards smacking his head against a table before taking his last breath. Now Nina starts to get worried, you just shot her head goon who was intimidating everyone else. She doesn't have that leverage anymore. Of course right now she's not worried about staying in power, for the first time she's worried about you shooting her. You're up close and personal, threatening her with it.
"See that Nina? What the fuck are ya gonna do now? Who are ya gonna get to throw people into exile? In case you haven't realized it yet, but I'M in fuckin' charge of this goddamn place! I just let you think you are! Now I suggest you take your ass outta here and try to figure out how you're gonna stay in power. Because I'm sure there's a lot of people not fond of you either, but unlike me they can actually do something about you.
Guess I know who'll be the next exile! Ha Ha!" you then lick Nina's face.
Nina backs out of the room in a hurry, leaving you alone with a room full of dead bodies.
"Get up, you lazy fucks, we got work to do!" you say kicking Todd's body in a macabre joke to yourself.
Perhaps stepping over the line of killing Todd and Charles with no provocation unhinged you a bit. And killing Leon certainly put you over the edge. Granted Nina's no saint, but what you're doing is just as bad. You kind of got a power rush, from your deeds today and you must say you really liked it.
After making sure everything's working properly and even increasing the efficiency a bit, you decide to call it a day at the computer room. You leave stepping over the bodies that nobody's come to clean up yet.
"Well, if you're still here, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." You say.
You make your way back to your room. The corridors seem to be clear of folks, probably afraid of all the stuff that went down today so they're keeping their heads down. Good.
Before you get ready to go to sleep, you get a knock on the door, you answer it, ready to shoot someone else again, but see Nina in her underwear instead. You're a little surprised.
"Nina, what the hell are you doing?" unsure of how to respond.
Nina begins to talk in a way you've never heard her speak before, seductive, yet vulnerable.
"I was doing some thinking like you said back in the computer room... and you're right. I won't hold anymore power here anymore... I'll probably get thrown onto the surface like you said... unless I ally myself with someone who has power, and you're the only one with that kind of power."
"I see, so what does this conclusion you've come to mean exactly?"
Nina takes your hand and puts it on her body, starting with her firm breasts and moving it lower to the promised land.
"It means I'm yours, in everyway imaginable, every night, any time, just please don't let anything happen to me."
Nina then nuzzles up against you and begins kissing on you gently for further enticement in her desperate plan to save herself.
It's a bit hard to resist her offer. In more ways than one. This reminds you of those prison movies where one of them offers to be the bitch in exchange for protection, except this is better because Nina's female!
> accept her offer
You don't think about it, you don't answer; you let your actions speak. You pull her inside and close the door while she continues to kiss on you. As she kisses on your chest you begin pushing her head lower. She gets on her knees and begins servicing you like a common whore.
After you reach your climax, she insists that she's not done and wants to show you even more of what she's capable of tonight. You and her fall back to the bed where she slips off her panties, mounts you and begins the second round.
In the throes of love making while you're closing your eyes saying "Ride the horse baby! Ride the fuckin' horse!" you climax again, and when you open them, you get a nasty surprise of your own fucking gun being pointed at your face.
"Raise your fuckin' hands motherfucker!" she says calmly. You comply.
"Whoa! Hold on! Don't shoot! Weren't we just having fun?"
"Maybe you were, but this was just a means to an end for me... I fully intend on scrubbing myself thoroughly after this, the fact that you came inside me twice sickens me."
"Okay, just settle down Nina, I know you're a little upset about what I did earlier today, but I wasn't actually going to hurt you. Just got a little trigger happy that's all! I dunno I've been under a lot of stress lately! I... "
"SHUT UP! You ain't talkin' your way outta this! This is about survival and being in control!"
Sensing nothing else to lose you become threatening.
"Oh yeah? Well fuck you! Because I'M still in fuckin' control then! Without me nobody knows how to run the goddamn computer the right way! I'm fuckin' necessary to your fuckin' survival, you stupid bitch!"
"I'm nobody's bitch! Especially not yours!"
Before you can retort to that remark, Nina blows your brains out. |
Oh well, you were never that close to them anyway...
You reach for your weapon, while Todd and Charles are still talking. You blast Charles in the neck making blood spurt all over Todd who stares in shock. Your next shot hits Todd in the head.
With both of them dead you suddenly feel a whole lot better and go back to work. Naturally the sound of the shots brings people to come running.
"OH NO! HE'S DONE IT AGAIN!" someone shouts and runs back out of the room. Pretty soon Nina and her goon Leon come in. Nina sees the two bodies on the floor and looks more pissed off than afraid of you.
"What the fuck did you do that for?"
"Just ensuring my position Nina, I'm sure you understand."
"You fucking psychotic sonofabitch! You can't just go around shooting people!"
"Oh don't EVEN be claiming moral superiority here Nina, you who throws people into Exile just because they're looking at you funny! In fact Todd and Charles deaths are your fault not mine, I can't help if I feel threatened that you might replace me and throw me out on to the surface as well."
"Goddamn you, if you didn't have that gun or the only reliable tech, I'd throw you out of here so fast... "
"Exactly! So I'm glad we're in agreement... it's all your fault."
"What the... look, just because you got that fuckin' gun doesn't mean shit! I'M still in charge of this place!"
You stand up and shoot Leon three times, he falls backwards smacking his head against a table before taking his last breath. Now Nina starts to get worried, you just shot her head goon who was intimidating everyone else. She doesn't have that leverage anymore. Of course right now she's not worried about staying in power, for the first time she's worried about you shooting her. You're up close and personal, threatening her with it.
"See that Nina? What the fuck are ya gonna do now? Who are ya gonna get to throw people into exile? In case you haven't realized it yet, but I'M in fuckin' charge of this goddamn place! I just let you think you are! Now I suggest you take your ass outta here and try to figure out how you're gonna stay in power. Because I'm sure there's a lot of people not fond of you either, but unlike me they can actually do something about you.
Guess I know who'll be the next exile! Ha Ha!" you then lick Nina's face.
Nina backs out of the room in a hurry, leaving you alone with a room full of dead bodies.
"Get up, you lazy fucks, we got work to do!" you say kicking Todd's body in a macabre joke to yourself.
Perhaps stepping over the line of killing Todd and Charles with no provocation unhinged you a bit. And killing Leon certainly put you over the edge. Granted Nina's no saint, but what you're doing is just as bad. You kind of got a power rush, from your deeds today and you must say you really liked it.
After making sure everything's working properly and even increasing the efficiency a bit, you decide to call it a day at the computer room. You leave stepping over the bodies that nobody's come to clean up yet.
"Well, if you're still here, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." You say.
You make your way back to your room. The corridors seem to be clear of folks, probably afraid of all the stuff that went down today so they're keeping their heads down. Good.
Before you get ready to go to sleep, you get a knock on the door, you answer it, ready to shoot someone else again, but see Nina in her underwear instead. You're a little surprised.
"Nina, what the hell are you doing?" unsure of how to respond.
Nina begins to talk in a way you've never heard her speak before, seductive, yet vulnerable.
"I was doing some thinking like you said back in the computer room... and you're right. I won't hold anymore power here anymore... I'll probably get thrown onto the surface like you said... unless I ally myself with someone who has power, and you're the only one with that kind of power."
"I see, so what does this conclusion you've come to mean exactly?"
Nina takes your hand and puts it on her body, starting with her firm breasts and moving it lower to the promised land.
"It means I'm yours, in everyway imaginable, every night, any time, just please don't let anything happen to me."
Nina then nuzzles up against you and begins kissing on you gently for further enticement in her desperate plan to save herself.
It's a bit hard to resist her offer. In more ways than one. This reminds you of those prison movies where one of them offers to be the bitch in exchange for protection, except this is better because Nina's female!
> decline
You push her away; you're not fooled by this act.
"Nina, maybe your feminine wiles worked on Leon, but that shit ain't gonna work on me, I know what the fuck you're up to. You think I'm gonna let you distract me and let you grab my pistol while we're fucking? Not fucking likely!"
Nina attempts to continue with her tactic and gets next to you again.
"No, I'm serious. I want your protection. I wouldn't try to betray you... "
"Oh, okay. You're serious eh? We'll see."
You pull Nina in the room and lock the door. You then take your pistol, unload it, and then put it on the far side of the room. Nina's face looks little less "in the mood" now.
"Alright, let's go then." You say.
"Uh... "
"What's the matter? Plan backfire? Too late for regrets now, now we can either do this voluntarily or INvoluntarily... and on the path I've been going lately I think you know that I'm fully capable of doing it. Pfft. I don't need a gun for you. So, what's it gonna be Nina?"
Nina looks around, probably looking for something to throw at you, but she realizes that it would probably be in vain. She's obviously scared, but still tries to maintain some bravery in this hopeless situation that you've put her in.
"Alright... but don't hurt me."
Your increasingly chaotic personality changes again and you go up to Nina in a "loving" fashion.
"Aw baby, I won't hurt you. Just know your place and I'll take care of you, I promise."
You fuck Nina eight ways from doomsday that night. You can't speak for Nina, but you know YOU enjoyed yourself. The only absolute positive for Nina is that she IS now under your protection and nobody dares to do anything to her now.
A few months pass and you keep expecting her to try to do something to betray you, but nothing happens. Either she's resigned herself to being "yours" or she's content on taking her aggression out on others. Her time with you doesn't make her any more compassionate to others, if anything she's gotten worse. She doesn't threaten people with exile anymore, now she just threatens them with you.
Meanwhile you begin to slowly descend into a sociopathic personality. The only thing that prevents you from shooting everyone is the fact that you're getting off on their fear a lot more than if you killed them. You keep the computer room locked so only you may access it.
You and her are pretty much running the place now.
Five more years pass...
The shelter is a living nightmare to most people. They live in constant fear that you or Nina will do something to them. Nina has developed a twisted sort of love for you, and while you have a certain fondness for her, you don't really give a shit about anything anymore, you barely even keep the computer working right anymore, now you just make sure your room is running properly. Nina is a permanent fixture at your place, so you don't even need to look after her room even if you were inclined to do so.
While the people were living in fear of you, initially you were at least somewhat looking after their welfare, but now you aren't even doing that. Now the fear turns into hatred and resentment. The cowering worms have evolved to grow spines. They begin devising a plan.
One day Nina gets into a cat fight with another woman, Greta. She beats her pretty badly, until her husband Fred steps in and begins beating the hell out of her. As is typical Nina runs off to tell you, at which point you come out of the computer room ready to shoot someone. Fred stands up to you, and says Nina was the one who started it and he was just protecting his wife as if his explanation means anything to you.
"Duly noted. And I understand your view, but as you must be able to see I have a view of things as well... that's a nice kid you got there."
You shoot Fred and Greta's son right before their eyes. Greta screams and Fred lunges at you, causing you to shoot him as well, but not before he tackles you to the floor. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity, a few other bystanders take advantage of the situation, your sole means of power and intimidation is taken from you, as you are kicked and beaten repeatedly. Nina is treated the same way. Suddenly the beatings stop and as you attempt to get up you feel the barrel against your head. You spit a glob of blood before continuing.
"Ha ha, go ahead shit eater. Pop me and they'll be nobody to run the computer the right way."
"We'll get by." a voice says.
You then are shot twice in the back of the head. Nina's fate follows soon after. Your remaining ammo is used to shoot both of your dead bloody bodies until it's all gone. |
You throw your hands up.
"Alright, fuck it then. You're right. What the hell do I care? Shoulda been more careful Ron."
You turn around and go back to the computer room to send the elevator up, you hear the pitiful begging from Ron, followed up by a couple of verbal abusive insults from Nina. Sheesh, she's turned into a real bitch. You better make yourself semi-useful so that vengeful attitude doesn't turn too much on you. You figure the best way to do that is to start monitoring and working with the GZS central computer, besides you need to look after this thing anyway. You don't feel safe with those other two idiots looking after it.
"(Sigh) Looks like I'm working again." You say as you press the button to send the elevator up.
Four years pass...
You've been here five years and things have changed.
The population has grown a bit, but not a lot since Nina's pettiness helps keep the population down. Nina, has thrown at least ten people into "exile". Anyone who only mildly displeases or disagrees with her, is often shown the elevator... unless they happen to be providing a useful skill like you. Nina really hates the fact that you're the only competent technician she has. You manage to keep things from breaking down constantly like they were, but only just the minimum. You purposely don't keep things running at maximum efficiency, since as long as you're needed you won't be in danger... of course there IS the fact you have a gun that also keeps you safe, but there's never any harm in having a couple of safety nets. The more the better.
In fact, you wonder about losing one of your safety nets. Todd and Charles have increased in their technical knowledge over the years, and granted they still aren't as skilled as you; they might actually be competent one day. And they do a lot less back talking than you...
You wonder if you should do something to ensure your position. Todd and Charles come in talking about some old movie they watched in the community living area. It would be really easy to just shoot them. Who would stop you? And what could anyone do about it?
> resist
Man, you MUST be going half-nuts down here. You can't believe you just considered killing two people just on a paranoid delusion. You begin to start seriously analyzing your behavior.
Okay, killing Elliot was in self defense. You didn't really have a choice. You were even defending this place, he didn't seem like he had good plans for the shelter and its inhabitants.
Sending Ron and William into exile wasn't your fault... well not really. You were just obeying goddamn orders. You tried to talk Nina out of it when nobody else had the balls to stand up to her. She wasn't budging. What the fuck were you supposed to do? Shoot her, like you were just thinking about shooting Charles and Todd just a few moments ago?
You just wanted to be fuckin' left alone, now you're roped into all this shit that you don't really want to be part of. You're NOT a bad guy, hell you're keeping this shelter from falling into ruin!
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME?!!?!" you yell.
Charles and Todd look at each other wondering what you're talking about.
"Uh... nothing. In fact we weren't even talking to you." Todd says.
"Are you alright? You've been spacing out and day dreaming a lot lately." Charles adds as you suddenly realize your surroundings.
"I... I gotta get outta this place."
"Well, that's cool I mean you do seem like you need to lie down and rest or something. We can look after... "
"NO Todd! I mean I gotta leave THIS place! The fuckin' shelter!"
"You mean go to the surface? Are you crazy?" Charles asks.
"I'm gettin' there and know I can't stay here any longer, or I'm gonna go fuckin' full blown crazy and shoot somebody else!"
Charles and Todd both back off.
"Hey on the other hand maybe leaving is a good idea!"
You tell Todd and Charles you're going to pack some supplies and as much water as you can carry and that all you want them to do, is to send the elevator up for you. They don't have a problem with it, they tell you just to come back and let them know when you're ready.
You go back to your room and load up on water and that crap they call "food" from the dispensers. Then you enter the medical room and begin taking medical supplies. When you think you're ready, you go back and tell Todd and Charles. Charles opens the elevator door and wishes you luck, Todd talks to you on your way there.
"So you sure about this?"
"Very sure, in fact I'm not sure why more people aren't wanting to leave with Nina bullying everyone."
Speak of the devil. Nina arrives with her goon Leon. Shit, you were hoping to avoid this.
"What's all this about me being a bully? And where the fuck do you think you're going?" Nina exclaims.
"I'm leaving Nina, you of all people should be happy about it, I won't be around to piss you off anymore or threaten your power."
"Well as much as I'd like you to leave, I admit you're needed here so I'm afraid I can't let you leave and even if you were to leave I can't just let you take vital shelter supplies! Go put those back and get back to your post NOW!"
"Nina, you're not calling the fuckin' shots on this, I'm going! I'm not you're goddamn prisoner! And if the rest of you are smart the rest of these people would stop cowering before you. But hey what do I know?"
You start to enter the elevator, and Nina makes another threat.
"Don't you DARE walk away from me! You go in that elevator and don't expect to get to the top! I'll make sure it gets stopped mid-way through and leave it there for you to die a slow death!"
You step back out and hang your head down.
"(Sigh) You WOULD do that wouldn't you?"
"You bet your ass I would!"
"Well I guess I have no choice."
You look up at Nina, raise your pistol and blast Leon twice in the chest and then point it at her. Onlookers slowly rise from their hiding spots
"Holy shit!" Todd shouts.
"Please don't kill me! Don't kill me!" Nina whines
"Gonna be hard to intimidate Charles or Todd without your head goon now isn't it? In fact I'd say your power trip is just about over. Hey folks, consider this my last favor to all of you! Alright Todd, tell Charles I'm going up!"
You enter the elevator and begin your ascent. Finally the elevator opens up to the same foyer you entered five years ago. Looks exactly the same, except the payment machine is now offline in fact the screen is cracked. There's a crowbar lying on the floor and the doors to the outside look like they were pried open. You see the outside world for the first time in five years. From where you're standing, it doesn't look too bad; maybe the devastation wasn't that great in this area. Somebody or possibly several people were here at one time attempting to get in, you laugh thinking about someone actually trying to get in this place.
You exit the foyer and go outside, you see a bright light. It's the sun; you forgot how bright it could be. You see everyone's cars still parked here, well almost. You can tell that few of them must've been taken at one time; a lot have just been plain vandalized. Your van still looks the same though, nobody in their right mind would steal that thing, and it already looks vandalized. You wonder if it would still start, but you left your keys to it in the shelter. You doubt if it would though.
"Meh, I need the exercise anyway."
You cover your eyes and take a far view of your position. Nobody around, there's not even a sound except the wind; you're all alone as far as you can tell and this is what you missed. Once again you have peaceful solitude.
You begin to walk... |
"You know what Nina? I'm in a charitable mood. What do you need?"
"We need you to hack into the central GZS computer system to bring the elevator down."
"Wow, I didn't expect that one. What's going on?"
"Can you do it?" Nina asks without answering your question.
"Well in theory I might. I've fucked around with that computer when nobody was around in the past, but I've never really gotten into the inner workings of the system, and I've read as much as I can about the shelter itself. Damn thing's touchy though. I just worry that if I do the wrong thing I'll end up shutting the whole shelter down and doom us all."
"You mean doom yourself."
"Well that too, but you still never told me what you want to bring the elevator down for."
"Are you gonna do it or not?"
"Okay, what happens if I don't?"
"I'll just get one of my own people to attempt it and hope they don't doom us all accidentally."
"(Sigh) Well played Nina, you know I'm gonna do it now. Alright, let's go."
You and Nina enter the Community Shelter computer room, where a couple of Nina's tech's are tinkering with the Central GZS computer.
"What are you doing!? Give me that!" you yell taking a screw driver away from one of them. You recognize them both Todd and Charles if you remember correctly.
"Oh man, its you! Okay, don't get mad!" Todd says backing off. Charles does like wise.
"Sheesh, I'm not going to shoot you! I'm just trying to prevent you from fucking up what's basically our life support system! Its barely working right as it is! I swear GZS put us in a death trap down here."
"Alright then do you need any help? Or should we leave you alone while you do this?" Nina asks.
"What do you think fearless leader?"
"Right. Come on let's go."
Nina and the other two leave and you get to work. You first do a system scan to what's going on exactly. Wow, this place really is in some bad shape! You can see where some fixes have been made, but without a really skilled technician routinely checking in on stuff, things are never going to get better in this place, you shutter to think what would've happened with Ron still in control. This place might've very well lost all power. You're sort of glad you've begun to take an interest. MAYBE after you manage to get the elevator down you might just volunteer to upkeep this thing.
You start delving into the inner working of the system; GZS really didn't want folks bringing the elevator down! You accidentally cut some lighting temporarily which causes you to hear some yelling from a distance.
"Oh toughen up." You say to yourself.
You continue to work and eventually you successfully override the safety protocol for the elevator and it starts its decent.
"Ha ha, I rule." You say as you come out of the computer room.
"Did you do it?" Nina asks.
"Sure did. NOW are you going to tell me why we're bringing it down?"
"You'll see for yourself. Leon, bring both of the perverts out, this has been a long time coming... "
You notice that everyone's standing around right now, like some special event is going down. Leon eventually comes back with Ron and William in tow, and he looks like he roughed them up first so they'd struggle less.
The elevator door opens up for the first time.
"Put both of these... criminals in the elevator Leon." Nina says. Leon does so, with a lot of protesting and pleading from both, but another couple punches shut them up. Now you know why Nina wanted you to bring the elevator down... exile. If this was a year ago and they were throwing Ron out in the wasteland for his bungling of shelter management, you'd probably be the first to applaud. But what's going on right now is for the wrong damn reasons, and you know Nina's just being a petty bitch who's still harboring resentment for shit she really brought on herself with completely clueless judgment on her part.
"Alright, Nina I know you're fucking upset because your make believe boyfriend turned out to be a fag, but that was a goddamn year ago... "
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with that! This is about justice! These two are in violation of GZS guidelines carrying on with... "
"Oh will you shut up about that shit? I'm starting to believe the entire GZS Corporation were a bunch of fucking loonies with too much time on their hands! They build these fucking shelters that break down all the goddamn time, with no way to get back to the surface and trapping everyone down here."
"Why the hell are you defending these two? You've never been one to give a fucking shit before! You know I've never seen you pursue any women around here even if you were slightly appealing enough for any of them to have you. What are you gay too?"
"(Sigh) No, Nina because if I was I'm sure you would've been the first one to want to spread your legs for me. Look I'm just saying this ain't fucking right okay?"
"Oh and YOU'RE the fucking expert on what's right? You fucking KILLED a man! You fucking snuck a gun in here a shot somebody! So is the gun an extension of your manhood and you just couldn't live without it?"
"Y'know Nina, you seem awfully pre-occupied with my sexual habits. Shit, if you want me to fuck you already just come out and say it and stop beating around bush. I'd say that's what you've been needing since you got in here anyway, because I haven't seen YOU with anyone either, that didn't turn out to be a complete fucking homo of course."
Your remark is met with a long period of silence. The rest of the shelter population has been in absolute awe, this is probably the most exciting thing that's happened since you shot Elliot. Nina looks at you hard and recomposes herself.
"Are you going to send the elevator up, or not?"
> grab and kiss her
Something comes over you, maybe it was the tension or the hostility or maybe you were just horny, but you grab Nina and kiss her passionately. Fortunately for you, she returns the gesture. Now nobody knows what to think they all just stand around watching, they're probably just glad you didn't shoot anybody this time. William and Ron are still recovering from their beating and staggering in the doorway of the elevator.
Nina stops you just for a moment to address everyone. "The exile is off, everyone go back to your lives... and YOU are coming with me!" then she starts pulling you back to her room.
You and Nina relieve a lot of pent up sexual energy that day. A lot of things change after that...
Four more years pass...
You and Nina are an item now, which makes you somewhat more social by necessity (unfortunately) its not all bad though since she's the one that's still shelter leader and has to do all the major work. She does a good job hence the reason she's stayed in power. (Though not surprisingly William and Ron still vote against her, even if she did apologize)
You're now in charge of maintaining the central GZS computer system which you insist on doing primarily by yourself, though Charles and Todd assist you sometimes. Eventually you manage to get the damn thing running at near maximum efficiency and nobody has too many problems with things breaking down anymore.
The Shelter's population has grown a bit now; the only good thing about the shelter was the design to make allowances for a population growth. Of course now there's rug rats running around which means Nina appoints a person to start being a "teacher" of sorts for when they start getting bigger. Fortunately there are a couple of those already in the shelter. Kyle and Brenda are now the main medical practitioners, though you doubt if they'd be able to do open heart surgery, they're competent enough to keep people in relatively good shape and they keep trying to learn more whenever possible with the medical database provided and from books. (You still don't understand WHY you're the only competent tech though! "Gah! Read the books! Study the schematics! It's not difficult!" you're constantly saying and that's to Charles and Todd!)
Then there's the elevator. After the near exile incident, it was still considered a good idea to have it accessible at all times just in case. What you eventually did was install a call button and did some re-wiring to do just that, though nobody has ever dared to actually go up to the surface. (And nobody's ever gotten thrown out either)
You begin to wonder what the surface looks like now though from time to time.
One night while lying next to Nina...
"Hey Nina, you ever wonder what's on the surface now?"
"What? It's probably an uninhabitable wasteland."
"Well maybe, but we've been down here five years, it might look different."
"Yeah, and it might not. Go back to sleep."
"You know I just thought about it, everyone's vehicles are up there. I bet we could strip them down for parts or something, maybe some of them will even work. We could drive around and see what's going on else where."
"What? I don't want you going up there! The elevator is a last resort thing just case something bad happens! And since when do you want to play great explorer? When you first got here you never left your room!"
"I dunno, maybe your socialization has made me a little more extroverted."
"Hmm, knowing you, you probably just want to get away from the increasing population here."
"Ha ha, maybe. But I still wouldn't mind just taking a quick look outside, and to inspect the vehicles like I said."
Nina now sits up.
"No! I don't want you going up there! There's probably radiation still all over the place! I don't want you getting radiation poisoning or mutating or something!"
"I'll be fine! I won't go too far, I just want to... "
Nina grabs a hold of your hand.
"NO! I don't want you going up there! It's not safe!"
"Alright, alright, calm down. I won't go anywhere."
"You promise?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright then, I don't want to hear anymore about it. Our life is here, not up there. I love you too much to lose you."
The both of you lie back down, and Nina holds on to you tightly, putting her head on your chest almost in an effort to make sure you're not going anywhere tonight.
Of course now you're lying awake REALLY wondering what the surface looks like.
The next day you're working with Charles and Todd doing the usual mundane routine. They're talking about the same stupid movie they've watched over and over in the community living area. Shit you feel like you're at work again. The GZS central computer hasn't been giving you trouble for quite some time, and you know there's a big meeting going on in the conference room...
Maybe you could sneak out and just take a quick look on the surface for awhile. You could let Charles and Todd look after the computer, you know they're capable of doing that.
> go up to the surface
The temptation is too great, you have to go. You're just too curious not to.
"Hey Todd, and Charles I think you guys are ready to monitor this thing by yourself. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and I'm going back to my room to take a short nap, don't tell anyone alright?"
Todd and Charles just look glad that you're showing some confidence in them for once.
"Yeah, sure it's cool. We won't tell anyone." Todd says.
"Alright, I'll be back. Remember just monitor, don't fucking touch anything!"
"Okay! Got it!"
You leave the computer room and look around; the shelter almost seems eerily empty right now. Nina's no doubt got everyone's attention with her speech in conference room and all the kids are being looked after by someone in the children's room created a couple years back.
You make your move. You run to the elevator, open it and get inside. You take a deep breath and press the button up, no time like the present to test it person.
The elevator begins its ascent, you begin to wonder what you'll see above, you then check you pistol just in case what you see is unfriendly. Finally the elevator opens up to the same foyer you entered five years ago. Looks exactly the same, except the payment machine is now offline in fact the screen is cracked. There's a crowbar lying on the floor and the doors to the outside look like they were pried open. You see the outside world for the first time in five years. From where you're standing, it doesn't look too bad; maybe the devastation wasn't that great in this area. Somebody or possibly several people were here at one time attempting to get in.
You take the crowbar and jam it in the elevator door so it doesn't close on you. There's no call button up here either since it was the payment machine that opened it up. You make a note that if you're able you'll have to install another one up here, and shake your head at the typical shitty GZS design of its shelters. They built this thing like a high tech mass coffin as far as you're concerned; you're convinced that if it wasn't for you up keeping and tinkering, everyone would've been dead due to shelter failure by now.
You exit the foyer and go outside, you see a bright light. It's the sun; you forgot how bright it could be. You see everyone's cars still parked here, well almost. You can tell that few of them must've been taken at one time; a lot have just been plain vandalized. Your van still looks the same though, nobody in their right mind would steal that thing, and it already looks vandalized. You wonder if it would still start, but you left your keys to it in the shelter. You doubt if it would though.
It occurs to you for the first time, the shelter might not exactly be "safe", granted its not safe by design, but you're thinking safe from bad people on the surface. Its possible these folks who passed through here stealing vehicles and vandalizing them might've just been trying to scavenge whatever they could find. The surface certainly can't be a comfortable place to live now. Maybe they were just looking for safety. Of course it's equally likely they were looters and other bad types.
The shelter community isn't exactly a bunch of "warriors", besides yourself, Leon, and maybe a few others you doubt it they could handle a bunch of hardened surface raiders who've been living in the wasteland for years. Granted the elevator wouldn't allow for a large invasion of these types of people to take place, but it still makes you wonder if precautions shouldn't be taken.
You need to get back though before everyone finds out what you've been doing. You rush back to the elevator (Throwing the crowbar back on the ground) and take it down hoping that nobody is wandering around when you exit the thing.
When you arrive at the bottom, you half expect to see a crowd to meet you, but its dead silent still, you quickly head back to the computer room where Charles and Todd are talking about another movie.
"Hey you're back. So what did you see on the surface?" Charles asks
"Yeah were there mutants and shit?" Todd adds
You're a little taken aback.
"What?! How did you guys know?"
"Sheesh! Come on, we're not the morons you think we are! You told us to monitor the computer system, and when you used the elevator, the computer mentioned the elevator was in use, we put two and two together. So how was it? Is it all desert and shit with people dressed in leather walking around?"
You nearly slap yourself in the head for forgetting that little oversight on your part.
"You watch too many movies Charles; no I didn't see any of that. At least not in the immediate area. And YOU two don't know I went up there and I mean you don't tell ANYONE! If Nina found out, she'd a pitch a bitch at me. She's already made it clear that she doesn't want me going up on the surface."
"Don't worry we're not going to say anything. I dunno, I think maybe we should start going to the surface though, I mean this place can't support a growing population forever. Eventually we're going to have to start expanding out." Todd mentions.
"Yeah, but that probably won't be for awhile, we a got a lot of room still. Lots of supplies too, and with us in charge the food and water dispensers are working perfectly now." Charles retorts.
You roll your eyes "With us in charge" actually it was you who made sure the damn things wouldn't be breaking down on a regular basis. Still Todd makes a good point and it was something you were thinking about too. Maybe you should address this further with Nina after all her being the shelter leader she's the one that could enact a plan about it.
Later that night, you're in bed with Nina wondering if its time to tell her she should think about expansion...
> let it go
No, you better just keep it to yourself. You don't want Nina getting pissed at you, you know how high strung she's able to get sometimes. Besides the population isn't growing that much yet, there are plenty of supplies. If someone gets the idea that going to the surface is necessary, you're sure that someone else will bring it up. No point in you getting in trouble. You go back to sleep and just hope Charles and Todd keep quiet about your little excursion to the surface.
A few weeks later you find out Nina's pregnant, now you start to wonder about having enough room in the future. You still don't bring it up, because you don't want to upset Nina anymore in her "condition".
After Jack is born, the surface thing is still in the back of your mind, but now it's been so long, you just feel it's easier not to address it to Nina. So you don't say anything.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed and the shelter is starting to get a little crowded. After all there isn't too much to do in the shelter that hasn't already been done, so sex is always (as it always has been) a popular way to pass the time. The result of that fun activity is too many babies.
At this point now you say something to Nina about the surface, she's a little reluctant about the idea, but sees that it might be necessary. Unfortunately the rest of the council doesn't see it that way. Many of them have been here so long now that going to the surface is almost unthinkable. Despite great protest Nina overrides the council's advise and goes ahead with the plan anyway. This doesn't make her too popular.
For one reason there's the decision of who is suppose to live on the surface, many people have full blown families now, they're a little unwilling to risk taking them up. So that means the single or childless people get the boot upstairs since they have less to "lose". That doesn't go over too well either. People start protesting loudly about being kicked out of their homes since they have as much right to stay too.
One day, you're in the computer room at the time arguing with Charles who happens to be single, and giving you shit about Nina's new policy. Todd is pretty much indifferent to the idea since even though he's single he doesn't mind the idea of going to the surface, he just thinks you should've said something to Nina a long time ago to implement this plan sooner before everyone had a whole mess of babies.
