Naturally, my first thought was to try and steal the skull, but I quickly decided against that when I realised that there wasn’t anywhere for me to put it.
Because my base was gone.
Because I’m a slightly inept leader.
Okay, so maybe I’m a very slightly inept leader.
Fine, I fucked up, didn’t pay enough attention, and resulted in the loss of a massive project that could’ve had us become the leading superpower of Thren for years to come, but I’m very easily distracted and-
“Are those rubies?” I asked as I got a closer look at the golden skull, “In its eyes, are those rubies?”
“Certainly looks like it…” Chad trailed off curiously as we both moved closer to the door, “might be worth trying to grab ‘em, have something to barter later.”
I went to respond but was rudely interrupted by a block of text popping up in the corner of my vision.
So, you’ve found your way to Liennam Tower, or ‘Spire’ as so many of you like to call it. It’s pretty amazing, huh? I guarantee you’re going to find a way to ruin this too, though. Ah well, it’s only a landmark. Seriously though, you should turn around, keep on exploring the world before you succumb to the inevitable death that awaits you in the Spire. Trust me, you still have a lot to see.
It was weird, him being so genuine and somewhat concerned, but I quickly got over the bizarreness of it when I realised that ‘he’ was actually an ‘it’ and I’d just assumed its ‘voice’ was laced with concern when it could’ve been dripping with sarcasm.
Either way, it had a point.
Once we went in I was done, and there was nothing that would change my mind.
“This is it,” I muttered as the rest of Zoey’s Fighters joined Chad and I in staring into the doors of the Spire, “end of the line.”
FRAGGED 15
Chapter One
“What do you mean ‘end of the line’?” Pete scoffed after letting us stew in what I thought was an appropriate last few words before going into the Spire, “What in the bloody fuck makes you think that this is the end of the line?”
“Okay, so maybe it was a poor choice of words,” I lied, hiding the fact that, as far as I was concerned, we were at the end of the line, “but this is gonna be intense. I give us like… I don’t know, a ten percent chance of success here?”
“That seems a bit overconfident, don’t you think?” Brendo joked as we crossed the threshold of the Spire and found ourselves in a large, oddly pristine looking oval-shaped room.
“Could be easier than you’d think,” Paul said, pointing over to the elevator that was directly opposite the front door, “might be able to ride that all the way to the top.”
“I hate to be that guy, but it does seem a bit too easy…” Chad trailed off concernedly.
“Look at this place, dude,” Paul replied, “no bullet casings, no blood, no… anything. Seriously, my bet is that this place is so shrouded with ‘you’re gonna die the second you step inside’ that no one’s tried in ages.”
“That’s not true,” Miles said, shaking his head as we slowly moved towards the elevator, “back when I was with the Metois we’d send out teams every couple of days. Most didn’t even make it into the city, but the few that actually made it here were always talking about how brutal this place was, to the point that they couldn’t even get through the front door.”
“But we got in without any trouble,” I added, a wave of confidence crashing over me, “I think Paul might be right. Hell, it could have something to do with that buggy dino thing out the front. Maybe there’s some kinda spawn glitch.”
“Do we really wanna take that chance?” Julian asked from the back of the pack with no small amount of worry in his voice.
“We aren’t turning around now, and that’s final.” I said as sternly as I could while squealing like a schoolgirl internally.
I know I’ve been talking a lot about how I was a wee bit glum about the prospect of actually being done with Thren, but I have to admit I was pretty damn giddy about the fact that we were going to be able to catch an elevator all the way to the top.
Hell, there was even a part of me that was saying that if it was really that easy there wouldn’t be any harm in sticking around for a while longer, maybe taking over the Spire and getting some meaty defences going so that we could slowly take over Liennam.
My brief stint of megalomania was instantly crushed as soon as we hit the centre of the room though as this sinking feeling smashed my stomach and the front doors slammed shut.
“What the Hell was that?” I hissed as I brought my DMR up and started scanning the room.
“Probably just a gli… oh, son of a bitch…” Pete muttered as the elevator doors slowly slid open and a little notification popped up.
Invisible. Powerful. Deadly. Hope you’re ready to get your parts aggressively fondled.
Chapter Two
At first I wasn’t all that concerned, it wasn’t like I hadn’t had to deal with difficult fights in the past after all, but then Pete got thrown across the room and the worry started to build up.
“Light ‘em up!” I barked as I desperately scanned the room for any sign of an impending attack.
“Light what up!?” Paul shouted back, the invisible creatures having opted to started chittering and screaming as they whipped around the room at top speed.
“Look for a shimmer or something,” Chad suggested coolly, “there has to be a way to fight them, there just has to be.”
“I want to believe you, mate, I really do,” Brendo chuckled, “but I get the strangest feeling that there doesn’t have to be a simple solution to this. We’re in the Spire, anything goes.”
As much as I agreed with Brendo, I wasn’t all that happy with the fact that he’d brought up the fact that we might be as good as dead.
And then I saw one.
