by Ben Ormstad
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know what it is, buddy?”
He rubbed his thin fingers across the slick, reflective surface. “Ye-yes. A Holo-Transmitter.”
“Cool,” Frida said, popping her head up beside me to get a better view.
“I doubt it is c-cool.” Ayamii kneeled and found his crystal. Placing the device on top of it, he closed his eyes and kept silent for a few seconds. Suddenly a sparkle of blue light swirled around it, red lights lit up along the sides of the screen, apparently powering it on. He put away the crystal and held the thing upright in front of his chest, pointing the reflective surface out toward the gritty wall next to us.
An electric bzzzz! sound appeared as four red lasers shot out from the screen. The beams merged at one single spot on the wall, before swiftly drawing an animated, three-dimensional face in the air. More and more details filled in until we watched a female daemonorg’s face made up of red light. Wearing a hat decorated with marks and pins obviously signifying high rank, she brushed the shoulder-length hair away and firmly fixed her gaze at us. Thin eyebrows pulled together, downward, as if pointing to the narrow chin where a horn protruded like an unfitting goatee.
“Dreb-gliq brugla diz,” she said in the guttural language. “Zeh fitka behl-chu-”
“Well, this is meaningless,” Frida said, only to be silenced by Ayamii’s waving hand.
“Sh-shut up,” he snapped and moved closer, holding the Holo-Transmitter steady enough to not disturb the image.
As the strict woman continued speaking, Ayamii clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and grew more anxious by the second.
Out of nowhere, he screamed, threw the device on the floor and stomped on it. Sparks buzzed under his feet until only torn pieces of plastic remained.
“What did she say?” Hiko asked.
Aymaii kicked the broken fragments one final time, spreading them everywhere. “That… that bitch commanded those soldiers to destroy our c-community.”
Frida’s eyes widened. “How awful!”
Hiko crouched to level with our purple friend. “I thought they did not know the location of your community.”
“She said r-recent discoveries have been made, and that they… the soldiers that received this message… had to make sure the mishaps’ community was destroyed.” Ayamii’s green eyes jumped between all of us. “This is what I was afraid of… what we all have been afraid of. They don’t w-want any of us to live. We are disposed of and should remain that way. No-one is to be left alive, she said. ”
This was all kinds of wrong. These daemonorg bastards meddled with Life, created new life-forms, but then simply discarded whoever didn’t function ‘properly’ according to their artificial standards – even when they proved to be adaptable and worthy of existing, like Ayamii’s people. I stepped forward on legs trembling with agitation. “We’ll see about that. Let’s continue.”
After about twenty minutes walking through these endless hot, moist stone passageways, all water trickling from cracks in the ceiling and walls dried out. The heat became unbearable to Frida. She looked like a mop soaked in sweat, groaning and moaning with every step – struggling to continue. Considering her condition, I told her to stop scouting ahead and stay with us.
Ayamii was also sweating like crazy, but being used to it, he didn’t slow even for a second. Eventually, he lifted a fist and halted by a stone door decorated with engraved, alien symbols.
“Behind this d-door is the last segment before we arrive at my home,” he explained.
Inspecting the foreign markings on the door, I said: “So this is the cavern beneath the sewage processing plant?”
“Ye-yes. And I’m s-sorry to say it, Frida,” he said and gave her a compassionate smile. “But until we pass through the community gates, the temperature will increase even moh-more.”
She sighed, slumping her shoulders and head. The clothes stuck to her like a new layer of skin. “How long?”
“T-ten minutes. Max.”
I cracked the knuckles on my hand – finding it amusing that a) I could actually crack my knuckles in-game, and b) that it was possible to crack ‘em even while wearing the FL-Armor. “Let’s do it, then.”
Ayamii lifted a warning finger. “Beware of the lava.”
For the first time since we watched the daemonorg woman’s holographic message, Hiko spoke: “Lava?”