That's when you get the word.
Kyle comes in to tell you that during one of Nina's speeches William (Who would've been one of those kicked up to the surface along with Ron) attempted to assassinate Nina with a scalpel he stole from the medical supplies. Leon managed to stop him with extreme prejudice by breaking his neck. But its not ending there, people are starting to riot and call for someone new to be the shelter leader.
You're pissed off now, you storm into the conference room ready to kick everyone's ass who DARES to try to hurt Nina again. You fire your pistol into the air causing everyone to take notice. When you get over to Nina, she's pleading for you to not shoot anybody. The assassin was already taken care of; there isn't any more need for killing.
While that might be the case that still doesn't solve the problem of everyone hating Nina (And probably you too as well) if she gets thrown out of her position, the next step might be to try to throw you guys out of the shelter.
Part of this you feel is your fault, you could just roll the dice here or you could attempt to take the hard line approach.
> let democracy run its course
"Alright Nina, we'll do it your way." You put your pistol away and take Nina back to your room for the rest of the day.
Time goes by and Nina gets voted out. The position of shelter leader is eliminated and a council is formed instead. They begin to implement some changes. Nina's idea of having people live on the surface is squashed, the idiots in charge claim that everything will be all right and only in cases of extreme punishment will people be sent to the surface. The other change is that you are to work less on the computer system.
And so it begins, they're trying to faze you out, so they don't need you anymore. And if they don't need you anymore they can kick you out of the shelter. (It looks like you are going to be the only people deemed "criminal" enough to be exiled to the surface) You saw this coming.
That's the second time you anticipated events and did nothing, you could kick yourself.
However there's still the question of them trying to MAKE you leave, you are the one that owns the gun after all and not one person has ever dared to try to take it from you. You decide to start working out on a regular basis just in case.
That day comes soon, when a couple people attempt to wrestle it from you, fortunately you've been expecting that, you end up shooting them both dead. People are really starting to hate you now, threats are being made that if you and your family don't leave, then not you, but Nina and Jack are going to suffer the consequences.
You respond with a similar threat of your own that if anything happens to either of them that you're going on a postal shooting spree starting with everyone's kids and won't stop until you're out of bullets, and then you'll fuck up the central computer that powers everything in the shelter. Given your past, people believe you too. People stop harassing you and Nina, but they still "shun" you 99 percent of the time.
It doesn't matter though since as more years go by there's even less room in the shelter, and less supplies, now you're not even charge of the computer system anymore and it's barely being run properly by Todd and Charles. Things are starting to break down again. You're seriously starting to think about leaving the shelter voluntarily.
"Nina, let's leave. Surely there's gotta be something better out there. I mean staying here is like waiting to die. We gotta get out of this place."
"But what about Jack? I mean we're going into unknown territory here. Things could be dangerous up there."
"It probably will be dangerous, but what the hell we've been living in an enclosed space with a bunch of people who hate us for years, and both experienced death attempts. Its not like we're strangers to it."
"Well... shouldn't we at least stay until the very end?"
"If we stay until the very end, we might not be getting outta here because by the time everyone's crammed in so tight with no more supplies or properly functioning equipment, everyone's going to be panicking and rioting. No, we need to leave while the getting is good. You and Jack start packing up all your vital stuff. I'll be loading up on some supplies that we might need. We still need to travel light, but make sure you and Jack bring as much water as you can carry."
Soon you, Nina and Jack are ready to go. Everyone's wondering what you're doing and then all eyes are on you when you open the elevator door. You take a moment to address the huddled masses.
"Well we're leaving now, I'm sure you're all as glad about it as we will be. Before we leave though I'd just like to say a few things. If any of you fucktards have a lick of sense you'll abandon this over priced coffin, and coffin is definitely an accurate term with how cramped it's getting in here. Hell the place is even starting to smell like one, with all the shower break downs. Its like watching something slowly die... hmm I think I saw that show already, when the world got blown to shit years ago. Don't need to see it again and the first time was more interesting anyway, so enjoy your downward spiral experience losers!"
And with that you and your family leave the shelter.
As you look out before the wilderness in front of you, you can only hope there's something else out there, but even if there isn't you know you'll make it somehow.
You and your family begin to walk... |
No, you better just keep it to yourself. You don't want Nina getting pissed at you, you know how high strung she's able to get sometimes. Besides the population isn't growing that much yet, there are plenty of supplies. If someone gets the idea that going to the surface is necessary, you're sure that someone else will bring it up. No point in you getting in trouble. You go back to sleep and just hope Charles and Todd keep quiet about your little excursion to the surface.
A few weeks later you find out Nina's pregnant, now you start to wonder about having enough room in the future. You still don't bring it up, because you don't want to upset Nina anymore in her "condition".
After Jack is born, the surface thing is still in the back of your mind, but now it's been so long, you just feel it's easier not to address it to Nina. So you don't say anything.
Five years pass...
Ten years have passed and the shelter is starting to get a little crowded. After all there isn't too much to do in the shelter that hasn't already been done, so sex is always (as it always has been) a popular way to pass the time. The result of that fun activity is too many babies.
At this point now you say something to Nina about the surface, she's a little reluctant about the idea, but sees that it might be necessary. Unfortunately the rest of the council doesn't see it that way. Many of them have been here so long now that going to the surface is almost unthinkable. Despite great protest Nina overrides the council's advise and goes ahead with the plan anyway. This doesn't make her too popular.
For one reason there's the decision of who is suppose to live on the surface, many people have full blown families now, they're a little unwilling to risk taking them up. So that means the single or childless people get the boot upstairs since they have less to "lose". That doesn't go over too well either. People start protesting loudly about being kicked out of their homes since they have as much right to stay too.
One day, you're in the computer room at the time arguing with Charles who happens to be single, and giving you shit about Nina's new policy. Todd is pretty much indifferent to the idea since even though he's single he doesn't mind the idea of going to the surface, he just thinks you should've said something to Nina a long time ago to implement this plan sooner before everyone had a whole mess of babies.
That's when you get the word.
Kyle comes in to tell you that during one of Nina's speeches William (Who would've been one of those kicked up to the surface along with Ron) attempted to assassinate Nina with a scalpel he stole from the medical supplies. Leon managed to stop him with extreme prejudice by breaking his neck. But its not ending there, people are starting to riot and call for someone new to be the shelter leader.
You're pissed off now, you storm into the conference room ready to kick everyone's ass who DARES to try to hurt Nina again. You fire your pistol into the air causing everyone to take notice. When you get over to Nina, she's pleading for you to not shoot anybody. The assassin was already taken care of; there isn't any more need for killing.
While that might be the case that still doesn't solve the problem of everyone hating Nina (And probably you too as well) if she gets thrown out of her position, the next step might be to try to throw you guys out of the shelter.
Part of this you feel is your fault, you could just roll the dice here or you could attempt to take the hard line approach.
> take control
You said nothing when you should have about the surface five years ago. That was your fault. You can do something now though. Something unpopular and drastic, but something that will better ensure the safety of your family.
"Alright, I'm doing something I should've done a long time ago! I'M taking over!"
"You? Says who?! What gives you the right?!" someone in the crowd shouts.
You point your pistol in his direction.
"THIS! Is what gives me the fuckin' right bitch! My willingness to allow you to continue your goddamn existence! Now here's how things are gonna go down."
You begin to implement new changes whether anyone likes them or not, and most folks don't, but as usual you don't give a shit.
You keep Nina's plan for the surface idea, one of the things you do is install another call button so the elevator can now go up and down without all the extra hassle of fucking with the computer anymore, you still don't know what the fuck GZS was thinking about with that idea of fucked up engineering. Parts of the shelter begin to get stripped along with some of the vehicles still remaining outside to create a few small homes.
As for who is going up to live, you devise a random numbering system that everyone has to participate in... of course you've purposely rigged it so your family doesn't have to live up there. You've also rigged it so certain "useful" members don't have to live up there either making them a little more receptive to your changes. Charles and some others are suddenly pleasant with you again. Naturally everyone who does have to leave hates your guts.
Your next step is to send out "explorers" to go find other communities to contact and trade with, because you desperately need more supplies. You pick Leon for the task, but Todd also volunteers. Brenda wants to go too, but you need all the people with medical knowledge here in the shelter.
A few weeks later Leon and Todd come back from their explorations. They mention they came across a place called Ashtown. They say it's a small town, but willing to trade since they have routine problems with raiders and wouldn't mind a supply of fresh water for a change.
Nina doesn't exactly approve of your methods, but she goes along with you, because she loves you and you're actually getting something accomplished.
Five more years pass...
Things have changed quite a bit, for better and for worse.
You're running the shelter and its now above town called "Exile" basically by yourself and its putting you on edge each and everyday. One thing you didn't think about when finding a trading partner, was the fact that more weapons might be coming in. You now aren't the only person here with a gun. Which has lessened your intimidation value a bit, but you've countered a full blown rebellion by turning the "sheltered" and the "unsheltered" against each other. The people who live in the shelter are of course a lot more well off and healthier, while those living on the surface now suffer from the elements and the occasional mutant wolf pack attack.
The haves vs. the have nots. It's an old tale that's been played over and over. A tale that resulted in Armageddon, and now apparently even beyond it.
But even you cannot prevent an unstable powder keg from exploding forever and one day it does. Full blown rioting breaks out, you attempt to squash the rebellion, but it's not even a rebellion so much as it is full blown anarchy as people IN the shelter are attempting to kill you in the opportunity to attempt to take over. Damn, you really thought Leon was on your side too.
You end up having to shoot your way out of the conference room, and make it back to your room where Nina is barricaded with Jake, she opens the door long enough to let you in.
"We have to get out of here!" she screams. "It's over! They're gonna kill us!"
> stay and fight
"NEVER! I'M the one who saved this shelter from its own idiocy! If it wasn't for me, this place everyone would probably still be living crammed together like fuckin' sardines! They WILL fall in fuckin' line!
Unfortunately like most people under a dictatorship, they don't see you as a great savior but rather as the tyrant you are. Eventually a group of the surface people come down en-masse and overrun the place, you try to prevent more from coming by barricading yourself in the computer room and shutting off the elevator, but its too late, there are already a lot of them down here. There's no way you can fight all of them, you don't have the ammo and all your loyal guards are dead. You and your family are trapped and you know what they'll do to all of you if they take you alive, you look at Nina and Jack...
Nope, you're still in control of some things around here. You take a deep breath and look directly into Nina's eyes.
"Know that I always loved you... the both of you." you say sadly.
Then without any further hesitation you shoot them both in the head.
After wiping a tear from your eye, you start paying attention to the threats outside your door.
"Get outta there you sonofabitch! It's over! You and your fuckin' family are through!"
"Oh yeah?! We'll see who's fuckin' through you ungrateful bastards! If I'm going down, you're all coming to fuckin' hell with me! SCORCHED FUCKIN' EARTH BITCHES!"
You start shooting the GZS central computer, lighting starts flickering and eventually you hit the right vital spot and the entire shelter's power goes dead. Immediately you hear some shouting from behind the door, and they begin blasting it open. Won't be long now.
You fire at the first figure that you can barely make out in the darkness, then the rest open fire on you. You see the flash of multiple muzzle blasts and then fall to the ground near Nina's body.
In your last moments, you grab onto Nina's hand and squeeze before darkness takes you. |
You said nothing when you should have about the surface five years ago. That was your fault. You can do something now though. Something unpopular and drastic, but something that will better ensure the safety of your family.
"Alright, I'm doing something I should've done a long time ago! I'M taking over!"
"You? Says who?! What gives you the right?!" someone in the crowd shouts.
You point your pistol in his direction.
"THIS! Is what gives me the fuckin' right bitch! My willingness to allow you to continue your goddamn existence! Now here's how things are gonna go down."
You begin to implement new changes whether anyone likes them or not, and most folks don't, but as usual you don't give a shit.
You keep Nina's plan for the surface idea, one of the things you do is install another call button so the elevator can now go up and down without all the extra hassle of fucking with the computer anymore, you still don't know what the fuck GZS was thinking about with that idea of fucked up engineering. Parts of the shelter begin to get stripped along with some of the vehicles still remaining outside to create a few small homes.
As for who is going up to live, you devise a random numbering system that everyone has to participate in... of course you've purposely rigged it so your family doesn't have to live up there. You've also rigged it so certain "useful" members don't have to live up there either making them a little more receptive to your changes. Charles and some others are suddenly pleasant with you again. Naturally everyone who does have to leave hates your guts.
Your next step is to send out "explorers" to go find other communities to contact and trade with, because you desperately need more supplies. You pick Leon for the task, but Todd also volunteers. Brenda wants to go too, but you need all the people with medical knowledge here in the shelter.
A few weeks later Leon and Todd come back from their explorations. They mention they came across a place called Ashtown. They say it's a small town, but willing to trade since they have routine problems with raiders and wouldn't mind a supply of fresh water for a change.
Nina doesn't exactly approve of your methods, but she goes along with you, because she loves you and you're actually getting something accomplished.
Five more years pass...
Things have changed quite a bit, for better and for worse.
You're running the shelter and its now above town called "Exile" basically by yourself and its putting you on edge each and everyday. One thing you didn't think about when finding a trading partner, was the fact that more weapons might be coming in. You now aren't the only person here with a gun. Which has lessened your intimidation value a bit, but you've countered a full blown rebellion by turning the "sheltered" and the "unsheltered" against each other. The people who live in the shelter are of course a lot more well off and healthier, while those living on the surface now suffer from the elements and the occasional mutant wolf pack attack.
The haves vs. the have nots. It's an old tale that's been played over and over. A tale that resulted in Armageddon, and now apparently even beyond it.
But even you cannot prevent an unstable powder keg from exploding forever and one day it does. Full blown rioting breaks out, you attempt to squash the rebellion, but it's not even a rebellion so much as it is full blown anarchy as people IN the shelter are attempting to kill you in the opportunity to attempt to take over. Damn, you really thought Leon was on your side too.
You end up having to shoot your way out of the conference room, and make it back to your room where Nina is barricaded with Jake, she opens the door long enough to let you in.
"We have to get out of here!" she screams. "It's over! They're gonna kill us!"
> run while you can
"I'll go with that idea, but we're gonna have to be quick! Grab only the basic necessities. We're going to Ashtown."
You and your family grab what you need and run for the elevator which fortunately is still on the bottom. A couple of guards still loyal accompany you. When you arrive to the surface you nearly get your head blown off as soon as the elevator door opens. Your guards shoot the would be killer and you all move on.
Outside the shelter entrance it's even worse. There's fighting all over the place, and as soon as people see you, they all start trying to kill you. You urge Nina and Jack to run for the wilderness immediately. You fire back at the angry mob moving on your position, while running at the same time. The last of your guards go down. You run to attempt to catch up to Nina and Jack, which you do, but the mob is still chasing you. A bullet whizzes by your ear and then you hear a scream, its Nina.
You turn around and think she's been hit, but it was Jack who was hit. She goes back to retrieve his body. Of course the mob isn't stopping.
"NINA! NO!" you shout and fire at the mob, but killing a few of them doesn't stop them from shooting Nina, who falls by Jake's body. There's nothing you can do now. You continue to run until you eventually lose your pursuers. Then you weep for the loss of your family.
You wander the wasteland for a bit, hoping something will attack you and put you out of your misery, but you never encounter a thing. Eventually you make your way to Ashtown. You get a couple of strange looks. A few people from Ashtown have heard descriptions of you, but never actually met you in person.
"Aren't you... "
"No, not at all, you got any work around in this dump?"
The citizens of Ashtown have a few old generators that they need working at maximum efficiency, so that's what you work on. They're so grateful for your technical expertise, that they keep quiet about you being here, the next time a group of people from the shelter come to trade. Things don't look like they're going to well at the shelter from what you can tell though, word has it, that they're going to have to completely abandon the shelter itself and live completely on the surface now, apparently the shelter's computer system was severely damaged and is libel to shut down at any moment. The people are miserable and the baby mortality rate is high
This gives you no joy however, you've lost more. Much more. The solitude you once cherished and have again now only feel like emptiness. One day during a raider attack you purposely go out and fight them along with all the other defenders. You get yourself shot in the stomach and you don't even care as you lie dying, anything to end your suffering. |
The temptation is too great, you have to go. You're just too curious not to.
"Hey Todd, and Charles I think you guys are ready to monitor this thing by yourself. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and I'm going back to my room to take a short nap, don't tell anyone alright?"
Todd and Charles just look glad that you're showing some confidence in them for once.
"Yeah, sure it's cool. We won't tell anyone." Todd says.
"Alright, I'll be back. Remember just monitor, don't fucking touch anything!"
"Okay! Got it!"
You leave the computer room and look around; the shelter almost seems eerily empty right now. Nina's no doubt got everyone's attention with her speech in conference room and all the kids are being looked after by someone in the children's room created a couple years back.
You make your move. You run to the elevator, open it and get inside. You take a deep breath and press the button up, no time like the present to test it person.
The elevator begins its ascent, you begin to wonder what you'll see above, you then check you pistol just in case what you see is unfriendly. Finally the elevator opens up to the same foyer you entered five years ago. Looks exactly the same, except the payment machine is now offline in fact the screen is cracked. There's a crowbar lying on the floor and the doors to the outside look like they were pried open. You see the outside world for the first time in five years. From where you're standing, it doesn't look too bad; maybe the devastation wasn't that great in this area. Somebody or possibly several people were here at one time attempting to get in.
You take the crowbar and jam it in the elevator door so it doesn't close on you. There's no call button up here either since it was the payment machine that opened it up. You make a note that if you're able you'll have to install another one up here, and shake your head at the typical shitty GZS design of its shelters. They built this thing like a high tech mass coffin as far as you're concerned; you're convinced that if it wasn't for you up keeping and tinkering, everyone would've been dead due to shelter failure by now.
You exit the foyer and go outside, you see a bright light. It's the sun; you forgot how bright it could be. You see everyone's cars still parked here, well almost. You can tell that few of them must've been taken at one time; a lot have just been plain vandalized. Your van still looks the same though, nobody in their right mind would steal that thing, and it already looks vandalized. You wonder if it would still start, but you left your keys to it in the shelter. You doubt if it would though.
It occurs to you for the first time, the shelter might not exactly be "safe", granted its not safe by design, but you're thinking safe from bad people on the surface. Its possible these folks who passed through here stealing vehicles and vandalizing them might've just been trying to scavenge whatever they could find. The surface certainly can't be a comfortable place to live now. Maybe they were just looking for safety. Of course it's equally likely they were looters and other bad types.
The shelter community isn't exactly a bunch of "warriors", besides yourself, Leon, and maybe a few others you doubt it they could handle a bunch of hardened surface raiders who've been living in the wasteland for years. Granted the elevator wouldn't allow for a large invasion of these types of people to take place, but it still makes you wonder if precautions shouldn't be taken.
You need to get back though before everyone finds out what you've been doing. You rush back to the elevator (Throwing the crowbar back on the ground) and take it down hoping that nobody is wandering around when you exit the thing.
When you arrive at the bottom, you half expect to see a crowd to meet you, but its dead silent still, you quickly head back to the computer room where Charles and Todd are talking about another movie.
"Hey you're back. So what did you see on the surface?" Charles asks
"Yeah were there mutants and shit?" Todd adds
You're a little taken aback.
"What?! How did you guys know?"
"Sheesh! Come on, we're not the morons you think we are! You told us to monitor the computer system, and when you used the elevator, the computer mentioned the elevator was in use, we put two and two together. So how was it? Is it all desert and shit with people dressed in leather walking around?"
You nearly slap yourself in the head for forgetting that little oversight on your part.
"You watch too many movies Charles; no I didn't see any of that. At least not in the immediate area. And YOU two don't know I went up there and I mean you don't tell ANYONE! If Nina found out, she'd a pitch a bitch at me. She's already made it clear that she doesn't want me going up on the surface."
"Don't worry we're not going to say anything. I dunno, I think maybe we should start going to the surface though, I mean this place can't support a growing population forever. Eventually we're going to have to start expanding out." Todd mentions.
"Yeah, but that probably won't be for awhile, we a got a lot of room still. Lots of supplies too, and with us in charge the food and water dispensers are working perfectly now." Charles retorts.
You roll your eyes "With us in charge" actually it was you who made sure the damn things wouldn't be breaking down on a regular basis. Still Todd makes a good point and it was something you were thinking about too. Maybe you should address this further with Nina after all her being the shelter leader she's the one that could enact a plan about it.
Later that night, you're in bed with Nina wondering if its time to tell her she should think about expansion...
> address it
"Hey Nina get up."
"Huh, what? Not tonight I'm tired."
"No it's not that. It's about the surface. I think we need to start taking precautions and possible steps to expand above. The surface doesn't look that bad and... "
Nina immediately sits up.
"YOU WENT TO THE SURFACE? After I told you not to fucking do that?! YOU ASSHOLE!"
"Calm down look you can see nothing happened to me. It doesn't even look like there was any bombs that landed anywhere near the area."
"You could be radiated! The wind blows your know or have you forgotten? Or maybe it was a biological weapon! A disease could be floating in the air! You ever think of that? You could be infected with god knows what right now and spread it to the whole shelter! And our baby!"
Another surprise.
"Baby? You're pregnant?"
"I just found out recently from Brenda a few days ago. I was going to tell you soon, I should've told you yesterday before you went to the surface, but I THOUGHT you respected my wishes! I can't believe you... "
Nina gets up and starts pacing. She's very upset. You get up and try to fix this mess.
"Look that just makes this idea even more vital, this place can't support all these people having babies. Even GZS mentioned in their delusional guideline statement it was the intention for people to eventually go back up to the surface and repopulate it with their families. We can't live like a bunch of crowded sardines; we should make preparations now, before it becomes a problem."
"But it might be dangerous up there."
"It probably won't be a picnic, but that's another reason why we should start getting ready now. The more we're prepared the better off we'll be to defend ourselves."
"But the radiation... "
"Look, the fact remains this place IS going to get overpopulated one day and people are going to have to start going up to the surface and any background radiation isn't going to disappear within that time. So we're just going to have to roll the dice and deal with that fact. Like I said I think we're okay, we're in a fairly isolated area away from an important major city. It's not like we're located on either of the coasts which were probably bombed the shit out of. And to the response to biological weapon thing, I highly doubt those were used, we were the only country that had the capability to launch such weapons from a long distance, except maybe Russia and I'm sure they probably just used nukes on us. Besides any virus or germ used in such a way would've died out long ago after it killed off the immediate population."
Nina still doesn't look so sure, she still look worried about you. You hold Nina to reassure her.
"If it'll make you feel better I'll actually go see Kyle and have him check me out. And you know how much I hate going to see doctors, especially one that's got all his knowledge from the GZS info files. I'll be here for a long time... for all of us."
Your words seem to relax her a bit. She smiles and embraces you more closely.
"Okay, I'll bring it up tomorrow... I still think it's funny that you of all people would be advocating going back to the surface."
"Pfft! WE'RE not going to the surface to live. We're staying here! I just want get the rest of these fuckers out of the shelter and on to the surface! This place is too damn crowded as it is!"
"Now that sounds more like you!" Nina laughs.
Five more years pass...
It's been ten years since you got here. It almost seems surreal to think about. Nina's still the shelter leader and you're still looking after the central computer. However a lot more things have changed, and just as predicted the population grew significantly, fortunately the implementations ahead of time allowed everyone to adjust with little problems.
There was some apprehension at first when Nina first suggested the surface thing, but eventually people did see the point in it. Some even wanted to go up to the surface. The first step was to make a fully functioning elevator that people could go up AND down on without any problems. (Of course that job fell to you again)
The next step was to create small "huts" with the cars outside as well as using current shelter material. This went quicker than expected as most people pitched in to help.
Nina gave birth to a son Jack, and almost went back to her duties immediately, leaving you to do most of the "Mr. Mom" work. Nowadays you split your time between monitoring the computer and monitoring Jack. Thankfully Charles and Todd have learned a lot more now and don't require your supervision lessening your workload.
Now its time for the next step.
Nina and her council have been discussing plans for the even farther future. Contact with others and exploration. Within the past five years of the return to the surface, there has been contact with a few wanderers here and there, but they tended not to talk too much about their travels, they just mentioned that they'd seen other evidences of civilization, not all very civilized of course. Most of them just seemed to want to keep moving after doing a bit of trading and resupplying. One even hinted at some other "things" lurking around on the surface which didn't sound too promising.
However, the shelter needs to start finding a stable trading partner, or at least a place to find more supplies, because the vital ones are starting to run out. Some people are asked to volunteer for this exploration mission
It wasn't surprising Leon volunteered, but Brenda and Todd also volunteered. They were given as much supplies as they could carry and armed with the most "dangerous" things in the shelter. Leon and Todd carry some crowbars and Brenda carries a scalpel. You wonder if that's really going to be enough though. Chances are some people out there (Quite possibly a lot) are carrying guns on them. Todd and Brenda aren't going to be much good in a fight anyway, and while Leon is a fighter, even he can't stop a bullet.
You're the only one with an "equalizer" around here. Maybe you should hand it over to them to give them a better chance. Though you really don't want to do that, for various reasons.
> hand over your pistol
Before they leave you approach Leon, you and he still have a bit of history over the whole Elliot thing years ago. You're guessing he's not one to hold a grudge though since he's never sought any type of revenge or something. You only hope he isn't the patient type.
"Alright Leon, I know you're the fighter of this group, and I know its most likely going to be dangerous up there, so I'm gonna do something totally out of character. I'm giving you my pistol and the two clips I have. It's in good condition, and it's only been fired once in ten years and I think you know when that was. Here you go."
Leon takes the gun and looks at it with silence for awhile and then speaks. You think this is the first time you've actually heard him speak at all!
"Y'know, I never did apologize for that shit ten years ago. I dunno what the hell I was thinking following Elliot; none of us who did do. You and Nina have done a better job of keeping this place running than anyone. Anyway, this is really generous of you, but I can't shoot worth shit, but I know someone who's going with us who used to practice regularly before the bombs dropped. Hey Brenda! I got something for ya!"
Brenda comes over and her eyes widen when Leon hands her your pistol.
"Aw yeah! This is what I'm talkin' about! I just hope I'm still a good shot; I've only been able to practice my aim by throwing this scalpel at a human diagram chart."
"Yeah well don't practice too much with it, save your bullets for an emergency. I didn't know you were a gun person Brenda." You say.
"You really need to get out of that computer room and socialize more!"
"Shit, he barely socializes when he's in there with me and Charles." Todd adds.
"But yeah I used to practice with my own when I had one. I was too afraid to try to sneak mine in here though... you know we've all always wondered about that, how DID you sneak this in?" Brenda asks.
You just smile.
"Hey I think you guys better get going." You say almost laughing
"Oh come on! What a gyp! Alright, but we want to know when we come back!" Brenda says and then her, Leon and Todd enter the elevator wave goodbye to everyone and go up.
You and everyone else go about your usual business. Nina mentions what you did.
"Wow, that was really surprising for you, you've practically been walking around with that thing on you for ten years."
"Yeah, well I can only hope I don't need it within the time that they come back... if they come back."
"You just gave them an edge I'd say they've got more of a chance now. Don't be so pessimistic. They'll come back."
"Yeah I hope. Bring Jack by the computer room later; I know you got some sort of meeting to go to."
"Oh I can cancel that, it's not vital."
"No its fine, bring him by. I've been indoctrinating him on the basics of the shelter computer. Someone's gotta run this thing when I'm gone."
"Well alright then, hey don't worry. Everything will be alright."
Nina kisses you and you exchange remarks about how you love each other before you make your way back to the computer room. You know its silly to think about it, but you can't help thinking about some worst possible scenario.
You think about those three getting captured, tortured, and killed by a large group of psychotic bandits or something and then those same scum coming here because they found out the location after torturing them. You wouldn't have anything proper to defend your family with and the surface scum would probably have all kinds of weapons to kill everyone with. They'd start by killing everyone in immediate area of the entrance, then they'd come down in small groups with automatic weapons they undoubtedly have and start killing down here and worse...
"HEY! Stop spacing!" Charles suddenly says to you.
"Huh? Oh! Okay." You say snapping out your horrible daydream.
"Man, what's wrong with you? You've been doing that the whole time you got here."
"Nothing, just a little pre-occupied."
You still don't really relax until Jack gets there, which allows you to think about less terrible things like teaching him about the computer system.
When you're finished with your duties, you go back to your room, and Nina's there waiting for you looking as lovely as usual. You came in this place ten years ago with nothing except a bad attitude, now you got a lot more...
You're not losing this. No way in hell.
The next day you start visiting the community gym area. You know other people like Leon use it. Nina uses it to keep in shape, but you've never stepped foot in the place, you never really saw any reason to, its not like you were fat or anything, but you realize if some shit goes down you're going to have to be in better physical condition. You might not have a gun, but MAYBE you'll be quick and strong enough to take one away from somebody! You need a fucking edge. You begin training regularly. Nina's a little confused about this sudden change, but she's not at all displeased with it.
You do this for the next six months with the constant theme running in your mind of how you'll be able to take out the first miscreant that steps through the elevator, grab his gun and...
"Hey everyone, they're back! And they're in a fuckin' car with a shitload of stuff!" someone shouts while you're training.
You immediately stop and head for the surface. When you arrive you see Leon unloading some stuff out of a beat up, but functioning car, he's got a patch on his eye now and his face is scarred, but otherwise looks okay. Brenda comes up to you and tosses you your pistol back, along with three clips!
"Came in handy, but I think I'll be using THIS from now on!" Brenda pats an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder. "Hey, you look different, you been working out?"
"Um, something like that. So where did you get all this stuff?"
"Most of it we got from this small place called Ashtown that's agreed to trade with us, we'd found it after about a week of wandering around, we were there negotiating with them and they wouldn't trust us at first until the place suddenly got attack by a bunch of raiders. We helped defend the place from a one month siege! We also stuck around to help heal the wound. After that, they decided we were okay... that was at sort of a high cost though. Todd didn't make it. He got killed in the fight. Tried to save him, but it was already too late by the time I got there." Brenda explains.
"Damn...he was an alright guy... so is this fight where Leon got all scarred up?" you say as he approaches.
"No, that happened after we left Ashtown, we went exploring some more, we found another place a lot less friendly called The Combine. Trust me; we want to AVOID that place. We barely got out of there; we were basically prisoners. That's why we were gone for so long. However, that's where we got this car. We stopped back at Ashtown to pick up some supplies and came back here." Leon answers, then he looks at you with his remaining eye. "Damn, you been working out?"
You nearly start laughing at your situation, here you were training and thinking up every possible worst case scenario that was going to befall the shelter, while Brenda and Leon were actually engaged in some worst case scenarios. You're just glad that nothing did happen to the shelter, but you certainly feel less naked now that you have your "equalizer" back!
Life in the shelter continues.
Ten more years pass...
You've been here twenty years and as always there are more changes.
More people have moved to the surface, pieces of the shelter have been dismantled and started to be used to build a real town along with supplies from Ashtown, and scavenging from other places. Still, the shelter is needed to ensure at least a clean water supply so you're still running it. Nina's position has changed though. Since the shelter doesn't contain a majority of the population anymore, her position is more of a community council person and her title is no longer "shelter leader". The place has been given a name now; New Haven
One current problem is to keep the place together, but with the younger population, they're less likely to want to stay. Ever since Leon came back with a giant mutant wolf head on one of his exploration trips, they all want to be "explorers" too. Your son Jack being one of those young people.
Nina of course doesn't want him to go anywhere (You're reminded of when she didn't want you to go to the surface) and you can't say you're too fond of the idea either, but what can you do?
> increase his work time with you
The longer you can keep an eye on him the less likely he'll be sneaking off, maybe you can drum some discipline into his head again too, because apparently he lost some of it. You go to find Jake who's hanging around the edges of town as usual.