It was only for a moment, a fraction of a second, but I did see one flit right around the room in front of me.
Naturally, I didn’t get much of a chance to figure out what exactly it was that we were up against, but based on the pinkish, even slightly bloody hue of its body, I assumed that it was going to be pretty weak.
“Fuckin’ Hell that hurt…” Pete muttered as he finally joined us, the creatures apparently not quite ready to finish us all off, “any ideas?”
“Form a tight circle and fire outwards,” I replied matter-of-factly, “quickly.”
The guys looked at me somewhat confusedly for a few seconds before shrugging, nodding, and doing as I said.
I felt one of the things zoom by a little too close for comfort before we got all formed up, spurring me on to start firing.
The others were quick to follow me, with the exception of Julian of course, but it was at least five full seconds of continuous firing before an ear-piercing shriek filled the air.
“I got one!” Paul called out excitedly, “I actually fuckin’ got one!”
“Great, kid. Don’t get cocky!” I replied without missing a beat.
I got fewer laughs than I would’ve liked, but I was happy enough with the fact that, after that first shot, we were really starting to do some damage.
It’s weird, I’d felt like I’d done all of it before, and the fact that I wasn’t that panicked was only adding to that strange sense of déjà vu.
And then one of them came right for us.
There was nothing the others could’ve done to avoid it, but I managed to roll out of the way at the last second, saving myself but allowing the rest of my team to get knocked around like bowling pins rubbed in the stuff Flubber’s made of.
The good news was that no one appeared to be too badly hurt, the bad news was that we were separated.
“Watch your shots!” I snapped as a rogue bullet damn near took off my head.
I’m sure whoever it was that nearly shot me would’ve responded had we not all been forced to roll once more as bloody flashes came at us again.
The creatures had been
damaged, but like the Bearies they were only using that to fuel their assault, making them faster and seemingly more powerful than before.
I was able to see them though, which, even with their newfound agility, made it all the more easy to take them out.
With little difficulty, I tracked one of the sprinting creatures around the room with my sights, gave the round some space to follow, then pulled the trigger right as it was about to reach Pete.
Stupid thing ran right into the bullet with its head.
+1 Firearm Skill
Firearm Skill: 35/100
Level Progression: 180/250
With one down, it looked like there were only four or five left, but thanks to the guys’ skill, we were able to bring that number down to just two within a few seconds, both of which were so badly injured by the time we got around to them that they were barely limping around the room.
“Almost seems cruel,” Miles remarked as we formed a sort of pincer movement on the two utterly terrified monsters, “almost.”
“Heh, yeah…” I said as coolly as I could before jutting my chin at Pete, “mind finishing these two off?”
“My pleasure.” Pete replied before popping off a shot into both of the invisible creature’s heads.
Nice job, you just killed the last remaining Mutie equivalent of a senior citizen. Hope you’re proud of yourself. Anyway, if that was too hard for you, there’s no shame in taking the door now.
With that little message, the front doors opened again, revealing the somewhat welcome sight of the street outside.
“Wanna go get some more ammo or something?” Julian asked, shocking me with the fact that he wasn’t dead, you know, because he wasn’t exactly equipped for the fight.
It was a fair question though, and might’ve actually held some value if it had come from anyone but him, but it was so obvious that he’d just use it as a means to get us to leave Liennam for whatever reason.
“Fuck that,” I finally scoffed before turning back towards the elevator, “I’m gonna make the Spire my bitch.”
Chapter Three
Following the chaos of the first level, and the loss of ammo that had come along with it, I’m sure you can understand why the elevator ride was filled with a variety of seethes and ‘Damn…’s from just about everyone in there.
We weren’t about to let a little thing like running out of ammo stop us though.
“I still can’t believe this thing is gonna let us go all the way to level ten.” Chad let out, breaking the silence that fallen over us.
“Eh, I’m not,” I replied with a shrug, “I’m guessin’ it’s just so that they didn’t have to set up elaborate shit on every floor, you know?”
“Yeah, guess you’re right.” Chad said somewhat dismissively, “Still though, makes this a little too easy.”
With that, the elevator came to a grinding halt at a pretty harsh angle, the lights flickered, and the doors sprung open about a foot and then kept opening and closing like that, revealing that only the top half of the elevator was on a floor.
“Can you stop fuckin’ saying that?” Pete snapped.
“Yeah, I’m with Pete on this,” Miles said as we all turned our bitter attention to Chad, “why do you insist on tempting fate?”
“It’s not my fault that I naturally fall into that role, alright?” Chad replied defensively, “C’mon, let’s get this open.”
“Sure thing…” Paul sighed, clearly disappointed that he didn’t get to say something about Chad’s jinx-like powers.
Elevators, such fickle things, but you have to have realised by now that nothing in the Spire happens for no reason…
“Guys, stop.” I ordered after reading the message, “Let’s make sure we know what we’re dealing with before going up, yeah?”
“Seconded.” Brendo replied with a nod, “Who’s gonna check it out?”