“Ye-yes.” Ayamii pointed a finger to the floor. “The ground is very f-fragile. The lava slowly breaks apart the porous surface from underneath, causing it to crumble. We are devising plans to fix it, but right now the Genetic Re-Assembler is priority number one.” And with that, he curled his long, thin fingers around the rusted door knob, pulling the door open. As it slid up, waves of heat wafted in – I felt it because the air entering through the FL-Armor helmet almost burned my nostrils. Red-orange light grew from the crack in the ajar door and colored the stone walls dark orange. Ayamii faced us one last time before moving on. “As I said, beware of the l-lava.”
That’s when we heard guns thunder in the distance.
38
Without wasting another second, we passed the doorway’s threshold into the new area and sprinted toward the sound of guns firing. Even through the helmet’s air filter, I felt the temperature increase radically – naturally, since the expansive cavern we entered was speckled with streams of lava pouring through cracks in the mountain walls on all sides. The rugged stone floor was littered with stalagmites of varying sizes. Magma flowed in crevices, blurring the atmosphere where hot steam puffed up. Strategically placed stone columns protruded from the ground and stretched all the way up, providing much needed support for the uneven ceiling. It loomed above, spiky with stalactites and threatened to cave in at any moment.
As I equipped the Rap-Attack, I heard Frida reload her own weapon, and the sound of Hiko’s clattering boots against the ground behind me. Ayamii ran first, his knives reflected the red, orangey light from the glowing lava surrounding us on all angles.
Ahead, the cavern narrowed. Four daemonorgs in brown tunics and leather belts blocked the pathway to where the battle raged. Through the helmet’s visor, I gleaned their information:
Daemonorg Grunt
Level 2
They barely noticed us before we spread out in a line of four with space between us – and blasted them out of this world. We left the last one for Ayamii. He was so bewildered by his comrades dying he didn’t even fire back when Ayamii was all over him, slicing him up with the short blades. Blood spattered on the cave wall as he fell to the ground.
We searched them quickly – each of us looting the one we killed.
+9 Ammo – Daemonorg Light Handgun
+10 Consumables
+20 Cash
+17 Scrap
Stepping over the bodies, we passed the tightest part of the cavern and it opened wide again.
Somewhere between twenty and thirty daemonorgs took cover behind stone columns lining the way ahead. On the far side, in front of what had to be the entrance to Ayamii’s community, humanoids took cover behind opposing columns, while others popped up from piles of stone and debris that had fallen from the ceiling. Towering above ground, the gated entrance connected to a gigantic wall stretching floor to ceiling and to the cavern walls on each side. All around the area, lava flowed lazily along the side walls.
“Wait, wait, wait,” I said and stopped, bringing my three companions to a halt before the chaos devoured us. “They’re too many. We need a plan.”
Hiko came closer. “I suggest we split up, Mr. Walsh. We go two and two and take out the small groups of enemies first. Then we eat our way forward, so to speak, until we reach the entrance.” He pointed the tip of his weapon at a group of five Level 3 Daemonorg Troopers to our right. Then, he pointed at another group of four Level 2 Daemonorg Grunts clogging our left hand side.
“Just blitz-attack ‘em from behind and hope it’s good enough?” I replied, letting my grin color the sound of my voi
ce.
When he spoke again, the voice that came through his FL-Armor helmet was colored by a smile as well: “Yes, Mr. Walsh. I do believe it is good enough. Shall we proceed?”
“Ayamii, you and Hiko go left, starting with the four bastards closest to us,” I said, then waved a hand at Frida. “You and I will destroy those five troopers with Rap-Attacks – and everyone else blocking the path on the right side. Cool?”
Her pupils flickered from Hiko and Ayamii to me. “Cool as ice, dude,” she said and knocked on the armor plate around her chest.
“Chill,” I said. “Remember: We need to watch each other from time to time and try to time our attacks as we advance.”
Ayamii gave a salute, and we were off.
I was about to spew some more thoughts on how to advance, but as I met Frida’s eyes I already knew we understood each other. She put away her Rap-Attack and equipped Ripper machetes instead. Since she was basically training to be a ninja, she of course had one in each hand. The daemonorgs were too busy shooting to notice she snuck up on them. As she sliced the heads off of the two to the right, I stood ready at point-blank range and peppered the three others with hot lead.