"Hey Jack come here!"
"Aw Dad, I don't feel like working with you in the boring ol' computer room right now!"
"Boy, you better get your ass to that computer room!"
Jack follows you in defeat before you embarrass him anymore in front of his friends. When you arrive in the computer room Charles is there. Jack slumps down in a chair next to a console.
"Oh hey there, I didn't expect to see you both here today." Charles says unsure of how he's suppose to respond to this situation."
"Yeah, well Jack needs to spend some extra time down here, he's been slackin' lately."
"I ain't been slackin'!" Jake protests.
"You've been slackin'! Now check the power systems!"
"(Sigh) Fine! I dunno why we have to do this for; there hasn't been a problem with this thing for years."
"Yeah, and it's gonna STAY that way too! The only reason why we haven't had problems is because I'm on top of things all the time! If I let this thing go to shit, no more clean water supply for us! Would you like that? Drinking piss water?"
"I know I sure wouldn't." Charles mumbles.
"Damnit Dad this is boring! I don't wanna be doing this shit! I wanna go out an explore the world like Leon!"
"Like Leon huh? In case you're blind, you'll notice Leon's got a missing eye, a missing left ear and pieces of his fingers. That's what the rest of the world does to you, if you slip up just slightly and nobody's perfect. Look at Brenda, she's the best marksperson in this place and she got herself shot in the leg which stopped her from going out. She now walks with a permanent limp! Is that what you want?"
"God you're a fucking control freak Dad! I thought Mom was bad, but... "
Over the line. That one incurred Jack a wrap to the head.
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT YOUR MOTHER THAT WAY!" you bellow as Jack holds his head.
"Um... I think my shift is over, see ya later!" Charles says getting out the way of this family squabble.
The rest of the time in the computer room is silent. Jack doesn't say anything, he just sullenly does what you tell him. The next day he does the same thing, and the day after that, and so on, until one day he doesn't. Mainly because he's run away with some of his friends and stolen Leon's beat up car. Nina is very distraught along with many other parents. The only thing is that Leon said it doesn't have that much gas in it because he hasn't been able to come across any lately.
You, some of the other fathers and Leon go looking for all of them. You first head towards Ashtown thinking that maybe they just went there to be "a little rebellious". You come across the car, which they obviously abandoned, and continue to Ashtown with hope that Jack still headed that way, but no such luck. When you arrive, the people their say they haven't seen anyone come by in weeks.
Days go by and at one point Leon thinks he's got a lead, but then the worst happens. You're attacked by crazed cannibals and their mutant dogs. You immediately tag one of the cannibals and duck behind a rock. But the cannibals also have guns and while the other fathers have weapons too, they haven't been practicing with them like you and Leon have. They're a lot better shots, you see a few of your fellow parents go down for the count, while the dogs finish them off. Leon holds his own, and you and he manage to take out all the cannibals, but it's the fucking dogs that give you trouble...
Three of them leap onto Leon, knocking his weapon from his hand, he sticks his thumbs in the eyes of the one that tried to take out his throat, but that still doesn't stop it from biting him in the face before it dies, one is chewing on his chest though and the other one is going to town on his crotch. You'd try to help him, but you got one that came out of nowhere that rips into your leg. You shoot the damn thing in the head three times before it lets go. You then struggle to stand and shoot the other couple dogs, but its too late, Leon's a mangled corpse.
"FUCK!" you shout in frustration looking at the dead all around you. You collapse to the ground and put your hands on your face thinking about how this got all fucked up and then that's when you notice the smoke coming from the cannibal camp and the smell of burning flesh. Your heart sinks and you drag yourself over for a closer look.
"No... don't let it... " you to yourself. You see some bones and clothing. Some on it looks like that of some of the other parent's kids. You don't see anything of Jack's. You don't know if he got away, or they ate him and threw the clothing elsewhere or what. Somehow it doesn't really matter; you haven't found him, so for all intents and purposes he's dead or at best; missing.
After grabbing all the remaining water you can from the others you make the long painful journey back to New Haven, thinking about what you're going to tell everyone. Much has been lost this day.
When you get back you collapse again, this time you feel a fever. Brenda and Kyle immediately see to you. It's your leg, its festering and infected from the mutant dog bite. Nothing can be done; you get it chopped off at the knee. The only good thing is you were unconscious at the time.
After you get over the initially shock of waking up to a peg leg, you only have more bad news for everyone, especially Nina. However, many lives of husbands and children have been lost and someone MUST take the blame. And that someone happens to be you just because you happened to be the lucky one to come back alive.
Nina is voted out of her position on the council for some made up reason which you protest loudly, but it hardly bothers her since she's been preoccupied ever since you came back with the bad news. She holds on to sanity by making herself believe that Jack DID escape and is somewhere out there wandering the world.
They can't get rid of you so easily since even with Charles around you're still the only guy who can keep the computer system running everything working right, but most of the population sure gives you a hard time. If you weren't walking around on a fucking peg, you'd start kicking some ass. As a few years goes by, finally you get sick of the shit and say:
"Fuck it. Let 'em rot. They can run this shit themselves, this place is getting dead anyway. Nina, we're going to Ashtown."
"Ashtown? But that's so far away! And you're walking on that peg!"
"I didn't mean go right this minute or by ourselves, I meant the next trade caravan from Ashtown that comes by we're tagging along with it."
"We're just going to pick up and leave? Just like that? After all these years?"
"Hey, I don't like it either, but its obvious all of our efforts weren't ever appreciated here. Yours OR mine. Since they hate us so much, then let 'em live here without our help. There's nothing for us here now. All we got left is each other."
Nina agrees and holds you tightly while telling you how much she loves you.
When the Ashtown caravan comes around you and Nina have all your stuff packed. They're only too happy to take you with them, since Ashtown has been trying to get a couple old generators working to maximum efficiency and they heard you were good at that sort of thing.
You spend your remaining life in Ashtown. It isn't as secure in safety as it was in New Haven, but at least you had Nina to make it equally as comfortable. |
Before they leave you approach Leon, you and he still have a bit of history over the whole Elliot thing years ago. You're guessing he's not one to hold a grudge though since he's never sought any type of revenge or something. You only hope he isn't the patient type.
"Alright Leon, I know you're the fighter of this group, and I know its most likely going to be dangerous up there, so I'm gonna do something totally out of character. I'm giving you my pistol and the two clips I have. It's in good condition, and it's only been fired once in ten years and I think you know when that was. Here you go."
Leon takes the gun and looks at it with silence for awhile and then speaks. You think this is the first time you've actually heard him speak at all!
"Y'know, I never did apologize for that shit ten years ago. I dunno what the hell I was thinking following Elliot; none of us who did do. You and Nina have done a better job of keeping this place running than anyone. Anyway, this is really generous of you, but I can't shoot worth shit, but I know someone who's going with us who used to practice regularly before the bombs dropped. Hey Brenda! I got something for ya!"
Brenda comes over and her eyes widen when Leon hands her your pistol.
"Aw yeah! This is what I'm talkin' about! I just hope I'm still a good shot; I've only been able to practice my aim by throwing this scalpel at a human diagram chart."
"Yeah well don't practice too much with it, save your bullets for an emergency. I didn't know you were a gun person Brenda." You say.
"You really need to get out of that computer room and socialize more!"
"Shit, he barely socializes when he's in there with me and Charles." Todd adds.
"But yeah I used to practice with my own when I had one. I was too afraid to try to sneak mine in here though... you know we've all always wondered about that, how DID you sneak this in?" Brenda asks.
You just smile.
"Hey I think you guys better get going." You say almost laughing
"Oh come on! What a gyp! Alright, but we want to know when we come back!" Brenda says and then her, Leon and Todd enter the elevator wave goodbye to everyone and go up.
You and everyone else go about your usual business. Nina mentions what you did.
"Wow, that was really surprising for you, you've practically been walking around with that thing on you for ten years."
"Yeah, well I can only hope I don't need it within the time that they come back... if they come back."
"You just gave them an edge I'd say they've got more of a chance now. Don't be so pessimistic. They'll come back."
"Yeah I hope. Bring Jack by the computer room later; I know you got some sort of meeting to go to."
"Oh I can cancel that, it's not vital."
"No its fine, bring him by. I've been indoctrinating him on the basics of the shelter computer. Someone's gotta run this thing when I'm gone."
"Well alright then, hey don't worry. Everything will be alright."
Nina kisses you and you exchange remarks about how you love each other before you make your way back to the computer room. You know its silly to think about it, but you can't help thinking about some worst possible scenario.
You think about those three getting captured, tortured, and killed by a large group of psychotic bandits or something and then those same scum coming here because they found out the location after torturing them. You wouldn't have anything proper to defend your family with and the surface scum would probably have all kinds of weapons to kill everyone with. They'd start by killing everyone in immediate area of the entrance, then they'd come down in small groups with automatic weapons they undoubtedly have and start killing down here and worse...
"HEY! Stop spacing!" Charles suddenly says to you.
"Huh? Oh! Okay." You say snapping out your horrible daydream.
"Man, what's wrong with you? You've been doing that the whole time you got here."
"Nothing, just a little pre-occupied."
You still don't really relax until Jack gets there, which allows you to think about less terrible things like teaching him about the computer system.
When you're finished with your duties, you go back to your room, and Nina's there waiting for you looking as lovely as usual. You came in this place ten years ago with nothing except a bad attitude, now you got a lot more...
You're not losing this. No way in hell.
The next day you start visiting the community gym area. You know other people like Leon use it. Nina uses it to keep in shape, but you've never stepped foot in the place, you never really saw any reason to, its not like you were fat or anything, but you realize if some shit goes down you're going to have to be in better physical condition. You might not have a gun, but MAYBE you'll be quick and strong enough to take one away from somebody! You need a fucking edge. You begin training regularly. Nina's a little confused about this sudden change, but she's not at all displeased with it.
You do this for the next six months with the constant theme running in your mind of how you'll be able to take out the first miscreant that steps through the elevator, grab his gun and...
"Hey everyone, they're back! And they're in a fuckin' car with a shitload of stuff!" someone shouts while you're training.
You immediately stop and head for the surface. When you arrive you see Leon unloading some stuff out of a beat up, but functioning car, he's got a patch on his eye now and his face is scarred, but otherwise looks okay. Brenda comes up to you and tosses you your pistol back, along with three clips!
"Came in handy, but I think I'll be using THIS from now on!" Brenda pats an automatic rifle slung over her shoulder. "Hey, you look different, you been working out?"
"Um, something like that. So where did you get all this stuff?"
"Most of it we got from this small place called Ashtown that's agreed to trade with us, we'd found it after about a week of wandering around, we were there negotiating with them and they wouldn't trust us at first until the place suddenly got attack by a bunch of raiders. We helped defend the place from a one month siege! We also stuck around to help heal the wound. After that, they decided we were okay... that was at sort of a high cost though. Todd didn't make it. He got killed in the fight. Tried to save him, but it was already too late by the time I got there." Brenda explains.
"Damn...he was an alright guy... so is this fight where Leon got all scarred up?" you say as he approaches.
"No, that happened after we left Ashtown, we went exploring some more, we found another place a lot less friendly called The Combine. Trust me; we want to AVOID that place. We barely got out of there; we were basically prisoners. That's why we were gone for so long. However, that's where we got this car. We stopped back at Ashtown to pick up some supplies and came back here." Leon answers, then he looks at you with his remaining eye. "Damn, you been working out?"
You nearly start laughing at your situation, here you were training and thinking up every possible worst case scenario that was going to befall the shelter, while Brenda and Leon were actually engaged in some worst case scenarios. You're just glad that nothing did happen to the shelter, but you certainly feel less naked now that you have your "equalizer" back!
Life in the shelter continues.
Ten more years pass...
You've been here twenty years and as always there are more changes.
More people have moved to the surface, pieces of the shelter have been dismantled and started to be used to build a real town along with supplies from Ashtown, and scavenging from other places. Still, the shelter is needed to ensure at least a clean water supply so you're still running it. Nina's position has changed though. Since the shelter doesn't contain a majority of the population anymore, her position is more of a community council person and her title is no longer "shelter leader". The place has been given a name now; New Haven
One current problem is to keep the place together, but with the younger population, they're less likely to want to stay. Ever since Leon came back with a giant mutant wolf head on one of his exploration trips, they all want to be "explorers" too. Your son Jack being one of those young people.
Nina of course doesn't want him to go anywhere (You're reminded of when she didn't want you to go to the surface) and you can't say you're too fond of the idea either, but what can you do?
> have a talk with him
You figure you need to address this now; you go to find Jack who's hanging around the edges of the town as usual.
"Hey Jack I need to talk to you."
"Aw Dad, I don't feel like working with you in the boring ol' computer room right now!"
"Hey watch your mouth! And it's not that anyway. It's about all the talking you've doing lately about exploring the wasteland like Indiana fuckin' Jones."
"Who?" Jack genuinely asks seeing as he's never heard of the movie being born after the bomb and all.
"Indiana... look never mind that, your Mom worries night and day that you're going to go running off and get yourself killed."
"I'm not gonna run off... I mean I thought about it... but I just... I dunno... "
"Well spit it out boy!"
"It gets too boring here sometimes! I just wish I could go and explore the world like Leon!"
"Yeah, well if you haven't noticed, Leon's missing an eye, his left ear and a couple of pieces of his fingers, not to mention he's all scarred up and complains about pain all the time."
"Well I'D be more careful!" Jack boasts.
"Hmmm, that's what everyone says. I know you and your friends think all the stories are exciting, but if you'd really paid close attention you'll notice all damn danger as well. You know we've lost a few people doing that adventure shit, and the only one who still does it is Leon. Even Brenda stopped going out after she got shot in the leg. She was lucky she managed to escape. The world isn't a safe place Jake. Never has been. And the way it is now, it's even more dangerous."
Jack looks at you.
"We can't stay here forever Dad."
You see it in his eyes that he's going to do what he wants and you aren't going to be able to stop him. You don't like it, and maybe you can't stop him, but you can improve his odds.
"Alright son, you gather all your little friends and meet me back here in a couple hours. Don't go anywhere! You hear me?"
"Okay, okay."
You go and find Nina and explain the situation, she's of course completely opposed to the idea and it takes some reasoning, but eventually she sees you have a point, even if she doesn't like it. You tell her to go inform the other parents; in the meantime you go and fetch Brenda and Leon.
You meet Jack who's standing around with a bunch of his other friends and most of the other young people in town. Brenda and Leon are behind you.
"Alright Jack, if exploration is what you want, you ain't gonna do it unprepared. You all know these two. Brenda here is going to teach all of you how to shoot properly. We've got plenty of guns and ammo now and she's the best marksperson here. Before ANY of you people go out anywhere you better know how to aim your damn weapons. After a month of that, then you'll be going out, with Leon. He'll be able to give you on the job training with the whole explorer thing. In time, you'll be able to go out by yourselves. Now before any of this goes down, all of you are probably gonna have to discuss this with your parents or some shit, so you're all gonna have to work out your own personal lives yourselves, but Jack you've got a reluctant okay from both me and your mother."
"... I dunno what to say, I mean thanks Dad." Jack smiles.
"What you can do is pay attention to Brenda and Leon's instructions and not get yourself killed! And here, take this. It's saved more than a few lives." You say and hand your pistol to Jack.
And so begins the training. In time most of them go off to pursue their adventures elsewhere, naturally the world being what it is now, some don't return, but for those that do return most come back to stay permanently. Just a little bit of the taste of the outside world is all most of them needed to see it's a lot better to stay in New Haven! When Jake returns he's ready once again to follow in your footsteps.
"See Nina, I knew my idea would work. Let 'em go out in the world for a little while and they'll come to appreciate the comforts of this place! Might be boring here, but at least you don't have some motherfucker with a Mohawk shooting at you because he likes the boots you got on. They just needed some training first to give them a chance to survive."
"Well I'm just glad Jack's alright."
As you and Nina breathe a sigh of relief that Jack's home in one piece, little did you realize that your idea set a major plan in motion.
In time, the New Haven Militia is created.
Thirty ...
Fifty years have gone by you briefly realize as you look at the old shelter entrance; it's hardly ever used anymore. Extensive changes have been made to it so it's rarely necessary to go down there anymore, only Jack and few other technicians go down there to check on the water purification system now in place. Practically everything else has been dismantled and used to help build up the surface of New Haven. New Haven has grown far beyond the shelter that you entered so long ago.
You don't think you ever saw this happening. Nobody did. The place is very large now; populated with the children of those you entered the shelter with as well as refugees from other places. Mostly everyone you originally knew is gone, not that you were ever one to greatly socialize, but still you do miss people like Leon, Brenda and Charles, hell you even miss Ron.
You especially miss your beloved wife Nina. It's been two years since she died. You miss her everyday. Jack comes by with his family to keep you company sometimes, but nowadays all you want is solitude.
You enter the shelter and go down the elevator. You probably aren't supposed to be down here, but you don't care, you're going to live in the past for awhile.
You walk around the practically gutted shelter and remember all the things that happened.
Here's where you first met Nina, you never thought you'd end up marrying and having a child with her someday, but even though you were annoyed by first impressions, (As she probably was with you!) you always thought she was beautiful.
Here's where you shot Elliot. To this day you know you did the right thing. There's no doubt in your mind that things would've been very different had he taken over.
Here's where Jack was born. You remember Kyle having a hell of a time getting him to come out. He always could be a little stubborn. You just remembered you're supposed to have a check up appointment with Kyle's daughter Shelia. It can wait though; you're busy right now.
Ah now here it is. Your old room. You remember spending a majority of your initial time here. Still has the shelter manual on the table. You insisted that this room remain intact when the shelter was in the final stages of being stripped. You always knew you'd return here some day.
You lie down on the bed and enjoy the peace and quiet from the surface. Slowly you begin to get drowsy.
"Ahhh, so peaceful with no other people around... I just wish Nina was here with me to enjoy it too... " you say to yourself as you drift off to sleep. |
No, you have to keep your weapon; you need something to be able to adequately defend your family in case the need should arrive.
Leon, Brenda and Todd leave and life goes on... until one month later.
You're on the surface one day spending time with Nina and Jack who is playing with the other children. It's a community event; nearly everyone is on the surface today. That's when you hear the sound of motorcycles. You look in the direction of the sound and see several approaching. The riders don't look like social types either. Everyone else on the surface begins to look too, and wondering what they should do. Nina quickly gathers up Jack.
> stand your ground
No way in hell you're going to hide, you're a good shot, (At least you used to be, you haven't practiced in awhile) you figure you can get enough of them, while taking cover and everyone else here doesn't have to be defenseless.
"Everyone grab some sort of weapon! Mothers grab your children and run to the shelter, when you get to the bottom jam the door open so it can't come back up!" before she can even say anything you turn to Nina, "Nina! No arguments! Just do it!" you then kiss her before she does what you say.
The bikes are getting closer. There's at least ten, each with a driver and a partner riding in the back. There's some sort of bloody head on the front of the first bike...its Leon's.
You can only guess the fate of Brenda and Todd were similar. Then you hear one of them yelling.
"YEEEHAAA! THERE IT IS! JUST LIKE THAT BITCH WE RAPED AND KILLED SAID! ATTACK!"
You fire a couple times hitting a driver, the bike and its riders go flying into a couple other bikes. Not bad, in fact better than you expected. Unfortunately they're shooting at you now too. You duck for cover while everyone else does likewise, some getting shot in the process.
The remaining bikers attempt to circle around and open fire, but now everyone has adequate cover, so most of the bikers in the "bitch seat" get off to be a little more thorough.
The shelter people and the bikers clash. Not all the bikers have guns, but they've been surviving on the road long enough to be better fighters. Many of your people are going down, and you're the only one who seems to be able to do any damage to these invaders. You manage to blast three more in the chest.
Soon you're out of ammo, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Some monster motherfucker starts attacking you with a spiked bat, landing it right in your leg. You punch him out before collapsing in pain. You attempt to pull the bat out, but then you're kicked in the face and thrown into the path of a speeding motorcycle which rides over your arm. You're not going anywhere; in fact the only thing that saves you from a follow up death blow is the fact that Nina and all the mothers come back up to the surface with weapons to help defend against the attack. Nina grabs your pistol which you dropped and loads it up with a clip you left down in the shelter and blasts the giant biker's brains out.
Seeing many of there comrades dead and reinforcements arrive on your side, the remaining bikers sound a retreat and ride off. Much has been lost this day though; the shelter's population has severely been decimated, not to mention the confidence in staying on the surface.
After this event, all ideas of rebuilding on the surface are abandoned. The shelter has more than enough supplies and room now for everyone considering this last attack. Of course that problem is only going to pop up again in the future when the population replenishes itself again. Maybe not in your lifetime, but certainly in Jack's. He can't stay here, he's going to have to go out in the world and learn how to deal with it. And you make sure he's better prepared than you were.
You stop Jake's training in learning about the computer system; it won't do him any good. Instead you make him do physical training in the shelter gym. You've never used the thing, but he's sure going to. You can't directly train with Jake since you're basically crippled in one leg and arm, but you can motivate and that's what you do. Nina doesn't exactly like it, but she sees that one day the shelter is going to need someone to get more supplies.
As years pass you eventually start succumbing to your damaged body's inability to continue this life. Jack is now a young man, the shelter's population is starting to grow again, and the shelter's supplies are running low. You say your goodbyes to Nina, telling her you love her and ask to see Jack as you lie in your bed.
"Jack, you're going to have to leave this place soon one day. Whether you decide to leave permanently or you decide to come back with supplies to keep this place going, is up to you. But you are going to have to leave it. You understand?"
"Yes Dad."
"(Cough) Good, now here. Even though you're a tough guy who knows how to defend himself, you'll still be needing this when you go out there. Wish you could practice with it, but it only has one clip left and you'll be needing all the bullets you can get."
"Well I did practice my aim by throwing some scalpels at a human diagram, if that's any help."
"Couldn't hurt. Glad to see you're inventive, you'll need that up there. Okay, I think that's it... I hope I taught you enough."
"You did Dad."
"Good. Now leave me, I ache all over and I need to rest."
Jack leaves you where you have your last moments of solitude before leaving this mortal coil. |
Something comes over you, maybe it was the tension or the hostility or maybe you were just horny, but you grab Nina and kiss her passionately. Fortunately for you, she returns the gesture. Now nobody knows what to think they all just stand around watching, they're probably just glad you didn't shoot anybody this time. William and Ron are still recovering from their beating and staggering in the doorway of the elevator.
Nina stops you just for a moment to address everyone. "The exile is off, everyone go back to your lives... and YOU are coming with me!" then she starts pulling you back to her room.
You and Nina relieve a lot of pent up sexual energy that day. A lot of things change after that...
Four more years pass...
You and Nina are an item now, which makes you somewhat more social by necessity (unfortunately) its not all bad though since she's the one that's still shelter leader and has to do all the major work. She does a good job hence the reason she's stayed in power. (Though not surprisingly William and Ron still vote against her, even if she did apologize)
You're now in charge of maintaining the central GZS computer system which you insist on doing primarily by yourself, though Charles and Todd assist you sometimes. Eventually you manage to get the damn thing running at near maximum efficiency and nobody has too many problems with things breaking down anymore.
The Shelter's population has grown a bit now; the only good thing about the shelter was the design to make allowances for a population growth. Of course now there's rug rats running around which means Nina appoints a person to start being a "teacher" of sorts for when they start getting bigger. Fortunately there are a couple of those already in the shelter. Kyle and Brenda are now the main medical practitioners, though you doubt if they'd be able to do open heart surgery, they're competent enough to keep people in relatively good shape and they keep trying to learn more whenever possible with the medical database provided and from books. (You still don't understand WHY you're the only competent tech though! "Gah! Read the books! Study the schematics! It's not difficult!" you're constantly saying and that's to Charles and Todd!)
Then there's the elevator. After the near exile incident, it was still considered a good idea to have it accessible at all times just in case. What you eventually did was install a call button and did some re-wiring to do just that, though nobody has ever dared to actually go up to the surface. (And nobody's ever gotten thrown out either)
You begin to wonder what the surface looks like now though from time to time.
One night while lying next to Nina...
"Hey Nina, you ever wonder what's on the surface now?"
"What? It's probably an uninhabitable wasteland."
"Well maybe, but we've been down here five years, it might look different."
"Yeah, and it might not. Go back to sleep."
"You know I just thought about it, everyone's vehicles are up there. I bet we could strip them down for parts or something, maybe some of them will even work. We could drive around and see what's going on else where."
"What? I don't want you going up there! The elevator is a last resort thing just case something bad happens! And since when do you want to play great explorer? When you first got here you never left your room!"
"I dunno, maybe your socialization has made me a little more extroverted."
"Hmm, knowing you, you probably just want to get away from the increasing population here."
"Ha ha, maybe. But I still wouldn't mind just taking a quick look outside, and to inspect the vehicles like I said."
Nina now sits up.
"No! I don't want you going up there! There's probably radiation still all over the place! I don't want you getting radiation poisoning or mutating or something!"
"I'll be fine! I won't go too far, I just want to... "
Nina grabs a hold of your hand.
"NO! I don't want you going up there! It's not safe!"
"Alright, alright, calm down. I won't go anywhere."
"You promise?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright then, I don't want to hear anymore about it. Our life is here, not up there. I love you too much to lose you."
The both of you lie back down, and Nina holds on to you tightly, putting her head on your chest almost in an effort to make sure you're not going anywhere tonight.
Of course now you're lying awake REALLY wondering what the surface looks like.
The next day you're working with Charles and Todd doing the usual mundane routine. They're talking about the same stupid movie they've watched over and over in the community living area. Shit you feel like you're at work again. The GZS central computer hasn't been giving you trouble for quite some time, and you know there's a big meeting going on in the conference room...
Maybe you could sneak out and just take a quick look on the surface for awhile. You could let Charles and Todd look after the computer, you know they're capable of doing that.
> stay
Nah, Nina's probably right, you might get radiation poisoning or some shit if you go to the surface. Probably nothing left up there for miles anyway. You're just a little bored and were trying to figure out some way of relieving the boredom and going to the surface isn't it. You'll think of something less dangerous. You go back to doing your duties and putting up with Charles and Todd's chatter.
A few weeks later, Nina tells you she's pregnant. In nine months your son Jack is born. You also begin to notice how many other babies are being born or on their way of being born, you start to wonder if there will be enough supplies and room if the population keeps growing like this.
Oh well surely something will be figured out by then. Still, you do wonder if you shouldn't have tried harder to convince Nina that it isn't a completely terrible idea...
Five years pass...
Ten years have gone by and the shelter is starting to get a little crowded. After all there isn't too much to do in the shelter that hasn't already been done, so sex is always (as it always has been) a popular way to pass the time. The result of that fun activity is too many babies.
At this point now you say something to Nina about the surface, she's a little reluctant about the idea, but sees that it might be necessary. Unfortunately the rest of the council doesn't see it that way. Many of them have been here so long now that going to the surface is almost unthinkable. Despite great protest Nina overrides the council's advice and goes ahead with the plan anyway. This doesn't make her too popular.
For one reason there's the decision of who is suppose to live on the surface, many people have full blown families now, they're a little unwilling to risk taking them up. So that means the single or childless people get the boot upstairs since they have less to "lose". That doesn't go over too well either. People start protesting loudly about being kicked out of their homes since they have as much right to stay too.
One day, you're in the computer room at the time arguing with Charles who happens to be single, and giving you shit about Nina's new policy. Todd is pretty much indifferent to the idea since even though he's single he doesn't mind the idea of going to the surface, he just thinks you should've said something to Nina a long time ago to implement this plan sooner before everyone had a whole mess of babies.
That's when you get the word.
Kyle comes in to tell you that during one of Nina's speeches William (Who would've been one of those kicked up to the surface along with Ron) attempted to assassinate Nina with a scalpel he stole from the medical supplies. Leon managed to stop him with extreme prejudice by breaking his neck. But its not ending there, people are starting to riot and call for someone new to be the shelter leader.
You're pissed off now, you storm into the conference room ready to kick everyone's ass who DARES to try to hurt Nina again. You fire your pistol into the air causing everyone to take notice. When you get over to Nina, she's pleading for you to not shoot anybody. The assassin was already taken care of, there isn't any more need for killing.
While that might be the case that still doesn't solve the problem of everyone hating Nina (And probably you too as well) if she gets thrown out of her position, the next step might be to try to throw you guys out of the shelter.
Part of this you feel is your fault, you could just roll the dice here or you could attempt to take the hard line approach. |
Always one to solve a problem before it starts...
You pull the trigger and blast Elliot square in the chest. He looks down in disbelief and then slumps down on the floor by your feet. You then get up from the floor as everyone else runs out of the room.
"Yeah that's what I thought! So much for your fearless leader!"
As you drag Elliot's body out of your room, everyone else in the shelter has come out of their own rooms after hearing the gun shot and screaming.
"OH MY GOD! HE'S GOT A GUN!" someone shouts.
"HE'S KILLED ELLIOT!" another screams.
Everyone is very afraid of what you're going to do next. Only Nina dares approach you.
"You... you killed him? I always knew you were anti-social, but... oh my god... "
"Yeah I fuckin' killed Elliot! And YOU of all people oughta be damn well glad I did! He was planning on taking over this place from your boyfriend Ron!"
"Ron's not my boyfriend! And I don't believe you! Elliot was gracious in his defeat! He was a good man unlike you!"
"Yeah he was so good he tried to recruit me for his little rebellion gang, and don't try to hide in the fuckin' crowd Leon and act like you weren't there! All of you fuckers hiding right now, came to my room with Elliot! And lemme ask you this, WHY the hell would ANY of them come to MY room? Everyone knows I don't invite people!"
"I dunno what to say right now... please just put down the gun... I don't want you to kill anyone else... "
"For fuck's sake Nina I'm not a mass murderer! It was self-defense! He was gonna kill me, just like he was gonna kill Ron and shit maybe he should've, the fuckstick's supposed to be the shelter leader and he's not even here for this! Where is Ron?"
Nina suddenly wonders where he's at as well, she runs over to his door which is still shut.
"Don't tell me, he's THAT much of deep sleeper." You mutter while standing by Elliot's dead body.
Nina doesn't even knock, apparently she's got her own key to get in his room. You're STILL wondering why nothing has happened between those two yet, your questions are soon answered, and everyone is in for another surprise this eventful night.
"EEEEEEEEEEEK! NO!" you hear Nina scream when she goes inside the room and then runs back out crying. Ron steps out in his underwear.
"No, wait! Nina, its not what it looks like!" he shouts to her and then another guy in his underwear comes out. You think his name is William, you never knew too much about him before, but you know MORE than you wanted to now!
"Get back inside William!" when Ron sees that there's a whole crowd of people staring in various states of shock. It's too late though now, everyone knows.
"Wow Nina sure is a good judge of character, she thought Elliot was a good man and she thought you were straight. Looks like I wasn't the only one with a secret in this shelter! Heh heh."
Ron finally turns to you and sees what you've done.
"... You got a gun? YOU FUCKIN' KILLED ELLIOT?"
"(Sigh) Not this again! Yeah I fuckin' killed him. He tried to kill me and he was planning on killing you to take over this dump!"
"Now just calm down, and put down the gun... "
"I'm not putting down shit and I'm not killing anyone else unless someone gives me cause to do so! What the fuck, was the dick in your mouth so good to you, you didn't hear the gunshots and screaming out here? I'm sick of explaining this twice! Now I'M going back into MY room to get some sleep! And none of you better fucking disturb me for the rest of the night! And someone better clean up Elliot's carcass from in front of my room when I wake up tomorrow!"
You return to your room.
