Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  All eyes went to Becky, who sat up straight and let everyone get a good look at her neck. “I didn’t go overboard. I just pledged my mind, body, and soul to him, for as long as he will have me. It’s very much like a marriage vow.”

  Everyone turned to look at Alvin, who gave back a flat stare. “Problems?”

  “Not done yet,” Shawn said after a moment. “Cutting the hide off the drake chewed through six chainsaw blades, and badly injured Milo. He was healed with a medkit, and I’ve bought replacements from the store already for the blades as well as a supply of medkits. I can see we’re going to need those. As we were packing up, a flock of ravens showed up. Giant ravens, think Lord of the Rings eagles, probably big enough to carry someone. We talked, and they seem like they’re going to be friendly. Yes, they speak English as well as many of you.” This got a chuckle from most of the people in the room. “They want the meat and fat off the drake, and we’ll go pick up the bones later.”

  The hubbub from the crowd at the mention of giant ravens again forced Shawn to pause. His whistle was piercingly loud. “Knock it the fuck off until I’m done, damn it.” Everyone shut up immediately, a few holding their ears. “Thank you. As I was saying, don’t shoot at any ravens unless they attack you. They know we’re here, and they consider us friends. Don’t freak out over how big they are.

  “Now, all of this is background for the next part, and we will be taking volunteers for it. We’re going to convoy north to hit a place with a bunch of things we can find a use for. To go, you’re going to need the Contracted Power. For those that go with us, the Settlement will pay for the Power, but you will be added to the hunting teams we’ll be starting up when we return. That means that you won’t be staying safe inside the walls every day, so choose wisely. Al is going to be the Leader of the expedition, and I will be his second in command.”

  This sparked another round of chatter as all eyes went to Alvin for a moment. Shawn cleared his throat loudly and everyone went silent again. “I doubt we’ll get the same haul of XP from where we’re going next, but in case you’re wondering roughly what we’re looking at, after cutting in Alvin, who told me that the drake would be worth stuff, the Settlement made about a hundred thousand XP. I think that’s a really low value, but it’s what we got. With the ants we killed, I made another eighteen thousand XP.”

  Shawn had to wait while everyone started talking again. After a couple of minutes, he whistled again to bring them back on topic. “Contracted only costs a thousand XP, so we have the XP needed to let most of you get it, if you want. But again, it means you will be used for hunting parties, as looting the mobs is important. The ants netted a number of parts from them that might be useful for armor or weapons, if we knew how to craft the materials, and we also got some runes, including one of a higher quality than the base runes in the store. The loot the hunting parties get will be theirs to keep and distribute as they see fit. The Settlement will be putting a small tax on all XP earned so we can upgrade what we can for all of us. There will be a tax or cost for everything, as anyone who does a job gets XP. This means if you’re not a hunter, you will still make some, but not as much. The trade off is that hunters risk death every time they go outside the walls.”

  Silence greeted that reminder. “That’s it for tonight. If you want to go on our raid to the north, talk to me or Han. We’ll be getting basic armor and weapons together for the trip. Maximum of thirty, we don’t want to leave the Settlement undefended. Children and pregnant women will not be allowed to go, otherwise, it’s up to you.” Looking at Alvin, Shawn motioned with his head, “If I can see you for a few minutes?”

  Following Shawn outside, Alvin frowned when Becky didn’t come with him. A small sense of loss pinged in his chest. Blinking at the unfamiliar feeling, he roughly pushed it aside to focus on Shawn.

  “Is it just XP exchange, or have you worked out the price for the guns, too?” Alvin asked brusquely.

  “Both,” Shawn said, pointing to the exchange orb off to the side of the building. “Let’s exchange the XP first, then we can talk about the guns.”

  Once they both had their hands on the orb, Shawn toggled the XP exchange. “That’s impressive,” Alvin said, “A hundred and forty-six thousand XP for the drake parts.”

  “The scales were worth the most. The skin, not as much, and the few claws we sold were between the two of them. That is yours and Gothy’s split.” Shawn pulled his hands off the orb once Alvin accepted the XP. “As for the guns, we don’t have suppressors for them, but we’ll sell them. Dad said to have you give me the XP for his guns. Han will get his XP for the Tommy from me later, too. All four will run forty thousand XP.”

  Alvin chuckled, “Checked the store, did you?”

  “Of course,” Shawn shrugged, “it made sense.”

  “That’s still less than I would pay in the store and the MP5 comes with bells and whistles, at least.”

  “So does the 700,” Shawn added. “I’m leaving the 10x40 scope, the bipod, and the sling, along with the ten round mag. I also had dad put a vertical foregrip, reflex sight, and light on the UMP, figured you might want those to make handling it easier. Since you said that you’re going to suppress them, he made sure they were ready for the suppressors to be added, too.”

  “I’ll call it a deal, then,” Alvin said, putting his hands back on the orb. “Do you have them on you?”

  “In my bag,” Shawn said, tapping the fanny pack that Alvin had missed seeing.