My thundering automatic rifle drew attention from more enemies in the vicinity. Horned heads turned. Higher ranked, uniformed daemonorgs rotated on their heels, yelled ineligible words and reloaded their weapons.
Frida scowled at me. “That’s why blades are better.”
“Pfft,” I snorted and took cover behind a large column. “Try killing all these bastards with a couple of big bread knives and you’ll be toast.”
“We could do it. Well, I could do it easily, just let me-”
I hooked her jacket and pulled her into safety as multiple guns fired. The sounds of ricocheting slugs and bullets swishing past us made my spine tingle. “Yeah, yeah, sure, sure – you’d easily destroy ‘em all,” I said, smirking. “Except you’d be dead now hadn’t I just saved your sweet ass.”
Instinctively, Frida ducked as more bullets dug into the column we hid behind. Stone fragments erupted, creating widening cracks. “Don’t get cocky,” she said. “Remember who saved your sweet ass on multiple occasions already.”
“Damn right, my ass is sweet! I’m glad you recognize that,” I retorted, elbowed her in the side and laughed.
Shaking her head, she couldn’t not partake in the lame humor. “Asshole,” she muttered through grinning lips, sheathed the machetes and whipped up her Rap-Attack. “Let’s do it your way, then.”
“Hell yeah,” I said. “One side each?”
She nodded.
“Three, two… one!” We stepped around each side of the column, aimed in the general direction of the uniformed bastards and hammered the triggers. The smell of gunpowder lay thick when we ran further ahead. Don’t forget to loot the fuckers, I thought as I skipped past the bodies. To my left, Ayamii’s high-pitched howl reverberated through the area, like a siren among gun blasts. Standing on top of three grunts with his knives dripping red, his eyes looked more focused than I’d ever seen. His thin-lipped, tiny mouth twisted in a snarl of aggression. Hiko came up to him and pulled him onward.
“Good job,” I shouted, waving at them. “Keep going!”
The next instant, a blare louder than any of the handguns or assault rifles fired. I turned and glimpsed Frida throwing herself on the ground as a distinct chack-chick sound made itself known. Then, another blast pulverized a piece of rock near her head.
A new type of enemy stood across from her. Reddish glow from a magma-filled crevice in the ground lit up a shotgun-wielding demon-mama with large breasts and wide hips, clothed in a military outfit. Pupil-less yellow eyes peered calmly out through thick dreads hanging from a camouflaged hat on her head. Smoke from a cigarillo in her tight-lipped mouth whirled past horns lining her forehead.
Now that’s bad-ass character design, I thought. Sheesh! A mix of awe, fear and just plain boyish excitement tickled my stomach.
Above her head the translucent, blue text informed:
Daemonorg Torpedoll
Level 3
Torpedoll? Really!? No matter how hopelessly cheesy it was, I still grinned like a little kid watching Cow and Chicken.
Without flinching or looking away from me, she held the shotgun with one hand, stabilizing it on her shoulder. The other hand plucked new shells from an ammo belt strapped diagonally across her chest, and shoved ‘em into the weapon.
“Dex – attention!” Frida yelled and fired at the torpedoll.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, glad she couldn’t see my stupid grin.
Another shotgun blared, this one behind me, to the right. Massive force kicked my upper back and threw me forward. Even the FL-Armor didn’t dampen the ache enough for me to not feel it. Pain like getting chewed by a bear dug into me.
-10 Armor
-6 HP
I gasped, scrambled to stay on my feet, and turned to face a second torpedoll. Leveled the Rap-Attack to return fire, but was instead forced to jump flat on the ground when the deadly ‘doll’ pumped the slide back and forth with an audible chack-chick.
I rolled to the side as she unleashed doom from the solid barrel. Pieces of dirt spurted right beside my feet. A crack in the ground opened and released a puff of smoke from the lava boiling underneath.