"Yeah, I think that went well." You say to yourself.
After the night of multiple "incidents" a lot of things happen. The first, is Elliot's body being the first one dumped into the incinerator. The second being that Ron is immediately voted out by his own council who all follow the GZS guidelines. Apparently being gay was more of an offense than being incompetent, since GZS guidelines were explicit in not wanting homosexuals in the Community Shelters which he obviously lied about. Nina is unsurprisingly the most vocal about his vote out; in fact she ends up taking over. Ron and William move into a separate far room together and become social pariahs. Everyone who was previously friendly with Ron suddenly starts treating him like garbage. You never really cared for him, and thought he was an incompetent moron, but even you think it's shitty for them to all just turn on him over who he happens to be fucking. But that's how people are and that's why you try to avoid them.
Your situation is a little different, they can't really treat you like a social pariah mainly because you were always one to begin with and another because everyone's afraid you'll shoot them. All of Elliot's former friends have no doubt reinforced the belief in others that you're dangerous. You don't really care though, just as long as nobody fucks with you and stays out of your way (Which everyone does for the most part since you now walk around with it at all times)
A year passes...
The shelter sees its first baby born and there are a couple of other pregnant women ready to pop as well. Nina has improved the place a little bit more. No doubt without anyone to fawn over now she's throwing herself into her work. There's actually a guy (Kyle) who's has some medical knowledge now, they still don't really have a good "tech guy" though and things are still being jury-rigged. Nina knows with a growing population this shelter needs to be in tip top running condition.
You get that expected knock on the door.
"Hello, Nina." You say.
"Yeah hi. Look, I just want to know if you have any intention of helping us out or if you're still going to remain an isolated asshole."
Nothing like being blunt. Politics has really hardened Nina, she's all business now it seems and lot less naïve.
How strangely appealing...
> remain in your own world
"Its served me well so far, so I guess asshole it is."
"Yeah, I thought as much. Thanks for nothing." Nina says and walks off.
You go back to what you were doing. About an hour passes and then your lighting starts to dim, and then goes out altogether. Its pitch dark and you can hear yelling and screaming all throughout the shelter. Someone fucked something up, but good.
You leave your room and stumble through the darkness bumping into frightened people until you manage to find your way back to the computer room. You see some flashlights shining at various parts of the computer.
"What the hell did you idiots do?" you yell, as two technicians shine their lights towards you.
"Whoa! It's you! Don't shoot!"
Nina then shines her light at you as well.
"Now you decide to help?"
"Get outta the way, before I shoot all of you!" you exclaim pushing the two techs out of the way and grabbing one of their flashlights.
You inspect what happened and it's not good, they completely fried the CPU. You don't know how the fuck they did that, but they did. You can't fix this, even if you had the right tools and adequate lighting. Somehow you really aren't hysterical about all this.
"Well guys, I got some really bad news. We're in deep shit that I can't get us out of. You've doomed us all. Nice going guys."
The two techs begin to freak out and run screaming; Nina has a quiver in her voice.
"You mean, there's nothing at all?! We're all gonna die?"
"Looks like. The question is how, quick or slow... and I got this gun here as you all know... you coming with me?"
Nina doesn't even hesitate.
"Let's do it."
"You sure?"
"Just shut up and do it."
"Okay, now I gotta get close since its dark... "
You point the gun directly at Nina's head and pull the trigger. You feel a splash of blood on your face and the slumping of a lifeless body.
You hear the screams echo throughout the shelter get louder. You'll be glad to leave this insane asylum, you just wonder if you should've done things differently...
No time for that now. No time for regrets, just time to do it.
You pull the gun at your head and pull the trigger. |
"(Sigh) Fine, I'll attend this exercise in futility, but what the hell are we doing exactly, so I'm not just jumping into shit." You ask as you and Nina walk towards the conference room.
"Well right now we're voting on a shelter leader. Someone to make the final decisions about important things. So far Ron is tied with another. In fact the only reason why I came to get you, was so you could break the tie."
"Whoopie, I feel honored I can take an important part in this democratic process. So who's the other person?"
"Oh, that would be Elliot. He was one of the later arrivals, but is very personable. Not that you'd know since I doubt you've even seen him given that you lock yourself in you room all the time."
"Yeah, yeah, I know who he is, bald guy. So I take it you want Ron to win huh?"
"Well... I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but Elliot's seems like a good guy too, so I'm sure he'd make a good leader as well."
"Why haven't you run? I mean you seem to like to organize things."
"Me? Oh no, I'm not a leader."
"Well from what I've seen of Ron, he isn't either."
Nina stops you in the corridor.
"Damn it, stop being an asshole! At least Ron makes an attempt to get involved in things! You haven't done shit since you got here except insult people and lock yourself away! Like it or not we're ALL in this together! And you better start getting with the program and contribute!"
"What the fuck? I am contributing; I'm going to this goddamn meeting aren't I? And you better watch your tone; remember I'M the swing vote for your boyfriend."
"Ron isn't my boyfriend! I mean... not yet... uh... "
"What? You mean he isn't taping your ass yet? Shit, he's stupider than I thought then, because he'd be lucky to get someone who looks like you even if you are annoying."
Nina stands and stares at you in disbelief.
"... could you possibly be any more vile?"
"Probably, but we don't have time for that, I gotta vote for some dickhead."
You continue to the conference room (with Nina no longer walking with you) and when you finally arrive everyone is there as if they've been waiting for you. You don't even really care who's in charge since more than likely no matter who you vote for is going to be an intrusive bastard wanting everyone to do something.
You can vote for Ron. As far as leadership material, you don't really see him as one, though he seems to have some planning skills and friendly to people so maybe he's got the stuff.
Elliot you barely know anything about, he also seems to be an organizer and friendly to everyone, but not to the point that it's irritating. Though to you there's something a little creepy about him.
Ah what the hell, you know this is something Ron wants more than anything why not give it to him? Besides he's not very "strong" which means you can probably get away with disobeying him on a regular basis without causing a big scene.
"I'll vote for Ron." You say, Nina looks surprised and Ron jumps up and down like an idiot in celebration. You take that as your opportunity to go back to your room, Nina once again stops you in the corridor.
"I just wanted to say thanks for doing this; I know you don't even like Ron... "
"I don't care one way or another about him, if he wants the headache of running this place he can have it, he better just not ask too much of me, I did my bit. You can think of me as his kingmaker. See ya around."
You go back to your room and that's where you spend a majority of your time. You don't really mix with anyone, and nobody really makes the attempt with you either. You're asked to contribute to some "events" sometimes, but you always ignore such requests and nothing happens. Nina still hangs around Ron like a love sick school girl, but for god knows what reason he seems completely oblivious to the fact. And obviously she hasn't told him how she feels about him. You watch this comical display replay itself over and over.
"Yeah, GZS really picked some excellent candidates to pair up to create families for the so called future, what a joke." You mutter to yourself.
Time goes by and Ron goes about his duties which mainly consist of discussing pointless plans in the conference room. The idiot can't do ANYTHING without talking about it with others he appointed as advisors first! If somebody's shower is broken they have to discuss when, how and WHY it has to be fixed! Naturally everyone disagree about one point and they have to start all over again which usually means nothing gets done. A lot of planning and organizing of ideas, but no actual implementations of those same ideas.
The shelter starts falling into disrepair, a few fixes are made here and there, but they're more jury-rigged ones more than anything. Nobody has perfectly functioning rooms from what you know... well except yours since you do nothing, but study the shelter manual all the time attempting to learn more about how it works giving you an edge in repairing your own room. (In fact you just permanently took a repair kit for yourself out of the equipment room) You really don't understand why other people aren't doing the same instead of waiting around for things to get repaired or complaining about needing things to get repaired. Everyone has the same damn operations manual. Read it!
About six months go by and finally you're given an unexpected visit during the night. You answer your door. It's Elliot and some other people.
"May we come in?" Elliot asks.
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk about the future of the shelter."
"Yeah? Well you can talk to Ron about that, he's the big shelter leader."
"Yes he is, thanks to you. And that's also why this shelter is in such bad shape. Ron is ruining this place with his ineptitude."
"Oh no, don't blame that shit on me, that's RON'S fault, not mine. And besides MY room works fine. If you lazy bastards would actually read the damn shelter manual you wouldn't have any problems."
"Oh I've read the manual, I'm sure many people have. But surely you must realize most people don't have the natural talent to fix thing that perhaps you have. Besides I'm sure you must also be aware that in a community each person has his own talents. For example Leon behind me used to be a bouncer. Don't you think with his skills he'd make an excellent head of security around here?"
Leon folds his big black arms almost daring you to say "No." before Elliot continues.
"My point is me and a few others are planning to take Ron out of office for gross incompetence. Did you know Fred and Greta are planning to have a baby? The first one to be born in here. The population in this shelter isn't going to be stable forever. It's going to grow and we NEED to keep this place running efficiently if we're ALL going to survive. I know you're a solitary person... I even respect that, but the time has come for you to choose between life or death. By joining our group, you're choosing life. By remaining locked away in here, you're choosing death not just for all of us, but for yourself. No man is an island."
Elliot has a bit of duality to his speech. Part of him sounds genuinely concerned for the future of the shelter; he may even have a point. But the other part of him sounds like he's politely threatening you. And you're not sure of the whole "taking Ron out of office" thing. It almost sounds like he plans on taking over by force. You get the impression he and his little group are going to do just that regardless of whether you join or not.
> join
Can't be any worse than what's going on now, and you might as well be on the winning team.
"Alright, I'm in. What do we do?"
Elliot smiles.
"Glad to have you on board, as for what we do, you'll see. You'll all see. Leon, and Brenda you're all coming with me. The rest of you go back to your rooms, tomorrow your loyalty will be rewarded, I promise."
Elliot and his gang leave, you close the door and go back to sleep without thinking anymore about it.
The next day you hear a lot of yelling and screaming when you wake up, you get dressed and leave your room to see what's going on. You see a crowd of people gathered outside Ron's door. You make you way through the crowd and see Leon holding Nina who is struggling and hysterical. Elliot is nearby speaking.
"I DIDN'T DO IT! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE ALL LYING! (Sob)"
"I saw her! I saw her lurking around last night when I heard some noises. I just wish I'd done something then! I'll never forgive myself. I just thought she was taking a walk, little did I know she was going into Ron's room and killed him! Why? Because she found out he was having an affair with his secret lover William!"
"What the fuck... ?" you say to yourself and take a quick look inside Ron's room. You see Ron's body lying in a pool of blood on the floor in his underwear, his throat has been slashed. Nearby is another body killed in the exact same way. Its William who you really didn't know anything about, you guess you know he was gay now though.
"Huh. I guess that explains why Ron never took any interest in Nina." You say to yourself. Meanwhile Elliot is continuing his speech.
"She even dropped the killing weapon outside her door! Brenda found it when she was going to talk to her this morning! Look!" Elliot shouts when Brenda shows everyone a bloody scalpel.
"THAT'S NOT MINE! I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW RON WAS GAY!"
"Oh we ALL didn't know Nina, until we found his dead body! But we all know that YOU had a giant crush on him and practically stalked him. It isn't hard to connect the dots here Nina! You found out he was carrying on with William and you in a jealous rage killed them both! Now granted William and Ron were breaking GZS policy with their behavior, but they didn't deserve this! To be brutally murdered by an insane love sick stalker!"
"I'M NOT A STALKER! (Sob) I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!"
"Enough! It's apparent that we need to punish you, for your heinous crimes. Though I feel you deserve death, I am in no position to determine your ultimate fate... I say the people should decide!"
Some of the people in the crowd begin to chant "Death!", and most of those are followers of Elliot. It doesn't take long for the rest of the crowd to follow. Elliot's got 'em all by the balls. He has completely manipulated this herd of sheep into believing and following him, on little to no basis in evidence. They're all just believing what he's telling them. You know damn well he's set this whole thing up to blame poor Nina. You can't really do anything about it though; nobody's going to believe you.
It's too late anyway, after a few more words from Elliot, you see Leon carry out the crowd's wishes and break Nina's neck. Now Elliot makes another speech.
"It is done... it is regrettable, but it is done. Leon, you and some of the others please dispose of these bodies in the incinerator... I didn't think we would have to use it so soon and under such tragic circumstances. I suppose we'll need another shelter leader now to guide us through this dark time... well whoever is proposed, I hope they will be willing to listen to some of my ideas about how we should increase security around here so nothing like this ever happens again."
"Hey! How about you become our shelter leader Elliot? You certainly know how to take charge of a situation and you obviously are concerned about all of us!" another one of Elliot's lackeys shouts from the crowd where upon a short time later everyone else is following again.
You stand watching a complete fraud take over with mere words. It would appear that even after Armageddon some things never change. Elliot goes through a modesty routine to make him look good and then "humbly" accepts.
You may have just allied yourself with a ruthless sociopath at best or a complete mad man at worst. Time will have to tell.
Five years pass...
Time tells that you've allied with a completely ruthless sociopathic mad man.
The Shelter's population has grown a little; but not excessively. In fact you're likely to have room for quite some time. Elliot employed a vicious sterilization program to make sure of that. Having a medical background he was able to do the procedures himself with the medical supplies in the shelter. Shortly after he started employing that procedure the initial "cult of personality worship" by everyone stopped and a lot of people regained there senses, but of course by then Elliot had already entrenched himself. There were a few attempts to kill him, but those were always averted by Leon. Elliot now walks around with a couple guards at all times, with Leon is his head bodyguard.
He claimed that it was for the good of the shelter and granted perhaps it is going to make things easier, but it's obvious that not everyone was keen on this idea. Most of the people who followed Elliot from the beginning were spared this fate though. Disobedience from anyone is punished severely.
However things aren't too bad for you.
You are pretty much indispensable and you keep it that way. You're now in charge of maintaining the central GZS computer system which you primarily insist on doing by yourself. Eventually you manage to get the damn thing running at near maximum efficiency and nobody has too many problems with things breaking down anymore. You also do something else to ensure your safety which is carrying your gun secretly on you at all times. There have been times where you've wondered if you should kill Elliot, but you haven't ever killed anyone before, let alone with no provocation, you don't know if you have it in you. Also he hasn't really bothered you, if anything you're one of the few people he's consistently been okay with.
As long as he's not bothering you, you don't really feel the need to kill him. He leaves you to do your job and you leave him to do his...
But is it ALWAYS going to be that way? There may come a day when for whatever reason he decides to get rid of you. Megalomaniacs aren't particularly known for their trusting nature.
> kill him now
You need to kill him, things are just going to get worse, or at best stay the same. All the shit that Elliot's done over the years has gotten to you, and you can't help, but feel partly responsible for all of this. Sure you don't like most people, but you're not a BAD guy. However you are serving a bad master. A really bad master, one that needs to be stopped now.
You take a deep breath and pace around the floor for awhile. Trying to psyche yourself up for your plan. You feel like you gotta take a shit, a piss, and vomit all at the same time. It's all in your mind though. Its just nerves. You stare at yourself in a blank monitor screen.
"You can do this... you can do this... " you repeat.
You then leave the computer room, ready to do what you have to do.
You don't get far when you see Elliot walking around with two guards and Leon behind him. You also see him with his wife Brenda and their two daughters. (Of course he didn't feel the need to make a "sacrifice" for the shelter)
"Shit." You say to yourself. You didn't think you'd have to shoot somebody down in front of their goddamned children. You nearly turn back around to re-think this plan, but you stop yourself again. If you don't do it now, you aren't ever going to do it. Besides he's seen you now anyway.
"Hey! How's our techie doin'? I'm surprised to see you out the computer room; I know how much you like to be alone. So what brings you out?"
"Well, uh... there was something I really thought you needed to see... "
"Oh? What is it?"
"Just this."
You pull your pistol out and you hesitate just long enough for Elliot to pull Brenda in front of himself resulting in you killing her instead. Leon catches Elliot from the blow back of Brenda's body and whisks him of to safety. One guard attempts to run at you, but is tripped up when Elliot's two daughters run screaming past him. The other guard reaches you, but you just manage to get a shot directly in his face. Gouts of his blood splatter in your own face temporarily blinding you.
The guard, who was momentarily tripped up, punches you in the face knocking you to the ground, he pulls out a knife to finish up the job, but with your hand still on your pistol, you fire a couple rounds in his chest causing him to slump to the floor beside you. You get up only to have the guard you just shot to stab you in the foot as a last act of revenge. You holler pain, and shoot him again, before pulling knife out of your foot.
Meanwhile you begin to hear other people yelling, screaming and fighting. Apparently your actions have caused a small rebellion. You've given people the incentive again to fight back. Of course it's going to be up to you to finish it. You limp as fast as you can attempting to stay out of the way of the major fighting, You see Elliot and Leon fighting some people and making quick work of them, you take the opportunity to open fire, blasting Elliot in the knee, he won't be walking anywhere.
Leon goes to pick him up, but you follow up with another couple shots, hitting him in the side. He goes down and attempts to crawl on top of Elliot, except Elliot kicks him away with his good leg and tries to crawl off instead. You finish off Leon and then kick Elliot in the face hurting your foot since you kicked him with the one that has the big gaping knife hole in it.
Elliot turns over holding his face and addresses you.
"Why? I was your friend! I didn't do anything to you! I left you alone! Look at what you've done to this place! It's descended into chaos! You've destroyed everything I've accomplished here!"
"I don't care." You say pointing the gun at him.
"WAIT! GODDAMN IT WAIT! If you kill me, you'll be making orphans out of my daughters! Can you live with that?"
"No... I guess I couldn't... "
Elliot smiles thinking he's found a loop hole.
"I suppose I'll just have to kill them after I kill you." you say.
Elliot's eyes widen and you gun him down before he can retort. He dies a lot quicker than he should have, but at least he's dead.
You were bluffing of course you wouldn't shoot his children; you just wanted to see his expression before he died. It brought a feeling of satisfaction to you, like you really accomplish something before your own death...
Someone stabs you multiple times in the back with a scalpel while you were standing over Elliot. You fall mortally wounded, with anarchy all around you.
You don't know if you made things better or worse, all you know is you won't be around to find out. |
Can't be any worse than what's going on now, and you might as well be on the winning team.
"Alright, I'm in. What do we do?"
Elliot smiles.
"Glad to have you on board, as for what we do, you'll see. You'll all see. Leon, and Brenda you're all coming with me. The rest of you go back to your rooms, tomorrow your loyalty will be rewarded, I promise."
Elliot and his gang leave, you close the door and go back to sleep without thinking anymore about it.
The next day you hear a lot of yelling and screaming when you wake up, you get dressed and leave your room to see what's going on. You see a crowd of people gathered outside Ron's door. You make you way through the crowd and see Leon holding Nina who is struggling and hysterical. Elliot is nearby speaking.
"I DIDN'T DO IT! YOU'RE LYING! YOU'RE ALL LYING! (Sob)"
"I saw her! I saw her lurking around last night when I heard some noises. I just wish I'd done something then! I'll never forgive myself. I just thought she was taking a walk, little did I know she was going into Ron's room and killed him! Why? Because she found out he was having an affair with his secret lover William!"
"What the fuck... ?" you say to yourself and take a quick look inside Ron's room. You see Ron's body lying in a pool of blood on the floor in his underwear, his throat has been slashed. Nearby is another body killed in the exact same way. Its William who you really didn't know anything about, you guess you know he was gay now though.
"Huh. I guess that explains why Ron never took any interest in Nina." You say to yourself. Meanwhile Elliot is continuing his speech.
"She even dropped the killing weapon outside her door! Brenda found it when she was going to talk to her this morning! Look!" Elliot shouts when Brenda shows everyone a bloody scalpel.
"THAT'S NOT MINE! I DIDN'T DO IT! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW RON WAS GAY!"
"Oh we ALL didn't know Nina, until we found his dead body! But we all know that YOU had a giant crush on him and practically stalked him. It isn't hard to connect the dots here Nina! You found out he was carrying on with William and you in a jealous rage killed them both! Now granted William and Ron were breaking GZS policy with their behavior, but they didn't deserve this! To be brutally murdered by an insane love sick stalker!"
"I'M NOT A STALKER! (Sob) I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!"
"Enough! It's apparent that we need to punish you, for your heinous crimes. Though I feel you deserve death, I am in no position to determine your ultimate fate... I say the people should decide!"
Some of the people in the crowd begin to chant "Death!", and most of those are followers of Elliot. It doesn't take long for the rest of the crowd to follow. Elliot's got 'em all by the balls. He has completely manipulated this herd of sheep into believing and following him, on little to no basis in evidence. They're all just believing what he's telling them. You know damn well he's set this whole thing up to blame poor Nina. You can't really do anything about it though; nobody's going to believe you.
It's too late anyway, after a few more words from Elliot, you see Leon carry out the crowd's wishes and break Nina's neck. Now Elliot makes another speech.
"It is done... it is regrettable, but it is done. Leon, you and some of the others please dispose of these bodies in the incinerator... I didn't think we would have to use it so soon and under such tragic circumstances. I suppose we'll need another shelter leader now to guide us through this dark time... well whoever is proposed, I hope they will be willing to listen to some of my ideas about how we should increase security around here so nothing like this ever happens again."
"Hey! How about you become our shelter leader Elliot? You certainly know how to take charge of a situation and you obviously are concerned about all of us!" another one of Elliot's lackeys shouts from the crowd where upon a short time later everyone else is following again.
You stand watching a complete fraud take over with mere words. It would appear that even after Armageddon some things never change. Elliot goes through a modesty routine to make him look good and then "humbly" accepts.
You may have just allied yourself with a ruthless sociopath at best or a complete mad man at worst. Time will have to tell.
Five years pass...
Time tells that you've allied with a completely ruthless sociopathic mad man.
The Shelter's population has grown a little; but not excessively. In fact you're likely to have room for quite some time. Elliot employed a vicious sterilization program to make sure of that. Having a medical background he was able to do the procedures himself with the medical supplies in the shelter. Shortly after he started employing that procedure the initial "cult of personality worship" by everyone stopped and a lot of people regained there senses, but of course by then Elliot had already entrenched himself. There were a few attempts to kill him, but those were always averted by Leon. Elliot now walks around with a couple guards at all times, with Leon is his head bodyguard.
He claimed that it was for the good of the shelter and granted perhaps it is going to make things easier, but it's obvious that not everyone was keen on this idea. Most of the people who followed Elliot from the beginning were spared this fate though. Disobedience from anyone is punished severely.
However things aren't too bad for you.
You are pretty much indispensable and you keep it that way. You're now in charge of maintaining the central GZS computer system which you primarily insist on doing by yourself. Eventually you manage to get the damn thing running at near maximum efficiency and nobody has too many problems with things breaking down anymore. You also do something else to ensure your safety which is carrying your gun secretly on you at all times. There have been times where you've wondered if you should kill Elliot, but you haven't ever killed anyone before, let alone with no provocation, you don't know if you have it in you. Also he hasn't really bothered you, if anything you're one of the few people he's consistently been okay with.
As long as he's not bothering you, you don't really feel the need to kill him. He leaves you to do your job and you leave him to do his...
But is it ALWAYS going to be that way? There may come a day when for whatever reason he decides to get rid of you. Megalomaniacs aren't particularly known for their trusting nature.
> leave it alone
You decide there's no need to kill Elliot. If the day should come where he begins to think about getting rid of you then you'll kill him. You need a personal reason to do it; you can't just do it on a whim.
You go back to your job and think nothing more of it.
Five more years pass...
You've been down here ten years and you're beginning to get a feeling of unease.
Elliot has turned this place in a cult compound. He's had children by all the remaining fertile women in the shelter and sterilized just about all the remaining men. He's completely indoctrinated everyone to think the way he does at this point, anyone who was still resisting him has been dealt with. He's got complete obedience from everyone now. You get the impression that killing Elliot wouldn't do much good at this point, since you'd just be overwhelmed soon afterwards by his followers.
He's regained his cult of personality, and you're just about the only remaining sane person left. Oddly Elliot still thinks highly of you, and has never tried to do anything to you either; he continues to let you do your job, with one exception. He's been sending his older children to the computer room for you to teach them how to use and work on the central computer.
"What's this?"
"Don't touch that! That'll be next week's lesson!"
"Can I access the game database?"
"No!"
"Ohhh I got a lady to appear on the screen and she's naked!"
"Stop that and pay attention!
You've become a glorified baby sitter, you've gone half insane and you're ready to put the damn gun to your own head at this point.
Over the years you've been wondering about the surface. You wonder if it wouldn't be better than living in place. One time when you were considering leaving you overrode the safety controls to the elevator which would allow you to bring it down. You could bring it down. All you'd have to do is gather what supplies you think you're going to need.
The only problem is thanks to the idiotic GZS shelter design; you'd need to trust Elliot's kids to send you back up from the computer room.
> leave the shelter
Fuck it, whether this plan works or not, you don't care, all you know is you can't stay here anymore. One thing that's working in your favor right now is the fact that Elliot and everyone else is in the conference room (Which he turned into a "meditation room" where he's preaching some sort of weird philosophy to everyone.) You need to be quick though. You press a few buttons to make the elevator begin its decent. You only need one kid to help you in this task, so you get the one who is the best behaved and does more or less what you say. You get Jane.
"Jane I need you to come with me. As for the rest of you, go ahead and access the game database and play with whatever, just don't touch anything on the central computer!"
The kids gleefully start following your instructions while you and Jane leave.
"Where are we going?" Jane asks innocently, while walking beside you.
"I need to check on something back in my room, the central computer says something broke down, but I need to see if it actually did, or if it's a glitch in the monitoring system. Now if something did, I'll need to get in there and open up the paneling and do some re-wiring. Could be dangerous, so I need you to run to the medical room and grab a first aid kit just in case. Nobody should be in there right now, so just take it."
"I dunno, Daddy doesn't like people taking things from there without permission... "
"Its okay, this is for the good of the shelter."
Upon hearing that mantra, Jane seems to be more receptive to follow your orders. You tell her to wait by the elevator door when she gets the med kit. You rush to your room, load up on water and leave hoping that nobody has wandered by. You see Jane holding the med kit and looking in wonder at the elevator door which has opened up. Good its here and everything's going according to plan. Now for the final stage.
"Hey! This door opened up! Daddy said it shouldn't ever open up. He says he doesn't want anyone to leave."
"I'll bet." You mumble before addressing Jane properly. "Yeah, I know he wants to keep us all safe. Nothing was broken in my room, but I think something screwy is going on with the shelter's systems and I need your help to fix it because I think you're the only one talented enough to do it."
"Yay!" Jane says in pride.
"Glad to see you're excited, because this is REALLY important. You have to follow my instructions to the letter. You think you can do that?"
"I think so."
"Okay, back in the computer room on the central computer on the right side you'll see a green button flashing. Press that one. Then when the screen asks for confirmation, click on yes and press the enter button. You got all that? Repeat it."
"Go back to the computer room, go to the big central computer, and uh... look on the right side for a green flashing button. Press that button, then the screen will ask me a question and then I click on yes."
"Excellent, now after you do that, you might get a screen telling you the status of the elevator, telling you its going back up. That's what we want it to do. We don't want anyone leaving right?"
"Right!"
"Okay, I'm going to stay here and make sure this elevator doesn't come down anymore, I need to open up some panels and do some re-wiring, so I'll be taking that first aid kit now."
You take the kit from Jane and tell her to go back to the computer room and do what you told her and to continue monitoring the elevator status just to make sure it goes back up and stays there. When she's out of sight you quickly enter the elevator, and soon the door closes and you're on your way up.
You are nervous as the elevator ascends, you half expect it to either start coming back down, or worse just stop suddenly mid way through trapping you.
None of that happens though and as soon as that door opens up again, you run out into the foyer you entered ten years ago and past that into the outside world again.
You see a bright light. It's the sun; you forgot how bright it could be. You never thought you of all people would be glad to see it again. You see everyone's cars still parked here, well almost. You can tell that few of them must've been taken at one time; a lot have just been plain vandalized. Your van still looks the same though, nobody in their right mind would steal that thing, and it already looks vandalized. You wonder if it would still start, but you left your keys to it in the shelter. You doubt if it would though.
"Meh, I need the exercise anyway."
You cover your eyes and take a far view of your position. Nobody around, there's not even a sound except the wind; you're all alone as far as you can tell and this is what you missed. Once again you have peaceful solitude. You don't know if you'll make it out here, but anything's better than staying in the shelter.
You begin to walk... |
GZS probably has some sort of scanner that does a little more than just scan your body, so just not having the gun on your person most likely isn't going to work.
You get the idea that the machine is probably not going to scan the ceiling though, so you get out your duct tape and fix it to the pistol, you then climb on top of the automatic teller and jump up to stick the pistol on the ceiling. You end up falling on your ass, but you succeed. You then press some buttons on the machine, where it proceeds to ask your name and how you're going to pay. You type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it drains most of your account. The door you stepped through sudden shuts and a hum is heard. You take a deep breath and hope for the best.
"Now scanning for unauthorized items... Scanning... Scanning... Scanning complete. You have been allowed entry, the elevator doors will now open, your room number is 23, thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!" an emotionless electronic voice remarks as the elevator doors open. It worked!
You quickly climb back up on to the teller and jump up to grab your pistol, (this time able to maintain your balance better) toss it into the elevator opening and then rush in with all your belongings and take the long elevator trip down.
When you get to bottom the elevator door opens to large sterile hallway with lines of other closed metal doors on either side As soon as you enter, the elevator doors slam shut and you hear it going back up, you also notice there aren't any buttons to call it back... before you're able to worry about that little detail you're met by a few of your new neighbors. One is some tall skinny guy another is a brunette woman who begins talking to you.
"Hey, another new neighbor! My name is Nina and this is Ron, what's your name?"
She is entirely too fucking friendly given the situation.
"Why aren't there call buttons back on the elevator?" you ask ignoring her question.
"Huh? Oh I guess it's a safety feature. The elevator automatically goes back up so the other people can get in as quickly as possible. Ron suggested that they might've thought someone would deliberately try to keep the elevator down here to prevent anyone else from seeking shelter. Though I can't honestly imagine that anyone would do such a horrible thing."
"Been living on earth long Nina?" you ask rhetorically. "Great, so I'm basically trapped down here due to the brilliant engineering minds of GZS... so is it just us so far or are their other people here too?"
"There are a few others, if you come with us we can introduce you to... "
"Maybe later, look we're gonna be stuck down here for a long time so I'll get to know everyone soon enough, right now I just want to go to my room and rest."
"Erm, okay... " Ron says as you push past them both.
You head to your room which is equipped with the basic requirements; food and water dispenser, shower, bed, and a cabinet. (You hide your pistol in your mattress) There's a standard Shelter Operations Manual sitting on the table as well as a Shelter Booklet about socialization, rules, guidelines and such, both of which you skim through every now and then. There's a big public recreation area and a couple of other public rooms where your neighbors gather, but you stay in your room and keep to yourself for the most part. Sometimes in the middle of the night when nobody else is around you'll watch the TV in the living area to keep up on current events.
You hear other people arriving over the month. Ron and Nina greet them all, you can tell those two are going to be the ones to "organize" shit and probably try to decide what's "best" for everyone. Always saying stuff that they read in the booklet.
"Fucking busy bodies... " you say as you fall asleep watching the world in its death throes on TV...
Monday 8:00 AM
"... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... "
You groggily wake up and see a test pattern on TV.
This is it.
You feel a small tremor and then you turn off the TV, just as Nina and Ron come walking in.
"What was that?" Nina asks.
"Test pattern, I think Armageddon arrived." You answer.
"What?! I can't believe it!" Ron exclaims.
"Why are you so surprised? I mean that was the whole point of coming down here right?"
"Yeah, but I dunno... I just wasn't prepared for it actually happening."
