Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “That’s right, do you have the items on you?” Gary asked.

  “They’re in the Humvee outside,” Alvin said. “Can I get your help with unloading it?”

  “I’ll bring a flatbed cart around to the front,” Gary said.

  “Hero, I’m going to look over this kiosk thing, is that okay?”

  “Sure,” Alvin agreed. “Let me know what you find when I bring in the first batch.”

  Once Alvin and Gary were outside, Becky pulled up her message from David. Sure enough, she had been right about David’s letter, and that he just wanted to check up on her. She sent back a reply, explaining what they had been up to, then closed down the message center and pulled up the rune page just as the guys came into the store with a fully loaded cart.

  “That is a lot of stuff,” Gary was puffing, short of breath.

  “And still another trip after this one,” Alvin said, clearly not out of breath. “Find anything, Gothy?”

  “Gary, can you explain these to me?” Becky asked, pointing to the runes showing on the kiosk.

  Chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, Gary nodded and leaned against the side of the kiosk. “Each rune does something special, based on what you put it in,” Gary said, launching into a detailed explanation of each rune.

  Alvin rolled his eyes at Becky behind Gary’s back as he started to shift the junk into the area for selling things to the kiosk. The kiosk just kept accepting the stuff until the cart was empty. Alvin went back out with the cart while Gary continued with his explanation.

  When Alvin came back in, Gary and Becky were sharing a laugh, which made him wonder what had happened. Trundling the cart over, he started shoving the rest of the stuff into the receptacle. Once he was finished, he looked at the kiosk and saw the XP value next to a money pouch icon at the bottom of the screen.

  “It really is a very good idea if you do that, especially if you’re going to stay in town,” Gary was saying when Alvin finally finished.

  “My pills are almost out, so it’s a really good idea,” Becky agreed. “Hero, they have a type of birth control that can last for a solid month, and it also protects against all types of STDs.”

  “Hmm,” Alvin put on a thoughtful look. “That could be useful, since I’m sure the birth control pills are going to be gone soon.”

  “Oh,” Becky said, switching topics as she pointed at the money bag icon on the kiosk, “Gary, what is this?”

  “That is the maximum you could get from the sale of your items,” Gary hedged. “If you tap the bag icon, it will show you all fees associated with using the kiosk.”

  Becky touched the icon and her eyebrows shot up. “Half? We’d only get half because of this ‘convenience fee?’”

  “That is the tax that Lister instituted on the kiosk. We all pay it,” Gary said tightly.

  “Huh, so it's not just a tourist thing?” Alvin asked.

  “No. It’s the same for buying or selling,” Gary added.

  “We pay a fifty percent tax on buying goods, too?” Becky asked, almost shrieking in outrage.

  “If you wish to use the kiosk, yes,” Gary replied, obviously not liking it any more than they did.

  “What does the tax get used on?” Alvin asked in an offhand matter.

  “Lister says it goes to upgrading the infrastructure of the town,” Gary said. “We lost all electrical and water when the Event happened. Lister has been getting it all back up and running since then.”

  “Well, if it helps the town,” Alvin said slowly, “I guess we can’t begrudge you all that, right?” False smile plastered on his face, Alvin patted Gary’s shoulder amiably.

  “Yes, it all helps us,” Gary said, his voice wobbling as he lied.

  “Accept the XP, Gothy. Since I have more than you, we can balance it out this way some.”

  Gothy gave him a searching look, then accepted the transaction and gained 8,230 XP. “Should we buy some of these runes?” Becky asked, still keeping up the pretense of not knowing what she was doing.

  “Maybe after we grab a bite to eat and can think it over,” Alvin said. “Gary, any advice on where we can grab some food?”

  “The Hippo just down the street should be open,” Gary said. “If you tell Olivia I sent you, she can probably knock a bit off the cost for you.”

  “Sounds good,” Alvin smiled. “Any chance we can buy you lunch and get some more information about everything?”

  Gary looked at the empty store and shrugged. “Sure. I’ll hang up a sign, so they can find me if they need me. You two go ahead. I’ll be over in a minute.”

  “See you there,” Alvin said as he put his arm around Becky’s waist. “Let’s go stuff you full of meat.”

  “Let’s, indeed,” Becky grinned at him. “See you in a bit, Gary,” she said, and gave the elderly man a wave as they left the store.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  The Hippo Bar and Grill was just across the street from the store, between the General Store and the Inn. Entering the bar, they found a haggard looking middle-aged woman serving drinks to a wizened old man. Eyes narrowing slightly at the strangers in her place, the woman frowned at them. “Can I help you?”

  “Gary next door sent us over, said this was the place for good food. He’s going to be joining us shortly, he said,” Alvin replied with a blank face. “This is the Hippo, right?”

  The woman’s frown vanished. “This is the Hippo. Sit wherever you want and I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  Alvin chose the table in the corner by the doors. It gave him line of sight on the whole room and wasn’t immediately visible to anyone entering. Becky took the chair to his left, which put her right next to the wall.

