Condition Evolution 2: A LitRPG / Gamelit Adventure

by Kevin Sinclair

  “I hate it, and I love it,” I said happily. “And I agree with Gus’s insane plan, as long as no one accidently triggers it.”

  “I suppose I’ll have to agree too,” Ember said. “As long as no one accidentally gives Shaun a detonator.” She laughed. As did everyone else.

  “Well, I’m all for Gus’s plans,” Mick said.

  “I will agree to this, on one condition, Gus,” Cassia said.

  “Yes?”

  “You make damn sure none of the bastards escape. I want Guy Fawkes to be green with envy if we have to detonate.”

  “Oh, I’ll definitely make sure of that.” His face lit up with an evil little grin, and I think that disturbed us all the most.

  With that decided, we now just had to prepare and stay calm.

  A week of relative peace passed us by. Ember finally taught me the holistic repair practice, which was as utterly boring to do as it sounds. But at the same time, it was kinda nice to meditate next to her, and I did feel invigorated afterwards.

  We hoped for the best but worked hard to prepare for the worst, as someone, somewhere, once said. Learning to work well together, so if anything did go wrong, we had at least a chance at survival. Even Ember and Cassia were getting on with each other. Everyone seemed almost content. So, obviously that’s when the shit hit the fan.

  C6

  Shit!

  The first spatter of shit was an alert from the supply station’s alarm system signaling the arrival of an incoming ship. This caused a flurry of activity and emotions in us all.

  Despite our planning, we found ourselves in an unplanned limbo. Was the newcomer friend or enemy? We just didn’t know.

  We had set up a fall back defensive position but couldn’t leave the main control room until we knew who was coming.

  It didn’t take long to find out. We could see the sleek, dangerous looking ship landing in the docking bay through the monitors. It wasn’t the Thoth, but even so, we all stayed glued to the screen to see who would come down the ship's ramp.

  We waited with breath held, as figures emerged from the dark shadows of their hold. Ten Fystr in total came out. The first thing I noticed was that they didn’t have guns. They all had melee weapons. I felt instantly better about our choice of weapons.

  It was also apparent they were huge like Ogun. They all stood at least a head taller than the supply crates in the main loading bay and I knew my own head just reached the top of those same boxes. They wore highly ornate armor that was much meaner looking than ours, and they moved very well in it too.

  They all carried either one sword, or two. Apart from one guy. He stood a head taller again than his Fystr companions and twice as wide. An absolutely hulking, terrifying man, and that was just through a camera screen. He looked like he was on ten meals a day and a shit-ton of steroids.

  But despite his sheer presence, what really drew my attention more than anything else, was the huge axe-like weapon strapped to his back. The blade was like a crescent moon, the reverse of how an axe-blade should be in my head. It looked like a fearsome weapon designed to whip a head off a set of shoulders in a heartbeat. I mused how it would offer both great offensive and defensive capabilities. I couldn’t help but feel a warrior well trained with that thing would be almost impossible to beat. Though it wasn’t a scythe it wasn’t far off, and I wanted it badly.

  I looked round to gauge everyone else’s reaction. If I had to sum it up, I’d go with shitting themselves. I had to admit that our situation looked rather grim.

  “Do they know we’re here, though? They could just be here for supplies,” Mick offered.

  Cassi replied, her voice just above a whisper, “Shall we just watch them for a while and see what they do?” It was an attempt at an order, but I could tell Cassia was unsure of herself, which was understandable.

  We all agreed with her. There wasn’t much else we could do. We had ten Ogun-level aliens arrayed against us. If they didn’t know we were here, then it was definitely in our interests to keep it that way.

  We all let out a sigh of relief when they started sorting supplies and getting fuel. It didn’t take long for our collective hearts to drop on the floor, when two of the Fystr split off. They were heading towards the doors that led to the command center, the living quarters, and us.

  “Shit!” Cassia hissed. “They’re coming. We’re fucked.”

  “We need to fall back. They’ll definitely come in here,” Gus said, anxiously.

