Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Apocalypse Gates

  Book Three:

  Gearing Up

  Author’s Cut

  Daniel Schinhofen

  Copyright © 2018 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form by an electronic or mechanical means – except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews – without the written permission from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2018 Daniel J. Schinhofen

  All rights reserved.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter One

  Alvin was dressed and about to leave the room when he was stopped by Jarvis. “Sir, there’s been a change to the button that returns you to your base.”

  Alvin and Becky exchanged a look. “Explain, Jarvis,” Alvin said into the silence.

  “Yes sir. Rather than needing to be inside a secure room, as before, now that button will transform the nearest doorway into a portal. It is visible to and useable by only yourself and those in your party. It remains where it was initiated while you are in your Home Base, but upon your exit it ejects everyone within, at least at present. The portal may be summoned once per day, resetting each sunrise. You are still bound by the rule to spend at least eight hours each day in the game.”

  “Why do you call it my base, and not my room anymore?” Alvin asked.

  “If you glance at your character sheet, sir, you will notice that the upgrade to take miss to your room has also been changed. That Power has been renamed Home Base, and your cell is now considered to be a base that your entire party can use. Upgrades to the base may be purchased, but only from inside. You can no longer do what miss did; there are now set rooms that can be added, and the interior of each room may be modified with XP, but each room must be purchased separately.”

  “We cut that close,” Becky murmured. “You still can’t hint which rooms would be best, can you, Jarvis?”

  “I can’t, miss. As I told Alvin previously, though, the Home Base is now subject to being viewed just like the game.”

  “Really?” Becky asked, a small shiver running down her spine. “So every depraved thing he does to me…”

  “Will be seen by his fans, miss, yes,” Jarvis confirmed.

  “Oh gods,” Becky’s two words conveyed all the lust she felt at that announcement.

  “Down, Gothy. We have things to do today,” Alvin said preemptively.

  “Yes, Hero,” Becky was panting just a bit as she squeezed her thighs together.

  “No stimulating yourself,” Alvin said firmly.

  With a small gasp, her eyes met his and her hand touched the black band around her neck. “You’re an evil, evil man, and I love it.”

  Giving her ear a nip, he chuckled as she moaned. “Yes, and it’s the way you wanted it. Now, if you can focus, we have things to do.”

  Taking a deep breath, Becky nodded. “I’m ready to help.”

  “Jarvis—the portal, does it have to be a building doorway?”

  “Yes, sir. It must resemble a normal door. Tents and other temporary structures do not count, nor do armoires and the like,” Jarvis clarified.

  “We’ll try to break it later,” Alvin shrugged. Tapping the button produced a doorway filled with a dim light. “At least it isn’t blinding.”

  Stepping through the faintly glowing doorway, Alvin and Becky appeared in the room they had used last night. Exiting the room, they made their way upstairs to the great room and found it empty. Poking their heads into the kitchen revealed two older women with grey hair having coffee and chatting.

  “Excuse me—Marie and Loralee, right?” Alvin asked.

  “I’m Marie, Placido’s wife. This is Laurel, she’s married to Wynn,” the one with glasses said. “Can we help you two?”

  “Do you know where Shawn might be?” Alvin asked.

  “He was outside the wall, setting up farmland with my husband,” Marie said.

  “I think Han was with them,” Laurel added.

  “Thanks, we’ll go look,” Alvin said.

  “Do you want some breakfast first?” Laurel asked.

  “We’ve already eaten,” Becky told her, “but thank you.”

  “If you need anything, just holler. We still owe you for helping bring the grandkids back,” Marie added.

  “Will do,” Alvin said, then left the two women to their coffee.

  “They’re pleasant,” Becky said as they left the house, entering a yard bustling with people going about various tasks. Most of them seemed to be coming or going toward a large vending machine looking device. “Is that the kiosk?”

  “Could be. Let’s find Shawn first; I want to get that drake corpse handled before it gets too horrible to deal with.”

  “I’m right behind you, Hero,” Becky said, walking two steps to his left and one step behind him.

  “Why are you walking back there?” Alvin asked, curious as to why she wasn’t beside him as she usually was.

  “Admiring the view,” Becky snickered.

  “Get up here where you belong,” Alvin snorted, holding his hand out behind him.