"Christ, Ron I've overheard you say you were the first one in this goddamn shelter, you of all people should've long gotten used to the idea of living down here."
"What is your problem? You been nothing but hostile since you've got here!" Nina exclaims.
"My problem is I'm stuck down here with a bunch of people I don't really know and if you two are any indication I don't want to know."
"How did you even qualify to get a room down here?"
"Good clean living I guess, so is there supposed to be something special we do now?"
"Uh, yeah I think so, it mentions something in the booklet I was reading that came with the shelter, we're supposed to gather everyone and tell them."
"Okay well I guess you guys go do that then. I'm just going to check on something here."
"Okay, but we're supposed to have some sort of vote to decide on how this place is going to be run, if you don't show up you don't get a vote." Ron reminds you.
"I know Ron, I've read the booklet." You answer unenthusiastically.
Ron and Nina leave you and go tell the others of the situation and follow other things it states in the booklet. You're wondering if you should even stay down here. All these people seem completely different than you. You wish there was someway to call the elevator back down, but after checking a GZS computer it states that it won't come back until it detects that the surface is safe for habitation again... which basically means not in your lifetime.
It's probably just as well since the surface probably isn't the safest place you'd want to be, lord knows what the hell it looks like now, not to mention the radiation factor. Then again you'd still like the option to leave if you wanted to. You go back to your room, read and enjoy the solitude until Nina comes to get you.
"Hey! You didn't show up for the meeting! We're discussing which ways this place could be run, are you coming or what?"
> be obstinate
"I don't feel like going anywhere, you guys do what you want." You say, but Nina insists on invading your space.
"Hey look, I know you don't wanna do shit, but unfortunately we're in a real deadlock and we could really use your vote to break a tie."
"HEY! I told you I'm not going anywhere, now get the hell out of my room and stop invading my privacy, unless you're looking to get invaded by me."
Nina is offended by that remark and starts to hit you. It doesn't really hurt, but it's annoying and stings enough for you to start blocking her.
"How dare you say something like that to me!"
"Stop it! Get outta here before I throw you out, you crazy bitch!"
While you begin to get up to avoid her slaps, your shift on the mattress causes your pistol to fall out on to the floor, Nina notices, stops hitting you and backs off.
"Oh my god is that a gun?!"
"Well, uh... yeah." You say picking it up.
Nina suddenly runs off thinking her life is in danger, you soon here her yelling "Help!" and similar cries. You immediately go chasing after her, in an attempt to reassure her that you're not some murderer.
You see her run into the conference room and follow, when you arrive, a leg trips you up as soon as you enter causing you to slam face first on the floor. Then somebody tries to take the gun away from you, its Elliot.
You feel a hefty boot kick you in ribs and knock the wind out of you, and a couple of other people start dog piling on top of you. Nina is ranting to everyone saying you tried to kill her. The fact that you came running in here with a gun, doesn't exactly persuade them from thinking differently. Meanwhile you lose grip of the gun and Elliot takes it from you, but "accidentally" shoots you in the face with it.
"Oh my god! I didn't mean to kill him! He wouldn't let go of it!" are the last words you hear. |
Fuck work, the world's about to end soon and you need to prepare yourself for that! You immediately call up the number that the infomercial mentioned. You know the damn thing by heart since you've been watching it night after night. Eventually a chipper female voice picks up on the other end.
"Ground Zero Survival Inc. How may I help you?"
"Uh, yeah I'd like to buy a bomb shelter."
"That's wonderful sir! In these uncertain times you can never be too careful and we here at GZS are thrilled that you've chosen to trust us in your continued existence! You and your family's utmost protection is as important to us is it is to you! Our shelters are the best you'll find and, we have many shelters still available at various prices, but really can you put a price on your loved ones protection? Of course not! So I'm sure you'll want one of our top of the line models that are still left! Okay so how many are in your family?"
"Um, just me."
"Oh... " the voice suddenly gets less chipper.
"What?"
"Sir, don't you have ANY family? Like a wife at least, maybe a cousin?"
"No, not really."
"Oh dear... "
"WHAT!?"
"Well sir, its just that, we here at GZS are a family friendly business and we feel that the survival of the human race will best be served by those who have a strong sense of family ties and a respect for the family unit. We aren't in the business of selling shelters to those of low moral fiber sir... "
"What the fuck?! Just because I'm single I gotta be some sort of low life? I'm not luring fuckin' little girls into my car with lollipops! I have a fucking job and pay my goddamn taxes!"
"Sir, I don't like you taking that tone with me when there isn't any call for it and I would appreciate it if you didn't blaspheme, I'm a God fearing woman. Now then I understand your frustration, but there's nothing we can do. Our shelters were primarily built for families of at least four. To put singles in them wouldn't be fair to families that have children who shall surely be the ones to rebuild civilization, not to mention it would be a waste of resources. A single person would have an overstock of food and water since as I said we primarily cater to families and stock the shelters with families in mind."
"I fail to see how me having MORE than enough food and water is a bad thing... "
"I see sir, so you would be selfish and deprive a possible family of survival?"
"I didn't say that! And wait a minute; wouldn't I be doing that anyway if I had a family of my own?"
"Yes, but it would be different."
"How?"
"You would have a family sir."
You're about ready to throw the phone against the wall in frustration.
"So basically what you're telling me is you're not selling me a shelter."
"Ah now I didn't say that sir! Since you're interested in buying our product and by your previous outburst I can tell you ARE a productive member of society. And it is only due to your poor social skills that you have been unable to take the necessary steps to have a family of your own! But never fear, GZS HAS kept your type in mind!"
"Gee, thanks... "
"You're quite welcome sir! We have the Community Shelters for singles! It is basically a giant shelter filled with singles such as yourself. You will be given a separate room to live in, but everything else you must share. Don't worry we have stocked these shelters with supplies to last for years! It is our hope that nature will take its course and when it comes time to return to the surface a fully functional tight knit community of families will emerge to rebuild civilization once again!"
Sharing isn't something you're good at. You like your privacy and your space and your solitude. You can't imagine sharing stuff when your very survival is at stake.
"Look, don't you have ANYTHING I can get by myself?" you demand.
"Are you serious sir? You actually want to be alone?" the voice says as if you must be nuts to ask that kind of question.
"If possible yeah."
"Well... I shouldn't really tell you sir, because you snapped at me earlier, but it is my job to make sure any potential customer is serviced to the best of my ability. That and the fact that these other Special Shelters we have are a bit... experimental."
"Experimental? What do you mean?"
"Well I don't know too much about these Special Shelters myself sir, all I know is they have been equipped with the latest technology and VERY expensive. Anyone can buy one as long as they have the money to do so."
"Well how experimental are these things exactly?"
"As I said sir, I know little about these Special Shelters other than they are equipped with the latest technology. GZS has run tests and they are considered very safe and will protect you in the coming apocalypse, however due to time constraints GZS may have missed a few minor things, and as such we are legally required to warn... er inform potential customers before they buy them."
> buy the Special Shelter
Experimental or not, it sure sounds better than being crammed into a shelter with a bunch of other people like sardines. At least you don't have to worry about having to share anything, and if something goes wrong well you'll deal with it when the times comes like you normally do.
Or maybe you won't. You aren't going to dwell on it to much.
"Okay I'll take the Special Shelter."
"You will? I mean, that's wonderful sir! You won't regret this decision! Now I'll need to know some vital information about yourself before I can direct you to our nearest experimental shelter in your area where upon you shall pay the automatic teller just inside the foyer of it so that the main door can open and you will be able to enter your new residence during Armageddon! Okay let's start with your name sir."
You give out your name, address and such. It's all pretty routine stuff.
"Okay well that's about all the information I need. I'll give you the price and the location of the shelter sir."
You are given the location of the shelter which you are surprised to find out is closer then you think, it shouldn't take too long for you drive there. You are then given the price, which is pretty steep, quite frankly its going to break you. However if the world is ending it's not like you're really going to need money anymore. Which makes you wonder why GZS is in business at all. What's the point of going to the trouble of building bomb shelters for Armageddon if all the profit they make is most likely going to be useless in the aftermath?
Oh well that's not your concern, you're just glad you managed to get a shelter. The voice gives you some last minute information.
"Okay sir, you are now in the system and registered. You may move into your shelter at anytime as long you pay the fee required to the automatic teller as previously described to you. If you don't pay, you can't get in obviously. Cash, check, or debit card are acceptable. NO Credit Cards will be accepted! You may take whatever you wish with you into the shelter; it will be your new home after all. There will be an owner's manual provided inside your new shelter. Any problems you encounter you should be able to troubleshoot yourself if you read and follow the manual. I'm sure any problems will not be life threatening sir, and there has been a back up system also installed in the unlikely event of total shelter failure since your survival is our foremost concern at GZS! Now then I trust our transaction has ended. If you have anymore questions please contact our customer service line. Good day sir, may you maintain relatively stable mental health and thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!"
That's it, all you have to do is get what stuff you want to take with you and move in. You might as well pack your things now, no sense in waiting until you see the nuclear cloud. You pack up some extra food and water, a repair kit (since it sounds like you'll probably need one) some basic medical supplies, and a few other useful items.
Oh and your pistol.
Still, part of you is reluctant to leave the "real world". You wonder if you shouldn't stick around a bit longer to see if the climate changes... you'd hate to spend your life savings and the world not be bombed into a nuclear wasteland.
> leave immediately
You leave immediately; things aren't going to get better you know that, in fact you're glad, because in a strange way the idea of not having to live in the world as it exists today anymore is weirdly appealing to you.
After a couple days of driving you finally arrive at the location that you were given. It's in a fairly desolate place with a single solid metal structure with a door standing there. You park your van and enter the structure with the items you brought with you. You're in a small foyer with an elevator door and ATM like machine; you're guessing that's the automatic teller you were told about.
You press some buttons on the machine, where it proceeds to ask your name and how you're going to pay. You type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it completely drains your account.
"You have been allowed entry, the elevator doors will now open, thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!" an emotionless electronic voice remarks as the elevator doors open.
You enter with all your belongings and take the long elevator trip down.
When you get to bottom the elevator door opens to a sterile, but obviously large and well equipped living area. As soon as you enter, the elevator doors slam shut and you hear it going back up, you also notice there aren't any buttons to call it back... before you're able to worry about that little detail you're met by another electronic voice... it actually sounds a lot like the female voice you were talking to on the phone...
"Welcome to Ground Zero Survival Shelter Number 23! You will find that this shelter has been equipped to serve your needs in the event of total World destruction! Due to power saving design and money back guarantee concerns, fully functional shelter facilities will not be available until Armageddon occurs. Until then you will find all other doors firmly locked, please do not attempt to open them. I have detected that Armageddon has not yet occurred as 84% of the countries on Earth still maintain a stable centralized government system and 70% of the land surface is still habitable. However the world conflict rate is 92%. Prediction that Armageddon will occur in a month or less. This shelter will become fully functional at that time. In the unlikely event that Armageddon does not occur and the conflict rate drops to an acceptable level, the elevator will return and you will be able to leave this shelter and receive half of your money back from the automatic teller in the foyer on the surface."
"Wait a minute didn't I talk to you on the phone?" you ask the voice, not really knowing if it's going to answer back.
"... I don't think so, as far as my databanks are concerned this is the first time I have been in contact with a human since I was built sir. Is it okay if I call you sir?"
"Sure, go ahead." You answer.
"Wonderful sir!"
"Hey, so I can't explore this damn shelter even though I paid for it? I have to stay in this living area?"
"Not until doomsday sir. As I said this is to conserve my power and also to prevent buyer abuse in case of non-Earth destruction. Do not worry sir; this living area alone can support your needs until the appointed time. There is a basic food and water dispenser on the right wall."
"Buyer abuse?"
"Yes, think about it, here you are using up all the wonderful facilities that this shelter has to offer for months on end while the Earth teeters on the brink of destruction then suddenly through a miracle hostilities cease. You then would be able to leave, get half of your money back and go about your life. You think it would be fair to GZS if we let you get away with basically having a luxury vacation on our dime? Just because we are in the business of your survival, does not mean we in the business of being exploited sir"
"But... I paid for this!"
"And so you did sir, and you will be able to use ALL the facilities when the time is right, until then you can enjoy the living area, oh and the bathroom sir."
One of the metal doors opens up to reveal a normal (And again sterile) bathroom.
"Gee thanks."
"You're quite welcome sir! After all I'm here to serve you!"
"You kept saying I would be able to leave if the world doesn't blow up... can't I just leave at any time?"
The voice doesn't answer for awhile.
"... I'm sorry sir I'm puzzled by your inquiry."
"Can't I leave anytime I want?"
"Why would you want to do that sir? I have been designed to keep you safe from harm as soon as you paid and entered the elevator. The current world situation is very grim and most likely terminal sir. Allowing you to leave at this point would be a severe violation in my programming."
You suddenly realize you're here now regardless of whether you're having second thoughts about this situation. You can see why these shelters were "experimental" now. You try not to think about the potential waist high shit you might have gotten yourself into, and instead try to think about how you might've just avoided becoming a statistic in a nuclear exchange. You resign yourself to your current fate and start unpacking your stuff. You could do with a little distraction from your current predicament, so you turn on a TV monitor that has been provided. The fact that the world's situation hasn't gotten any better seems to cheer you up.
You spend most of your time on the couch, watching TV and exploring what you can. You're glad you brought some of your own food, because the dispenser food doesn't taste all that great. You're guessing it's just supposed to keep you alive, nothing more.
As the days blur into the next, the shelter and TV you apprised of the world situation, which is only getting worse. It looks like you've made the right decision...
Monday 8:00 AM
"... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... "
You groggily wake up and see a test pattern on TV.
This is it.
Suddenly the TV turns itself off.
"Armageddon has arrived sir! This shelter is now fully functional! Please explore and enjoy all the things this facility has to offer!" the voice beams.
At this point all the previously closed metal doors in the room unlock and open (Except for the elevator ones of course) After taking a quick check, you find you now have a small library, a computer room and a proper bedroom. When you return to the living area the voice chirps up again.
"Sir, I highly recommend that you read the manual to familiarize yourself with everything properly first, so you aren't just fumbling around."
A small panel in the wall opens up to reveal a hefty owner's manual. You were wondering where the hell that thing was, since you were told you were going to be provided with one when you talked to the voice on the phone.
> read the manual
Maybe it's because you've gotten so used to the idea of being in the living area, you're more willing to lounge about there. You take the manual and start reading. While you're in the middle of it, the voice suddenly pipes up again.
"Sorry to bother your reading sir, but would you like to meet some of your new neighbors?"
"Neighbors?"
"Yes sir, I'm sure as you have already read, this shelter is equipped with a very high tech computer with loads of storage, information and... "
"Yeah, yeah, what does that have to do with this neighbor business?"
"In an effort to cater to all its customer's needs, GZS is well aware that socialization is vital to human mental health. Studies have shown that humans in long periods of isolation often go mad, so that is why this facility has been linked in communication to other ones within your area. You might think of it as a chatroom type form of communication commonly used on the old world internet! If you wish there is also a camera type device if you wish to show yourself to your new neighbors. We have found humans feel someone is more real to them if they can actually see who they are talking to and thus have a greater connection."
"So how many people are there?"
"This shelter merely has been fitted with a basic communication system to other similar shelters, and only then those in your area. For example this is Shelter number 23. Your neighbors are only numbers 20 through 25, those being the closest ones to your location. While obviously there were other shelters of this type built, it was not cost effective to link all the shelters together in such a manner given our timeframe to finish these before Armageddon, so only a few were linked together at a time. Do not worry sir; it has been found that six people are sufficient to sustain enough conversation to prevent mental failure due to isolation."
"Wonderful, so does this make me the Professor?" you ask rhetorically.
"Pardon sir?"
"Nevermind, look I don't have to talk to these people do I?"
"... well no sir, but I fail to see why you'd intentionally want to stay isolated."
"Duh, that was kind of the point of buying a shelter for myself."
"... I see, well I can't force you sir, but I would like you to reconsider... I'm just trying to look out for your physical as well as mental welfare as per my programming... "
If you didn't know better the voice almost sounds a bit hurt by your decision.
"Oh alright, I'll go talk to them. Can't be any worse than the idiots I used argue with on the internet."
"Wonderful sir! I trust you know your way to the computer room. You will find that a designation name has already been chosen for you."
You make your way to the computer room and take a better look at it this time. It's filled with lots of multi-media entertainment. You're glad they gave you a wide variety of movies to chose from. You sit down in front of a fairly wide computer screen which has already been turned on for you; you guess the Shelter is really keen on the idea of you being social. You don't turn the camera on though, in fact you turn it away from you completely, you're not quite ready for THAT level of socialization yet.
You log on and begin typing.
OmegaMan23: Hello? Is there anyone out there?
RockerChick20: Hey! I'm here!
OmegaMan23: Oh. Okay. Hi.
RockerChick20: Hi yourself! This is just like a chatroom! Isn't this great?
OmegaMan23: Uh yeah real great.
Job24: Hey I'm here too; um do you guys have any movies or something?
OmegaMan23: Yeah I got a shitload of movies, DVDs and VHS. Most of them I even like.
RockerChick20: That's weird, I don't have too many movies, I have a lot of music CDs though.
Job24: What kind of music?
RockerChick20: All types, but I have a lot of them. Why?
Job24: I don't have any movies except those with Pauly Shore in them! He fucking sucks! And all my music CDs are New Age Yanni type shit! Thank god I have some games to play!
OmegaMan23: I've got some games too, but for some reason I have nothing but Gangsta Rap and Hair Metal as far as music goes oh wait I also have some Classical. Weird. What the hell I thought these Shelters were all stocked the same?
MissKitty25: Apparently not, I have nothing but porno and not all of it is regular porno either, some of it is quite... bizarre.
Job24: Lucky.
CaseyJones22: Hey guys when do the Shelters become fully functional?
OmegaMan23: What the hell are you talking about?
CaseyJones22: I mean when do the rest of the doors to the place open up, besides the bathroom I mean.
RockerChick20: What do you mean? The doors were all open to begin with.
Job24: Yeah they were always open.
MissKitty25: Yeah.
OmegaMan23: They weren't open for me! I was stuck in the living area until the nukes hit! Wait a minute how are you using the computer if you're stuck in the living area? In fact if the doors were all open for you guys haven't you been in contact with each other before?
Job24: My computer didn't link up to you guys until just now. I could use it to play games and such, but I couldn't do anything else with it. When I turned it on today I got a message saying that the communications to you guys was operational and it said I could take the opportunity to say hi to my five new neighbors.
RockerChick20: Sounds like what happened to me.
MissKitty25: Same here.
CaseyJones22: Me too. Oh and you guys must have different shelter designs because my computer is in the living area.
OmegaMan23: The Shelter never told me anything about this stuff and it's been quite talkative since I've been here let me tell you.
CaseyJones22: The Shelter talks? Now what the hell are you talking about?
OmegaMan23: I'm talking about the Shelter, you know the overly chipper voice that tries so hard to please you?
CaseyJones22: You've lost me dude. You been smokin'?
OmegaMan23: NO! I'm talking about the Shelter voice! It's a computer or something that talks to me! It's always trying to be friendly! Don't you guys hear it?
RockerChick20: Um, no.
Job24: No talking computer here.
MissKitty25: You sure you're feeling okay and aren't imagining things? I mean we all were isolated for a long time before we were able to talk to one another. I know sometimes I would talk to myself, maybe...
OmegaMan23: Look, I'm not fucking crazy alright?! The damn thing even insisted that I talk to you fuckers!
CaseyJones22: Okay dude calm down we believe you! Maybe you got some sort of extra special shelter; I mean from the sound of it we all don't have the same things.
RockerChick20: Hey shouldn't there be one more person here? The message said five new neighbors on my computer; so far I've only met four of you guys.
OmegaMan23: Yeah we're missing number 21, whatever his or her name is.
Shadow21: I'm right here; I've just been reading the conversation.
OmegaMan23: Oh really? Well you mind announcing your presence next time?
Shadow21: I only speak when necessary, besides if any of you bothered to check you would've seen my name listed on the active list.
Job24: Hey what kind of movies do you have?
Well you've met your neighbors, the question is if you want to bother talking to them on a regular basis or not. You did find their information interesting though.
> continue to talk to them as frequently as possible
Your curiosity is peaked and you take the opportunity to talk with the others whenever you can. The Shelter is certainly pleased you are being social. Months pass and you all learn more about each other more or less. (Though only RockerChick has even hinted at turning on the cameras to see each other visually) You have to admit though you're a little more interested in what's going on their shelters.
From what you can tell RockerChick has a shelter similar to yours with just a few differences in equipment. Her personality is damn near as "chipper" as the Shelter. She likes talking with everyone, but seems to like speaking to you a lot more. Must be your "winning" personality.
Job's shelter is a lot like yours too except he's constantly complaining about various things breaking down and he has to fix. Last time he said he damn near got crushed by his own bed when it suddenly rose back up into the wall when he was sleeping. He doesn't have much in entertainment either, so he's always glad to talk with anybody. Mainly to complain.
CaseyJones' Shelter STILL hasn't become fully functional! He's effectively trapped in the living area and bathroom. He has his computer to talk to everyone but little else. He doesn't really seem to care though; apparently he brought a shitload of weed with him and has somehow created a small hydroponics pot farm in his bathtub (He doesn't see the need to bathe since he's not in contact with anyone) He says he plans on spending the Aftermath completely stoned. Job can't understand why Casey isn't freaking out about his situation.
Apparently MissKitty has a more "homey" type shelter. From the description it sounds like it's bigger than any of yours and not quite as "sterile". She has a hot tub in her bathroom and some other luxury type items. MissKitty tends to brag a lot and is rather an uninteresting person other than the weird porn she watches and describes sometimes. Job often complains that it's wasted on her.
As for Shadow, he or she barely ever talks. Shadow makes his presence known, but then just lurks and doesn't say anything. Most of the others forget he's even there, but you always keep it in the back of your mind and will address him when you feel the need. So far the only thing he's mentioned about his shelter is how dim the lighting is.
One thing that you've been tempted to do is use the private feature and talk to one of the others in private. The only ones that interest you are RockerChick and Shadow though. The first because she seems friendly with you. The second because you're kind of suspicious of Shadow and you're hoping to learn more.
> talk more in depth with RockerChick
No point in spending the Aftermath worrying about shit you can't do anything about, you might as well focus on what little chance you're going to have of female companionship again. You take the opportunity to ask to talk to RockerChick more privately one day, unsurprisingly she agrees.
RockerChick20: Hey! You're the first person to want to talk privately to me!
OmegaMan23: You're kidding; I would've thought the other guys would've been jumping at the chance to talk to you.
RockerChick20: Well I see you're the charming type, that's alright though I like that. But sadly no, the other guys haven't. I think Casey's so busy getting stoned most of the time that any extra effort on his part would be too much for him and Job is too busy complaining about his latest shelter problems. And if Shadow is a guy, he's been pretty tight lipped as usual... although MissKitty has been talking with me a lot lately. I get the impression she's been wanting to see a lot more of me if you know what I mean, but she's a bit too self-involved and doesn't seem that interesting. Maybe if I didn't have any other options, she might have a chance.
OmegaMan23: Wow, I guess it's a good thing I made my move then.
RockerChick20: Guess so. So! Are you just going to continue being a faceless entity or do I finally get to see you and learn your real name?
OmegaMan23: Well, okay, but only if you do it too.
RockerChick20: Well of course, we'll do it together! On the count of three! One, two...
And true to both of your words you turn on your cameras and see each other for the first time. After telling her your name, she tells you her real name is Becky. She certainly is attractive, but she seems a lot younger than you, like barely out of her teens, if that! You wonder how the hell she could afford one these Shelters since you're probably at least ten years older than her and with your salary you could barely afford the damn thing.
OmegaMan23: If you don't mind me asking how old are you?
RockerChick20: Nineteen! How old are you?
OmegaMan23: Probably old enough to be considered a pervert to be talking to a girl as young as you. How did you afford one of these shelters, I went broke getting into this thing, not that it matters now.
RockerChick20: Oh my parents had a lot of money and they gave me a lot of it. I registered about one during one of my spending sprees; I didn't actually expect to ever use it. I even thought it would be a cool place to gather all my friends where we could party one day.
OmegaMan23: So if you didn't expect to use it, what changed your mind? The slow realization that the world was going to shit on TV?
RockerChick20: Not really, I barely paid attention to the news. I ended up getting into a fight with my parents and ran away from home for the umpteenth time. I usually didn't go far and stayed with friends, but I really wanted to try to worry them, so I figured I'd use this shelter for a little while! Little did I realize that I'd be trapped down here, I couldn't even get my cell phone to work to call out. After panicking for a few days, I resigned myself to thinking that my parent's might figure out that I came here since they knew I registered for one of these and were pissed off about it. As I watched TV in the passing days that's when I started seeing how bad things were then one day the TV displayed nothing but snow and I knew what had happened. The world blew up. Sometimes I wonder if my parents were still looking for me...
OmegaMan23: I'm sure they were.
RockerChick20: Maybe. It got really bad the last time. They were control freaks anyway... they didn't really care about me; they just wanted to run my life. I don't wanna talk about them, so what about you?
OmegaMan23: What about me what?
RockerChick20: What's your story silly! Surely being as old as you are, you have some interesting stories to tell! All you old guys do.
OmegaMan23: Talk to a lot of old guys do you? Is that before or after they buy you candy?
RockerChick20: Lol. ALWAYS after! I'm not a slut! No, I like older guys they know so much more about everything.
OmegaMan23: Not really, we can just bullshit better than younger guys.
RockerChick20 Lol! You're really funny.
OmegaMan23: See I told you.
RockerChick20: Ha ha! Okay let's be serious for a moment. Tell me about yourself.
You proceed to give some information about yourself, which probably isn't nearly as interesting as some of the stuff she's told everyone when you were talking with her in the public network. Becky seems to be a bit of a free spirit which doesn't really surprise you and the fact that she's into older guys doesn't really surprise you either as most girls her age go through that phase, and given she didn't really have a good relationship with her parents, she's probably sub-consciously looking for a father figure.
About a month passes and you and Becky get comfortable enough to start having "sex" in a fashion. It's not exactly the same being cyber and all, but you'll take a hot naked chick touching herself and typing dirty words to you over nothing. The Shelter is pleased that you are finding a healthy way of releasing your sexual tension, but it really creeps you out that it keeps track of such things.
A few more months pass and it's obvious to the others what's been going on between the two of you. Casey thinks its "cool". You get the impression MissKitty is a bit jealous, but doesn't really say anything. Job, sensing he missed his chance keeps unsuccessfully directing his attention to MissKitty now, and Shadow actually becomes more talkative in general.
Soon you all learn each others names. Casey's is Paul, Job is Mark, MissKitty is Miranda and Shadow (who you finally find out is male) is Xavier. Everyone actually sees what each other looks like except for you who continue to refuse to show yourself to anyone, but Becky in private and Xavier who's a bit hard to see since his lighting is very dim.
In general things are running smoothly and you and Becky have as close of a relationship as you can over a computer. Even you're surprised that such a thing is possible.
A year passes...
Suddenly you all get a distressing message from Paul. He says his food and water dispensers have ceased working and he can't even get his bathroom facilities to work anymore. He says he knows he doesn't have much time left, so he logged on one last time to tell you all good bye. Xavier states how fucked up that is. Mark naturally freaks out worrying that he'll be next to suffer total shelter failure. Miranda gives her sympathy and you ask if he has any tools to fix the problem, but he says he didn't bring any of that kind of stuff with him and there don't seem to be any tools in his shelter either, at least none that he has access to. This incident gets Becky pretty upset, but more so in private with you. She always liked Paul since he was a cool guy. You do your best to try to comfort her. You however are starting to get paranoid again.
While it's certainly possible Paul's shelter failed on its own, lord knows these things are supposed to be experimental and his wasn't working right from the beginning. However, you're starting to wonder if it's possible for someone to maliciously hack into the other ones. When you first started all this "meet the neighbors" shit, you were wondering if Xavier was up to no good when he was being all silent in the beginning, but maybe he was sizing you all up and is beginning his strike now though.
Picking you off one by one.
> are being paranoid, forget about it
You stop yourself from imagining conspiracy theories. There doesn't need to be some mysterious "hacker". Paul's shelter was fucked up from day one from what you know. It's most likely just shoddy GZS workmanship. It's bad what happened, but there's no point in stressing over it. You're just glad you got a good shelter that seems to work properly. Besides your Shelter has a pretty active AI, you're sure that at the first sign of trouble it would warn you verbally.
You continue your life as normal with Becky.
Another year passes...
Mark stops logging on for two months which is strange, because he always made an effort to get online whenever possible even when he was in the middle of fixing something. You know he also thought he was "getting somewhere" with Miranda as well.
Everyone doesn't say too much about it. While it's possible he's just lost network connection and can't access the rest of you, it's a given that probably the worst has happened. He was also having shelter problems from day one, so again you chalk it up to GZS fuck ups, after all the Shelter did tell you there were budget cut backs in the construction of these things. Again it's bad, but there isn't any point in dwelling over something you can't do anything about. The world technically ended years ago, all that's important is that you get what enjoyment you can out of life and that's what you're doing with Becky.
Life continues as normal, except you notice the Shelter isn't as talkative anymore and then ceases speaking to you at all. You don't think too much about it until a couple months later...
You wake up to an angry female sounding voice and it's definitely not the Shelter and it isn't Becky either.
"Well it took me awhile, but I now have complete access to your systems. Good thing I practiced on Mark and Paul first. You know I didn't believe you had a talking shelter, but I'm glad you did, it gives me a chance to verbally tell you about how you're going to die."
"Miranda?"
"Got it one, but then again the choices were pretty limited. Soon after you're out of the way, Xavier will be next and then it'll be just me and Becky. She'll have no choice, but to come to me."
You're so caught off guard that the only reply you can come up with is... "You're fucking nuts."
"Maybe, but I'm not going to be dead and that's the important thing here."
"Wait! How about I just break up with Becky? I'll be a real dick to her, that way there's no chance she'll want to get back with me... or better yet how about I just disconnect myself from the network?"
"Sorry, no. I can't take that chance. Even if you disconnected from the system what's stopping you from fixing all the damage I've done so far, fortifying and then reconnecting to get revenge on me later? You gotta die, it's the only way."
"Wait! If you do have access to all my systems, how about you just bring the elevator down and let me leave the Shelter? I mean I'd have to go outside, I wouldn't be able to do anything to you or Becky then, not to mention topside probably isn't hospitable."
"Nice try, but no... for all we know life topside could be paradise now. A few years have passed you know, a lot can happen in that time."
"Oh come on, you don't actually believe that?"
"Not really, but I just want you to die by my hand... I REALLY don't like you. You stole Becky away from me and now I'm going to get her back. No more talk, goodbye."
"WAIT!"
All power shuts down in your Shelter leaving you in complete darkness. You fumble around and head towards where your food and water dispensers are and predictably they don't work. You're left to the same agonizing fate that Mark and Paul were. Oddly you don't panic as much as you might think in the face of imminent death. In some ways you had a good run after the world ended. You cheated death for a longer time than most folks did and you got to spend time with a pretty girl at least during most of it. Again, no point in worrying about shit you can't do anything about. Kind of wish you got to say goodbye to Becky, but you can't have everything.
You do have one advantage that Mark and Paul didn't though; you can still choose when to die. You feel around in the darkness back to your bedroom and go into the bag you brought with you when you first got here.
There it is; your pistol.
You position it to your head... |
No point in spending the Aftermath worrying about shit you can't do anything about, you might as well focus on what little chance you're going to have of female companionship again. You take the opportunity to ask to talk to RockerChick more privately one day, unsurprisingly she agrees.