  Without another word, we set off at a quick pace out of the command room. Cassia led us unerringly, and I was glad it wasn’t me. I’m sure Ember could have taken us, but I had zero clues as to where our fall back location even was. All the corridors looked the same.

  As we finally raced into the storage room. Gus went to the panel by the door. Cassia hissed, “What are you doing?”

  “Locking it so they can’t get in. What do you think I’m doing?”

  “If they can’t get in, they’re going to wonder why. If they’re looking for us, they’re going to know we’re in here beyond any doubt. And I don’t think a locked door will stop them for very long.”

  “Shit, you’re right. Sorry, guys.”

  “No sweat, dude,” I said. Then we moved off to the back of the storage room where we had set up a little barricade.

  As we sat crouched behind the crates, Mick had the realization that we had overlooked something important. “Hey guys. We’ve no way to know if, and when, they leave the supply station.”

  Cassia held her head in her hands. “How could we have been so stupid? They could be gone in an hour, but how will we tell? We could be sitting here for days when there’s no one even out there.”

  “I blame Shaun,” Ember said.

  Everyone looked at me, then Ember.

  “How so?” Cassia said.

  “Whenever something really stupid happens, he’s normally got something to do with it.” She smirked. No one else was in the mood to laugh.

  “We have to decide how long we're willing to wait in here. I’m going to say that if no one comes in by midday tomorrow they should be gone, even if they’ve stopped to sleep. Unless they’re planning a prolonged stay, in which case we’re going to get found out anyway,” Cassia said glumly.

  We all agreed her thinking was sound. The following day, one of us would have to leave and check. We didn’t settle on who it would be. Though, to my mind it had to be Cassia. She was senior and the most trained. Mick was a close second. Gus was too important with his technology skills. Ember and I were total noobs flying by the seat of our pants.

  After just over an hour of sitting in silence, our boredom was relieved in a rather gut-wrenching way. We heard the storage room doors open.

  “Ah! Here you all are, vermin,” came a cold female voice. “Come out now!”

  We didn’t move, obviously. We just sat staring at each other in horror and hoping it was a bluff.

  “The five of you need to come out now. I tire of this. If you understand anything of the Fystr, then you should be aware that I can quite clearly sense all five of you. Now, this is your last chance. Come out, primates, or I will kill you all.”

  Cassia shrugged and stood up. “We’ve been found out. We might survive if we surrender.”

  Nodding reluctant assent, we all got up and followed Cassia in a line through the crates and shelves. I was just behind her. As we reached the front of the storage room, I could make out the tall, fierce Fystr waiting for us.

  I saw a flash of light from over Cassia’s shoulder. Instinctively, I jumped to one side and pushed Ember the other way. It all happened so fast. The Fystr who had first entered had thrown her sword with blistering speed and used telekinesis to add velocity. It took Cassia’s head clean off at the neck. Her head spun up in the air spraying blood like a pin wheel, while the sword continued to hurtle onward, narrowly missing both me and Ember as we fell to either side.

  Mick, who was just behind Ember, managed to get mostly out of the way, catc
hing a slice on his arm rather than decapitation. Gus escaped unscathed for now, but it was far from over. Once the sword had passed Gus, it turned around in the air and flew back. We all stumbled out of its way narrowly avoiding the new trajectory and watched helplessly as it flew back into the Fystr woman’s hand. Cassia’s body had slumped to the floor, head landing a few feet away with a sickening thud. The Fystr smiled grimly.

  I realized that I hadn’t even gotten my axes out. We all had our weapons, but nobody had thought to use them yet. I pulled them from their sheaths and started moving towards the Fystr standing upfront. Had to protect Ember somehow. At least give her a chance.

  “Didn’t you see what I just did, man-monkey? I could end you in a second. How dare you approach me with weapons in your hands!” she said, voice dripping with scorn.

  At the same time, Ember cried, “What the fuck are you doing, Shaun?”

  “Protect my Mindscape.” I replied telepathically.

  “Ok, be careful,” came her response.

