Origin ARS 6 Page 19

  ***

  The wasteland was a glorious place to drive a well-crafted death machine. Scott was used to the roads of Earth where traffic was a constant issue. In the wasteland, however, he could freely go anywhere he wanted to go as long as the happy little transport was powered and ready.

  "Yeah buddy!" cried Scott as he swerved around a hill at a moderate rate of speed. Rhea and Herbert held on for dear life as one side of the vehicle went up the side of the hill, while the other track remained on the flatter surface of the hard-packed ground.

  "You're having way too much fun with this," said Rhea with a laugh as the vehicle shifted sideways then righted itself.

  Scott laughed then sighted a machine monster. "Ptew! Ptew!" he cried as he aimed the crosshair on screen and opened fire. Triple bursts of energy shot out from each of the gun barrels with deadly intent. The machine monster in the distance flailed around as tiny dents appeared along the surface of its body.

  He practiced the shot gun blast effect after that. The hapless golf cart looking thing that Scott had been firing at sudden burst into flames as the energy struck a vital component. A pitiful beeping honk warbled outward from the dying machine before it rolled to a start.

  A big grin on his face, Scott turned to Rhea and said, "I like family outings."

  "Goof!" she said with a slight groan. The smile on her lips spoke her true feelings, however. It really was fun to go out into the wasteland as a family and shoot things.

  The gun happy trio drove over to the downed machine then began to loot it. Their current excursion was just to have fun and test the vehicle. Tomorrow they would get a cart to pull behind their lovely little murder machine.

  Mr. Happy Golf Cart, or whatever the machine had thought to call itself, turned out to have a few interesting salvageable parts. Space in the vehicle storage was limited, so only the good parts were taken for the day.

  "You want to have a go?" Scott asked Rhea.

  Rhea grinned at him then ran over and hopped into the driver's seat. "Why yes. I do."

  They took off again and continued searching for easy prey. The guns were decently powerful, but they were not ready to risk wrecking their new baby on a fight with a stronger opponent.

  It did not take long to find another critter to bring down. The next one was a walking spider-like thing that had an old rusty tractor for a body. Rhea revealed a feral grin, then gripped the steering wheel tight. "Oh, yes."

  Scott glanced at the love of his life then looked at the poor tractor-spider. Dozens of shots rang out as Rhea opened up full burst on the machine. It honked, and revved its engine, but it was too weak to withstand the continuous fire from their new ride. It fell to its side with a pitiful last rev of its engine. The monsters in the actual town of Trinity Highcrowne would be a much different situation. Out here on the edge of the combat zone, destroying the weakest of the machine beasts was ridiculously easy.

  "Vehicle combat... I like it," said Scott. "Feels like old times, sort of."

  Rhea smiled at him while she drove over to the poor dead machine spider. Just like before, they looted all the good stuff and left the rest for later. They could try to pick up whatever they left behind in the morning. If the scrap was left where they downed the monster, anyway. Other scavengers, or even a new machine spirit, might find it overnight.

  It was Herbert's turn next. Rhea held him up in her hand while he maneuvered their sweet ride. She worked the gas and brakes while he grassratted the guns. He would have manned them, but he was not a man.

  The murder-minded rodent had an intense expression while he drove around. His expression shifted to one of delight as he found a target that seemed reasonable.

  "Ok, we'll do this together. Alright?" Rhea smiled down at Herbert and the rodent nodded his agreement. They each took one of the guns and began firing. After a few shots, Herbert chittered then placed one paw on the top of the steering mechanism on his side to hold it down. Rhea followed suit with her side after a few more shots.

  They powered up the main gun to full power then at Herbert's chittered command they both pulled their triggers simultaneously. A large ball of energy shot out. The machine monster that they chose to hunt, an odd conglomeration of blenders and various other kitchen equipment that rolled around on a single wheel, was hit with a furious blast. It exploded in a shower of household appliance knick-knackery.

  Herbert started to dance around in Rhea's hand, and chittered a bit. Scott laughed at his antics. "Yeah, me too buddy."

