by Tom Cain
"So what's going on now John?" Huck asked.
John still staring out the window keeping a watchful eye out for potential intruders answers.
"We are heading back to London Huck. Then we are going to see what we can do about this all".
"You want to see the Scribe?" Huck continued questioning joining John at the window avoiding any splashes.
"I want to give him the parts yeah, if he don't want them I'm going to break them to bits and bury them in the ground" said John.
"Why don't you just break them now?" Kairi inquired from across the room whilst playing with a few cans.
"I don't know how unstable these parts are. They could have any number of weird in them" John replied.
Carol and Lisa where trying to get a fire going, even though the rain burned when it touched your skin but it was oddly cold making the team chilly. They started clearing one of the fire pits created by the former inhabitants. The old wood was swept away and the ashes cleared. Ruf grabbed some old newspaper stuffed into one of the mattresses, some mattress fabric and some wood from a stockpile behind the car that must have been gathered before and brought it over.
"Ok, let's get this thing going shall we, the last storm didn't pass for a few days, so God knows how long this is going to last" Carol said.
"Find what you can Ruf, we will need as much as possible to stay warm". Said John.
“Someone get to work on patching that hole in the roof” Bandoleer said pointing to a meter wide hole at the rear of the room.
“I’m all over that” replied Kairi jumping up after throwing the two can she had been playing with.
Kairi rushed around trying to find something that could withstand a number of hours of acid like rain. Coming out of the main room the rest of the team were in, the exit door on her left, she took a right. The corridor was busy with stashed seemingly useless items, bricks, tiles, broken supports, road cones, flip flops, newspapers, wrappers, boxes and other such items. behind the mess was a half broken brown wooden door. Kairi could see a glimpse of another room inside.
“Guys I’ve got something here” shouted Kairi back to main room. John motioned to have a look but Bandoleer stopped him with a hand and a nod.
“What you got there pretty?” asked Bandoleer finding his way to kairi position.
“Take a look for yourself captain” kairi replied.
Bandoleer grabbed some old support beams and yanked to move them just enough to see through the crack.
“What can you see?” Kairi asked.
“There’s a back room, looks like its got some shelves, storage and god knows what else in there” replied Bandoleer.
“Let’s get in there then” said Kairi feeling charged.
Bandoleer grabbed hold of the junk and started wildly ripping apart the piles. It took him under two minutes to move the blockage.
“Wow, all that effort for what? more junk” Bandoleer said dusting himself off.
Kairi moved into the newly opened room and found an old metal ‘under construction’ sign wedged in one of the corners. Dusty and cobweb full it wasn’t particularly pleasant but after Bandoleer had left the room she was able to force the large sheet of thin metal through the door and passed the rubble.
“This will be perfect to patch that hole in the roof” Kairi said blinking the dust from her eyes.
Carol and Lisa, set up the fire and started it with a flip lighter they had, Burke starts another engine in the background.
"All of you should spend some time tonight reflecting, I got a feeling when we get back to London it ain't going to be over, far from it. We stopped the doctor blowing the world up… again, but he will want his retribution I am sure, whatever form that takes" John said coming over to sit down by the slowly starting fire.
Huck took over the window watch.
Burke had found that the quad, car and one of the bikes would start but one was broken. If all the vehicles had worked then that could have taken them back pretty quickly.
"Ok John" Burke said looking decidedly grubby.
"We can get five in the car, two on the bike and quad once I have them running smoothly. Problem is if you want to wait out the rain or not?" Burke asked already knowing the answer.
"We gotta get out of here as soon as we can Burke, think of something" John replied.
Burke really had to get thinking; they had a few metal sheets from the doors, some bedding, springs, various clothing items and mainly junk littered around the area. Burke briefly scanned the room.
"John, here's the skinny. We have shit lying around here, I really can't do much with the time that we have, so here are our options. I can give the bike and quad teams some extra clothes and the metal grid and sheets the holding that door together, that should keep the rain off them for a while, don't know how long though, we can all try and get in the car, which I don't think is happening, max eight in that thing, and I don't think it will take the weight. The other option is we wait out the rain, hope no one comes this way".
John stood back up and looked at the vehicles and then back at the rain on a now darkening green sky.
"I don't think this is going to wait Burke" John replied tapping on his right arm.
"I think we need to get an answer to this travelling problem pretty sharpish, an get on our merry way" continued John.
Burke looked at what they had, wiped the sweat from his brow and got back to option one. Burke asked for help taking the metal grid off the inner and outer doors being careful not to get too much acid rain on his skin and the skin of the team.
After assembling the best makeshift rain shield he could within a couple of hours and came in to join the group for a final chat before they left.
Ruf, Kairi, Huck, Carol, Lisa, Bandoleer, Valeria and John gathered around to plan out what needed to happen next.
"So we are going back to the underground city are we?" Bandoleer chortled.
"Yeah, we gotta get back, somehow through this rain" Huck said swiping his feet on the dusty ground.
"Well, I have already provided a small solution for that" Burke said readily.