  Taking his hand, Becky came even with him as they walked under the open gate. She let go of his hand immediately, though, calling her shotgun and coat into being. Catching the questioning glance Alvin threw at her, she answered his silent question, “Not taking chances that some crazed deer, bird, or anything else might pop up and try killing you again.”

  “Fair point. It only takes a thought to summon my gun, so I think I’ll wait,” Alvin replied, summoning his jacket to add more armor to himself.

  Becky grinned at the appearance of his jacket, but decided not to call him out on it. They walked around the side of the compound, where they found a dozen men all talking in a group. Placido seemed to be explaining something as they got closer.

  “No, we’ll just need to rotate them every time we harvest a crop to make sure that the land doesn’t get drained of the nutrients it needs,” Placido was saying as the two approached. “Morning,” he said, breaking off from the previous topic.

  “We just came to see if Shawn had a moment to talk about something,” Alvin said, nodding a greeting to Placido.

  “We’re trying to figure out the best layout for the farms,” Shawn said with
a shrug. “That might be a bit yet, though. Placido, you mark them out and I’ll set them once you’re done.”

  “Okay,” Placido agreed and pointed to three men. “You guys were out here with me earlier, go set the markers where I talked about setting them up. The rest of you come with me, we’re going to see if we can get the water tower to feed the fields.”

  “What did you need?” Shawn asked as he stepped over to Alvin and Becky.

  “With the way things work now, and the fact that stuff can be sold to the kiosk, I was hoping to get some tools to go skin a drake,” Alvin grinned. “I’ll cut you in on it—even split.”

  “An even split, even though you can’t do it without tools?” Shawn asked with a raised eyebrow. “If you want to harvest the entire thing, we’re going to need a couple of trucks and more people.”

  “We’re?” Becky asked.

  “I’m going with,” Shawn said, his eyes focusing on her neck before he shook his head. “You two are certainly outside the norm.”

  Becky giggled and touched her neck, “Isn’t it great?”

  “I’ll grab a couple of people and get some tools. Give me, say, about fifteen minutes. I want to pass along some more work before we go…” Shawn’s words trailed off as his eyes grew a little distant.

  “Shawn?” Alvin prompted after a minute.

  “Sorry, a thought just struck me. I’ll go get things moving,” Shawn said before he walked away.

  Watching him go, Becky frowned. “What do you think he was contemplating?”

  “Who knows?” Alvin shrugged. “Maybe he’ll tell us later.” Giving her a nudge of his hip, he started walking. “Let’s go check the kiosk. I want to see what’s changed.”

  Back inside the compound, they joined the small line waiting for the kiosk. Alvin’s lips pursed as he waited, and he made a mental note to see what a second kiosk would cost a Settlement. The line wasn’t long, and people didn’t linger, so they weren’t waiting too long, but that might not always be the case.

  Once they’d gotten to the kiosk, Alvin chuckled as he examined it, “A cross between a standard computer and a vending machine.” A touchscreen keyboard was on an adjustable platform that could be easily modified for the person using the kiosk. The display was also a touchscreen, which could be used to quickly shift though search results.

  Stepping aside after a minute, the couple started toward the Mustang. “The interface was much easier to use,” Becky said. “I wonder if the store pads that Jarvis provides will be similar?”

  “We can find out easily enough,” Alvin said as he opened the Mustang’s door. “Jarvis, pad please.”

  A pad appeared on the dashboard as Becky slid into her seat. “To answer your question, it is indeed the same interface, miss,” Jarvis answered her.

  “Good to know,” Becky said as she picked up the pad and began flipping through various pages. “Anything you were really interested about, Hero?”

  “Can we sell items to the store from this pad, Jarvis?” Alvin asked as he closed the car door and leaned into the open window.

  “Unfortunately, sir, no,” Jarvis replied. “Did you notice the compartment at the bottom of the kiosk?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That is where items sold to the kiosk are placed for collection, and where items purchased are delivered,” Jarvis told them. “You can possibly see about different ways to update your Home Base.”

  “Well that sounds like a hint,” Becky chuckled. “We’ll do that next time we get back to the base. I guess that’s to make us want to go back to the Settlements. If we could just sell in the Mustang, we wouldn’t go to them nearly as much.”

  “True enough,” Alvin said.

  “We’re ready,” Shawn called out to them.

  Alvin looked over and saw half a dozen people climbing into two trucks. Shawn waved and got into the driver’s seat of one of them. “See you at the body,” Alvin grinned. “Jarvis, start the car,” he said as he walked around the car. The vehicle rumbled to life before he slid into the seat.