  Olivia came over with two glasses of water and an apologetic smile, “Sorry about that. Things just haven’t been the same since the Event.”

  “Zombies can upset all of us,” Becky replied.

  “What can I get you to drink?” Olivia asked as she handed each of them a menu.

  “Coke?” Alvin asked.

  “Yes, we have Coke,” Olivia said.

  “Make that two, please,” Becky smiled.

  “I’ll be back to get your order in a minute,” Olivia said as she went to fetch their drinks.

  “Is it me, or do the people here seem less than thrilled with their current lot in life?” Becky murmured.

  “Yeah. Lister seems to be a tax baron, and kind of a dick,” Alvin nodded.

  “What are we going to do?” Becky asked, but the jingling of the door opening interrupted Alvin’s reply.

  Gary walked in and paused, then turned and found them. “Thought maybe you decided against my recommendation,” Gary said.

  “Can’t wait to dig in, myself,” Alvin said. “Trail food just isn’t the same as made fresh, know what I mean?”

  “I can remember those days pretty well,” Gary nodded. “C-rats are not my favorite thing in the world, either.”

  Alvin mentally noted yet another ex-soldier who’d survived the Rapture. “I think they’re called MREs now,” Alvin chuckled.

  “They are. I was out before they changed them over,” Gary shrugged. “Not that I missed much, from what I’ve heard.”

  “You didn’t,” Becky said. “Dad was big on them for our camping trips.”

  “That sounds tough,” Gary nodded. “I always took better food along camping. Jerky, at the very least.”

  “Here’s your usual, Gary,” Olivia said, coming over to the table and placing a pilsner before him and sodas before the other two. “Have you had a chance to look at the menu?”

  “We got caught up talking to Gary,” Alvin apologized. “I’d just like a burger and maybe some cheese fries,” the last was said hopefully.

  “We don’t serve cheese fries, but I’ll see what we can fix up for you,” Olivia smiled. “What about you, hon?”

  “I’ll take what he’s having,” Becky said, bumping Alvin with her shoulder.

  Nodding, Olivia’s eyes tightened some wh
en she really took a look at Becky. “Fine. And the usual, Gary?”

  “Yup,” Gary grinned. “I told you years ago, I’d eat your reubens until the day I die.”

  “Which you’ve managed to miss out on so far,” Olivia smirked as she picked up the menus. “Food will be out soonest.”

  “No rush,” Alvin said.

  “I was wondering, Gary—could you tell us about what’s happened in town since the Rapture?” Becky asked sweetly, with a bright smile, “I wonder if we could’ve survived if we’d been in town.”

  Gary took a long pull from his beer and set it down. “It's not something we normally talk about. We all lost a lot of friends on that black day.” Gary paused, his eyes going distant for a moment. “I remember being in the shop. The radio was playing the Pope’s message when everything suddenly shut off.” Gary proceeded to tell them about how Bridgeport had endured the Rapture.

  “Lister came into town from the south an hour into the Rapture. He had driven straight into the middle of town and calmly shot zombie after zombie. The survivors rallied around him and his never-ending gunfire. When the last zombie fell, he told them all that he could teach them about the changes and how to survive. He’d blamed the Native Americans who lived just north of town for the zombies that many of their friends and loved ones had become. A handful of townsfolk had tried denying his story, but a fervor had claimed the others, who all agreed with him. Lister led the mob to the small reservation where forty-five of the fifty-five Natives there had been ruthlessly cut down. The only reason there were any survivors turned out to be because of the shaman, who had somehow raised a shield of some kind which pushed Lister’s men off the land. Ever since then, the Natives were persona non grata in Bridgeport.”

  Alvin was well into his burger and cheese fries by the time Gary finished his story. “That is some fucked up shit,” Alvin said.

  Gary shrugged. “Nothing we can do about it now. That gave him the edge to push his agenda in the town. The kiosk and the fort across the street only solidified his position. He recruited the worst of the survivors, and named them his deputies. They raided the CHP office and dressed the guys out in those uniforms. Now their words are law, as if Lister himself said them. Half of them are out of town currently; they went to some place in Nevada after some depot. When they get back, you don’t want to be in town.”

  Alvin’s smile was vicious. “I doubt it will be a problem.”

  The jingle of the door admitting brought all attention to the three men dressed in CHP uniforms who swaggered in. They didn’t even look around, just went right to the bar and Olivia. “Olivia, we need food for Lister, and his XP tokens for the week,” one of them sneered at the waitress.

  “I’ll go get the food, Larry,” Olivia said meekly, scurrying into the kitchen.

  “Henry, go over to get the XP tokens from Gary. Useless old man probably forgot today’s the day he needs to pay up for Lister’s generosity and letting him keep his store,” Larry laughed.

  Henry turned around to see Gary sitting with Alvin and Becky. “Hey, Larry, he’s here eating lunch. He shouldn’t be out of his shop before we collect today.”

  Gary’s hands clenched on the table, his jaw setting, “I’ve had just about enough of this shit, and I’ve had a reuben already today.” The words were pitched too low to carry. Gary closed his eyes to try to find a bit of calm.