  Rhea looked to Scott then rolled her eyes, before granting him a sweet smile. "Like you understand what he's saying."

  "Of course." Scott nodded to her then crossed his arms. "Any guy would know the sort of thing Herbert was thinking."

  "Oh, yeah? What then?" she asked him curiously.

  Scot placed a hand to his throat then cleared it. "Ahem."

  He then tilted his head back and said, "Awww Yeah! Get some, boy!"

  He made two fists, and a strained expression, just before he cried out, "I'm so fucking hard right now!"

  Rhea barked out a laugh then shook her head. She happened to glance down at Herbert and he gave her a cheeky rat grin and nodded his little furry head. "Oh wow. So it's true," she said, another laugh rising up to join the first one.

  "The desire to blow shit up is an unspoken bond between men." Scott nodded to her, his expression serious for the most part.

  "I'm riding around with barbarians," she said with yet another warm laugh.

  "Lucky you," said Scott before reaching over to lightly stroke her hair. They shared a tender moment, before they got out to loot the area for useful scrap.

  The next few hours were spent in hunting and looting before they headed back to town. The scrap yard had already closed down for some reason, so they drove over to Crankshaft's shop and paid him a small fee to secure their ride for the night. The last thing they wanted was to risk some jackass stealing it in the night.

  Not long after that a decision was made. Neither of them was particularly tired, yet, so they opted to head outside of town a short distance to train various skills for another few hours. In the dark, they worked on various combat skills and other things. Scott and Rhea went through their combat forms in order to perfect the basics, and then sparred a little. Herbert danced.

  It was nearly midnight before they finally dragged themselves back to town once more. They slept at one of the few local inns. Rather, they tried to do so.

  Rhea nuzzled against Scott then kissed him on the cheek. Scott rubbed her lower back and smiled at her in the darkness of their room.

  "I wonder how she's doing," said Rhea.

  "Ero?" asked Scott.

  "Yeah." Rhea sighed a little then snuggled closer.

  Scott kissed Rhea on the forehead then said, "I can feel her even now. I can't really talk to her because of the distance, but she's mostly happy."

  "Mostly?" asked Rhea curiously.

  "Yeah, I get the impression that she misses us," said Scott.

  Rhea suddenly kissed him softly on the lips. She slipped her body on top of his then hugged him tightly.

  He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. There was no need to ask what was wrong. Some of it was obvious. Even so, Rhea began to speak. "I can understand. I miss this as well."

  "I love you," said Scott without a hint of shyness or hesitance. He kissed her warmly then stroked her hair.

  Her happy sigh was all the answer he needed, but a softly spoken, "I love you," did escape her lips.

  From his bed inside of a sock drawer, Herbert rose up quietly then wrapped his arms across his chest. He did his best to mimic a kissing motion while wriggling his body. After a moment he rolled his eyes, offered up his version of a smile, then slipped back down into the drawer. Sometimes they could be nauseating with their sweet talk, but he enjoyed their presence.

  While Scott and Rhea reaffirmed their love, and nauseated Herbert with what would soon be a loud and raucous bit of love making
, a certain trio finally tracked down their prey. Of course, their prey had largely ignored their existence until now. So, finding them was not exactly difficult.

  "You sure they came here?" asked a certain strong arm bandit named Clarence, the formerly known first and second guy.

  "Yeah, this is way out in the middle of nowhere," said Barbara, the red haired common elf.

  Beady Eyes, the only one who did not currently have a warrant out for his arrest, snorted at them. "Yes, of course. They have been here for days apparently, just hunting those scrap heaps."

  "What noobs," said Clarence. He snorted then waved his hand around a little, "still hunting for scrap."

  "Well, whatever they're doing out here doesn't matter. we just have to wait till they head out to the wasteland again and we can follow them," said Beady Eyes.

  "Yeah, how fast can they walk with their little noob stats?" asked Clarence, a smirk on his lips.

  Barbara sighed loudly then smoothed down her skirt. "Is this even worth it? We haven't done anything in days besides chase these idiots around. We could have already earned more than their crappy gear is worth."

