Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

Rubbing his jaw, Alvin pursed his lips. “I guess we can. Actually, grab some clothes for both of them. They might really want some when they wake up. I’ll find a knife to cut the ropes off.”

  “There’s a nice Bowie up here,” Becky said. “I’ll bring it down with the clothes.”

  It only took her a few minutes to bring clothes and the knife to him. Alvin didn’t bother giving the blade more than a cursory glance before he pulled the blanket down to expose Dale’s arms and carefully cut the ropes, which parted easily to the sharp edge of the knife. Setting the knife on the table, Alvin covered the shivering man back up.

  “Let’s see if these things work,” Alvin said, handing the ampoule of smelling salts to Becky. “You dose her, I’ll get him.” Pulling out the small injectable that held a mixture of blue and red fluid, Alvin pushed it into Dale’s pectoral muscle and pushed the plunger. The liquid was soon gone, and the syringe vanished from his hand. Stepping back, along with Becky, the couple waited to see what the effects would be.

  Five seconds later, the shivering stopped and Dale blinked as his eyes began to focus. “What? Who?”

  “Dale, someone save him,” Vicki cried out as she jolted forward.

  “Vicki?” Dale said, grabbing his wife and crushing her to him.

  It took the couple a moment to realize they weren’t alone. Once they did, Dale grabbed the knife off the table and put himself between Vicki and them. “I won’t let you—”

  “Oh, shut up,” Alvin cut in. “We just saved both of you. And put some clothes on, no one wants to see that.”

  “Dale, you’re not wounded?” Vicki asked, shocked to find her naked husband without a gunshot wound in his leg. “I was being chased by one of them, and then thunder echoed…”

  “Not thunder, an M240B,” Becky added. “The guy chasing you met an abrupt end, as did the other five. You were shot in the shoulder, and he was shot through the leg when we got to you both. You’ve been in shock for the last few minutes, and Dale has been suffering from hypothermia. By the way, your clothes are next to you.”

  Eyes going from one to the other, Dale hesitated, clearly torn. The story the two told was too ludicrous to be true, but he had been strung up by his wrists in the barn, last he could recall, while the men… Shuddering, Dale forced that image from his mind.

  “Why don’t you get dressed, and we’ll talk,” Alvin said evenly. “While you do that, we’ll go poke in your kitchen and see if we can find some food, because I’m fucking starving.”

  “Right, sure, go ahead,” Dale said, looking even more uncertain, while Vicki grabbed her blouse from the arm of the sofa and began to get dressed.

  “Come on, Gothy, let’s go raid the larder. I hope they have some way to cook without electricity.”

  Alvin found a propane stove in the kitchen, and had cubed potatoes going and had just dropped steaks into a cast iron skillet when Dale and Vicki entered the kitchen. Becky looked up as they came in.

  “Decided you didn’t trust us?” Becky asked.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Alvin saw the couple, both with pistols on their hips. Dale carried a Remington 700 as well. “I really hope those aren’t for us,” Alvin’s words were calm, though his Kevlar appeared on his torso, his back still to them.

  “I’d rather not be caught unprepared again,” Dale said warily. “I take it you found the food.”

  “I have some taters and steak going,” Alvin said. “Wasn’t sure you’d be interested, but I have a couple more rubbed and ready to go after this set.”

  “I could eat,” Vicki said softly. “They came in the middle of the night, we haven’t eaten for a day.” A loud growl from her stomach proved her statement.

  “I’ll have these ready in a minute,” Alvin said. “I hope you like them rare to medium rare.”

  “By preference,” Dale said as he set the rifle on the counter. “Sorry for being standoffish, but with the last day…”

  “We understand,” Becky said from where she sat with a glass of wine in her hand. “Can I ask what you know about the current state of things?”

  “What do you mean?” Vicki asked as she took a seat at the table with Becky. “You mean besides all the cows mutating, and the electricity not working?”

  “Did you hear the Pope’s message just before that?” Becky asked.

  “You mean his end of the world speech?” Dale asked with narrowed eyes. “We heard it, but come on, stuff like that doesn—”

  “Yeah, there you go,” Becky chuckled. “I’m surprised that just two of you are working this place.”

  Vicki’s eyes went flat. “Our men didn’t come back from Bridgeport that day. That is, until yesterday, when Miguel showed up with his new friends.”

  “You said they’re all dead?” Dale asked, his voice full of anger.

  “Dead and gone,” Alvin said as he flipped the meat in the skillet. “Gothy, why don’t you start with show and tell. I’ll get these done, then start on ours, so they can eat while you talk.”

  “Works,” Becky said as she finished the glass of wine. “Dale, come on over and have a seat, you’re going need to see this to believe it.”

  Dale took a seat where he could keep his eyes on Alvin, who had let his vest vanish again. “Okay. What did you want to show us?”

  Becky began explaining the changes to their world. She had just summoned her MP5 to hand, causing Dale to sit back in surprise, when Alvin put the steaks on the table before the couple. Eyes a little wide, Dale took the offered food, focusing more on what Becky was saying than the meal.