That’s two, I thought. Knowing she’d have to reload, I got up on my knees, partly hidden by a stalagmite, and squeezed the trigger. The Rap-Attack jolted ferociously in my grip, spewing a stream of death. She staggered backwards, tried to block the bullets with her arms. Blood spattered as her uniform material ripped open. Pointing the barrel at me while getting on her knees, she let loose another slug. It bit through my armor and sent lightning-like spikes of pain up and down my arm.
-9 Armor
-5 HP
Strikes of red flashed across my helmet’s visor. I fell back behind the stalagmite to reload the Rap-Attack. Noticed a blinking red number in the right corner of the visor:
8 FL-Armor remaining
Shit! Had the armor run out that quickly? I needed to upgrade the FL-Armor as soon as all this craziness ended.
Chack-chick!
The shotgun blast transformed the stalagmite into debris right behind my back. While she was busy reloading anew, I hopped up and fired relentlessly until she collapsed. Lifeless. Without stopping, I joined Frida in taking out the other torpedoll – whose feet caught in a lava-filled crack in the ground. She tripped and fell.
Frida jumped over the steaming lava stream and put a few extra bullets in the enemy’s head.
“I’ll take that!” She picked up the discarded shotgun. Looted the body and found some shells and other stash.
Meanwhile, I reloaded the Rap-Attack and scanned the area. Hiko and Ayamii were nearing the gated entrance. Dead daemonorgs littered the path they’d taken. Hiko’s FL-Armor was clearly damaged; bullet holes and scratches marked it like decorations. Some mishaps of different sizes and forms greeted them and blasted daemonorgs while Ayamii helped a hurt humanoid out of the way.
I was pleased to see only about a quarter of the enemies remained – and most on our side of the cave. Wanting a shotgun too, I looted the first torpedoll.
+45 Cash
+29 Scrap
“What?” I said and inspected every nook and cranny of the body and the immediate surroundings. “Where’s the shotgun?”
Frida reloaded her brand new shotgun and shook her head. “NPCs don’t always leave behind everything they carry. Too bad, really.”
I shrugged and jokingly stroked the Rap-Attack. “Eh, no biggie. Still got this beauty.”
We moved onwards, steadily advancing closer to the community entrance, destroying bastards on the way. Checked the bodies of mishaps when I found them, but they were all dead. Most were scrawny, frail humanoid creatures with various deformations; one arm, no mouth, lacking ears or anything in between. Still, they had fought and sacrificed themselves for the greater good.
Better people
than most humans, I thought grimly. Just like Ayamii.
“Dex, look,” Frida said, pointing the shotgun barrel at two daemonorg grunts who circled a young, blue-skinned male. He lay on the ground, arms defensively held in front of his face.
“I’ll fix it,” I said and gestured toward Ayamii and Hiko. “Go check how they’re doing. I’ll be right back.”
Dirt crunched under my boots as I reloaded the Rap-Attack, but was shocked to find I was closing in on the last 50 or something bullets. Insane. Swinging the automatic rifle in its strap back to its position on my back, I equipped the machete instead.
“Hey, asswipes,” I yelled and drew their attention away from the poor humanoid kid between them.
“Drug’leh gabri!” one shouted, and they positioned themselves like a wall before the kid. Both wielding Ripper machetes.
Good. A fight on equal terms.
Reaching them, I instantly side-stepped as one jumped toward me and swung his blade diagonally. This placed him with his back facing me, and him creating a barrier between me and the other one. I front kicked him in the lower back, sending him tumbling toward the other one. As they smacked into each other, arms waving, feet shuffling, I bolted forward and rapidly swung my machete in a flurry of slices from different angles. In less than three seconds, they collapsed.
“You’re safe now,” I said to the kid. While helping him back on his feet, I couldn’t believe how effectively I’d just taken out those two. Have I gained more Melee Weapon ability points without knowing it? Could be, but I wouldn’t know for certain until I checked the notifications after the battle. A flash of anticipation hit me: I was certain I’d gathered enough XP by now to Level up.
“Thank you,” the kid said, wiping his teary eyes with the back of his palm.
“Don’t mention it. What’s your name?”
“Daiji, sir.”
“Well, Daiji, nice to meet you.” I picked up a handgun from the ground. “This yours?”