  Satisfied, I then spoke to the Fystr woman. “You killed our commander, and I don’t think for a second that any of us are getting out of here alive. So, what I’m going to do is kill you. Then, I’m going to try my damn best to kill all of your crewmates.”

  She started laughing hysterically as she began moving her sword swiftly around in a mesmerizing pattern. Without any obvious tell, she suddenly thrust the sword at me. Luckily, I’d had the foresight to charge my axes. I brought them up just in time to catch her strike. She looked more than mildly unhappy with the result.

  That was when I felt her enter my mind and somehow still in control of her sword, continuing her physical attack. As amazing a display of skill as this was, I could tell she was no longer at full strength. Her sword work had definitely dropped in quality. For her, that was an acceptable trade off as she could attack my mind at the same time. Luckily for me, I had my best friend ready and waiting in my Mindscape to offer some resistance.

  I continued defending her blows with all the skill I’d managed to gain, and I wasn’t doing too badly either, with defending at least. I’d yet to make any kind of counterattack.

  I saw the moment of shock written clearly on her face when she must have encountered Ember. “How?” she mouthed.

  I took that moment to throw caution to the wind, attacking with everything I had. It was clear she could no longer concentrate. We may have been weaker, but our double-fronted attack had shook her badly. She just couldn’t regain her composure. Try as she might, she was being overwhelmed by my intensity.

  Whatever Ember was doing must have hurt too, because she brought her hands up to her temples and let out an ear-piercing scream. I took the opportunity and buried an axe deep into her ribs. As her arms instinctively dropped, I smashed the second axe blade into her neck. With the energy layer active it cut her head neatly off, just as she had done to Cassia.

  I bent forward, letting out an exhale of relief.

  Working in tandem, Ember and I were a winning combination once again. I turned around to face Ember and make sure she was alright. She was down on her knees, sweat pouring from her face. But she was alive and conscious.

  “Don’t know how you managed to put her off like that, but we’ve killed our first Fystr, Ember.”

  “I don’t know how the fuck I did it either. It’s took everything I had. She was so strong, but think it was just the sheer surprise. She couldn’t believe I was just chilling in your Mindscape. We must be doing something really unusual.”

  I walked over toward the dead body of the Fystr. The sword was awesome. We had nothing like it in the ship’s armory or anywhere on this supply station. Bending down I grabbed a hold of it then carried it reverently over to Ember, placing it in her hands. “Here, and you should level up your throwing and controlling skill. That was an effective move she pulled,” I said, then looked sadly over to Cassia’s corpse. We had all become something like friends, and her death really hurt.

  “This isn’t the game anymore, Shaun. You don’t just get skills like that. Of course, I’ll practice when I can, but I’m not just going to throw this sword away in a battle.”

  “It was just a turn of phrase. I didn’t think you were going to level up for sword slinging.”

  “Oh, my special Shaun. You’re really so very special.”

  I was about to retort, when Gus interrupted, “That was amazing, you two, but it was also noisy.” He was kneeling on the floor holding the heavily bleeding Mick up in a sitting position. “There’s gonna be nine angry as hell Fystr breathing down our neck’s any minute. Mick is out of action. We need to get back behind the barricades or we’re gonna be massacred.”

  “Hey Mick! Are you able to move?” I asked, moving my attention to the wounded man.

  “No. I’m screwed. A lot of blood coming out here.”

  “Decision made, then. You’re getting carried. We’ll be safer behind our wall,” I said, trying to stay positive-ish. Nobody likes to be patronized and we were totally going to die.

  It didn’t take long before more Fystr arrived. Ember and I had climbed up onto the shelves either side of the barricade. Our plan was simple enough. Use Gus and Mick as bait. When the Fystr came, I’d jump down into the middle of them and hack them all to bits, or instantly die. While I fought Ember would try to protect my fragile little mind. Meanwhile Mick and Gus would try cover me with their rifles. That was really all we had. We were out of options and time.

  A roar of pure rage came from the front of the room, “Man-monkeys. You have killed my mate. Now, I am going to kill you all.”

