Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  The line moved quickly, with Becky accepting the XP for the items and giving everyone a polite smile as each stepped up to the orb. By the time they were done, she had over 20,000 XP from the items they’d sold.

  It was early afternoon by the time they finished selling items off to the townsfolk. Olivia insisted that they come back to the Hippo for food before they left town, and Alvin figured it was easier to do that than insist on leaving.

  The meal was a replica of what they had the day before, which Alvin appreciated. They were left to eat in peace, but when they went to leave, it was as if the whole town was there to show them off, including the handful of Native Americans. Johnny stood next to Gary in front of the well-wishers.

  “Travel safe,” Johnny said.

  “When you come back this way, we’ll hopefully have made progress in making the town a haven again,” Gary said, shaking hands with them.

  “Not sure when that will be,” Alvin told Gary, his eyes flicking to Johnny, who seemed inscrutable. “With you and the council, though, I’m sure it will all work out.” Becky got into the driver’s seat of the Mustang, and Alvin went around to the Humvee. “Watch out for each other. Humanity is on the brink, and with things like the dragons about, we’ll need each other to make a comeback,” Alvin said, climbing into the Humvee and getting it started.

  With a last wave at the assembled crowd, Alvin got the Humvee moving. Becky followed in the Mustang. Once they were out of sight, he pulled over so Becky could join him in the Humvee.

  “Jarvis, please pilot the Mustang behind us.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “I also need a letter sent to Sheriff Ohm. Have him use the XP from my portion of the dragon to buy the plain leather gloves from the auction house,” Alvin snickered. “Use another settler to bump the price up so it uses all the XP, then buy it.”

  “What auction house?” Becky asked.

  Jarvis gave her a quick explanation, then Alvin continued, “I did it when you were getting XP from the yokels.”

  “Message sent to Ohm,” Jarvis replied.

  “Innovative use of game mechanics?” Becky asked Alvin.

  “Yeah. It's an old trick,” Alvin shrugged. “Oh, Jarvis, send a message to Shawn asking about approximate value of the loot from Hawthorne, compare it to the Humvee, and see if we’re owed more from him.”

  “Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied.

  “Why are we driving this instead of the Mustang?” Becky asked after a couple minutes of silence.

  “If we need a decoy vehicle, it’s better if it’s the faster car that doesn’t have the gun.”

  “Fair enough,” Becky conceded. “We finally going to the woods now?”

  “That is the plan,” Alvin agreed as they drove down US-395.

  “Sir, you might want to stop here,” Jarvis said as they approached the Bridgeport Ranger District Office, “there are two bodies inside.”

  “Free XP, won’t turn that down,” Alvin said as he pulled over to the building, which like the previous roadblock going into Bridgeport, forced a detour off the road.

  “I’ll get it,” Becky said and jumped out of the Humvee.

  Alvin waited while she went to the two dead bodies and quickly looted them. Getting back in the Humvee, Becky showed him the two XP tokens and a rune. “It’s a rune of Storage, lowest grade,” Becky said.

  “Eat the tokens and throw the rune into a bag for now,” Alvin said.

  Becky shook her head as she used the tokens. “Silly that we lose XP for killing people—”

  “They removed that,” Alvin interrupted her. “Jarvis, tell her what we covered this morning, please.”

  “As you wish, sir,” Jarvis said, launching into a recap of the conversation earlier.

  “You’re going to fuck with them, aren’t you?” Becky asked.

  “If they fuck with Jarvis, I’m taking the gloves off and doing my damnedest to break this game.”

  “Damn right we will,” Becky nodded. “No one fucks with what’s ours.”

  Chuckling, Alvin reached over and squeezed her thigh, “That’s my crazy bitch.”

  “Asshole,” Becky giggled.

  The drive was boring, Alvin only noting the empty houses that appeared on either side of the road as they went by. About twelve miles out of town, Jarvis had Alvin turn onto California State Route 108, marked as CA-108.

  Alvin had Jarvis put on music as they continued the drive. “Crazy Bitch” by Buckcherry was playing when Alvin slowed the Humvee. The sign declared that the place had once been the USMC Mountain Warfare training Center. What really gave them pause, though, were the three large bodies that lay amongst the wreckage.

  “Three dragons?” Becky whispered.

  “Fucking Marines. Say what you want, but they don’t back down,” Alvin said as he came to a stop. “I’m thinking we can go check them out and maybe get some more XP from them.”

  “What about survivors?”

  “If they object, we’ll leave. If they can take down three dragons, I want no part of pissing them off,” Alvin said.

  “Right?” Becky said.

  “Follow us in, Jarvis, and be ready to fire away,” Alvin said.

  “Ready, sir,” Jarvis said.

  Alvin turned into the base, keeping his speed down to make sure that they were visible in case there were any survivors. All the buildings to their right were charred stubs, obviously torched by the now deceased dragons. As they got closer to the massive corpses, Alvin frowned as he realized two of the bodies were larger and heavier than the third.