“Julian?” I asked with a smile, “Would you do the honours?”
For obvious reasons, Julian didn’t seem all that excited by the prospect of helping us out by sticking his head out through the doors, but he also seemed to accept that there wasn’t much point in arguing with me.
“Just… make sure you guys hold the doors open, will you?” Julian pleaded as Pete gave him a boost.
Chad and Paul took a door each and nodded, but Paul made sure to let Julian see his evil little grin right before he stuck his head out into the dark room.
“I don’t…” Julian trailed off as he looked around, “yeah, no, I don’t see anything.”
“Well keep looking,” I said, “they wouldn’t strand us here without purpose.”
“I’m telling you, there’s nothin’ but cubicles and shit up her-oh… Oh that’s not a cubicle,” Julian squeezed out through a pretty massive lump in his throat, “let me down, let me down now!”
“What is it?” I asked confusedly after Julian stopped me from going up to get a look at what had turned him into a quivering little girl.
“Muties,” Julian warned coldly, “lots of Muties.”
I went to ask what defined ‘lots’ when, with all the subtlety of a vegan in a steakhouse, one of the hard to kill fuckers came running at the elevator doors, slamming its body into the metal as hard as it could.
“Fuckin’ elevators, man,” I muttered as I shouldered my DMR and got ready to start taking shots, “death-traps with muzak.”
After a few heart-pounding milliseconds, the doors finally slid open again, revealing the bold Mutie, and I started firing, catching it in the stomach and face.
+1 Firearm Skill
Firearm Skill: 36/100
Level Progression: 190/250
“Out, now.” I said flatly as I moved for the ledge.
“You mean go out there, with all the Muties?” Paul asked with no small amount of concern his voice.
Concern, not fear.
Man, that guy had changed a lot.
Anyway.
“Yeah,” I replied after making sure I wasn’t going to die as soon as I climbed up, “I ain’t waitin’ for this thing to plummet.”
I’m sure someone else would’ve offered some sort of argument, but I was already out of the elevator and getting into a firing position.
There wasn’t much to see at first, like Julian said, lots of cubicles, but then I started noticing the green eyes popping up throughout the office.
I wasn’t about to fuck around though, and started firing as soon as the first set of eyes became visible.
Honestly, I’d never really seen the benefit of the Mutie’s eyes before that point, but having two little targets was certainly helping with my grouping in the low-lit area.
+1 Firearm Skill
Firearm Skill: 37/100
Level Progression: 200/250
Not going to lie, it was actually kind of funny watching that little skill tick up knowing that it wouldn’t mean anything by the end of the Spire.
Pete was the next one up and out of the elevator, followed quickly by the others who all started firing into the unmoving, incredibly unnerving group of Muties.
Except Julian.
Because Julian was useless.
We didn’t need Julian’s help though, we were doing just fine laying out the Mutie scum with ease on our own, but I would’ve appreciated it if he’d at least gone to a little bit of effort to hide the fact that he was hiding at the back of the pack.
“Why aren’t they moving?” Paul called over the gunfire.
“Maybe they’re glitched like that thing outside?” Brendo suggested.
“Nah,” I said with a shake of my head, “we wouldn’t have had that first one if that was the case.”
“Who cares?” Pete scoffed, “Better they’re dead than charging us, right?”
That was my line of thinking too, until we killed the last one that is.
Nice job! You killed a bunch of motionless Muties, good for you! But… hmm, ammo must be getting pretty tight by now, huh? Ah well, on to the next floor!
“Fuck…” I murmured as the realisation hit me before seeing that the guys were somewhat confused and needed some clarification, “They wanted us to burn through all our ammo on the first two sections.”
“Who’s ‘they’?” Chad asked.
“Yeah,” Miles added, “if you’re talking about the narrator dude, he’s always a dick and he always assumes we’re gonna die.”
“But think about it, dude,” Pete chimed in, “Zoey might have a point. You’re right that he’s always been a douche, but this stuff is weirdly specific, and he hasn’t exactly been lying since we got here.”
“Exactly,” I said with a firm nod, “I mean, why else would he say something like that? I’d get it if there was still a way out, you know, so he could try and convince us to bail, but this is more of an FYI than ‘You’re stupid, and your father smelled of elder berries’.”
The group fell silent for a while after that as we all thought on the possible implications, but then an LED upwards pointing arrow lit up on the other side of the office and we all let out some kind of surprised sound.
“Do we really wanna keep pushing our luck?” Brendo asked.
“Honestly? I really don’t know,” I replied concernedly, “but at this point it doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice, does it?”
I was met with a sea of ‘Guess not’s and a few whispers about maybe trying to scale our way down the elevator shaft, but everyone eventually accepted what I’d said and followed after me as I did my best to stride purposefully towards the other elevator.
The lift was basically the same as the other one, with the obvious exception that it wasn’t busted, and, based on the numbers available, would take us another ten storeys up.
Provided it didn’t break like the last one.
Fragged Page 46