  Clarence frowned at her. "What else are we going to do? Get a real job?"

  The words hung in the air for a moment, and then the three dumbasses shivered as though a chill wind had passed over them. The very idea of actual work caused them to become a little dead inside.

  "Don't say that," said Beady Eyes.

  "Yeah..." Barbara hugged herself then grumbled a little. The horror. Oh, the horror of that thought!

  "Look, it's either this or we go back to other things... You know what I'm talking about," said Clarence.

  "I refuse to go back to that," said Barbara.

  "Yeah, no. That guy was a total ass," said Beady Eyes.

  "Damn Straight. Sax was a tool bag. I'm just glad we weren't part of that guy's main group," said Clarence.

  The others nodded in unison. Barbara spoke up, however. "Getting ganked in that cave was the best thing that ever happened to us."

  Clarence snorted at her. "No, getting out of the casual server before the lockdown on Sax and his idiots was the best thing."

  "Yeah, no kidding," said Beady Eyes. He took a breath then leaned against a street light. "Some of the others were stuck there after their player IDs were tracked down."

  Barbara murmured something thoughtful, but not loudly enough to be heard properly. Clarence asked her what she had said. She repeated herself with greater emphasis on her words. "Wouldn't it be hilarious if the noobs we were chasing were really Origin and Sweet Buns."

  "Do you have to call him sweet buns?" asked Clarence, obvious annoyance in his voice.

  "Hey, that ass is everywhere and it's mighty sweet," she said in a strangely serious tone of voice.

  "Doesn't really matter." Beady Eyes shook his head then narrowed his eyes. "There's no way those idiots are the real deal."

  "True. Origin is like the empress of an entire empire, or about to be," said Clarence. "Why would she be slumming in the scrap yards? She could have anything she wants in this place."

  Barbara yawned loudly then covered her mouth. "Well, it was a thought."

  "Oh please, you're still just hoping for that stupid selfie," said Clarence.

  The red-haired elf frowned at her associate. "It's not stupid."

  "It's ridiculous!" Clarence pointed at her then said, "You really expect some stuck up bitch like Origin to take a selfie with you?"

  "She's not stuck up!" growled Barbara.

  "Oh, like you'd know," said Clarence with a snort. "That ice-bitch wouldn't give you the time of day."

  "I'd kind of like to talk to that boyfriend of hers," admitted Beady Eyes.

  Clarence eyed the Beady Eyed man for a moment then tilted his head to the side. "You know, it's none of my business... but dude..."

  Beady Eyes groaned then flung his hand outward toward Clarence. "Stop acting like a moron, man. I just wanted to actually test my skills against his. That fairy friend of his drowned me with a tidal wave, and he was already dead from running into our trap."

  "Why are we even discussing this?" groused Clarence. "Neither of them would give us the time of day."

  "Maybe not, you," said Barbara. "I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind giving me the time of day."

  "Celebrity worship is lame," muttered Clarence.

  Barbara snorted at him then crossed her arms over her impressive chest. "Say what you want, but I still like what I like. Besides..."

  Beady Eyes nodded to her. "I get it."

  He cracked a smile then laughed a little. "When celebrities murder you, you kind of want to get a selfie with them, or something."

  "Yeah," said Barbara with a nod. "My friends would have been super jealous."

  "My sister can't stop talking about the ass. She's even trying to convince me to pay her way into this server," said Beady Eyes with a laugh. "I mean, she's only fourteen hundred years old and she wants to find a boyfriend with that sort of ass."

  Barbara laughed as well. "Girl knows what she wants. I like it. If I could get a pic with Sweet Buns, my sisters would probably burst into flames."

  "Gives mom nightmares. She keeps thinking my sister will join one of those stupid youth gangs that run around and pretend to commit crimes in the city," said Beady Eyes.

  Clarence groaned. Why had he been cursed with celebrity seeking gossip hounds? All they did was talk about celebrities, or their stupid friends and family. It was dumb. Who needed friends anyway?