  “Hey, old fuck, you got Lister’s XP tokens?” Larry laughed. “Or do we get to drag you over to him again?”

  “Three on one seems like good odds,” Alvin said as he popped his last fry into his mouth.

  “You the new people in town?” Larry sneered, looking Alvin over. The sneer became a leer as he looked at Becky. “You, however, are more than welcome in town, toots.”

  Becky snorted as she took a drink of her Coke, “Ha, none of you are enough for me. Only Hero is tough enough to ride this ride.”

  The three guys frowned and one took a step towards them. “Well, hell. I’ll be your hero, bitch.”

  Becky began laughing, while Alvin snickered. It didn’t help the guy’s case when both Henry and Larry joined in. “Paul, you can’t even get hard if the smell of shit isn’t in the air,” Larry laughed.

  “Fuck you, Larry, that was just one time in jail. It isn’t like I only do guys,” Paul snarled and turned on Larry, his hand dropping to the pistol on his hip. “And if you don’t knock that shit off, I’m going to get mad.”

  “Go ahead, get mad. We all know you can’t shoot for shit,” Larry said, his hand hovering over his gun. “Now back down, or this is going to be the end of this constant bullshit.”

  Alvin snickered loudly, “They can’t even get along with each other, and these clowns are Lister’s men?”

  All three men pulled their guns on Alvin, who immediately held his hands up. “Look here, asshole, I’m thinking we should drag you off to Lister. Now get up nice and slow, and don’t make any sudden moves or we might have us an accident,” Larry snarled.

  Alvin got up slowly, his hands in plain sight. “Sure you don’t want to wait for your men in Hawthorne to show up? I mean, you might need the other twenty odd men to be sure, right?”

  All three looked puzzled and exchanged glances. That was all Alvin needed; his UMP appeared in his right hand while the Type 56 appeared in his left. “Down!” Alvin yelled at Olivia, who was coming in from the kitchen. All three men’s eyes went wide as Alvin opened up with both guns, a manic smile on his face as the trio returned fire.

  Becky slammed into Gary, knocking them both to the floor as she summoned her shotgun to her hand. “Stay down,” she yelled above the gunfire.

  Alvin was glad he had summoned his vest, as the first few shots hit him center mass. His fire was a little more sporadic than normal, since he was firing from the hip with both guns. Even then, he managed to chew through Paul’s health in short order, as he wasn’t wearing a Kevlar vest. The old man at the bar had turned to watch the firefight but stayed put otherwise, while Olivia had hit the floor at Alvin’s warning.

  The first shot to Alvin’s face got his attention. Larry was trying to aim while Henry kept up cover fire. “Gothy, take Larry,” Alvin snarled, letting the UMP vanish and so he could use both hands for the Type. A second shot hit him in the face, sending pain flaring through his body. He gritted his teeth and put six rounds through Henry’s head in quick order. The boom of the shotgun was enough to make Larry flinch. The slug hit him in the chest, knocking him backwards out of his kneeling position.

  “No one hurts my Hero,” Becky snarled as she got to her feet and advanced on Larry. Getting there just in time to see him applying a medkit, Becky gave him a manic grin. “Hope you have more of those,” she said as she pushed the barrel of the gun into his forehead and fired the next four shells in rapid succession, blowing his head apart. “Never mind, it’s a moot point now.”

  Alvin applied a medkit to his own face, healing the damage he’d taken in the fight. With a sigh, Alvin looked at the blood splattered room and the multitude of bullet holes. “Sorry about the mess.”

  Gary got to his feet slowly, shocked at the swiftness with which the couple had executed three of Lister’s men. “Lister is going to be pissed. When his other men get back from Hawthorne—”

  “They won’t be back,” Alvin cut Gary off, his ears ringing slightly. “All of them are dead. They made the mistake of trying to force me to do what they wanted.”

  “Gary?” Olivia asked, tears streaming down her face. “What am I going to do? Lister is going to kill me for this.”

  “No, no he won’t,” Alvin said firmly. “I’ve had about enough of the bullshit going on here. It’s about time you all had your town back. And where is everyone who’s not one of Lister’s goons?”

  “The farms,” the old man at the bar said. “The hundred or so of us left all work the farms and take care of the cows. Lunch is in an hour, they’ll flood back into town and have their break then. Lister’s goons will be out to talk to them,
reinforcing his laws.”

  “Are any of them redeemable?” Alvin asked.

  “Trevill,” Gary cut in. “He was CHP, he was roped into the squad when he came into town the day after the Event. He’s been really unhappy, but Lister has his wife, so Trevill won’t cross him.”

  “So add kidnapping to the rest of Lister’s issues,” Alvin said as he let both guns reload. “Okay. I’m going to need to know more about Lister’s home, and what I’m looking at. I think I should go say hi.”

  “We’ll go say hi,” Becky said firmly.

  “Fine, we’ll both go say hi,” Alvin conceded.