  I couldn’t help but think this was promising. It sounded like only one Fystr had come in. He came around the corner to where Mick and Gus waited. I could see him from my shelf, and I can’t believe that I’m admitting this, but I was actually disappointed. I had hoped it would be the super huge guy with the crescent moon axe, because I wanted to kill him and take it off him. Even though that was possibly the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever thought. Because honestly, how the fuck was I going to kill that guy!

  The Fystr that arrived must have been at least as tall as Ogun. He was a pretty faced man with the usual ageless look. He held his two swords aggressively, and his anger must have ruined his concentration because as soon as he saw Mick and Gus he hover-charged them. By that, I mean the motherfucker was levitating at speed toward them. Gus and Mick started shooting straight away, but he deflected their shots with consummate skill and ease with his charged swords.

  I waited for my moment and just before he passed underneath me, I launched myself from the shelves in a swan dive, axes out. I was about fifteen feet up, and whether I missed him or landed on him, this was going to hurt. There were no good options. I’d hoped that he wouldn’t spot me in his rage. A moment later I decided to give up on hope, it never brought anything but disappointment. The bastard saw me flying down from the top shelf, and while still deflecting laser fire with one sword, raised his other sword to skewer me.

  It all happened unbelievably fast, but I still managed to be overjoyed when I saw Ember’s charged sword fly out from the shelves, amazingly slicing his arm causing him to let go of his sword. I reached him in the split second after, swinging both axes, one at his head and one at his arm. They both scored sickening hits. I almost felt sorry for him. The four-pronged attack was too much for him in his enraged state, and so, a second Fystr fell to my axes.

  My leg really hurt from the fall, but thankfully it wasn’t broken. As I lay there next to the body of the dead Fystr, Ember climbed down and stood over me. “Two for two, you incredible dipshit.”

  “Both through teamwork, so less of that.” I put my hand out. “Here, help me up.” She grabbed my wrist and hauled. “I only saw one mad bastard throw himself from twenty foot high, headfirst at a Fystr.”

  “Whatever. What about that throw Ember. Didn’t realize you were so accurate.”

  “I wasn’t under any direct pressure, so I went to my Mindscape. When
you jumped and he raised his arm to you, I used telekinesis to shoot out of my hand with everything I had. Never actually threw it physically at all.”

  “Well, whatever you did was magnificent,” I said and turned to Gus and Mick. “That was a team victory. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Mick smiled tiredly. He wore a tightly tied bandage that was finally stemming the blood flow and was still holding a rifle loosely in his hands.

  Gus nodded with a stern expression.

  We had gained victory so far through teamwork, and because the Fystr had massively underestimated us. I grabbed the dead Fystr’s two swords and gave one each to Mick and Gus.

  “No, Shaun,” Mick said. “I can’t even use it at the minute. You should keep mine.”

  “You should keep both, Shaun. You deserve them,” Gus added.

  I put the swords down in front of the two men. “I don’t use swords. I like my axes and let’s face it, they’ve done okay for us so far. If we come across an axe upgrade, it's mine,” I said. In my head, I knew exactly which axe I wanted.

  Walking back to the body, I started dragging it away from our barricade. Ember followed me, moving the guy’s head along with her foot. “You're holding up pretty well, Shaun. I’m impressed.”

  “I can promise you, I’m not. What did you say to me? Like a duck, calm on the surface? That’s me.”

  “Well, you’re not showing it. You’ve kept us alive and you're inspiring those two back there to believe it’s not over. And me, if I’m honest.”

  “I’m glad if I am, but we’re alive because we're all playing a part.”

  “Whatever you say.” She smiled at me.

  “Don’t be too inspired. They’re not gonna keep coming one-by-one.”

  “No, they’re definitely not, I’d expect them all to come next time.”

  “Yeah, me too, stupid Fystr. I’ve managed to go my whole life without seeing a decapitated head, and then these bastards come along, and I have to see three in twenty minutes.”

  “You know you could kill them in a different way. I mean, you did chop both their heads of Shaun.”