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One Character (14)
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 17:00:04 +0000 UTCChapter 14 - Shady Deals and Shelter Walls
The decommissioned subway train sat silent in the dark tunnel.
Wes leaned against a grimy interior panel. He watched Chaz and Kazuma huddled over the flickering, newly accessed control console at the front. Technical jargon was the only sound besides their own breathing.
Nearby, Bernam sat sprawled across two seats; his legs were spread wide in a display of crude dominance.
How big were his balls, anyway? Wes wondered idly, disgusted.
A subtle shift in the air beside him. Olive Woo had moved closer, almost silent on her feet. She pretended to stumble slightly as the train rattled to life. She brushed her chest against Wes’s arm with deliberate casualness.
Wes didn’t react; he saw the ploy for what it was.
“You’re quite skilled, Specter.”
Olive’s voice was low and intimate.
“Taking out fifteen guards without a sound… impressive.” She tilted her head slightly. “One wonders what other talents you possess. How many Characters are you hiding, hmm?” Her eyes flickered towards his right wrist where Aroth’s Resonance Socket rested. “I only see the one Socket.”
Wes subtly shifted away from her touch and pulled his sleeve down further over his wrist. He said nothing.
Olive’s lips curved into a cunning smirk. “Playing mysterious? Fine.” Her tone shifted slightly. “How did you and Chaz meet, anyway? Doesn’t seem like your usual crowd.”
“Ask Chaz,” Wes replied flatly.
Olive chuckled softly, then strutted back towards the front of the car, swaying her hips deliberately. As she walked away, Wes noticed a thick, practical-looking knife strapped securely to her thigh – not a sleek combat blade, but something more akin to a butcher’s tool. Unsettling.
Suddenly, Kazuma exclaimed, “Got it! Bypassed the main lockdown protocols! We have propulsion and basic navigation!”
“Good work, Kazuma,” Chaz praised. “Decouple the dead cars behind us. No need for extra weight.”
With a heavy clank and shudder, the unused sections of the train detached, left behind in the darkness. The single activated car lurched forward, slowly picking up speed.
Wes stumbled slightly and grabbed a handrail. He walked towards the front.
“Chaz, where exactly are we headed again?”
Chaz glanced back from the console. “Havenwood. Specifically, the old Federated Credit storage vault beneath the town center.”
Wes frowned. “Havenwood? But the news said it was overrun in the outbreak. Place is probably crawling with Unus.”
Chaz shrugged. “Nobody said this gig was safe, Specter. High risk, high reward.”
“Uh, Boss?” Kazuma interrupted nervously, pointing at the navigational display. “The tunnel integrity ahead looks compromised. Reports indicate major cave-ins about five klicks from the Havenwood station access point. The train can’t go all the way. We’ll have to proceed on foot from there.”
“Close enough,” Chaz decided. “Gets us past the main GRDF patrols undetected. Good work, Kazuma.” He turned to address the small crew. “Alright, listen up! We ride as far as we can, then we hike it through service tunnels to the vault. Expect trouble – Unus, residual security, maybe worse. Say your prayers now. Either we come back rich enough to disappear, or we don’t come back at all.”
Wes didn’t like the ‘don’t come back’ part, but the thought of being rich… truly rich… ignited a fierce spark within him. He pictured Leo, pictured a life free from scraping by, free from humiliation. Soon, he thought, and smiled. Soon.
…
Back at the besieged Deserek Outpost, the assembled Provisional Harmonics peered cautiously into the smoking crater left by Rackell’s fiery attack. Dust and smoke slowly cleared, revealing nothing but scorched earth and molten rock.
“Did… did you get it?” Dodo asked hesitantly.
Sheldon, the burly guild leader, grunted as he scanned the area. “Looks like you vaporized it, fire lady. Or buried it deep enough it won’t be crawling out anytime soon.” He seemed satisfied. “Threat neutralized.”
A collective sigh of relief went through the gathered teams.
“Alright. Let’s move! Priority is securing those civilians!” Sheldon commanded. This was their main objective.
They advanced cautiously towards the designated primary shelter, a large, heavily reinforced structure near the center of the outpost. A handful of Category 1 Skitterlings clawed futilely at the massive blast door, unable to breach its defenses.
Sheldon wasted no time. He slammed his fist onto the ground. “Earthen Maw!”
The ground beneath the Skitterlings erupted and swallowed them whole in a churning pit of rock and soil that quickly sealed over itself.
“Coast clear for now.”
They rushed to the blast door. It was scarred and dented but intact. Rackell tried the external access panel; it sparked feebly then went dark.
“System’s fried. Door controls are offline.”
A crackle came from a speaker grille set into the wall beside the door. “Hello? Is someone out there? Harmonics?” The voice was thin and sounded elderly.
“Yes! We’re here to evacuate you!” Rackell called back. “Can you open the door from your side?”
The old woman fearfully replied, “The electronic locks are dead, dearie. We can see you on the internal monitors. There’s a manual override lever inside, but… it’s too heavy. Most of us are women and children. The few men we have are too old or injured to budge it.”
Sheldon frowned as he examined the thick door. “We could try blasting our way in.”
“If those Unus couldn’t scratch it, I doubt our attacks will do much,” Maya pointed out logically.
Dodo glanced back towards the direction where Tanker Joe’s heavy cannon fire still echoed faintly. “Tanker Joe could probably crack it open…”
“No,” Rackell interrupted firmly. “This is our assigned task. We handle it.”
She assessed the door critically. An idea formed. “I can try something. Concentrate my fire into a narrow beam, like a cutting laser. It might be enough to slice through the locking mechanism or hinges.” She looked at the others. “But I’ll need time, complete focus. And it’ll draw attention. Cover me.”
“We’ve got your back, fire lady,” Sheldon assured her. He nodded to the other team leaders who voiced their agreement.
“Alright,” Rackell said to the intercom. “Everyone inside, get away from the door! As far back as you can! Now!”
Assured the civilians were clear, Rackell stepped back, took a deep breath, and thrust her hands forward. Intense heat began to gather between her palms; the air shimmered as she compressed raw fire energy, slowly shaping it into a blindingly bright, pinpoint lance of heat.
FWOOSH!!
Just as she began the delicate process, more skittering sounds echoed from the surrounding ruins. Smaller Unus, drawn by the earlier commotion, began emerging from the rubble with their multifaceted eyes fixed on the exposed Harmonics.
“Hostiles!” Sheldon yelled. “Defense perimeter! Protect her!”
The other Harmonics scrambled into defensive positions before engaging the new wave of attackers while Rackell remained utterly focused on channeling her power into the makeshift laser.
Meanwhile…
Deep within the nearby crater, beneath layers of scorched earth and cooling rock, something stirred. A long, segmented, spiky tail twitched, then slowly began to rise from the debris as it dripped black ichor.
“Grrrr…”