RockerChick20: Hey! You're the first person to want to talk privately to me!
OmegaMan23: You're kidding; I would've thought the other guys would've been jumping at the chance to talk to you.
RockerChick20: Well I see you're the charming type, that's alright though I like that. But sadly no, the other guys haven't. I think Casey's so busy getting stoned most of the time that any extra effort on his part would be too much for him and Job is too busy complaining about his latest shelter problems. And if Shadow is a guy, he's been pretty tight lipped as usual... although MissKitty has been talking with me a lot lately. I get the impression she's been wanting to see a lot more of me if you know what I mean, but she's a bit too self-involved and doesn't seem that interesting. Maybe if I didn't have any other options, she might have a chance.
OmegaMan23: Wow, I guess it's a good thing I made my move then.
RockerChick20: Guess so. So! Are you just going to continue being a faceless entity or do I finally get to see you and learn your real name?
OmegaMan23: Well, okay, but only if you do it too.
RockerChick20: Well of course, we'll do it together! On the count of three! One, two...
And true to both of your words you turn on your cameras and see each other for the first time. After telling her your name, she tells you her real name is Becky. She certainly is attractive, but she seems a lot younger than you, like barely out of her teens, if that! You wonder how the hell she could afford one these Shelters since you're probably at least ten years older than her and with your salary you could barely afford the damn thing.
OmegaMan23: If you don't mind me asking how old are you?
RockerChick20: Nineteen! How old are you?
OmegaMan23: Probably old enough to be considered a pervert to be talking to a girl as young as you. How did you afford one of these shelters, I went broke getting into this thing, not that it matters now.
RockerChick20: Oh my parents had a lot of money and they gave me a lot of it. I registered about one during one of my spending sprees; I didn't actually expect to ever use it. I even thought it would be a cool place to gather all my friends where we could party one day.
OmegaMan23: So if you didn't expect to use it, what changed your mind? The slow realization that the world was going to shit on TV?
RockerChick20: Not really, I barely paid attention to the news. I ended up getting into a fight with my parents and ran away from home for the umpteenth time. I usually didn't go far and stayed with friends, but I really wanted to try to worry them, so I figured I'd use this shelter for a little while! Little did I realize that I'd be trapped down here, I couldn't even get my cell phone to work to call out. After panicking for a few days, I resigned myself to thinking that my parent's might figure out that I came here since they knew I registered for one of these and were pissed off about it. As I watched TV in the passing days that's when I started seeing how bad things were then one day the TV displayed nothing but snow and I knew what had happened. The world blew up. Sometimes I wonder if my parents were still looking for me...
OmegaMan23: I'm sure they were.
RockerChick20: Maybe. It got really bad the last time. They were control freaks anyway... they didn't really care about me; they just wanted to run my life. I don't wanna talk about them, so what about you?
OmegaMan23: What about me what?
RockerChick20: What's your story silly! Surely being as old as you are, you have some interesting stories to tell! All you old guys do.
OmegaMan23: Talk to a lot of old guys do you? Is that before or after they buy you candy?
RockerChick20: Lol. ALWAYS after! I'm not a slut! No, I like older guys they know so much more about everything.
OmegaMan23: Not really, we can just bullshit better than younger guys.
RockerChick20 Lol! You're really funny.
OmegaMan23: See I told you.
RockerChick20: Ha ha! Okay let's be serious for a moment. Tell me about yourself.
You proceed to give some information about yourself, which probably isn't nearly as interesting as some of the stuff she's told everyone when you were talking with her in the public network. Becky seems to be a bit of a free spirit which doesn't really surprise you and the fact that she's into older guys doesn't really surprise you either as most girls her age go through that phase, and given she didn't really have a good relationship with her parents, she's probably sub-consciously looking for a father figure.
About a month passes and you and Becky get comfortable enough to start having "sex" in a fashion. It's not exactly the same being cyber and all, but you'll take a hot naked chick touching herself and typing dirty words to you over nothing. The Shelter is pleased that you are finding a healthy way of releasing your sexual tension, but it really creeps you out that it keeps track of such things.
A few more months pass and it's obvious to the others what's been going on between the two of you. Casey thinks its "cool". You get the impression MissKitty is a bit jealous, but doesn't really say anything. Job, sensing he missed his chance keeps unsuccessfully directing his attention to MissKitty now, and Shadow actually becomes more talkative in general.
Soon you all learn each others names. Casey's is Paul, Job is Mark, MissKitty is Miranda and Shadow (who you finally find out is male) is Xavier. Everyone actually sees what each other looks like except for you who continue to refuse to show yourself to anyone, but Becky in private and Xavier who's a bit hard to see since his lighting is very dim.
In general things are running smoothly and you and Becky have as close of a relationship as you can over a computer. Even you're surprised that such a thing is possible.
A year passes...
Suddenly you all get a distressing message from Paul. He says his food and water dispensers have ceased working and he can't even get his bathroom facilities to work anymore. He says he knows he doesn't have much time left, so he logged on one last time to tell you all good bye. Xavier states how fucked up that is. Mark naturally freaks out worrying that he'll be next to suffer total shelter failure. Miranda gives her sympathy and you ask if he has any tools to fix the problem, but he says he didn't bring any of that kind of stuff with him and there don't seem to be any tools in his shelter either, at least none that he has access to. This incident gets Becky pretty upset, but more so in private with you. She always liked Paul since he was a cool guy. You do your best to try to comfort her. You however are starting to get paranoid again.
While it's certainly possible Paul's shelter failed on its own, lord knows these things are supposed to be experimental and his wasn't working right from the beginning. However, you're starting to wonder if it's possible for someone to maliciously hack into the other ones. When you first started all this "meet the neighbors" shit, you were wondering if Xavier was up to no good when he was being all silent in the beginning, but maybe he was sizing you all up and is beginning his strike now though.
Picking you off one by one.
> ask the Shelter about its security systems
Confronting Xavier won't do any good; even if he is guilty he's just going to deny it. Possibly even antagonize him to hacking you a lot sooner. You figure maybe you should alert the Shelter about the situation and get a better understanding of its workings. You've been spending so much time with Becky that you've been neglecting other matters.
"Shelter, can you tell me a little bit more about your systems? Could you easily be hacked?"
"Hacked sir? Well it is possible, but highly unlikely as I have been equipped with the latest protection programs, some of it even military in origin. Are you worried someone is going to try to hack me?"
"Kind of. I don't know. Paul's shelter failed, and I just got this feeling it wasn't completely due to shoddy workmanship."
"Well I do remember you telling me that his wasn't opening up. Not all these shelters were built as well as me. There were budget cutbacks during the construction of these you know."
"I suppose."
"You seem distressed sir. I'll tell you what, it's going a little bit out of my programming as outright spying and monitoring other shelters isn't really part of the GZS terms of agreement, but I'll do it. First signs of anyone trying to get anywhere NEAR my systems or anything else suspicious I'll alert you immediately and bring the elevator down for a hasty escape in case everything goes wrong."
"Well that does make me feel better, thanks."
"You're welcome sir, I might suggest you read up on your electronics, you may need them. I will inform you of anything that wasn't covered in my manual, or if you have any extra questions."
A few weeks pass as you take the Shelter's advice and start studying up. You're spending less time with Becky, but it can't be helped. When you do talk to her, you tell her she should do the same thing you're doing. She thinks you're being overly paranoid though, and despite your closeness, she's still skeptical that you have a shelter that talks to you on a regular basis. (The only one who ever really believed you on that was Paul) She also thinks you're trying to tell her what to do, rather than looking out for her. You're starting to look like the "Strict Dad" rather than the "Fun Dad" now. Things between you become a little strained and a couple more months pass and Becky and you aren't really together anymore. You notice Xavier talks to Becky a little more now, but it doesn't really seem serious. Miranda also attempts to talk to Becky more seeing that you're out of the picture, but Becky still doesn't seem interested in her. Meanwhile Mark unsuccessfully makes advances towards Miranda.
It seems like everyone is chasing someone else that isn't interested, except you, who inadvertently discarded intimacy in favor of security and survival... though not entirely, you did look into this supposed hacker business in an effort to protect not just you, but Becky as well because you did like her. You just wish she would've listened to you.
Meanwhile you're keeping an eye on the situation and asking the Shelter for security updates, which still says it doesn't detect anything. You wonder if you were wrong and you just fucked up the only relationship you possibly had a chance at in what's left of this world...
Another year passes...
Mark stops logging on for two months which is strange, because he always made an effort to get online whenever possible even when he was in the middle of fixing something. You know he also thought he was "getting somewhere" with Miranda as well.
Everyone doesn't say too much about it. While it's possible he's just lost network connection and can't access the rest of you, it's a given that probably the worst has happened.
Normally after losing Becky to your previous paranoia, you'd be willing to chalk it up to normal shelter failure this time especially since he had a lot of problems anyway, but fortunately your Shelter was doing some deeper inspection into the situation.
"Sir, I have some vital information I think you should know about. I'm sorry it took me so long, but the hacker went to great lengths to cover their tracks."
"Hacker? You mean there is one then?"
"Yes, I temporarily diverted some of my own power to Job24's shelter and started accessing the systems there. It was obviously hacked upon direct inspection; some of the programs were completely fried particularly the food and water dispensers."
"Wait, you can do that?"
"I'm not supposed to sir, but I know you've been worrying about this and since the shelter was already technically offline, the agreement doesn't say I can't monitor it."
"Wait so Mark? Is he still alive?"
"Afraid not sir. I detected no life signs. Humans can't go two months without water."
"No, of course they can't... so who's the hacker?"
"Don't know sir, like I said they did a very good job of covering their tracks, I do know it isn't RockerChick20, which only leaves Shadow21 or MissKitty25. From what I've detected BOTH of their shelters are showing irregularities, so both of them have been modifying their shelter's systems for whatever purpose. I suppose it's possible both of them have been hacking."
"Oh thanks Shelter, that makes me feel better!"
"I wasn't my intention to cause you more distress; just stating the possibilities sir... maybe you could directly confront one of them privately. While you have their attention, I can do more inspection and know for certain. Both of them have already broken their terms of agreement by modifying their shelters, so they aren't under GZS protection contract anymore. I can do whatever you want to either of them."
> confront Xavier
"Time to confront Xavier once and for all." You say.
"Very well sir."
When you get online you conveniently see that you and he are the only ones currently on. You send Xavier a private invite, he accepts. Your Shelter goes into spy mode. You wonder what you can talk to him about, but then you think of something that wouldn't arouse too much suspicion and is completely plausible for you to need to address him privately.
Shadow21: Yeah? What do you want?
OmegaMan23: Hey I just wanted to talk to you about Becky.
Shadow21: What about her?
OmegaMan23: Well I just want to say I'm still trying to patch things up with her and I want to know if you're interested in her, because if you are you must know that I'm going to be doing everything in my power to win her back.
Shadow21: Wow. That sounds like a threat. I guess I better be careful if I ever show any interest in her and you're still around.
OmegaMan23: So what does that mean?
Shadow21: It means that even if I had any inclination to steal your little cyber girlfriend, I wouldn't since it would make me a bigger target than you.
OmegaMan23: I'm a target? Now that sounds like a threat.
Shadow21: It is, but not from me... come on I think we can stop beating around the bush here. I've been monitoring the other shelters ever since Paul's went down. We got a hacker among us and your Shelter and Miranda's have been mighty active lately.
OmegaMan23: So, you think there's a hacker too eh?
Shadow21: I don't think it. I know it. Just like you know it. You've been monitoring the other shelters just like I have, and probably just like Miranda has. I can't prove who the hacker is for certain, but I know in my gut who it is, because it's really the only logical choice.
OmegaMan23: And?
Shadow21: Miranda obviously. She was jealous of your relationship with Becky so she's killing all the potential competition and have her all to herself.
OmegaMan23: If that is true, why not just hack me first?
Shadow21: Probably needed to practice first. From what I can tell your Shelter has some pretty cool protection, I had to modify all my shelter's systems to get it nearly as good as yours. Plus like I said she's also eliminating future competition.
OmegaMan23: While I'm fully willing to entertain this theory, what's keeping me from thinking you're the hacker and you're just trying to deflect the blame?
Shadow21: Nothing I suppose. I know you've always been irrationally distrustful of me, for whatever reason. The only thing I can say is I don't have any motive to be killing folks. I'm not some cyber serial killer and I don't have any interest in Becky like you and Miranda do. Besides I'm sure by now your Shelter has done a thorough spying on my internal activity logs and has found I haven't done anything wrong.
You're silent for a moment. Suddenly your Shelter speaks.
"He's clean sir."
Shadow21: Well?
OmegaMan23: My Shelter's report just confirmed you were clean.
Shadow21: I'm sure it did. Does it still talk to you?
OmegaMan23: Why is that so hard to believe?
Shadow21: It isn't really; I'm just fucking with you.
OmegaMan23: Okay so Miranda's the hacker, what are we gonna do about it?
Shadow21: Me? Nothing. I'm probably just going to disconnect my network system soon and access my elevator's controls to call it down so I can make a get away just in case. I figure I should be safe as long as I stay disconnected though.
OmegaMan23: What?! You're not going to help me stop her?
Shadow21: Why should I risk my neck? This is between you and Miranda... in fact if I were you, I'd disconnect from the system as well and cut your losses. Becky seems a bit flighty anyway if she broke up with you so quickly, I say let Miranda have her.
OmegaMan23: She's just young and doesn't like old people telling her what to do. She runs away from conflict. She's got some father figure issues. Doesn't mean I still didn't like her.
Shadow21: I see, so you're daddy and you're out to save your little girl from the psycho dyke then eh?
OmegaMan23: Something like that. Besides I don't like being run off like this, if I can do SOMETHING about it.
Shadow21: Well disconnecting is what I suggest you do. Because from what I can tell she's pretty good at what she does. While I'm no slouch myself at techie shit, I don't want to risk fighting her because even if I do beat her, she still might fuck up my shelter up. Not worth it in my opinion. Better to play it safe and live.
Xavier does bring up a few good points. Is it pointless to bother fighting a war over someone who doesn't really seem interested in you anymore? Not to mention getting yourself fucked up in the process? If Becky really is so much of a free spirit to go falling for Miranda because nobody else is around then is she really worth it?
> disconnect
Xavier's logic has convinced you.
OmegaMan23: Yeah, I suppose you're right... still I dunno what I'm going to do with my time now. I'm gonna get bored in this Shelter without some kind of interaction.
Shadow21: Well what about your Shelter? It talks to you right?
OmegaMan23: Yeah, but it's not the same. I think I'm gonna do that thing you said you might do. Call the elevator down and go up top.
Shadow21: Really? I was going to only do that in case of an emergency.
OmegaMan23: Yeah well there isn't much point in me staying anymore, besides I'm a bit curious to see what the world looks like now. Maybe they rebuilt some shit.
Shadow21: Maybe. Well I know we didn't really get along, but good luck with that.
OmegaMan23: Good luck to whatever you do as well, and thanks for your advice. I probably would've got myself killed had I chosen to fight Miranda.
You log off and start disconnecting your network.
"What're you doing sir?"
"Disconnecting from the network, where's the main line connection?"
"Over there sir. Playing it safe then?"
"Yeah, really safe. I want to go back to the surface."
"You do? You've disconnected from the network sir, its highly unlikely Miranda can get to you now, and the surface may actually be more dangerous."
"I suppose, but I feel like I really need to get out of here, the claustrophobia is setting in I think and without human interaction I don't think I can take it."
"Hmmm, yes I can see how that would be a problem sir. Well even though I feel the surface will put you at severe risk for danger, staying here will not be good for your mental health so I will respect your wishes and bring the elevator down, I suggest you gather what belongings you want to take and get ready."
You go back to your room and pack up all the things you brought with you when you first got here. You didn't even need most of the stuff, but maybe you will above ground. You then go to the water dispenser which is thankfully still working and fill up to empty bottles with water.
The elevator door finally opens up and you put your bag to block the door from closing and head back to the computer room where you access the system to tell the elevator to go back up and then run back to the elevator where you gather your bag and enter.
On the ride up you get a little nervous and even fearful. Not so much of what might await you on the surface, but of hoping the damn elevator doesn't suddenly stop, fortunately that doesn't happen and you eventually reach the ground once again. The door opens and you enter the same foyer you arrived in a few years ago. Same ATM like machine is there, except its screen is flashing a single message at you.
*GOOD LUCK SIR*
"I hope I have some." You mutter and take a deep breath before opening the door to the outside.
You see a bright light, but of course it's only the sun rather than a nuclear flash that devastated the world. You forgot how bright it really could be.
Your immediate surroundings look relatively untouched. You can only assume there weren't any bombs falling near this area. You also see your van, you'd completely forgotten about it. It looks like it's even in worse condition than when you left it, which you never thought was possible. On a lark you take out your long unused van keys and try to start it up, naturally it doesn't even make a noise.
"Looks like I'm walking."
You make you way down the empty road as you have little idea of where to head to, the only thing you can think of is to make a long trek back to the city and hope maybe something of civilization exists there.
The walk really takes a toll on you. During the day, the sun seems unbearably hotter than usual, and the nights get pretty cold. You are attacked by some crazed people who look like they've been living in the wilderness for awhile. They're filthy and barely intelligible. It's amazing to see how quick humanity has reverted to barbarism.
One begins shooting at you, and you do likewise. After shooting one of them, they stop attacking and drag off their companion. It would appear you just provided a dinner for them other than yourself.
It doesn't help you though; you're attacked again later by a small group of thugs attempting to rob you and another group after that. And so on. You have to fight and survive constantly and your supplies are never enough and you get wounded many times.
You aren't prepared for this harsh world now. Maybe if you'd stayed out in the beginning, but all those years in the Shelter made you a bit out of shape and civilization is nowhere in sight for you to properly rest.
Eventually you decide you can't go on, and head back to the shelter for saftey, surprisingly you make it back, but you're so very tired, you decide you need to rest before begging (and hoping) the shelter will let you back in.
You stretch out in the wilderness; it actually feels comfortable given how tired you are. It almost makes you ignore the pain from the head wound you received from the latest attack you had to fend off.
"Just a few hours of sleep then I'll enter the shelter again... it seems reasonable... I shouldn't have any problems... I dunno... maybe I'll just stay here... its nice and comfortable... " you say as you fall into unconsciousness.
You don't wake up. |
"Time to confront Xavier once and for all." You say.
"Very well sir."
When you get online you conveniently see that you and he are the only ones currently on. You send Xavier a private invite, he accepts. Your Shelter goes into spy mode. You wonder what you can talk to him about, but then you think of something that wouldn't arouse too much suspicion and is completely plausible for you to need to address him privately.
Shadow21: Yeah? What do you want?
OmegaMan23: Hey I just wanted to talk to you about Becky.
Shadow21: What about her?
OmegaMan23: Well I just want to say I'm still trying to patch things up with her and I want to know if you're interested in her, because if you are you must know that I'm going to be doing everything in my power to win her back.
Shadow21: Wow. That sounds like a threat. I guess I better be careful if I ever show any interest in her and you're still around.
OmegaMan23: So what does that mean?
Shadow21: It means that even if I had any inclination to steal your little cyber girlfriend, I wouldn't since it would make me a bigger target than you.
OmegaMan23: I'm a target? Now that sounds like a threat.
Shadow21: It is, but not from me... come on I think we can stop beating around the bush here. I've been monitoring the other shelters ever since Paul's went down. We got a hacker among us and your Shelter and Miranda's have been mighty active lately.
OmegaMan23: So, you think there's a hacker too eh?
Shadow21: I don't think it. I know it. Just like you know it. You've been monitoring the other shelters just like I have, and probably just like Miranda has. I can't prove who the hacker is for certain, but I know in my gut who it is, because it's really the only logical choice.
OmegaMan23: And?
Shadow21: Miranda obviously. She was jealous of your relationship with Becky so she's killing all the potential competition and have her all to herself.
OmegaMan23: If that is true, why not just hack me first?
Shadow21: Probably needed to practice first. From what I can tell your Shelter has some pretty cool protection, I had to modify all my shelter's systems to get it nearly as good as yours. Plus like I said she's also eliminating future competition.
OmegaMan23: While I'm fully willing to entertain this theory, what's keeping me from thinking you're the hacker and you're just trying to deflect the blame?
Shadow21: Nothing I suppose. I know you've always been irrationally distrustful of me, for whatever reason. The only thing I can say is I don't have any motive to be killing folks. I'm not some cyber serial killer and I don't have any interest in Becky like you and Miranda do. Besides I'm sure by now your Shelter has done a thorough spying on my internal activity logs and has found I haven't done anything wrong.
You're silent for a moment. Suddenly your Shelter speaks.
"He's clean sir."
Shadow21: Well?
OmegaMan23: My Shelter's report just confirmed you were clean.
Shadow21: I'm sure it did. Does it still talk to you?
OmegaMan23: Why is that so hard to believe?
Shadow21: It isn't really; I'm just fucking with you.
OmegaMan23: Okay so Miranda's the hacker, what are we gonna do about it?
Shadow21: Me? Nothing. I'm probably just going to disconnect my network system soon and access my elevator's controls to call it down so I can make a get away just in case. I figure I should be safe as long as I stay disconnected though.
OmegaMan23: What?! You're not going to help me stop her?
Shadow21: Why should I risk my neck? This is between you and Miranda... in fact if I were you, I'd disconnect from the system as well and cut your losses. Becky seems a bit flighty anyway if she broke up with you so quickly, I say let Miranda have her.
OmegaMan23: She's just young and doesn't like old people telling her what to do. She runs away from conflict. She's got some father figure issues. Doesn't mean I still didn't like her.
Shadow21: I see, so you're daddy and you're out to save your little girl from the psycho dyke then eh?
OmegaMan23: Something like that. Besides I don't like being run off like this, if I can do SOMETHING about it.
Shadow21: Well disconnecting is what I suggest you do. Because from what I can tell she's pretty good at what she does. While I'm no slouch myself at techie shit, I don't want to risk fighting her because even if I do beat her, she still might fuck up my shelter up. Not worth it in my opinion. Better to play it safe and live.
Xavier does bring up a few good points. Is it pointless to bother fighting a war over someone who doesn't really seem interested in you anymore? Not to mention getting yourself fucked up in the process? If Becky really is so much of a free spirit to go falling for Miranda because nobody else is around then is she really worth it?
> fight
Sure why not. People have fought wars over stupider shit than the attention of some young woman, besides if Miranda's willing to kill everyone just to be the only one left for Becky, its obvious she's pretty deranged. What would be stopping her from killing Becky too, if something went wrong their "relationship"? Miranda should be stopped just because she murdered Mark and Paul for that matter. Besides its like you told Xavier, you don't like running away if there's something you can do about it... and there's the fact that you don't buy Xavier's whole "I don't care" routine, not after taking a quick glance at some of his record logs of a couple private conversations he's had with Becky.
You ask the Shelter something before continuing your discussion with Xavier; the Shelter says you didn't even need to ask, as it was doing it anyway. Nodding, you go back to talking with Xavier.
OmegaMan23: I'm fighting her, and you should help me.
Shadow21: I told you I don't see why I should risk my neck.
OmegaMan23: Because if we work together we can easily take out Miranda, then we can work out our differences later.
Shadow21: Our differences? I told you I don't...
OmegaMan23: Cut the bullshit. I just glanced through some of your private record logs. In fact ALL of those private conversation were initiated by YOU!
Shadow21: Fuck! I thought I erased them all!
OmegaMan23: Yeah, well you didn't, I think it's obvious by the flirty comments that you DO have your eyes on Becky, though I don't know why you haven't made a committed move yet.
Shadow21: Because of fucking Miranda that's why. I figured I'd buy myself some time for preparation if I didn't get properly involved with Becky. I figured maybe Miranda would attack you soon, but she hasn't yet, I guess she doesn't know who's the bigger threat yet, I'm pretty confident that she wants to get rid of both of us though.
OmegaMan23: So let me guess, you're plan was either let me fight Miranda and probably let us fuck each other up while you finished off the winner OR scare me off completely and convince me to disconnect so then you'd only have to deal with Miranda. Am I right?
Shadow21: Sadly that sounds about right. Although I still don't see how you're going to make me help you.
OmegaMan23: Easy, because if you don't help me take Miranda down, I'm gonna send the whole record log to Miranda and I guarantee she'll attack you first and even if you disconnect she'll wait for you. So if you want ANY shot at Becky, you'll help me!
Shadow21: Arrrgh! Alright, I'll help! You gotta gimme time to prepare though.
OmegaMan23: Fine by me, I gotta prepare too. You got ten minutes; Miranda always comes online about this time so she should be here soon.
You disconnect from Xavier and address the Shelter about that business you asked it before.
"You said you recorded all that right?"
"Of course sir."
"Good send the entire conversation to Becky, it'll save me time to explain everything to her. Hopefully she'll realize I am trying to do this to protect her and to stop a murderer. Not mention it should expose Xavier for being a fucking opportunistic vulture too. Also add a message on to it that after she reads it there probably will be a bunch of shit going down and she should get off line so she doesn't get hit in the crossfire. And send Xavier's private record logs to Miranda anyway, it should give me some extra time to break through Miranda's protection while she concentrates her fury more on him."
While the Shelter carries out your orders, you do some last minute checking on your firewalls while waiting for the fireworks to begin.
Five minutes pass and you see Miranda's name arrive online.
Another five minutes pass and you see a private window pop up from Xavier.
Shadow21: YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU TOLD MIRANDA ANYWAY! SHE'S ATTACKING ME!
OmegaMan23: Well I suggest you stop talking to me and concentrate on her then, besides you had ten minutes of prep Mr. tech wizard.
"Alright Shelter, let's get to work."
You attempt to hack Miranda's files, and start trying to break down her protection. While you're trying to decrypt the coding, you get another private window pop up. It's Miranda this time.
MissKitty25: Fucking trying to sneak around huh? You and fucking Xavier think you can gang up on me? Well I can take the both of you fuckers! Try this, you backdoor bastard!
Miranda sends a power surge and overloads some of your components, frying them. Some of your lighting goes out and you hear something explode in the living area but fortunately nothing else happens.
"Shit!"
"Some of my files have been destroyed sir, attempting to correct... "
You concentrate on rebuilding your protection while Miranda focuses back on Xavier.
Shadow21: What the fuck man? Are you even helping? My fucking shelter is getting shit on over here! Move in you dickhead! Attack the bitch!
You ignore Xavier's plead when you see Becky log on.
"Please. Please, read the damn message and get off as quick as you can... " you mutter, while launching your second assault on Miranda.
"Sir, I have been monitoring Shadow21's shelter and it's running dangerously low on power, Miranda's apparently siphoning it. He probably won't survive another attack."
"All he needs to do hold out a bit longer... there that should do something... "
You send a virus to corrupt some of Miranda's systems, during this time you see Becky go offline.
"Good girl." You say and start your next round of malicious coding. You notice Xavier's name has disappeared.
MissKitty25: Xavier's fucking dead and you're next shithead! Don't think your weak ass virus is gonna stop me either!
Another power surge hits you. This time ALL the lighting goes out, and you even get a couple sparks coming from the computer, you're lucky it didn't do more damage.
> redouble your protection
You cease your attack and attempt to redouble your protection, unfortunately while you're fumbling around and retyping, Miranda sends a worm and completely wrecks your system, making it slow to a crawl, then she follows up with another power surge, and this one blows out your most of the hard drive.
"POWE... .RRRRR FFFFFF... ... .AAAAAIIIIILLLLINNN... .GGG... .." the Shelter utters as everything begins to flicker and eventually go out, leaving you in the dark and powerless.
You've lost.
Death is the price of your failure. |
Sure why not. People have fought wars over stupider shit than the attention of some young woman, besides if Miranda's willing to kill everyone just to be the only one left for Becky, its obvious she's pretty deranged. What would be stopping her from killing Becky too, if something went wrong their "relationship"? Miranda should be stopped just because she murdered Mark and Paul for that matter. Besides its like you told Xavier, you don't like running away if there's something you can do about it... and there's the fact that you don't buy Xavier's whole "I don't care" routine, not after taking a quick glance at some of his record logs of a couple private conversations he's had with Becky.
You ask the Shelter something before continuing your discussion with Xavier; the Shelter says you didn't even need to ask, as it was doing it anyway. Nodding, you go back to talking with Xavier.
OmegaMan23: I'm fighting her, and you should help me.
Shadow21: I told you I don't see why I should risk my neck.
OmegaMan23: Because if we work together we can easily take out Miranda, then we can work out our differences later.
Shadow21: Our differences? I told you I don't...
OmegaMan23: Cut the bullshit. I just glanced through some of your private record logs. In fact ALL of those private conversation were initiated by YOU!
Shadow21: Fuck! I thought I erased them all!
OmegaMan23: Yeah, well you didn't, I think it's obvious by the flirty comments that you DO have your eyes on Becky, though I don't know why you haven't made a committed move yet.
Shadow21: Because of fucking Miranda that's why. I figured I'd buy myself some time for preparation if I didn't get properly involved with Becky. I figured maybe Miranda would attack you soon, but she hasn't yet, I guess she doesn't know who's the bigger threat yet, I'm pretty confident that she wants to get rid of both of us though.
OmegaMan23: So let me guess, you're plan was either let me fight Miranda and probably let us fuck each other up while you finished off the winner OR scare me off completely and convince me to disconnect so then you'd only have to deal with Miranda. Am I right?
Shadow21: Sadly that sounds about right. Although I still don't see how you're going to make me help you.
OmegaMan23: Easy, because if you don't help me take Miranda down, I'm gonna send the whole record log to Miranda and I guarantee she'll attack you first and even if you disconnect she'll wait for you. So if you want ANY shot at Becky, you'll help me!
Shadow21: Arrrgh! Alright, I'll help! You gotta gimme time to prepare though.
OmegaMan23: Fine by me, I gotta prepare too. You got ten minutes; Miranda always comes online about this time so she should be here soon.
You disconnect from Xavier and address the Shelter about that business you asked it before.
"You said you recorded all that right?"
"Of course sir."
"Good send the entire conversation to Becky, it'll save me time to explain everything to her. Hopefully she'll realize I am trying to do this to protect her and to stop a murderer. Not mention it should expose Xavier for being a fucking opportunistic vulture too. Also add a message on to it that after she reads it there probably will be a bunch of shit going down and she should get off line so she doesn't get hit in the crossfire. And send Xavier's private record logs to Miranda anyway, it should give me some extra time to break through Miranda's protection while she concentrates her fury more on him."
While the Shelter carries out your orders, you do some last minute checking on your firewalls while waiting for the fireworks to begin.
Five minutes pass and you see Miranda's name arrive online.
Another five minutes pass and you see a private window pop up from Xavier.
Shadow21: YOU MOTHERFUCKER! YOU TOLD MIRANDA ANYWAY! SHE'S ATTACKING ME!
OmegaMan23: Well I suggest you stop talking to me and concentrate on her then, besides you had ten minutes of prep Mr. tech wizard.
"Alright Shelter, let's get to work."
You attempt to hack Miranda's files, and start trying to break down her protection. While you're trying to decrypt the coding, you get another private window pop up. It's Miranda this time.
MissKitty25: Fucking trying to sneak around huh? You and fucking Xavier think you can gang up on me? Well I can take the both of you fuckers! Try this, you backdoor bastard!
Miranda sends a power surge and overloads some of your components, frying them. Some of your lighting goes out and you hear something explode in the living area but fortunately nothing else happens.
"Shit!"
"Some of my files have been destroyed sir, attempting to correct... "
You concentrate on rebuilding your protection while Miranda focuses back on Xavier.
Shadow21: What the fuck man? Are you even helping? My fucking shelter is getting shit on over here! Move in you dickhead! Attack the bitch!