  Alvin got the potatoes browning nicely before he dropped the next set of steaks onto the skillet. By the time he finished the second pair of steaks, the potatoes were ready as well. Dishing himself and Becky a full meal, he carted the rest of them over to the table.

  Taking his seat as Becky finished her explanation, Alvin dug into his meal. Alvin watched Dale and Vicki try to process the information they had been given as they ate their food on autopilot. Alvin frowned at his food; he hadn’t added enough pepper to either the steak, or the potatoes.

  “That is a lot to take in,” Dale finally said, breaking the silence that had fallen in the room.

  “We can’t stay here,” Vicki said mournfully. “That Lister guy Miguel spoke of will just send more men, or the others will come back this way from Hawthorne.”

  “They won’t,” Alvin said as he swallowed a bit of red meat. “They all died. I’d suggest you go anyway, though. There’s a dragon over to the northeast of here, and your herd will be prime meat for it.”

  “A dragon?” Dale asked incredulously.

  “Did you not just get shown the equivalent of magic?” Becky snorted, “But you’re going to balk at a dragon.”

  Shaking his head, Dale sighed, “So how do we get the XP to upgrade our things? And even if we wanted to leave, where would we go? You said Hawthorne is in ruins.”

  “Beatty,” Alvin said as he cut another bite off the steak. “They have a good Settlement started up, and could use experienced ranchers to help them with the cattle they were getting. Shawn is in charge down there, he’ll be more than happy to welcome knowledgeable people who can, and will, work.”

  “Beatty is a decent haul, and we only have the one truck to carry the cattle. With as big as they are now, I won’t be able to take many,” Dale said.

  “True. We can ask Shawn if he needs a bull. If not, just take some heifers with you,” Becky said.

  “Won’t we need to upgrade our truck to make the trip?” Vicki asked.

  “Possibly,” Alvin said. “Can I look at your 700 there, Dale?”

  “Okay,” Dale said, puzzled why Alvin wanted to see it.

  Picking it up, Alvin found it was uncommon quality, just like his. He put it back down and went back to his seat to finish eating. “You can drop four runes into that gun. Reloading is a must. I’d add Durability as well. After that, pick what you think best. For your truck, you need Fuel and I’d suggest Tires, but that’
s a lot of XP.” Alvin paused as he saw the pensive look on Dale’s face. “As for how to get XP— killing things, looting them, and perhaps even selling the drops, just like most video games. Since you don’t have a lot of XP, and trying to kill us for some would be a really bad idea, we can work out a deal.”

  “What kind of deal?” Dale asked, suddenly defensive.

  “Once you have all the things you’re taking loaded, we’ll pick over the rest. I doubt it will come up to equal the XP needed for your truck, but we’re altruistic that way.” Alvin smiled sincerely.

  Becky managed to keep a straight face at his words, but with difficulty. “Always helping people, aren’t you, Hero?” Alvin could mentally see her correct that statement in her head to shooting, instead of helping.

  “If you’ll give us a few minutes,” Dale said, motioning Vicki toward the living room.

  “Take your time,” Alvin said.

  When they left the room, Becky gave him a flat stare. “Really? Altruistic?”

  Alvin grinned as he cut another bite of steak. “That’s me.”

  “Remind me not to play poker with you,” Becky snorted as she went back to her food. “If they take us up on the offer, we’re going to have to stay here for the night.”

  “True,” Alvin said, taking the last bite of his meal. “I wonder what we could find to do, to entertain ourselves.”

  Becky’s eyes smoldered with passion. “I have some ideas, Hero.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  It took Dale and Vicki a couple of hours to pack up what they wanted to take, even with Alvin and Becky helping. Becky bought the two runes for their truck once they’d finished loading their personal items. Alvin showed Dale how to apply them, then helped get five heifers loaded up in the twenty-five-foot cattle trailer.

  “Thank you,” Dale said. “We’ll be careful heading to Beatty. I know some back roads south of Hawthorne that will get us to the main road, so we should avoid the dragon.”

  “Safe travels,” Alvin said. “Shawn is aware you’re on your way and is really looking forward to your help getting his food supply stabilized.”

  “Thank you,” Vicki said, her soft voice full of emotion as she gave Becky a hug. “You saved our lives, and I’ll never forget you.”

  “We’ll be back there in time,” Becky said, gently patting the rancher’s back. “We’ll see each other again.”

  Alvin had on his best false smile as he waved the couple goodbye. Once the truck was well down the road, Alvin let the smile drop. “Fucking gods, just get on with it. Okay, so let's go see what’s worth a fuck out of what’s left.”

  “Why did we spend the XP on them, out of curiosity?”

  “Shawn really can use them,” Alvin shrugged. “I would have sent them to Green River instead, but that would put them into the sightline of at least another drake. In time, the Settlement might get the teleport ability, and then they can help all the unlocked Settlements.”

  “Should have figured, but for a moment, you had me doubting,” Becky said.

  “They should have bought it hook, line, and sinker then,” Alvin chuckled. “The sooner we catalog this stuff, the sooner we can have some fun for ourselves.”