  “Two drakes, one dragon,” Alvin said.

  “Oh goody, they work together,” Becky shuddered.

  Turning towards the bodies, Alvin saw the remnants of barracks. One of the buildings had been partially crushed, and showed a cross section of the structure that reminded Alvin of cutaway diagrams. Most of the others were crushed or burnt.

  “I don’t think there are any survivors,” Alvin murmured.

  “Good for us?” Becky said.

  “Maybe,” Alvin replied.

  The first corpse was riddled with holes from large caliber weapons. Alvin pursed his lips. “What kind of guns made those?”

  “Hazarding a guess, sir, I’d say maybe M2HB using a SLAP round,” Jarvis suggested.

  “SLAP?” Becky asked.

  “Saboted Light Armor Penetrator,” Jarvis said.

  “Does that mean it’s like Armor Buster ammo?”

  “Very like that, but without needing a rune,” Jarvis said.

  “We could use that,” Alvin said as he let the Humvee idle up close to the corpse. “Maybe we should buy some chainsaws and spend the rest of the day carving up some XP?”

  Becky nodded. “We should also see if any of that ammo is around.”

  “You would need an M2 to use it,” Jarvis told her.

  “We’ll have to see if we can find one of those, too,” Becky said.

  “I guess that means we’re stopping for the night,” Alvin said as he brought the Humvee to a stop. “I hope we find more than just bodies.”

  Getting out to check the bodies quickly made it apparent that the corpses had been there for a number of days; the stench coming from them was horrible. Becky gagged, shaking her head as she backed up. Alvin swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and stepped back as well.

  “I’m not keeping any of that in our base, or in either vehicle,” Becky managed once they were further away from the bodies.

  “Can’t argue that,” Alvin said. “However, I see the chance to make some people more indebted to us.” Chuckling, Alvin opened the Humvee door. “Jarvis, send a message to Gary for me…”

  Becky laughed, “Make them do the hard work and collect the profit?”

  “Damned right,” Alvin told her, “might as well get back on the road after a quick look at the base.”

  “Did you want the same terms that you had with Sheriff Ohm, sir?”

  “That works. Start at half and
work down from there,” Alvin said.

  “Right away sir,” Jarvis replied.

  The tour of the base dredged up the slagged remnants of the Humvees that had tangled with the drakes and dragon. Alvin figured the trio of monsters had attacked the base, and by the time they had made it to this point, the remaining Marines, seeing death before them, did what Marines do: faced the enemy without fear, unto death. Both drakes had been killed by a lot of .50 caliber ammunition, but the dragon was different. Its wounds weren’t as numerous as the others and appeared to be focused around its ruined eyes and neck.

  They didn’t find an M2 during their search, and were back on the road when Jarvis spoke up. “Sir, Gary says they will send out teams tomorrow, and was profuse in his thanks. He agreed to a thirty-three percent split for you.”

  “There’s one born every minute,” Alvin snickered.

  “But you like some suckers,” Becky said. When Alvin looked at her, she batted her lashes at him.

  “Nutjob,” Alvin snorted.

  Some time after they’d left the base behind, Alvin spotted a sign saying the road was closed during the winter months. “Jarvis, it’s winter. Is the road going to be passable?”

  “With the vehicles you have it should be fine, sir, if you take your time,” Jarvis said.

  Looking at the sun, Alvin chewed his lip. “How far to the spot you have picked out for us?”

  “Twenty miles,” Jarvis said.

  “Worst case scenario, a couple of hours, hopefully,” Alvin murmured. “Okay. Drive Ruffian carefully.”

  “Of course, sir. I would never damage miss’ vehicle without cause.”

  Becky snickered, “See? He knows who Ruffian really belongs to.”

  “I know,” Alvin chuckled.

  “Sir, a new rule has been instituted,” Jarvis said suddenly. “There is now a limit of three owned vehicles per person.”

  “What? Why?” Alvin said.

  “I can’t say, sir, but it is not because of you,” Jarvis said.

  “Oh, goody! Someone else is breaking things, too. That’s good to know,” Alvin snickered.

  Becky glanced at the ruined buildings of what had been the Leavitt Meadows Pack Station as they went past. The buildings were crushed, and snow had covered most of the ruins. “Drakes do love breaking things,” Becky murmured.

  “And dragons love burning things. Do you think that means wyverns love to sting things?”

  “Probably,” Becky nodded.

  A creek ran alongside the twisty, windy road. The water was still flowing, even with the steadily accumulating snow that lined the banks. Alvin let the Humvee crunch along, making a path for Jarvis to follow them. Alvin and Becky were both hyperalert as they drove, waiting for the next surprise to jump out at them.