  Putting the car into gear, Alvin asked a question that had been bugging him. “So, how can the car drive and such if the key is in my pocket still?”

  “Look at the ignition,” Becky told him.

  Doing as she said, Alvin could just make out a blue ghostly key inserted into the ignition. “Huh, that works for me. Jarvis, can I order you to always have the car started when I’m getting into it?”

  “Indeed you can, sir,” a hint of humor colored Jarvis’ tone.

  “Then that is a command; always have the car ready for me when I get into it,” Alvin chuckled.

  “He’s gotten so demanding, hasn’t he, Jarvis?” Becky asked with a straight face.

  “I refuse to comment,” Jarvis deadpanned right back.

  “You’re just trying to get a rise out of me,” Alvin said, glancing at Becky as he turned onto the main road. “I’m not that easily manipulated, Gothy, you should know that.”

  Pouting, Becky nodded. “It was still worth a try.”

  “I wonder if the ravens will still be there?” Alvin mused as he shifted gears again, changing the subject.

  “I hope not,” Becky said. “I still think they might Hitchcock us.”

  Laughing, Alvin let his hand slip over to Becky’s thigh after shifting again. “They were friendly. Besides, with our armor as it stands, we can easily hold them off while we kill them.”

  “Fair enough,” Becky said as she covered his hand with hers. “If I give you a surprise, will you remove the no self-stimulation order?”

  “If it’s a real surprise that doesn’t involve you doing anything sexual, yes,” Alvin said, expecting her to back down at that point.

  “Jarvis?” Becky grinned. “Music, please.”

  “As you say, miss,” Jarvis replied with a chuckle as one of Alvin’s favorite songs came over the radio.

  “What the fuck?” Alvin said as the song “Pro” by Neffex started playing. “How did you know I like this song, and how is this even possible?”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s a loophole,” Becky laughed as she felt the previous order lift from her. “Jarvis told me some of the songs you used to enjoy that came out after 2000, so they’re in the list of songs I bought for our base. As for how it can play here, Jarvis can play music for us. When I bought the songs, I asked if he could play them in the car and he said he wasn’t sure. I had him check, and then kept it secret to surprise you.” She gave one of her breasts a quick squeeze to verify she could indeed cause herself pleasure before dropping her hand back to her lap.

  “Yeah, you won. I was completely surprised,” Alvin said as the song continued playing. “You know this song makes me think of you now, right?”

  “I thought it might,” Becky smiled at him. “Along with that other song by the same artist. Which, if you change the lyrics slightly, could be used to describe this whole world now.”

  “‘Backstage?’” Alvin asked.

  “Uh huh,” Becky said. “‘Oh the good girls they go to heaven, but the bad girls they get backstage.’ That’s the normal chorus, but if we tweak it slightly…” Trailing off, she sang, “All the good girls have gone to heaven, but the bad girls are here to stay…” she grinned.

  Jaw dropping, Alvin considered the change just as the song began to play. Nodding along to the music, he had to agree; with just a subtle change, that song did indeed fit. “Wow, when did you even listen to the song?”

  “When you fell asleep in the tub,” Becky replied. “I have a whole new twist to that song, having changed more of the lyrics to fit. Maybe if you’re nice to me, I’ll sing it for you next time.”

  Coming to a flat stretch of road, Alvin smirked as he reached over and tangled a hand in her hair and dragged her toward him, stealing a passionate kiss before releasing her and putting both hands back on the wheel. “Was that nice enough?”

  Hands twitching slightly, Becky shook her head. “Evil…you do know that I already want to jump
you again just from the news about always being watched, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” Alvin’s smirk grew. “No play until later tonight, though.”

  Taking a shuddering breath, Becky’s hand slipped to his thigh. “What if I brat?”

  “Then I’ll force you to obey. That collar is very good at making you listen,” Alvin chuckled.

  “You won’t always go straight for the collar, will you?” her voice grew a little concerned.

  “No, I’ll let you brat a little, as I know you need that as well,” Alvin said honestly.

  “You really do know me,” Becky said happily, her hand slowly creeping toward his groin.

  “Yes, yes I do,” Alvin said as he captured her hand and set it back on his lower thigh. “Watch the sky in case the ravens do attack.”