  Alvin set up the XP exchange, then secured the guns in his backpack. “How many do you think will go with us?” Alvin asked as he zipped the bag closed and shouldered it.

  “Maybe twenty,” Shawn replied. “If it was a one time thing, then maybe thirty or more, but adding them to hunting teams afterward will dissuade some of them.”

  “Will twenty be enough?” Alvin asked.

  “I know five of them that can drive big rigs,” Shawn said, “and we have eight parked down the road. If we take five, it gives us a lot of room to haul loot back.”

  “Barring issues with wildlife and who knows what else,” Alvin added.

  The front door opened and a handful of guys came over to them. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk to Shawn about tomorrow.”

  “Have fun,” Alvin chuckled as he walked away from the group.

  Making a stop at the kiosk, he purchased the runes that he’d discussed with Becky for the weapons. Dropping the runes into his bag, Alvin finally went looking for Becky, who hadn’t shown up the entire time he had been talking with Shawn. His XP gains had dwindled to 70,000, down from the 146,000 XP Shawn had given him. That was still plenty for what he wanted to do tonight.

  Chapter Eight

  Walking back into the house, he found Karee and Han arguing. Stopping just inside the door, he saw Becky standing behind Karee and wondered what he’d missed.

  “No. You will not be allowed to go,” Han’s voice was soft, but had an unbending quality to it.

  “I’m old enough to make my own damned choices,” Karee snapped at him. “You’re not my fucking father and you never will be!” Karee stormed past Han and down the stairs.

  “Sixteen is old enough now, don’t you think?” Becky asked in the waspish tone she’d used when Alvin first met her at the school.

  “This isn’t your concern,” Han told Becky firmly. “Millhouse wouldn’t have wanted her risking her life like this.”

  “That doesn’t mesh with the stories we’ve heard about him,” Alvin said from the doorway. “Wasn’t there a story during his memorial about how he first taught her how to shoot at the age of six?”

  “That’s different,” Han replied. “You’re both outsiders and should stay out of family business.”

  “Fair enough,” Alvin said as he walked over to stand beside Becky. “We won’t take a side about what she can or can’t do.”

  “Hero—” Becky began, but he cut her off with a hard slap on the ass.

  “I said we won’t, an
d we won’t, Gothy,” he said firmly, his eyes locked on Han. “That good enough for you?”

  “Yes,” Han said before walking out the front door.

  “Hero—” Becky tried again, but cut off when Alvin met her eyes.

  “Leave it,” Alvin said firmly, pointing toward the stairs. “Time to turn in for the night.”

  Jaw set, Becky breathed heavily through her nose and stormed off, much like Karee had a minute before. Alvin rolled his eyes as he followed her. She had obviously not caught his meaning.

  Becky was walking toward the room they had used before when Alvin called her to stop. “Gothy, wait.”

  Glaring back at him, she faltered as she saw that he’d stopped before a different door. “That one’s taken,” she said.

  Alvin knocked on the door, and a familiar voice told him to go away. “I want to talk for a moment, please, open the door,” Alvin said in reply.

  Becky went back and read the nameplate, proclaiming it to be Karee’s room. “Why are we stopping here?”

  Alvin knocked again, only to have the door yanked open as he was knocking. He paused, looking into the red eyes of a sniffling teen as she stared back at him. “Can we talk to you for a moment?”

  Stepping aside, she waited for them to enter and shut the door behind them. “What?”

  “We had a talk with Han after you left,” Alvin said, holding up a hand to forestall her protests. “I told him we wouldn’t take sides on what you can or can’t do. However, I didn’t tell him we would do nothing.” A small, evil smile came to his lips. “He refused to buy you the Contracted Power, right?”

  Karee was still sniffling, but she was puzzled. Becky took Alvin’s arm. “Hero… I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it that way, and—”

  Alvin bopped her on the nose, cutting her off. “Shh. You’ll pay for it later. As well as setting up her play at me during dinner. I know you had a hand in that.”

  Looking away, Becky’s lips twitched. “Maybe…”

  “That’s right,” Karee was focused on him, “and I don’t have enough XP of my own to buy it.”

  “Gothy will transfer the XP you need to you tonight,” Alvin said. Glancing at Becky, he raised an eyebrow. “That’s one of the ways you’ll make up for your attitude from a few minutes ago. In fact, run out to the Mustang and buy one of the XP tokens with enough for her to purchase the Power. Some time after we leave your room, Karee, go out to the Mustang. There will be a pad that you can use to buy the Power. Just wait until everyone is asleep so Han can’t stop you. Okay?”

  Karee’s lips trembled. “You mean it?”

  “Yes, as long as you don’t try to get me killed by playing with my dick at dinner again,” Alvin told her levelly, before letting a small smile cross his lips.

  “Deal,” Karee said, then leapt at him, her arms wrapping around his waist. “Thank you. I know you said we don’t matter, but this means so much to me.”

  Becky snickered, “Maybe it's just the cute ones that think you’re a hero, Hero.”