You ignore Xavier's plead when you see Becky log on.
"Please. Please, read the damn message and get off as quick as you can... " you mutter, while launching your second assault on Miranda.
"Sir, I have been monitoring Shadow21's shelter and it's running dangerously low on power, Miranda's apparently siphoning it. He probably won't survive another attack."
"All he needs to do hold out a bit longer... there that should do something... "
You send a virus to corrupt some of Miranda's systems, during this time you see Becky go offline.
"Good girl." You say and start your next round of malicious coding. You notice Xavier's name has disappeared.
MissKitty25: Xavier's fucking dead and you're next shithead! Don't think your weak ass virus is gonna stop me either!
Another power surge hits you. This time ALL the lighting goes out, and you even get a couple sparks coming from the computer, you're lucky it didn't do more damage.
> continue your attack
She's doing a lot of bluster, but your Shelter has detected just how bad of shape she's really in, if you continue your attack she can't do anything about it. You send your attack and finally give her a last reply.
OmegaMan23: Sorry Miranda, but as much as you'd like to be one, only I can be the Omega Man in this little war.
You completely destroy what's left of Miranda's systems and you see her name disappear from the screen.
That's it. You've won, but there was a high price. Your Shelter's AI has been severely damaged...
"I fffffear that I ccccannnnnnot corrrrrrect... it wwwwas a pleasure serrrrving you ssssssir... ."
"Thank you Shelter." You say before it dies completely.
You manually do an in-depth scan, and its definite, Miranda's shelter is powerless. Xavier's as well. You then proceed to start fixing some of the stuff that got damaged in the fight, and you're not sure you can. While you're doing this, someone appears online, you almost go into battle mode again, but then you see its just Becky.
RockerChick20: Hello? Is there anyone there?
OmegaMan23: Yeah, I'm still here, the others aren't though.
RockerChick20: Are they dead?
OmegaMan23: No, but without power they soon will be. Is your shelter working alright?
RockerChick20: Oh yeah, it's working fine. What about yours?
OmegaMan23: I dunno, it's not in the best condition... I might be able to fix it, but... well I can figure something out.
RockerChick20: So... I guess you were right about the hacker... I should've listened to you. I was even starting to fall for Xavier's charms. I feel really stupid about all of this.
OmegaMan23: Forget about it, it's all over now anyway.
RockerChick20: I can't believe you were still willing to fight for me even after I broke up with you... why?
OmegaMan23: Cause I'm an idiot obviously. Lol. Come on after all that time we spent together, it wasn't like it didn't mean anything to me, and Miranda was a killer that needed to be stopped. She might've even hurt you, if you didn't give in to her advances.
RockerChick20: Nobody's ever done anything like this for me before... I never want you to leave again.
OmegaMan23: Well unfortunately I might have to for awhile, my Shelter is fucked. I'm looking at it more now and I don't trust it lasting too much longer. The AI is completely fried, and I can only access the most basic things. I have to leave this shelter. It's not safe to stay.
RockerChick20: No! I can't lose you now! I've just realized you're the best thing that's happened to me in my life, pre and post apocalypse!
OmegaMan23: Calm down, I got an idea. I'm gonna track the location of your shelter, and then I'll just travel over there.
RockerChick20: But... that's crazy! You don't know what's up top!
OmegaMan23: Well I already took one crazy chance for you; I might as well take another, besides like I said I gotta leave anyway, at least this way I got a worthwhile destination. Now you just be sure to read up on your Shelter's internal operations in the meantime and try to see if you can access your elevator's controls so it'll open for me with no hassle, of course if you can't I'll figure out how to open when I get there somehow. Now I need to access your systems for a minute to get the location... and I hope I can still print out shit.
You access Becky's shelter and get the coordinates and print out a crude map. It's not the most accurate, but you're pretty sure if you follow it, you'll be heading the right direction.
OmegaMan23: Alright Becky, I'm calling my elevator down, and I'm leaving now.
RockerChick20: You'll come looking for me won't you? I mean you won't get sidetracked once you're up there right?
OmegaMan23: Of course not. And don't worry, I won't get killed either. We will meet in person sometime soon, I promise.
A single small heart shape emoticon appears on the screen, before Becky logs off.
You access the elevator controls (One of the few things working right and undamaged) and call the elevator to continue it's decent. You go back to your room and pack up all the things you brought with you when you first got here. You didn't even need most of the stuff, but maybe you will above ground. You then go to the water dispenser which is thankfully still working and fill up to empty bottles with water.
The elevator door finally opens up and you put your bag to block the door from closing and head back to the computer room where you access the system to tell the elevator to go back up and then run back to the elevator where you gather your bag and enter.
On the ride up you get a little nervous and even fearful. Not so much of what might await you on the surface, but of hoping the damn elevator doesn't suddenly stop, fortunately that doesn't happen and you eventually reach the ground once again. The door opens and you enter the same foyer you arrived in five years ago. Same ATM like machine is there, except its screen is flashing a single message at you.
*NO REFUNDS*
"No shit." You mutter and take a deep breath before opening the door to the outside.
You see a bright light, but of course it's only the sun rather than a nuclear flash that devastated the world. You forgot how bright it really could be.
Your immediate surroundings look relatively untouched. You can only assume there weren't any bombs falling near this area. You also see your van, you'd completely forgotten about it. It looks like it's even in worse condition than when you left it, which you never thought was possible. On a lark you take out your long unused van keys and try to start it up, naturally it doesn't even make a noise.
"Looks like I'm walking."
Looking at the map, you've got quite a ways to go. You're not sure of what to expect, but you know you've got a worthwhile destination to keep you going. |
Confronting Xavier won't do any good; even if he is guilty he's just going to deny it. Possibly even antagonize him to hacking you a lot sooner. You figure maybe you should alert the Shelter about the situation and get a better understanding of its workings. You've been spending so much time with Becky that you've been neglecting other matters.
"Shelter, can you tell me a little bit more about your systems? Could you easily be hacked?"
"Hacked sir? Well it is possible, but highly unlikely as I have been equipped with the latest protection programs, some of it even military in origin. Are you worried someone is going to try to hack me?"
"Kind of. I don't know. Paul's shelter failed, and I just got this feeling it wasn't completely due to shoddy workmanship."
"Well I do remember you telling me that his wasn't opening up. Not all these shelters were built as well as me. There were budget cutbacks during the construction of these you know."
"I suppose."
"You seem distressed sir. I'll tell you what, it's going a little bit out of my programming as outright spying and monitoring other shelters isn't really part of the GZS terms of agreement, but I'll do it. First signs of anyone trying to get anywhere NEAR my systems or anything else suspicious I'll alert you immediately and bring the elevator down for a hasty escape in case everything goes wrong."
"Well that does make me feel better, thanks."
"You're welcome sir, I might suggest you read up on your electronics, you may need them. I will inform you of anything that wasn't covered in my manual, or if you have any extra questions."
A few weeks pass as you take the Shelter's advice and start studying up. You're spending less time with Becky, but it can't be helped. When you do talk to her, you tell her she should do the same thing you're doing. She thinks you're being overly paranoid though, and despite your closeness, she's still skeptical that you have a shelter that talks to you on a regular basis. (The only one who ever really believed you on that was Paul) She also thinks you're trying to tell her what to do, rather than looking out for her. You're starting to look like the "Strict Dad" rather than the "Fun Dad" now. Things between you become a little strained and a couple more months pass and Becky and you aren't really together anymore. You notice Xavier talks to Becky a little more now, but it doesn't really seem serious. Miranda also attempts to talk to Becky more seeing that you're out of the picture, but Becky still doesn't seem interested in her. Meanwhile Mark unsuccessfully makes advances towards Miranda.
It seems like everyone is chasing someone else that isn't interested, except you, who inadvertently discarded intimacy in favor of security and survival... though not entirely, you did look into this supposed hacker business in an effort to protect not just you, but Becky as well because you did like her. You just wish she would've listened to you.
Meanwhile you're keeping an eye on the situation and asking the Shelter for security updates, which still says it doesn't detect anything. You wonder if you were wrong and you just fucked up the only relationship you possibly had a chance at in what's left of this world...
Another year passes...
Mark stops logging on for two months which is strange, because he always made an effort to get online whenever possible even when he was in the middle of fixing something. You know he also thought he was "getting somewhere" with Miranda as well.
Everyone doesn't say too much about it. While it's possible he's just lost network connection and can't access the rest of you, it's a given that probably the worst has happened.
Normally after losing Becky to your previous paranoia, you'd be willing to chalk it up to normal shelter failure this time especially since he had a lot of problems anyway, but fortunately your Shelter was doing some deeper inspection into the situation.
"Sir, I have some vital information I think you should know about. I'm sorry it took me so long, but the hacker went to great lengths to cover their tracks."
"Hacker? You mean there is one then?"
"Yes, I temporarily diverted some of my own power to Job24's shelter and started accessing the systems there. It was obviously hacked upon direct inspection; some of the programs were completely fried particularly the food and water dispensers."
"Wait, you can do that?"
"I'm not supposed to sir, but I know you've been worrying about this and since the shelter was already technically offline, the agreement doesn't say I can't monitor it."
"Wait so Mark? Is he still alive?"
"Afraid not sir. I detected no life signs. Humans can't go two months without water."
"No, of course they can't... so who's the hacker?"
"Don't know sir, like I said they did a very good job of covering their tracks, I do know it isn't RockerChick20, which only leaves Shadow21 or MissKitty25. From what I've detected BOTH of their shelters are showing irregularities, so both of them have been modifying their shelter's systems for whatever purpose. I suppose it's possible both of them have been hacking."
"Oh thanks Shelter, that makes me feel better!"
"I wasn't my intention to cause you more distress; just stating the possibilities sir... maybe you could directly confront one of them privately. While you have their attention, I can do more inspection and know for certain. Both of them have already broken their terms of agreement by modifying their shelters, so they aren't under GZS protection contract anymore. I can do whatever you want to either of them."
> confront Miranda
"Miranda's always had a thing for Becky, maybe she's been trying to eliminate the competition and if that's the case I'm sure I'm gonna be next, I can only assume she hasn't tried anything yet due to your heavy duty protection. I'm gonna confront her and see."
"Very well sir."
You have to wait awhile, but eventually Miranda arrives on line and you send a private invite to Miranda, she accepts. Your Shelter goes into spy mode. You wonder what you can talk to her about, but then you think of something that wouldn't arouse too much suspicion and is completely plausible for you to need to address her privately.
MissKitty25: Well this was unexpected. What do you want?
OmegaMan23: Hey can't I want to talk to you in private?
MissKitty25: You can, I just don't know what for.
OmegaMan23: Well as you know, me and Becky aren't really together anymore.
MissKitty25: Lol. So is that why you privately messaged me? You're looking for another cyber girlfriend because you lost your last one? Shit you're pathetic.
OmegaMan23: So I take it that's a big no?
MissKitty25: Got that right.
OmegaMan23: There's no way I can convince you?
MissKitty25: Probably not, but what the hell I'm bored go ahead. I hope you're at least as amusing as Mark was though.
You spend at least 10 minutes falsely attempting to "woo" Miranda until your Shelter ceases its spying and confirms what you believed all along. Miranda's the hacker. Now you take the opportunity to excuse yourself.
OmegaMan23: Well, I suppose I can't convince you. I'll leave you be.
MissKitty25: Alright, oh hey before you leave, did you get the information you wanted?
OmegaMan23: What information?
MissKitty25: The information your Shelter invaded my internal logs for. You didn't think I was actually buying your whole flirting act did you? I just wanted to keep you online so I could send a nice little virus back. Thanks. If you hadn't done this, I probably would've had a couple extra months of work ahead to work on gaining access. This was so much easier. Now I can work on Xavier. See ya!
Miranda logs off and suddenly your Shelter begins to make weird noises and the lighting begins to flicker.
"Innnnnterrrrrnal components coooooomprissssssed sssssssir... "
You try to disconnect your network connection, but it's too late the virus is in full effect. You attempt to fix the problem, but your computer goes completely haywire and a large message saying "ERROR!" is all that displays before it completely shuts down. The computer room door then automatically slams shut, locking you inside and leaving you to die a slow lingering death. |
Your curiosity is peaked and you take the opportunity to talk with the others whenever you can. The Shelter is certainly pleased you are being social. Months pass and you all learn more about each other more or less. (Though only RockerChick has even hinted at turning on the cameras to see each other visually) You have to admit though you're a little more interested in what's going on their shelters.
From what you can tell RockerChick has a shelter similar to yours with just a few differences in equipment. Her personality is damn near as "chipper" as the Shelter. She likes talking with everyone, but seems to like speaking to you a lot more. Must be your "winning" personality.
Job's shelter is a lot like yours too except he's constantly complaining about various things breaking down and he has to fix. Last time he said he damn near got crushed by his own bed when it suddenly rose back up into the wall when he was sleeping. He doesn't have much in entertainment either, so he's always glad to talk with anybody. Mainly to complain.
CaseyJones' Shelter STILL hasn't become fully functional! He's effectively trapped in the living area and bathroom. He has his computer to talk to everyone but little else. He doesn't really seem to care though; apparently he brought a shitload of weed with him and has somehow created a small hydroponics pot farm in his bathtub (He doesn't see the need to bathe since he's not in contact with anyone) He says he plans on spending the Aftermath completely stoned. Job can't understand why Casey isn't freaking out about his situation.
Apparently MissKitty has a more "homey" type shelter. From the description it sounds like it's bigger than any of yours and not quite as "sterile". She has a hot tub in her bathroom and some other luxury type items. MissKitty tends to brag a lot and is rather an uninteresting person other than the weird porn she watches and describes sometimes. Job often complains that it's wasted on her.
As for Shadow, he or she barely ever talks. Shadow makes his presence known, but then just lurks and doesn't say anything. Most of the others forget he's even there, but you always keep it in the back of your mind and will address him when you feel the need. So far the only thing he's mentioned about his shelter is how dim the lighting is.
One thing that you've been tempted to do is use the private feature and talk to one of the others in private. The only ones that interest you are RockerChick and Shadow though. The first because she seems friendly with you. The second because you're kind of suspicious of Shadow and you're hoping to learn more.
> talk more in depth with Shadow
Shadow might be fooling the others, but you know he (or she) is up to no good! The next time you're online and see Shadow you access the private feature to request to talk to Shadow directly without the others interfering. You almost expect Shadow to ignore it, but he doesn't and accepts your request.
Shadow21: Yeah, so what do you want and why the need for all the secrecy?
OmegaMan23: I might ask you the same thing. I mean why are you even bothering to come online if you aren't going to speak to anyone?
Shadow21: What business is it of yours what I do?
OmegaMan23: Because it's been like six months and we still don't know shit about you! Hell we don't even know if you're a girl or a guy! You're acting fucking suspicious.
Shadow21: Oh excuse me for being private Mr. fuckin' busybody! Maybe you and the rest like telling all your business, but I don't... as a matter of fact YOU haven't really told anything about yourself either, so you don't have any room to talk motherfucker!
OmegaMan23: What the hell are you talking about? Your brain as dim as your lighting over there? I've talked about myself plenty, shit you've been lurking enough you should've known that.
Shadow21: Ehhh, no not like the others. You tend to still talk about superficial shit. The others talk about their pasts a lot more, while all you seem to do is try to figure out what's going on in all of their shelters, like you're taking notes on them or something. Seems to me YOU'RE the one acting suspicious and you're just getting mad because I'm not volunteering information.
OmegaMan23: Oh fuck no! You are not turning this shit around on me! I'm at least TRYING to be social; all you're doing is fucking spying as far as I'm concerned. You're up to something.
Shadow21: Okay, I think MissKitty was right about you a few months back, you've gone fucking batty from the isolation and paranoia's starting to set in. Shit, you claim the Shelter talks to you.
OmegaMan23: It DOES talk to me! And what isolation? I've been talking to ALL of you fuckers! In fact couple that with talking with the shelter and I'm probably the most social of all of you!
Shadow21: Yeah, you can also add the five other personalities you probably got in your head too, whatever nutjob. I'm done talking with you.
OmegaMan23: Don't you fucking log off, this isn't over!
You slam your fist down on the keyboard when you see that Shadow has indeed logged off.
"Sir, are you okay?" the Shelter asks.
"Yeah, but I know that Shadow motherfucker is up to something, I'm going to warn the others. I just can't believe they don't see it."
"Do you really believe that sir?"
"Of course I do! I mean I got an instinct for this sort of thing, and I know I'm right!"
"Well sir, if you do feel this way I'll certainly accommodate you anyway I can... but might I suggest that you NOT tell the others?"
"Why not?"
"Because they aren't going to believe you sir. You'll just come off as a paranoid nut case."
"But I'm not!"
"I know you're not, but the others don't know you the way I do sir."
"Well that might be, but I have to do it anyway. At least I will have warned them."
"You know best sir."
The next day you go online again, as usual everyone's there, except Shadow. It seems your little talk yesterday has scared him off.
Job24: And now I got water all over the fucking floor! I'm telling you, it's a good thing I managed to shut it off when I did otherwise the entire shelter would've been flooded and I would've drowned!
CaseyJones22: Oh come on, it probably wasn't that bad. You need to relax.
Job24: Easy for you to say pothead, you're not the one living in a deathtrap!
MissKitty25: Yeah, but then most of his Shelter hasn't opened up. Has it?
CaseyJones22: Nah. Doesn't bother me though, I got what I need here.
RockerChickl20: Hey guys, don't you want to see each other yet? I'm really curious, but I don't want to turn on my camera unless everyone else is going to do it!
OmegaMan23: I wouldn't do that, you don't want to be giving Shadow any extra information by letting him see into your Shelters, who knows what the hell what he'll do with it.
RockerChick20: What do you mean?
OmegaMan23: What I mean is, I had an interesting discussion with Shadow yesterday and I've determined he's up to no good.
Job24: What? How do you know this?
OmegaMan23: Jesus Christ isn't it fucking obvious? All he does is lurk on here trying to gather information on all of us! I mean who knows what the fuck he's doing!
CaseyJones22: Will you relax? Maybe the dude's just shy. What could he do with our personal information anyway? I mean, I once accidentally fucked a transvestite while flying on XTC one time. Big fuckin' whoop so everyone knows about it now. You think I give a shit? The old world's dead, and I'm down here smokin' and tokin'.
Job24: Ew. I think you still should've kept that to yourself... so um what was it like?
CaseyJones22: I dunno, I can't remember the details.
OmegaMan23: I'm not talking about your sorted sex lives... (sigh) for fuck's sake did it ever occur to you that maybe he's the fucking cause of your Shelter's troubles? I mean we're all connected to each other to a certain degree, I'm saying he might be hacking shit!
RockerChick20: But for what purpose? I mean why?
OmegaMan23: How the hell should I know? Because he's a sociopath that's why! What reason do most bad people do to do bad things?
Job24: Oh man! Oh man! Oh shit! Oh God! Oh fuck!
CaseyJones22: You're fucking losing it dude, and I'm not talking about Job. There's no proof in what you're saying. I mean don't remember GZS saying these things were slightly experimental, how do you know it just isn't their fuck ups? I'm starting to wonder if you actually do have a "talking Shelter" and it's not just some voice you're hearing your head like MissKitty said a few months back.
MissKitty25: You know I wasn't going to say anything, but I also spoke to Shadow yesterday in private when he requested to talk to me and he was telling me about your conversation with him, saying you were ranting at him first, kind of like how you're ranting now. I'd have to say I agree with him and you're the crazy one.
OmegaMan23: GODDAMN IT! The question of whether I'm crazy or not isn't the fucking issue here! I'm trying to warn all you fucktards of a potential threat here and you're all too fucking stupid to listen!
RockerChick20: You know I thought you were an interesting guy, but now I see the rest are right about you, you are a paranoid nutjob and to think I defended you sometimes.
OmegaMan23: What the... oh you fuckers have been talking about me behind my back? Okay fine, I tried to warn you assholes, but you didn't want to listen. You think about that when one of YOUR Shelter's start fucking up. And for the others who are already experiencing problems, I'd start saying your prayers, because one of these days your Shelter is going to fail completely, then you'll see I'm right. I'm done with all of you.
You log off abruptly and ponder your next move.
> disconnect your network system
You decide not to take any chances and you start ripping out your network lines.
"What are you doing sir?"
"I'm not going to give that fucker a chance to hack into your systems and fuck up my shit!"
"I assure you sir, even if he attempted to do that, I have been layered with the latest in firewalls and anti-... "
"Look it'll make me feel fucking better! Now how do I disable this main line without needing to chop it in half?"
"Is this what you really want sir?"
"YES!"
"Very well, you'll find a panel behind the desk, open it and you'll find the attachment. Just simply turn a latch and unhook it and you'll be completely isolated like you want. No need to chop up my lines, I wouldn't advise that anyway, you'd likely get electrocuted while they were still connected."
"Thanks."
You follow the Shelter's instructions and feel slightly better.
"Hey there's no way he could still hack you is there?"
"I fail to see how sir, we're no longer connected to the network, not to mention several feet underground. Even if he somehow had a wireless connection he couldn't reach us. Its not like there are any working transmitter towers anymore, let alone any powerful enough to send a signal to penetrate not just yours but his own underground metal Shelter. And as I said I have been equipped with the latest computer system protection... some of it even Military in origin. You may rest assured you are completely safe sir."
"Okay... well I guess I'll go watch Taxi Driver again."
Months pass without incident and you go about your life. Eventually your faint worry about being hacked disappears altogether. You pretty much fall into a routine, which nearly mirrors the one you had in your before Armageddon life. In fact if it wasn't for the Shelter speaking to you on a regular basis you'd probably forget you were living in an underground shelter with the world above you completely destroyed.
About five years pass and even you are starting to get restless. You wake up one day and come to the realization:
You've watched all the movies several times (even the ones you didn't like)
You've read all the books several times (even the ones you didn't like)
You've played all the games several times (even the ones you didn't like)
You've spent hours, even days on end talking with the Shelter, which does house a great wealth of knowledge. It even toned down its overly friendly voice and started addressing you with a normal inflection, but it's not really the same as talking to a real person even if it really tries its best to be.
Perhaps if you had some new items to occupy your time, you wouldn't be so restless.
Perhaps if you could actually leave your immediate surroundings for awhile, you'd be able to cope more.
Perhaps if you could talk with a few real people, you'd then remember why you didn't like talking with them in the first place, so you could go back to your solitude without thinking about it anymore...
Then you remember you could reconnect your network system back in. Maybe you were being overly paranoid. Thinking back now, there really wasn't any indication Shadow was doing anything sinister. You're almost curious to know what's going on with everyone. Maybe Shadow even revealed what gender they were by now!
> reconnect your system
"Fuck it. I'm not going to live in fear. I need to do this." You say to yourself.
"Do what sir?" the Shelter.
"I'm reconnecting to the network; I need to fucking talk to someone other than you. No offense."
"None taken sir. I must admit I was starting to worry about your mental state. In fact I was going to suggest you do just that, but I thought that it may upset you."
You go into your computer room and reconnect your system. You're a little nervous, you don't know what to expect. You log on for the first time in five years.
RockerChick20: OmegaMan?
OmegaMan23: Yeah it's me.
RockerChick20: We all thought you were dead!
OmegaMan23: Pretty much was for the last year. Walking dead as it were.
MissKitty25: So you still talking to the voices in your head... I mean your Shelter?
OmegaMan23: Well I tend to alternate between the two and they're all still more interesting than you. So much for being civil.
RockerChick20: Oh be nice Miranda! We don't have too many others to talk to anymore, I'm sure Omega's not here to cause trouble again.
OmegaMan23: I wasn't trying to cause trouble the first time... Miranda?
MissKitty25: Yeah while you were gone, we all opened up a lot more and actually learned each other's real names. Guess your paranoia was contagious.
RockerChick20: Hey I wanted us to use the cameras right from the beginning, so I wasn't paranoid! Anyway since you're back, my real name's Becky. What's yours? Oh wait turn on your camera! Everyone's seen each other now!
OmegaMan23: Wait a minute. You said you don't have too many others to talk to anymore, what did you mean?
RockerChick20: Oh. Well that's a bit sad actually. Not too long after you left, Paul or Casey Jones as you probably remembered him, said his food dispensers had failed. He said he couldn't get them to work at all, soon his water dispenser failed too. He couldn't even get his bathroom taps to work. He knew he didn't have much time left after that, so he logged on one last time to tell us all good bye and said he'd spare us the agony of having to speak to him knowing that was slowly dying of starvation and dehydration... I don't really like to think about it.
OmegaMan23: Shit, that's a fucked up way to go. So um, what happened to Job?
MissKitty25: You mean Mark? Don't know exactly, but he stopped logging on about a couple years ago and given that he was on here whenever he could, it's safe to say nothing good happened to him. He did say he was having power problems though the last time he was on, we all figured it was just his usual panicking over minor Shelter glitches, but it might've been serious this time. Of course maybe he's still alive and he's just lost network power and he just can't access us, but for all his stressing, he was a pretty good mechanic and electronics guy, so it seems like he would've fixed the problem by now. Don't know. Kind of glad not to hear him whine anymore though.
OmegaMan23: Alright, I hesitate to ask, but where's Shadow?
RockerChick20: Xavier? About three months after Job disappeared. Miranda told me he sent her a message saying he was leaving his Shelter Said he wasn't going rot in a glorified coffin anymore and was going to take his chances back on the surface.
OmegaMan23: So Shadow was a guy eh? How the hell did he leave his Shelter? There's no way to call the elevator back down!
MissKitty25: Maybe he had a different kind of Shelter set up, or he just climbed up the shaft or something. Who cares? He was an asshole anyway. So is this a temporary visit or do you intend on sticking around?
RockerChick20: You should stick around; it gets kind of lonely with just me and Miranda, if you turn on your camera we could do something together!
MissKitty25: You better not be implying what I think you are Becky, that's just between me and you.
RockerChick20: Well you don't have to join in then, you've been acting like a domineering bitch lately anyway.
MissKitty25: Oh so that's what this is all about? Some guy comes around and you're all ready to fucking drop everything and suck his dick?
RockerChick20: Suck his... what the hell? It's fucking cyber, it doesn't mean anything, it's just a good way to pass the time, plus I'd like to do it with a GUY in some fashion again, seeing as you probably ran Shadow off before anything even happened!
MissKitty25: So MY feelings and all those private chats we had meant nothing to you?! You don't have any feelings for me?! Don't you LOVE me?!
RockerChick20: Well yeah I do to a degree, but I mean come on it's really not the same. I mean maybe it would be different if we could actually touch each other and stuff, but...
MissKitty25: FUCK YOU!
Miranda suddenly logs off, and Becky does likewise leaving you shaking your head at the whole situation.
> disconnect your system again
Well you've heard enough and you're not putting yourself in the middle of this pointless drama.
"Disconnecting again sir?"
"Hell yes! I just needed to remind myself of the benefits of solitude! I'm gonna go watch Scarface again!"
Well you found your routine to stave off insanity. You retreat into solitude once again without thinking anymore of it, then every so often you reconnect briefly and stir shit up between Becky and Miranda then disconnect again. You don't think about leaving the Shelter (Even if you could) seeing as you've found a way to cope with your situation, and there's always the Shelter itself to talk to which is never as "friendly" to you again for some reason. (Perhaps it disapproves of you acting like a dick)
As the years go by you eventually die of an embarrassing shower accident by getting soap in your eyes and then slipping and cracking your skull on the sink while attempting to reach for a towel.
Detecting your demise, the Shelter powers down. |
"Fuck it. I'm not going to live in fear. I need to do this." You say to yourself.
"Do what sir?" the Shelter.
"I'm reconnecting to the network; I need to fucking talk to someone other than you. No offense."
"None taken sir. I must admit I was starting to worry about your mental state. In fact I was going to suggest you do just that, but I thought that it may upset you."
You go into your computer room and reconnect your system. You're a little nervous, you don't know what to expect. You log on for the first time in five years.
RockerChick20: OmegaMan?
OmegaMan23: Yeah it's me.
RockerChick20: We all thought you were dead!
OmegaMan23: Pretty much was for the last year. Walking dead as it were.
MissKitty25: So you still talking to the voices in your head... I mean your Shelter?
OmegaMan23: Well I tend to alternate between the two and they're all still more interesting than you. So much for being civil.
RockerChick20: Oh be nice Miranda! We don't have too many others to talk to anymore, I'm sure Omega's not here to cause trouble again.
OmegaMan23: I wasn't trying to cause trouble the first time... Miranda?
MissKitty25: Yeah while you were gone, we all opened up a lot more and actually learned each other's real names. Guess your paranoia was contagious.
RockerChick20: Hey I wanted us to use the cameras right from the beginning, so I wasn't paranoid! Anyway since you're back, my real name's Becky. What's yours? Oh wait turn on your camera! Everyone's seen each other now!
OmegaMan23: Wait a minute. You said you don't have too many others to talk to anymore, what did you mean?
RockerChick20: Oh. Well that's a bit sad actually. Not too long after you left, Paul or Casey Jones as you probably remembered him, said his food dispensers had failed. He said he couldn't get them to work at all, soon his water dispenser failed too. He couldn't even get his bathroom taps to work. He knew he didn't have much time left after that, so he logged on one last time to tell us all good bye and said he'd spare us the agony of having to speak to him knowing that was slowly dying of starvation and dehydration... I don't really like to think about it.
OmegaMan23: Shit, that's a fucked up way to go. So um, what happened to Job?
MissKitty25: You mean Mark? Don't know exactly, but he stopped logging on about a couple years ago and given that he was on here whenever he could, it's safe to say nothing good happened to him. He did say he was having power problems though the last time he was on, we all figured it was just his usual panicking over minor Shelter glitches, but it might've been serious this time. Of course maybe he's still alive and he's just lost network power and he just can't access us, but for all his stressing, he was a pretty good mechanic and electronics guy, so it seems like he would've fixed the problem by now. Don't know. Kind of glad not to hear him whine anymore though.
OmegaMan23: Alright, I hesitate to ask, but where's Shadow?
RockerChick20: Xavier? About three months after Job disappeared. Miranda told me he sent her a message saying he was leaving his Shelter Said he wasn't going rot in a glorified coffin anymore and was going to take his chances back on the surface.
OmegaMan23: So Shadow was a guy eh? How the hell did he leave his Shelter? There's no way to call the elevator back down!
MissKitty25: Maybe he had a different kind of Shelter set up, or he just climbed up the shaft or something. Who cares? He was an asshole anyway. So is this a temporary visit or do you intend on sticking around?
RockerChick20: You should stick around; it gets kind of lonely with just me and Miranda, if you turn on your camera we could do something together!
MissKitty25: You better not be implying what I think you are Becky, that's just between me and you.
RockerChick20: Well you don't have to join in then, you've been acting like a domineering bitch lately anyway.
MissKitty25: Oh so that's what this is all about? Some guy comes around and you're all ready to fucking drop everything and suck his dick?
RockerChick20: Suck his... what the hell? It's fucking cyber, it doesn't mean anything, it's just a good way to pass the time, plus I'd like to do it with a GUY in some fashion again, seeing as you probably ran Shadow off before anything even happened!
MissKitty25: So MY feelings and all those private chats we had meant nothing to you?! You don't have any feelings for me?! Don't you LOVE me?!
RockerChick20: Well yeah I do to a degree, but I mean come on it's really not the same. I mean maybe it would be different if we could actually touch each other and stuff, but...
MissKitty25: FUCK YOU!
Miranda suddenly logs off, and Becky does likewise leaving you shaking your head at the whole situation.
> log back on later
You decide maybe you should try to get a hold of Becky while Miranda's not around, you go to bed.
The next day you log on and see Becky's around, but not Miranda. Probably still pissed.