  The sun was down by the time they had finished what Alvin set out to do. After the last of the stuff they were taking was tossed into the back of the Humvee, he slammed the doors. “Can we please go back to our room now?” Becky asked intently.

  Alvin chuckled as he snagged her with an arm around the waist. “Is someone wanting some fun?”

  Becky growled as she pushed him into the nearest wall and kissed him hard. Alvin’s hands went around to pull her ass towards him, grinding their bodies together as the kiss deepened, tongues dueling for supremacy.

  Breaking the kiss, Becky’s eyes all but glowed with her need. “Take me home and fuck me silly, Hero.”

  Since they were just inside the front door, Alvin triggered the switch to change the closest door into the portal to their base. “Go get in the shower,” Alvin told her firmly, his hand coming up to rest right under the tattoo on her neck. “I have some things to prepare for after we’re clean.”

  “As you wish,” Becky husked as she spun away from him and vanished into the portal.

  Taking a moment to adjust himself, Alvin let out a deep breath, “Damn, she’s intense at times. I guess it’s time for maximum effort.”

  Walking through the portal, he found a trail of clothes leading to the bathroom. Letting his clothes vanish down to his underwear, Alvin padded into the dungeon. “Jarvis, I need a pad to buy a special jacket.”

  “I think I know what you are after, sir,” Jarvis said. “I have pulled Ruffian over onto a side road for the night, sir. I don’t wish to draw attention to myself before you reach Bridgeport.”

  “That’s fine. The Humvee has been a big help so far,” Alvin said. “You’ve done amazingly well on the gun, by the way.”

  “Thank you, sir. I am trying to prove myself useful, despite the restrictions placed on me. I do need to let you know that they will probably have a fix in place for your bugs within the next day or two.”

  “My bugs?” Alvin chuckled.

  “The Impervious rune was not meant for vehicles,” Jarvis said dryly. “The other ‘bug’ is that the negative XP for killing humans has been rendered moot by the loot feature.”

  “That isn’t my bug, that’s a design issue,” Alvin chuckled as he took the pad Jarvis had materialized for him. “Now a jacket for my special lady.” It took a few minutes, but he found what he was looking for, then customized it further. “That’s kind of pricey, since it doesn’t have any upgrade spots, but fuck it. She’s going to love it.

  “Hey! Jarvis, why haven’t I gotten any fan or gift XP lately?”

  “They discontinued the XP bonus from people watching feeds, sir, as well as the XP you got for playing every day. They also took down the donation button for a time. It is supposed to go back up tomorrow.”

  “Got it,” Alvin said, looking up at the ceiling. “You hear that, guys? You need to shower the fuck out of us with donations. I know you’re enjoying Becky being tormented. Think of how much more it will torment her to know that you all enjoyed watching her that much.”

  “Very devious, sir,” Jarvis said.

  “Thank you,” Alvin chuckled as he took the jacket and draped it over one of the padded benches. “Time to go get clean.”

  Becky was sprawled on the bench in the middle of the shower, her body lathered in soap as she slowly caressed herself. Her chest was heaving when Alvin stepped into the shower. “I’ve been waiting so long, Hero. Are you going to clean me now?”

  Alvin nodded as he went to the knobs that controlled the shower head right above the bench. “Yes,” he said, turning the cold water on full.

  Becky screeched in shock as the cold water cascaded over her, washing the suds away and causing her nipples to become hard points. “Hero!”

  Alvin added hot water as Becky rolled off the bench. Wrapping his arms around her cold body as she got up, Alvin dragged her back to the bench. “You’re not done yet.”

  “No, don’t,” Becky said as she struggled in his arms, not wanting to get hit by cold water again. She stopped her struggles as the warm water finally hit her. “You asshole.”

  “Yeah, had to cool you off so I can get you all worked up again,” Alvin said as he began to massage her breasts. “I mean, I had to get you a gift, and here you were getting all worked up without me. Besides, you asked me to clean you, and I did.”

  Leaning back into him, Becky let out a soft moan, “Asshole.”

  Giving her nipple rings a tug, Alvin felt her shiver against him. “It seems you forgive me,” Alvin whispered in her ear before nibbling it.

  “Damn you, Hero, making me bend to your every whim,” Becky moaned as he continued to play with her chest.

  “If we stay in here, you’re going to miss getting your present tonight,” Alvin said as one of his hands dropped to he
r thighs. Before she could react or say more, his fingers had already started to rub across her entrance. “We could just stay here and enjoy ourselves if you’d rather, though.”

  Hips moving against his hand, Becky whimpered, “So cruel.”

  “Yes, I am,” Alvin said, nipping hard enough to leave bite marks on her neck.

  Knees trembling at the assault, Becky let out a deep moan. With a swift movement, she spun in his arms and pushed him onto the bench in the shower. “I want my gift,” Becky panted as she backed up against the shower wall.

  Lips twitching into an evil grin, Alvin chuckled, “That was willpower. Okay, let me get cleaned up, then we’ll go to the dungeon.”