  ***

  Morning came, and with it the sad reminder that Rhea would have to go back to work later that evening. After selling off their scrap from the day before, they decided to get a little breakfast then spend a few hours hunting.

  After breakfast they headed out to Crankshaft's shop to get their vehicle. Fully charged and primed for action their sweet ride was ready to roll. However, there was a pit stop to make first. On the outskirts of town, they sold off their collected scrap and picked up a pull trailer. They would not get to have as much fun riding around today because of it, but they could do a bit of actual work.

  The primary goal today, was to train combat skills. So, the guns would not see as much use. The team cut a straight line through the wasteland and bypassed the weaker monsters in order to head directly toward the outskirts of Trinity Highcrowne itself.

  The first true sight of Trinity Highcrowne was the broken road that led toward a dilapidated stone house. That stone house was a former access control point that was designed to keep people from entering and exiting the city without authorization. It marked the boundary between the wasteland, and the actual city. The monsters in the outer areas of the city proper would be much stronger than the ones further away in the wasteland, though still not at the same level as the monsters at the heart of the ruined metropolis.

  In a bygone era, guards would have asked for paperwork at the checkpoint. Now, the only guard on duty was a ramshackle conglomeration of buckets and power tools that slid by on power cable tentacles.

  "Tentacles..," said Scott, thoughtfully. He glanced at Rhea then eyed her up and down.

  She shook her head then rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about it."

  They had a good laugh then left the comfort of their vehicle. Shooting the monster down would probably be easier, but they did not need easier. What they needed was a decent combat challenge to improve their skills.

  Battle with machine monsters was always a hectic affair. The beasts usually only had a few attacks, and they operated in a dedicated set of attack patterns. Until that pattern was known, and the attacks had all been shown, it would be a dangerous proposition to take on even the weakest of such creatures.

  The moment the trio got into position and made their move, the creature noticed them. Several of its tentacles pulled away to reveal something that no other machine monster had used before, a minigun.

  "Holy shit!" shouted Scott as he dived for cover. Dozens of tiny energy bolts tore thr
ough the area that he had only just evacuated.

  Rhea slipped sideways and took up a position behind a large slab of stone that had once been part of a building. Herbert went with her.

  The bullet barrage ended and the machine began to move toward them. Scott made a hand gesture toward Rhea and she nodded. He had a simple plan. It was time to test the monster to find its attack patterns.

  Scott hopped out of his hiding hole and ran toward the monster. The moment it revealed its mini-gun he hurled himself to the side and kept rolling. However, the monster only fired directly in front of itself.

  Emboldened by the possibility of a simplistic attack pattern, Scott rose up and rushed forward. The creature continued firing for several seconds. However, it finished just before Scott reached it.

  Cables lashed toward him like tentacles, electricity sparking at the ends. He dodged one strike, and then another. The third tentacle stung his left leg, however. He immediately crumpled to the ground. He temporarily lost control of himself due to the high volume of electricity running through his body.

  "Scott!" cried Rhea. She rushed over to her fallen fiancé, desperation writ large on her face.

  The sorcerer took several more hard strikes across his body before Rhea reached him. She attempted to bat away the cables with her sword, but ended up dropping it from nerveless fingers as the electricity flowed into her hand.

  She cried out in pain, but the effect was not as strong since it was not a direct attack. Rhea kept the cable tentacles busy by dodging around until Scott regained his senses. They pulled back, after she reclaimed her sword, but were forced to dodge a minigun barrage once they were outside the range of the tentacles.

  "You alright?" Scott asked Rhea, after they made it back to cover.

  "Me? What about you?" she asked him while panting for air.

  "Won't lie. That hurt like hell. A few more hits like that, and I would have been praying for someone to drag me to a priest," admitted Scott. Even now his body was stiff in several places and his heart beat felt strangely erratic.

  "It seems simple, but..," said Rhea, as a change of subject. She did not want to think about Scott needing to visit a priest. Resurrection was a thing, but that did not mean that she wanted to see him go through it in person.