RockerChick20: Hey! I was hoping you'd be back and didn't get turned off by the drama yesterday.
OmegaMan23: Nah, not me. Besides I was interested in some of that stuff you were talking about yesterday.
RockerChick20: Oh really? Well let's make this private, just in case Miranda decides to show up. I mean... I'm sorry she got all attached and stuff, but I can do what the hell I want you know? I mean it's the world is dead! Shouldn't I be able to grab as much fun as I can?
OmegaMan23: You're not getting any arguments from me.
RockerChick20: Okay, well hopefully Miranda gets over it; I still think it would be fun for all of us together. Now turn on your camera and tell me your name finally!
You both go into private mode where you see Becky and she finally sees you. Fortunately you both seem to find each other attractive, then after telling her your name, you start cybering. It's definitely not the same as the real thing, but you have a really good imagination and a naked chick talking dirty to you while touching herself is better than nothing!
You and Becky do this quite a bit in the passing weeks, while learning a little bit more about each other. Every now and then you see Miranda come online briefly, but then quickly logs off whenever she realizes you and Becky are in a private "discussion". You've also realized you haven't heard the Shelter talk to you like in normally does. It usually says at least good morning to you, but it's been silent for some time. You don't think too much of all this until one day you wake up to a voice much different than the one that the Shelter has.
"You dreaming about Becky, motherfucker? Yeah I bet you are! You hear me? Get the fuck up I got something to tell your sorry ass!"
"What the fuck? Shelter?"
"No, it ain't your fucking Shelter talking to you! I always thought you were lying about that, but apparently you weren't seeing as I had to disable the Shelter's voice program which does make it more convenient to tell this to you. I guess honesty is one of your few redeeming qualities; of course stealing someone's love isn't though right? You fucked up big time pal!"
"Well I can only assume this is Miranda."
"You assume right fucktard. While you and Becky were having fun, I was accessing your
Shelter's systems."
Suddenly all your lights go out and then go back on. You also see the TV come on and see an angry looking woman on the screen.
"You see that? You got you by the fucking balls bitch! If I want I can shut this whole thing down and make it your fucking tomb just like I did with Casey and Job. Maybe you'll be smart like Shadow and leave the fucking Shelter, because it's your only chance for survival at this point."
"What the... so wait. Can't we talk about this?"
"No there ain't any fucking talking! Becky is MINE, you fucking hear me? Everything was perfect, until you decided to show up again and steal her away! Shit, you're lucky I'm even giving you the option of living! Don't think about attempting to disconnect or anything else, I'm watching you and can detect your every move. Your only options are to leave or DIE!"
"But... how? How am I supposed to do that?! The elevator's at the top and there's no call button!"
"I told you I have complete access to your systems, I'm going to bring the elevator down, and you can pack up your shit and get ready to leave. I suggest you do it quickly, because I'm not going to give you much time."
Sounds pretty final.
> pack up and leave
You quickly gather up your stuff as quickly as you can thankful that this crazy bitch is even giving you a chance for survival. You curse yourself for reconnecting back to the system, you knew someone was doing some shit like this; you just had the wrong person.
You make sure to take your pistol, you have no idea what the outside world is like now, but you're sure you're going to need it. As you hear the elevator slowly reach the bottom you fill up a couple of your empty bottles with water, you hope you'll have enough to last you.
"I sure hope you're ready, because the elevator is." Miranda says.
"Yeah, okay, okay!" you answer and get in the elevator, which begins to ascend.
Your current state of mind is a mixture of fear and anxiousness. Part of you begins to wonder if it won't be so bad on the surface, after all... then the elevator suddenly stops and doesn't continue, your fear begins to overwhelm you completely when you hear Miranda's menacing voice again.
"Well I'm glad you had the intelligence to take a gun with you, it should certainly save you from the slow death that occurred to Shadow when I trapped him in the elevator. I'll inform Becky you said goodbye."
You scream out, but there is no one to help you. You've effectively been trapped in an even worse situation than you were before. There isn't any service access, there's no panel you can pry open, even the solid steel door is a single piece that slides one way. You wouldn't be able to pry it open even if you had the strength to do so. You're doomed and you know it.
Miranda was right; there isn't any point in prolonging the inevitable. You take your gun, hold it to your head and close your eyes... |
You decide maybe you should try to get a hold of Becky while Miranda's not around, you go to bed.
The next day you log on and see Becky's around, but not Miranda. Probably still pissed.
RockerChick20: Hey! I was hoping you'd be back and didn't get turned off by the drama yesterday.
OmegaMan23: Nah, not me. Besides I was interested in some of that stuff you were talking about yesterday.
RockerChick20: Oh really? Well let's make this private, just in case Miranda decides to show up. I mean... I'm sorry she got all attached and stuff, but I can do what the hell I want you know? I mean it's the world is dead! Shouldn't I be able to grab as much fun as I can?
OmegaMan23: You're not getting any arguments from me.
RockerChick20: Okay, well hopefully Miranda gets over it; I still think it would be fun for all of us together. Now turn on your camera and tell me your name finally!
You both go into private mode where you see Becky and she finally sees you. Fortunately you both seem to find each other attractive, then after telling her your name, you start cybering. It's definitely not the same as the real thing, but you have a really good imagination and a naked chick talking dirty to you while touching herself is better than nothing!
You and Becky do this quite a bit in the passing weeks, while learning a little bit more about each other. Every now and then you see Miranda come online briefly, but then quickly logs off whenever she realizes you and Becky are in a private "discussion". You've also realized you haven't heard the Shelter talk to you like in normally does. It usually says at least good morning to you, but it's been silent for some time. You don't think too much of all this until one day you wake up to a voice much different than the one that the Shelter has.
"You dreaming about Becky, motherfucker? Yeah I bet you are! You hear me? Get the fuck up I got something to tell your sorry ass!"
"What the fuck? Shelter?"
"No, it ain't your fucking Shelter talking to you! I always thought you were lying about that, but apparently you weren't seeing as I had to disable the Shelter's voice program which does make it more convenient to tell this to you. I guess honesty is one of your few redeeming qualities; of course stealing someone's love isn't though right? You fucked up big time pal!"
"Well I can only assume this is Miranda."
"You assume right fucktard. While you and Becky were having fun, I was accessing your
Shelter's systems."
Suddenly all your lights go out and then go back on. You also see the TV come on and see an angry looking woman on the screen.
"You see that? You got you by the fucking balls bitch! If I want I can shut this whole thing down and make it your fucking tomb just like I did with Casey and Job. Maybe you'll be smart like Shadow and leave the fucking Shelter, because it's your only chance for survival at this point."
"What the... so wait. Can't we talk about this?"
"No there ain't any fucking talking! Becky is MINE, you fucking hear me? Everything was perfect, until you decided to show up again and steal her away! Shit, you're lucky I'm even giving you the option of living! Don't think about attempting to disconnect or anything else, I'm watching you and can detect your every move. Your only options are to leave or DIE!"
"But... how? How am I supposed to do that?! The elevator's at the top and there's no call button!"
"I told you I have complete access to your systems, I'm going to bring the elevator down, and you can pack up your shit and get ready to leave. I suggest you do it quickly, because I'm not going to give you much time."
Sounds pretty final.
> dash for the computer room
Bullshit. While Miranda undoubtedly has control of some of your systems, if she had complete control, she wouldn't even be giving you a chance for survival with as obsessed as she obviously is. She would've just disconnected your food and water dispenser and taunted you before leaving you to die, or even just waited for you to enter one of your other rooms and then sealed the door to trap you. Actually she would've sealed the door to the computer room if she was so worried about you disconnecting. In any case if you get in that elevator you're most assuredly at her mercy, what's keeping her from stopping the elevator midway through as you're going up?
You're sure if you just go to the computer room, you could disconnect and that would be the end of this.
"Alright Miranda, let me pack some things."
"Yeah yeah, hurry up, the Elevator will be here soon, and you better be finished packing your shit when it... HEY WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING!!!"
You run to the computer room while Miranda shouts more threats at you, and turns the lights off.
"I warned you! Don't you dare try to disconnect, this Shelter will be your fucking tomb! Here's a fucking virus shithead!"
You stumble around in the dark as you rip out all your connection lines again and then forcefully pull out the mainline destroying the attachment. Miranda's voice disappears and you've stopped her.
However you still need to get things back to normal again, so you immediately turn your computer on and start doing a system diagnostic, after all you weren't completely idle during those years of isolation. You read books on electronics in your private library and the Shelter handbook cover to cover, not to mention had lengthily conversations with it about some of its systems (Though you wish you'd paid a little more attention). You begin delving into the inner the workings of the Shelter's controls.
After some scanning, Miranda really fucked up some of your shit. You manage to get the lights on again, but lots of files were corrupted due to her hacking. The AI is damaged, you doubt if it'll be talking to you again anytime soon. You're going to have to spend a lot of time working on things just to get them right again... its funny, but you realize you could finish bringing the elevator down and leave if you wanted to. You don't know why you didn't think to do this before, but then again things were a little different when the Shelter was actually talking to you. It didn't feel right to go hacking into the Shelter while it was attempting to be your friend.
> leave the Shelter
You're not wasting anymore time here, even if you do fix everything, what then? You've done all there is to do here, there's nothing left. You access the elevator controls (One of the few things working right and undamaged) and call the elevator to continue it's decent.
You go back to your room and pack up all the things you brought with you when you first got here. You didn't even need most of the stuff, but maybe you will above ground. You then go to the water dispenser which is thankfully still working and fill up to empty bottles with water.
The elevator door finally opens up and you put your bag to block the door from closing and head back to the computer room where you access the system to tell the elevator to go back up and then run back to the elevator where you gather your bag and enter.
On the ride up you get a little nervous and even fearful. Not so much of what might await you on the surface, but of hoping the damn elevator doesn't suddenly stop, fortunately that doesn't happen and you eventually reach the ground once again. The door opens and you enter the same foyer you arrived in five years ago. Same ATM like machine is there, except its screen is flashing a single message at you.
*NO REFUNDS*
"No shit." You mutter and take a deep breath before opening the door to the outside.
You see a bright light, but of course it's only the sun rather than a nuclear flash that devastated the world. You forgot how bright it really could be.
Your immediate surroundings look relatively untouched. You can only assume there weren't any bombs falling near this area. You also see your van, you'd completely forgotten about it. It looks like it's even in worse condition than when you left it, which you never thought was possible. On a lark you take out your long unused van keys and try to start it up, naturally it doesn't even make a noise.
"Looks like I'm walking."
As you make you way down the empty road you see some smoke in the distance. Civilization perhaps? Not knowing where else to go, you head that way.
You're not sure of what to expect, but it'll be better than the eternal boredom you would've faced while still in the Shelter.
You're not too worried, you got your gun. |
Maybe you're just as attached to the Shelter as she is to you. Maybe its nuts that your "relationship" with her is probably the closest one you've ever had with anyone, before OR after the bombs dropped. Maybe you've been by yourself for so long that you just don't care that you're actually beginning to have feelings for a machine. She's done so much for you, she's kept you alive for ten years and helped you in everyway she could and granted that's what she was programmed to do, even you can't deny that there is a little more to it than that. Maybe not initially, but it's certainly there now, she's made that apparent. She's been there for you more than anyone else has in your entire life. You decide to stay. You HAVE to stay.
"I'll stay Shelter, so what is it you have to show me?"
The Shelter's response seems to be a mixture of happiness and excitement, yet apprehension and worry all at the say time.
"You're staying? That's wonderful sir... I only hope you are pleased with what I have to give you though... I wish it could be more... I wish it could be better... "
"I'm sure whatever it is, it'll be fine! I mean you haven't let me down yet in ten years, I doubt if you'd start now."
"I'm glad you have confidence in me sir... now this may take awhile. I have to download a good portion of myself into the vessel. When I am done, you will see. I should warn you that things will not be the same."
"Download? Vessel? Not the same? What do you mean? What're you going to do?"
"You will see sir."
Suddenly the power in the Shelter begins to fluctuate and the lighting goes dim. The whole place is humming and even rumbling a little. You're starting to wonder if you haven't made a terrible mistake, then it all stops and the power stabilizes again. Another wall opens up, this time in the bedroom.
You peer inside the new opening and see a small room with a single chair in the center. On that chair sits a shiny metallic figure of a woman attached to several cables. You go in to inspect closer. Great detail has gone into the face. If she were human, she'd most likely be naked as no "clothing" has been molded onto her typical Hollywood like figure.
Suddenly she speaks and stands up while disconnecting the cables.
"Sir. The download is complete... how do I look?"
"You look... is that really you?"
"Yes, it is really me, but you did not answer the question sir."
"I... I don't know what to say actually."
"... I knew it. I knew I would not be able to please you. I am not the latest model. As I had told you GZS made cutbacks and unfortunately I was not given a more aesthetically pleasing vessel. A more human looking one. I am sorry sir, but I just thought maybe you could... "
"You don't need to apologize. Hell, I didn't even know the technology existed at all for your current vessel! Look this is all a bit overwhelming for me on several levels, but trust me none of them involve how you look."
You take another breath before finishing.
"You've been everything to me. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has and I've shared more with you than I ever have with anyone else. You're the only stable relationship I've ever had. I don't care that you're not the latest model or whatever. It doesn't change how I feel about you. There's no way you couldn't be special to me, you'll always be in here... "
At this point you take her cold metallic hand and place it on the middle of your chest. After just silently looking into her steel eyes you then walk out of the small room with her, still holding her hand.
Life changes a bit. One minor change being how to address her. You decide to call her Eliza, and she seems to think that is a fine designation. You try to tell her to call you by your name, but for whatever reason she still insists on calling you "Sir". Some programming never changes. The shelter now is just a "normal" one. It isn't automated anymore now that Eliza is with you in person as it were. Everything still works of course, but you can't just say "TV on." and it just turns on for example. It's an insignificant alteration compared to actually having Eliza interact with you directly however. It is a bit strange at first, certainly she feels a lot different than a human woman, and intimacy takes some getting used to, but as with any successful relationship you work it out.
There's still the fact that you've done everything there is to do in the Shelter, but now you can do them all over again with Eliza. The two of you are happy for the most part.
Ten more years pass...
You're getting restless again. Eliza's noticed you've been snapping at her lately of course she takes it all in stride, but still you've been down here twenty years, its only natural you're going to have times where you feel a little stir crazy.
Eliza was right in one respect that this type of thing would happen again. It's not her fault though, you know that. She's gone above and beyond her programming to satisfy you. Some things are beyond her control though, and perhaps that's why one day that she asks you if you want to leave the shelter.
"What?"
"All I have to do is access the shelter's systems again, bring the elevator down and you can be on your way, sir. I know you're getting restless again; maybe it is time for you leave this place. I think I have done all I can, you need outside stimuli. Civilization may be rebuilding itself and you're stuck down here."
"Eliza, you stop that right now. I'm not leaving you! You should know better than that!"
"I know, but sometimes I am concerned that I am keeping you here when it might not be in your best interest."
"Well why do I have to just leave? Why can't you come with me?"
"Come with you? I don't know sir... All I know is this place. I suppose I could, but whatever it is you decide I will comply."
It's on you.
> stay in the shelter
"No, Eliza. I'll stay here. I left that world a long time ago and I wouldn't know what to do up there even in the unlikely event that civilization has been rebuilt in someway. This is my life now. Down here, with you. I'm sorry if I get a little irritable sometimes, I don't mean to."
"I know you don't, sir."
"Would you stop calling me that? I told you to call me by my name!" you laugh, knowing that she won't do it. Sometimes you wonder if it's a glint of defiance on her part, indicating she isn't as "submissive" as she would appear.
In any event your mood improves again and life continues...
30 years pass...
You stay in bed a lot. Eliza takes care of you like she always has, but even she can't stop the ravages of time, although it's not from trying. Eliza has medical knowledge, but not the proper equipment to sustain you. It would be only prolonging the inevitable anyway. You're human and she isn't. Hell, you always felt that if it hadn't been for her in the first place, you probably wouldn't have lived this long.
The day finally comes when you can sense your heart beating its last beats, your lungs starting to draw their last gasps. You'd call Eliza to be with you, but of course she's already there. She's always there.
"Eliza, I... can't go on anymore... I wish I could... but I'm not made of the strong stuff you are... "
"You should rest sir, don't try to speak." She says while sitting by the bed holding your hand.
"... you... know... I never said it... that much... but you know I love you right?"
"I know sir... I love you too..."
And she finally calls you by your name.
With those words still ringing in your ears, you begin to get sleepy and close your eyes. As your mind has its last pleasant thoughts of Eliza, you feel one last taste of metal on your lips... and something wet splashing on your cheek...
Was that a tear? No... it couldn't be...
Could it? |
Shadow might be fooling the others, but you know he (or she) is up to no good! The next time you're online and see Shadow you access the private feature to request to talk to Shadow directly without the others interfering. You almost expect Shadow to ignore it, but he doesn't and accepts your request.
Shadow21: Yeah, so what do you want and why the need for all the secrecy?
OmegaMan23: I might ask you the same thing. I mean why are you even bothering to come online if you aren't going to speak to anyone?
Shadow21: What business is it of yours what I do?
OmegaMan23: Because it's been like six months and we still don't know shit about you! Hell we don't even know if you're a girl or a guy! You're acting fucking suspicious.
Shadow21: Oh excuse me for being private Mr. fuckin' busybody! Maybe you and the rest like telling all your business, but I don't... as a matter of fact YOU haven't really told anything about yourself either, so you don't have any room to talk motherfucker!
OmegaMan23: What the hell are you talking about? Your brain as dim as your lighting over there? I've talked about myself plenty, shit you've been lurking enough you should've known that.
Shadow21: Ehhh, no not like the others. You tend to still talk about superficial shit. The others talk about their pasts a lot more, while all you seem to do is try to figure out what's going on in all of their shelters, like you're taking notes on them or something. Seems to me YOU'RE the one acting suspicious and you're just getting mad because I'm not volunteering information.
OmegaMan23: Oh fuck no! You are not turning this shit around on me! I'm at least TRYING to be social; all you're doing is fucking spying as far as I'm concerned. You're up to something.
Shadow21: Okay, I think MissKitty was right about you a few months back, you've gone fucking batty from the isolation and paranoia's starting to set in. Shit, you claim the Shelter talks to you.
OmegaMan23: It DOES talk to me! And what isolation? I've been talking to ALL of you fuckers! In fact couple that with talking with the shelter and I'm probably the most social of all of you!
Shadow21: Yeah, you can also add the five other personalities you probably got in your head too, whatever nutjob. I'm done talking with you.
OmegaMan23: Don't you fucking log off, this isn't over!
You slam your fist down on the keyboard when you see that Shadow has indeed logged off.
"Sir, are you okay?" the Shelter asks.
"Yeah, but I know that Shadow motherfucker is up to something, I'm going to warn the others. I just can't believe they don't see it."
"Do you really believe that sir?"
"Of course I do! I mean I got an instinct for this sort of thing, and I know I'm right!"
"Well sir, if you do feel this way I'll certainly accommodate you anyway I can... but might I suggest that you NOT tell the others?"
"Why not?"
"Because they aren't going to believe you sir. You'll just come off as a paranoid nut case."
"But I'm not!"
"I know you're not, but the others don't know you the way I do sir."
"Well that might be, but I have to do it anyway. At least I will have warned them."
"You know best sir."
The next day you go online again, as usual everyone's there, except Shadow. It seems your little talk yesterday has scared him off.
Job24: And now I got water all over the fucking floor! I'm telling you, it's a good thing I managed to shut it off when I did otherwise the entire shelter would've been flooded and I would've drowned!
CaseyJones22: Oh come on, it probably wasn't that bad. You need to relax.
Job24: Easy for you to say pothead, you're not the one living in a deathtrap!
MissKitty25: Yeah, but then most of his Shelter hasn't opened up. Has it?
CaseyJones22: Nah. Doesn't bother me though, I got what I need here.
RockerChickl20: Hey guys, don't you want to see each other yet? I'm really curious, but I don't want to turn on my camera unless everyone else is going to do it!
OmegaMan23: I wouldn't do that, you don't want to be giving Shadow any extra information by letting him see into your Shelters, who knows what the hell what he'll do with it.
RockerChick20: What do you mean?
OmegaMan23: What I mean is, I had an interesting discussion with Shadow yesterday and I've determined he's up to no good.
Job24: What? How do you know this?
OmegaMan23: Jesus Christ isn't it fucking obvious? All he does is lurk on here trying to gather information on all of us! I mean who knows what the fuck he's doing!
CaseyJones22: Will you relax? Maybe the dude's just shy. What could he do with our personal information anyway? I mean, I once accidentally fucked a transvestite while flying on XTC one time. Big fuckin' whoop so everyone knows about it now. You think I give a shit? The old world's dead, and I'm down here smokin' and tokin'.
Job24: Ew. I think you still should've kept that to yourself... so um what was it like?
CaseyJones22: I dunno, I can't remember the details.
OmegaMan23: I'm not talking about your sorted sex lives... (sigh) for fuck's sake did it ever occur to you that maybe he's the fucking cause of your Shelter's troubles? I mean we're all connected to each other to a certain degree, I'm saying he might be hacking shit!
RockerChick20: But for what purpose? I mean why?
OmegaMan23: How the hell should I know? Because he's a sociopath that's why! What reason do most bad people do to do bad things?
Job24: Oh man! Oh man! Oh shit! Oh God! Oh fuck!
CaseyJones22: You're fucking losing it dude, and I'm not talking about Job. There's no proof in what you're saying. I mean don't remember GZS saying these things were slightly experimental, how do you know it just isn't their fuck ups? I'm starting to wonder if you actually do have a "talking Shelter" and it's not just some voice you're hearing your head like MissKitty said a few months back.
MissKitty25: You know I wasn't going to say anything, but I also spoke to Shadow yesterday in private when he requested to talk to me and he was telling me about your conversation with him, saying you were ranting at him first, kind of like how you're ranting now. I'd have to say I agree with him and you're the crazy one.
OmegaMan23: GODDAMN IT! The question of whether I'm crazy or not isn't the fucking issue here! I'm trying to warn all you fucktards of a potential threat here and you're all too fucking stupid to listen!
RockerChick20: You know I thought you were an interesting guy, but now I see the rest are right about you, you are a paranoid nutjob and to think I defended you sometimes.
OmegaMan23: What the... oh you fuckers have been talking about me behind my back? Okay fine, I tried to warn you assholes, but you didn't want to listen. You think about that when one of YOUR Shelter's start fucking up. And for the others who are already experiencing problems, I'd start saying your prayers, because one of these days your Shelter is going to fail completely, then you'll see I'm right. I'm done with all of you.
You log off abruptly and ponder your next move.
> attempt to hack into Shadows Shelter
He's (You're just assuming Shadow's male at this point) turned everyone against you and his next move is going to be hack them all for his own sick amusement. You're not going to let this fucker get away with this.
You go to your library and begin reading all the books on electronics and study your Shelter manual a lot. Soon you begin typing coding and making some harmless tests on your own computer. Given that you're starting to delve into the Shelter's inner workings, the Shelter begins to question what you are doing.
"Sir, what do you think you are doing? I've noticed you rooting around in my system; I'd rather you not do that. In fact altering or attempting to hack my systems in any way violates the GZS contract agreement; you should know that considering you've been reading the manual as much you have lately. Continue with this line of action and I guarantee you will not like my response."
"I'm not trying to destroy or alter your systems; I'm just doing some tests, before I launch my attack. I want to make sure my skills are up to this task."
"Sir, are you really serious about your concerns that this Shadow could hack other shelters? As you've been delving into mine, you can see I've been equipped with the latest protection technology. If you are really worried, you could just disconnect me from the network, your safety would be assured that way."
"No! I'm not going to let him beat me! I'm the only one who can stop him, the rest will see I'm right!"
"Sir, you're acting irrationally. You still don't have any proof and if you think I'm going to let you just hack Shadow's shelter think again. His shelter is also GZS property and as such falls under the contract agreement."
"Yeah, but the contract only says not to alter your own shelter, it doesn't say about others."
"Nice try sir, but hacking into another shelter would still fall under the anti-vandalism agreement of ANY GZS property, sub section 59 paragraph 3."
It would appear you aren't getting any further unless you can convince this automated lawyer otherwise.
> go ahead and try to quickly override the Shelter systems
"Fuck you and to hell with GZS, they ain't around to protect anybody!"
You begin to type frantically in an effort to disconnect the AI routine, but your efforts are futile, the Shelter is faster than you could ever be. It immediately shuts down all power in the computer room, including closing the door, leaving you trapped in the darkness.
"Turn the goddamn power back on!"
"Sorry sir, but I'm afraid I can't do that. I specifically told you to stop your malicious activities and yet you continued anyway. You gave me little recourse."
"Look, I'm sorry alright? I won't try it again. So just turn the power back on and let me out and we can forget all about this. I'll just disconnect like you said."
"I wish I could believe you sir, but your actions have been not only erratic, but also deceitful. You have broken the GZS terms of agreement, and as such I am no longer any obligation to look after your well being."
"LET ME THE FUCK OUT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! Sonofabitch! Shadow got to you didn't he? Or She? Or they? They already hacked you and are turning you against me! I can outlast you! You hear me!? I'll make you beg!"
The Shelter has ceased responding to your senseless paranoid ranting. Eventually you rant yourself unconscious, when you wake up you do it all over again. This cycle repeats itself for days until you become weak from a lack of water which at this point you're the only one begging either for the Shelter to allow you to get it or for death.
You receive the latter. |
He's (You're just assuming Shadow's male at this point) turned everyone against you and his next move is going to be hack them all for his own sick amusement. You're not going to let this fucker get away with this.
You go to your library and begin reading all the books on electronics and study your Shelter manual a lot. Soon you begin typing coding and making some harmless tests on your own computer. Given that you're starting to delve into the Shelter's inner workings, the Shelter begins to question what you are doing.
"Sir, what do you think you are doing? I've noticed you rooting around in my system; I'd rather you not do that. In fact altering or attempting to hack my systems in any way violates the GZS contract agreement; you should know that considering you've been reading the manual as much you have lately. Continue with this line of action and I guarantee you will not like my response."
"I'm not trying to destroy or alter your systems; I'm just doing some tests, before I launch my attack. I want to make sure my skills are up to this task."
"Sir, are you really serious about your concerns that this Shadow could hack other shelters? As you've been delving into mine, you can see I've been equipped with the latest protection technology. If you are really worried, you could just disconnect me from the network, your safety would be assured that way."
"No! I'm not going to let him beat me! I'm the only one who can stop him, the rest will see I'm right!"
"Sir, you're acting irrationally. You still don't have any proof and if you think I'm going to let you just hack Shadow's shelter think again. His shelter is also GZS property and as such falls under the contract agreement."
"Yeah, but the contract only says not to alter your own shelter, it doesn't say about others."
"Nice try sir, but hacking into another shelter would still fall under the anti-vandalism agreement of ANY GZS property, sub section 59 paragraph 3."
It would appear you aren't getting any further unless you can convince this automated lawyer otherwise.
> try to convince it that this is necessary
A little diplomacy is in order before you can do what you need to do.
"Surely you can't just let Shadow cause damage to his shelter and the other ones as well, and he'll be more successful as it would appear that those ones don't have a sophisticated AI to protect them like this one does. Think about it if you let me do what I have to do, only two shelters will have their systems messed with, and in your case it won't be even be detrimental, I'm just using your network system, but if you let Shadow continue with his evil plans, then not one, but ALL of the shelters are in danger. Would GZS really want to take the risk of losing five shelters? One of those being mine and aren't you supposed to want to protect me?"
"But... but there is no proof... "
"I'm asking you to trust me on this. I know humanity, and I'm telling you this Shadow character needs to be stopped. I felt the deviousness oozing from Shadow merely talking to him. Let me take him out."
The Shelter is silent for awhile and then gives you an answer
"Very well. I will allow you to proceed, but I will be monitoring you! And I also will be advising and guiding you to what I want you to do."
You log on and see that Shadow and most of the others are there. You don't talk to anyone you start immediately tracing Shadow's address. Rockerchick attempts to invite you, but you rebuff her, you got serious shit to do.
Soon you're in and you start rooting around Shadow's computer.
"This looks all normal sir, standard system layout for GZS shelters. Not as complex as mine but... "
"NO! I know he's got something hidden! I'm turning his power off completely, let's see how he likes going from dim lighting to none at all with no food or water!"
Suddenly a private window opens up on your computer, its Shadow! He's detected what you're doing!
Shadow21: What the hell are you doing you crazy motherfucker!? I knew you were psycho! It's a good thing I had the intuition to set up a warning system!
OmegaMan23: HAH! See Shelter? He HAS been altering his shit! Why would he do that if he wasn't planning something?
Shadow21: I did it to protect myself from your crazy ass! And I see you're still talking to the voices in your head. Well I'm putting an end to this right now; you're not the only one who can fuck with computers!
Shadow launches his attack and attempt to shut your power down, but now seeing that it is in danger your Shelter allows you free reign to do whatever as well as attempting to self fix anything that gets damaged in this dual of malicious coding. You sort of have the advantage because you have a more active AI to help you, but it's also a detriment when Shadow finds out a way to siphon power from you. Since your Shelter is more complex it requires more power to work properly and you're in danger of losing everything. You attempt to do the same thing to him to get it back, but it's a catch 22 you don't have the power now to breach his firewalls, you begin to panic and the only thing you can think of to correct it is to draw power from the OTHER shelters that are online.
The others seem blissfully unaware of this secret war you're having with Shadow and are guessing you two are working something out as it only appears to them that you're having a conversation in private.
You hack into MissKitty's shelter, out of the other four hers seems to have the most power, probably from all those luxury accessories she had the privilege of having. You don't think you just do it. This is war, there's going to be casualties and you're not going to be one of them. Soon your Shelter is able to break through and start wreaking havoc on Shadow's system. You drop in a virus and his files start becoming corrupted.
Miss Kitty's name disappears from the screen as does Shadow's. You think you have won. RockerChick tries to invite you again and you hastily accommodate her, while still analyzing your Shelter's diagnostics.
RockerChick20: What's going on? All of us are experiencing some power fluctuations here. MissKitty just disappeared suddenly and so did Shadow, it didn't even say they logged off. What's going on? What were you and Shadow doing?
OmegaMan23: Nevermind! I'm trying to fix something here.
Job24: Welcome to my world.
CaseyJones22: Hey you know what's weird, one of my doors finally opened up. I think I'll...
CaseyJones' name suddenly disappears and Shadow's reappears in your private window again.
Shadow21: Well hey guess what? Casey's shelter had a lot of untapped power! You wanna play ruthless I'll fucking accommodate you dickhead!
Shadow sends a worm into your system which starts to slow it down. He's probably going to follow up with something worse while you're having problems. Your Shelter addresses you again for the first time during this battle, its speech sounds like it's in slow motion.
"Sssssssssir... .nnnnnnneeeeeed... .mmmmmmooooooore pooooooweeeeeer... ."
There's only two candidates left, Job or Rocker Chick.
> hack Job
You figure you'll hack Job seeing as he's always having problems with his shelter anyway. At least you'll be able to be alone with Rocker Chick after all this is over. Surely she'll be grateful for saving her life from Shadow.
You start to siphon power from Job's shelter, but something begins to go terribly wrong! Job's shelter was faulty and barely worked properly to begin with, now you've just downloaded all the errors into your own! Couple that with the worm already in there, and your system becomes paralyzed and your computer locks up. You're at Shadow's mercy who follows up on your mistake very quickly.
The last thing you see on the screen is: "YOU LOSE ASSHOLE! LOL!" in great big letters.
Then it loses power.
Then your Shelter loses power.
Days later you lose power. |
Subsets and Splits