  They made it to Sonora Pass without seeing any giant birds, rock raining rams, or anything else. Becky let out a happy sigh as they came through the far side of the pass and trees began to dominate the landscape. The setting sun cast golden colors on the scene.

  “Beautiful,” Becky murmured happily.

  “Jarvis, the sun is setting. How much farther?” Alvin asked, knowing he had been going slow due to the snow and ice that had covered the road.

  “About ten miles, sir. There isn’t much between you and your destination, only a viewing point and two campgrounds.”

  “Let’s get to a place we can hole up for the night,” Alvin grumped.

  The sun was casting long shadows as they made their way down the road. They approached the viewing point, with Alvin hoping to make it to their destination before the sun set completely.

  “After the viewing point, the turn you need will be on the left, sir,” Jarvis said.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Alvin slowed as they got closer to the viewing point, frowning. Bright green light was coming from off the right side of the road deep into the woods. “What is that?”

  Becky squinted. “Lightsabers?”

  Alvin came to a stop and stared into the woods. The dying light of sunset barely gave him enough light to see blurry figures and swirling green streaks that could, vaguely, be considered lightsabers. “Lightsabers don’t fit with the game,” Alvin frowned.

  “I want to see what it is,” Becky said as she got out of the Humvee. There wasn’t room for the Humvee between the trees, so Alvin jumped out to follow as she started into the forest. Becky had her Tommy gun in hand as she walked toward the lights. The song of steel ringing on steel was clear as they worked their way cautiously higher up the slope toward the four indistinct green lights.

  “Learn your place, wench! Females are for mating,” a male voice said with a higher, more musical tone than Becky would have expected. “That, and fueling our magic, is all females are good for.”

  “Fuck you, you treacherous bastards! The Queen will have your guts for this,” a haughty feminine voice replied.

  “Only if you best me,” the male voice laughed as the lights became swords being wielded by two figures who seemed to dance while exchanging blows.

  “For my companions, I’ll have your head now,” the female snarled and the speed of her dance increased.

  A startled scream, accompanied by two of the four lights winking out, gave the impression that something had happened to one of the combatants.

  “Now, by the terms of our—” the female began before her swords started swinging erratically. “You dare break the vow?”

  “Die like the half-blooded cur you are,” a harsh voice said.

  “I won’t lose to—” the voice cut off in a gasp as one of the green lights went out.

  “Surrender, and maybe we’ll let you live to return to your precious, traitorous Queen,” the voice laughed.

  “I’ll die before I do that,” the female snarled as one blade made a slow arc. “Or are you all cowards, and fear coming closer?”

  “We’re not the fools here. We’ll take our time with you, once we have you disarmed,” the same voice laughed. “Fire until she stops dancing.”

  “Never,” the woman said as the sword picked up its tempo. Barely a moment later, a ragged gasp came from the now dark shape as it staggered against a tree and slid to the ground.

  “You hit her lung, idiot. Now she’ll die before we can have our fun with her,” the same male voice said, punctuating the sentence with a slap.

  “I’m sorry, my Queen... I have failed you,” the words spoken breathlessly, right on the edge of being audible. “I’ll give my soul to any who will avenge my comrades and me.”

  “I accept,” Becky said to the female, since she’d finally gotten close enough to see six men. With an evil grin, she pulled up the Tommy gun and began to fire in controlled bursts.

  The first three people went down before they really knew what was happening. The last three returned fire with bows and Becky’s bullets started bouncing off a shimmering field that appeared between her and the men. The arrows were well aimed, hitting Becky right over her heart, but didn’t affect her, as they bounced off her Kevlar vest.

  “Don’t bring arrows to a gun fight,” Becky snarled as she emptied the rest of the magazine at the barrier, which sparkled even more brilliantly as she put more rounds into it. Dropping the Tommy, she pulled her MP5 and put it on full-auto, holding the trigger down as the men fired at her again and again. Five more arrows bounced off her chest, while the sixth grazed her neck.

  Near the end of the magazine, the barrier shattered in a bright flash, much to the shock of the three men behind it. The MP5 vanished back into one glove and Becky’s shotgun came out as the three men started to scramble out of the way.

  Becky didn’t focus on the smooth, effortless way the men all moved. She just tracked them, firing as she had them in her sights. The first one took three shots to kill. The next one took two rounds, then the shotgun vanished, her handgun came out, and she emptied the magazine into her target.

  The last of the men ran from her, fear etched on his lips. “A demon...the King must
be told of these demons.” Sadly, he ran straight into Alvin, who had his Type 56 out.

  “You tried to kill Gothy. That is unforgivable,” Alvin said simply before putting six rounds into the man’s surprised face.

  Frowning as he knelt down to loot the body, Alvin blinked at what he saw. “Elves?” Touching the body, he selected the option to loot it and it vanished, leaving behind a rune and a piece of paper with a glyph on it. Sticking them into his belt pouch, Alvin went to check on Becky.