"Ok Burke go ahead and explain how this is going to work" John said.
"yeah would love to not lose my skin before we get to kill some BCC assholes" Bandoleer chimed in again.
John gave him a dirty look.
"Yeah, well, we will try our best to prevent that captain. So the guys in the car, which will be three in the back, one in the front and one driving will give up their jackets to the bike and quad riders. This will provide some protection against the rain." Burke was interrupted.
"Some?!" Lisa questioned the use of the word.
"Yeah, well none of this is a guarantee, I'm a mechanic not a prophet. So use the extra clothes, the rain will slowly grind at the outer layers, it's not a fast process, if it gets on your skin it's another story. So avoid that".
"Oh, that gives me confidence" Ruf added sarcastically.
"Right" Burke continued.
"Guys on the back of the bikes use the shield, it's made from some steel grates I took from the doors and meshed together, It will hold the rain off you. So you got the shield and you will have extra layers".
Burke got to work fixing the vehicles, before long he had the bike and quad running, the car was a little trickier but after some help from Lisa and Ruf they got it purring. The teams were set, John and Ruf would take the bike, Valeria and Huck would take the quad and the rest would be in the car. Carol would be driving.
“Wait Burke, what about the tires?” Bandoleer asked.
“Ah yeah, well they will eventually pop, but we should make it” Burke replied.
“Hold on, we should make it?” asked Ruf looking concerned.
“Yeah, well it depends on how much tread these got through before we found them, you know, how much rubber is left” said Burke sheepishly.
“John, do you think it would be a better idea to just hang back and wait it out?” asked Kairi.
“We
gotta get this thing back Kairi, no time to waste. I don’t want us to get jumped again” said John firmly.
The group nodded in acceptance.
The crew gathered their things and geared up, Burke opened a large garage door at the rear of the building with a cold rusty pull chain. Valeria, driving the quad gave Huck a nod and he pulled up the metal shield above their heads. John following closely with Ruf on the back holding their own protective metal grates. The car came out last, Lisa sitting in the back had to stay away from the rear passenger window which they had not noticed was missing and covered with a thin piece of transparent material and tape. Luckily for the car the windscreen was still in tact.
They had to drive slowly so that the rain did not sweep in underneath the shield, which only really protected them from above. The drive took some time but was much faster than walking. Two hours later they reached the outer buildings of Little London, most of the team were in tatters, but no one was significantly burnt. The missing window on the car had all but melted away and Lisa was basically sitting on Bandoleers lap which he didn't mind at all.
"Right, we are nearly there" John said stopping the bike on a large fallen piece of elevated concrete.
"So how are we going to get in?" Ruf said still holding the now battered shield.
"We are going to dump the vehicles over there in that pile of shit and walk the rest of the way under cover" John replied pointing to the North.
He drove the bike next to the stopped car and quad and signaled to pull into a half broken crème colored building ahead about five hundred meters. All responded with a knowing nod and started to creep over to their destination. Having parked up safely in the building they all got out cramped, tired, creased and frustrated. The riders had minor burns to their hands and shoulders from where the rain burned through their layers. Valeria licked her wounds with a strange glare staring into the distance.
"Everyone all ok?" John asked of the tired looking group.
"I am A-OK big man, I mucho enjoyed" Bandoleer chortled in Lisas direction.
"Fuck off captain" Lisa replied totally rejecting the idea.
"Hey slow down missy, you were the one climbing on me in there" He replied with a smarmy look.
Lisa walked off with a grin.
"Everyone seems intact John" Burke said stretching his legs.
"Ok, let's all head through these buildings and get our asses back to London. Then we need to decide what we are going to do with this thing" John said pulling out the DMER piece.
"Glad to see the back of that thing if I'm honest, nothing but trouble since the start, weird though, such a small thing and so much shit" Kairi chimed in checking under a broken slab of concrete for something useful.
"Still looking for stuff huh Teige?" Burke said almost trying to flirt with Kairi.
"Hell yeah, I love to scavenge me some stuff. Even though we need to get a move on" She laughed.
"Carol, you all good?" Ruf asked Carol who was also stretching.
"Yeah still in one piece thanks Ruf and still need a piss" she replied.
"A lady who is a little rough around the edges, I could get used to that" Bandoleer suddenly switching interest.
"You would be so lucky champ, I don't think you would touch the sides" She said laughing at her own joke.
"Sorry cap, I guess you are outta luck here" John said with a smile making his way onwards.
One of the Little London manhole entrances was not so far away but the team had to move through a few derelict buildings before they reached it.
The team slowly made their way through some broken grey brick terrace buildings, still avoiding the rain and trying to stay relatively quiet. A sudden shout from a dark corner of one of the buildings made the team as a whole freeze. A long leg appeared from the corner and stepped off a crumbled ledge and out of the darkness.
"Hey people, my name's Sid, actually It's Christian but that's by the by" the stranger lanky man said.
The ground shook briefly and everyone looked around confused.
"As I was saying, you will be needing to give me all your things, so I am sorry but your journey stops here" Christian said pulling out a large barreled gun from behind his back.