  “Go get her the token for the XP,” Alvin told Becky. “I’ll be waiting.”

  Letting go of him, Karee spun to Becky. “I need three thousand, four hundred and twenty-five XP. I wound up with a stupid negative balance this morning when the world changed again.”

  Stepping away from the emotionally charged teen, Alvin leaned against the wall by the door. “You heard her, chop chop.”

  Becky gave him a searching look for a moment before opening the door. “Sharing is caring?”

  “I’m not going to do anything. Han would shoot me for it,” Alvin told her. “While I have no issue with fucking the shit out of her, it isn’t the smartest action right now.”

  “Okay,” Becky left the room with a backward glance at Karee. “He said no.”

  An awkward silence settled over the room as Alvin and Karee just looked at each other. “If Han wasn’t an issue…” Karee began, before trailing off.

  “You’re sixteen, which is old enough as far as I’m concerned,” Alvin told her, taking a moment to really look over the teen. She was much thinner than Becky, but had some muscle on her lanky frame. She was busty, but not as much as Becky. “Besides, Gothy likes breaking the thin ones, and I’m curious what that’s going to be like. Sadly though, even if Han wasn’t an issue, tonight I have plans with Gothy.”

  Karee nodded. “I mean you’re not really good looking, and you’re an asshole… but Gothy is right, there’s just something about you…”

  “Down, girl,” Alvin said firmly as Karee took a step toward him. “Not going to happen, not tonight—and if you press it, not ever.”

  Karee stopped in mid stride and backed up a step. Licking her lips, she walked backwards to her bed and sat down. “Oh, that was a nice sound. Very commanding. I’ll wait for Gothy, like a good girl.”

  “Maybe I just attract the broken ones,” Alvin mumbled as they waited for Becky to return.

  Becky returned a few minutes later with a plastic card. “It gives you options for what you want the XP token to look like. I picked the cheapest,” she flung it across the room like a frisbee, landing it on the bed next to Karee. “So…” Becky trailed off as she glanced from one to the other.

  “No, tonight is all you. And again, I want this Settlement to like us enough that we can come back,” Alvin told her as he nodded toward the still open door. “We have plans. Well, technically, I have plans.” Looking back at Karee, who was holding the card in her hands, Alvin coughed to get her attention. “Wait for everyone to be asleep, then use the Mustang, got it?”

  “Yes, sir,” Karee said watching him leave. “See you in the morning. Give him hell, Gothy.”

  Closing the door, Alvin sighed, “Are you encouraging her?”

  “A little… I thought that if we shared, it would be okay. She knows she would be second to me,” Becky said.

  Shaking his head, Alvin pointed down the hall. “Go find us a room. We’ll discuss who might be worth the trouble of adding in later. Tonight, though, is going to be an adventure for you, and some for me.”

  “An adventure?” Becky asked, her tongue poking out just a bit between her lips.

  “Go, now,” Alvin said firmly.

  Head rising, Becky touched her throat. “Yes, Hero, as you command.”

  Alvin watched her hips sway and imagined what he had planned for her as he walked along behind her. When she came to a stop before a door, he toggled the button and changed the closed door into a glowing doorway.

  “Oh, that’s different,” Becky said as she stepped into the glow.

  “It certainly is,” Alvin agreed as he stepped in after her. Looking around, he saw a glowing doorway taking up part of a wall in their room. “First things first, Gothy. You are to strip and get clean. Once the shower is over, you are to sit in the tub and wait for me to come for you, and you’re not allowed to pleasure yourself.”

  “As you wish, Hero,” Becky said as her clothing vanished. Walking toward the bathroom, she stripped off her undergarments, leaving them in a trail behind her. “Make sure to follow the path I leave for you…”

  “Jarvis, a pad, please,” Alvin said, taking the glowing pad from the air a moment later. He fiddled with the pad, taking his time and making sure he had everything ready for what he had planned. Becky said she wanted him to control her, and he was going to see how much controlling she really wanted. Finishing, he dropped the pad. He was a little shocked at the cost, but most of that was from adding an extra room to the base.

  Letting his clothing vanish, he stripped off his underwear and headed for the bathroom. Stopping in the doorway, he found Becky rocking her body against the side of the tub, eyes closed, face twisted in pleasure as she used the water jets to help pleasure herself since she wasn’t allowed to.

  Her small moans started to rise in pitch as she got closer to orgasm. “You’re not allowed to cum,” Alvin said.

  Eyes flying open, she saw him staring at her. Opening her mouth in protest, she
whimpered as her collar stopped her from cresting. “Hero…” Becky panted, her eyes filled with lust. “So mean…”

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” Alvin grinned at her. “Don’t move. Stay right there until I’m done.”

  Shaking slightly, her lips trembled. “Oh… so evil… mmmmm. Don’t keep me waiting, please.”

  “Maybe,” Alvin chuckled darkly as he strolled into the shower.

  He didn’t linger, but didn’t hurry either. When he stepped out of the shower, Becky was panting heavily as her body rocked in place against the water jet. “Having fun?”