A third smaller hand protruding from his belly appeared from under his partially ripped shirt was clasping a small revolver, it was pointing at John.
"Listen buddy, I am not sure what you think you are going to be getting from this exchange but we ain't a bunch of rookies" Bandoleer said appearing from the back.
"Well that's quite enough from you I think, why do you smell like boat?" the ground shook again while he spoke distracting everyone again briefly.
"I'm going to ask you bunch this nicely cas I got you surrounded, It isn't just my sexy legs that are in here, I got friends all around you..." Christians face turned sour, then shocked, then surprise then finally pain as a glowing green ball of energy appeared in the center of his stomach disintegrating the small third hand protruding from his belly and the gun it was holding. The small ball, to the surprise of Christian expanded rapidly and engulfed him completely leaving only enough time for a gentle yelp, every fiber of Christian disappeared in seconds leaving behind the glowing ever changing figure of the Brightscribe.
"There are no others, he was the only one" the Brightscribe said, his voice morphing.
The team took a step back, but John, standing at the front and only a few feet away did not move.
"Give us the pieces John" it said pointing with two left arms, one at Johns metal arm and the other at Valeria's bag.
"What will you do with them?" John asked with a small shake of his head in Valeria's direction as if to say don't trust it.
"We don't have to ask John Test, we know that you will give it to us. We want to remove this threat to life here, you are needed in another place" the Bright Scribe said in a predominantly female voice this time.
The figure changed shape again, this time into a hooded, cloaked character, which dropped to the floor and landed on its feet. Putting it's hood down to reveal a porcelain white young female face, with stunning green eyes, oddly large but enticing.
"Is this form better?" The Scribe asked John tilting its head to the side and staring.
"I don't know what you are missy but we don't need…" Bandoleer was silenced by a raised finger of the scribe, Bandoleer now choking grabbed his throat in surprise as he was unable to inhale, his feet lifting from the floor clasping at his neck.
"It's for your own good John, if you take it back to the city you will all die, life on this planet will cease to exist. You will have bigger things to worry about" the Scribe put Bandoleer gently down who was finally able to take a breath of air.
John nodded in Valeria's direction. Valeria with glowing purple eyes approached the scribe cautiously, the Scribe turning to face her, now its own eyes started to glow and the porcelain skin of the form it took shattered. It's took the form of a muscular male and again began to float a few feet from the ground. It extended a long arm and a large hand. Valeria hissed and scowled. The scribe was not frightened it remained expressionless. She took out the DMER piece from her bag and placed it in the large hand which shrink to fit.
"What am I supposed to do about my piece?" John enquired pointing to his arm.
"We will take it" the scribe said raising its arm to point and John's arm.
"Woah woah, I need my arm" said john alarmed by the suggestion.
The Brightscribe did not look concerned and his point changed to a clasping hand, the part inside John appeared in its hand. Its facial expression changed and it nodded to John. With that, it disappeared in an instant leaving only trails of green particles lingering around the places from where is vanished.
John turned to the rest of the team all of which looked relieved and a little worried.
"I think he will do the right thing". Said John.
"Yeah, what makes you say that smart ass?" Bandoleer said still rubbing his throat.
"I
don't know, I just believe it" John replied.
"Well we still should get back and tell Ron what's been going on, plus I could use some rest, we have been through some serious shit" Huck said wiping his brow.
"Agreed!" said Lisa and Carol in unison.
The team set out and within thirty minutes they were at a manhole leading down to Little London.
The climb down was hard and long, the journey back had taken its toll. This entrance way was damp and moss ridden. It smelled rancid in places; this way hadn't been used in a number of years. They toiled down long and wet tunnels until they reached the red lights of Little London's outer limits. Soon they were inside and being greeted by the locals. Word quickly spread to Ron that they had arrived. He was in no rush to come to the reunion.
John made his way to the office, strolled through the door but was greeted by a very concerned looking Ron.
"Holy shit John you couldn't have come at a better time" said Ron, grabbing some blueprints and some sketched drawings of the city and slamming them down on a circular metal table in the center of the room.
"What's up Ron didn't you hear the news?" said John trying to understand what the panic was about.
"John, We got the news about Marko and his team and I am sorry but after that everything fell to shit. We didn't know but Ahiro released his guard dog a little while ago a" Ron was spouting but John interrupted.
"Woah, what do you mean Marko and his team? What happened to Marko and his team?" John urged an answer.
"John, we sent scouts North cas we heard a huge explosion, they met Mia halfway, she's recovering in the medical center but we couldn't find no one else. I'm sorry John. I thought you would have heard by now". John took a seat, slumped, took off his hat and rested it on his lap.
"Marko and his team are dead?" John asked with a low tone.
"The scouts didn't find his body John, but the whole area was smashed by the blast. We found Hatcher and Chrissie but no one else, they didn't want to hang around incase Seven was still lurking" Ron stopped to examine Johns face.
"Marko and his whole team, Marko and his whole team? Do we know who did this?" John said rising to his feet starting to pace.
