Next to me, the pair of guards who escorted me down move to do something about this but I wave them down. They look at me incredulously at first but soon find as much cruel amusement as I do in the children’s futile efforts. In fact, we start betting on how long it’ll take before the group give up. They take 5 and 8 minutes, I take 10.
Teenage stupidity and stubbornness win me 50 credits each after the ten-minute mark passes. By this point, the kid with the crowbar is whaling on the seat in an attempt to get the bike to do something, anything. Tier IV Armor might not be much to the System, but in old Earth standards, I might as well be driving a tank.
Having made an easy 100 credits, I send the command to Sabre to turn on. The kids jump and finally spot us and I give them a slight wave before touching the band around my neck to call forth the helmet. As the helmet folds up around my face, they jump back and then as one, scatter.
Kids.
Strange. What started out as a cruel prank has actually lightened my spirits, at least a little. Feeling happier than I have been in a while, I wave goodbye to the guards and head home.
As I cross the bridge that separates downtown Whitehorse from the Riverdale subdivision, I note that the river seems to have risen higher. I wonder how the dam is doing but now is not the time. Instead, I gun it, passing F.H. Collins on the right where another tent city has sprung up on its grounds, covering every single piece of protected land in canvas and humans. The greenery on the left has me keeping a close eye out and I’m not the only one as the series of guards posted at the school attest. I hit the roundabout and more guards stand outside the Super A, making my lips twist in distaste.
Passing empty ranch houses on my left and right as I cross through the suburb, the entire place feels like a ghost town with not a single person present. Broken doors, shattered windows and blood marks tell a desperate, bloody story. Cars are abandoned in driveways everywhere, previously snow-covered lawns brown and grey with lack of care.
I pull Sabre to a stop in front of my house as I come to the end of the street at the T-junction, staring at my house with its double garage doors beneath the open-air deck, the double-storey white residence connected directly to the garage itself. Wind ruffles my hair, bringing the smell of pine from the trees that cling to the clay-cliff face behind the house. The main entrance doorway is broken into, the double-doors off their hinges, the usual white coat of paint marred by a single dark red streak at the door. The bushes that make up our fence look to be doing fine, adapted as they are to a Northern spring. I glance to the right, noting the stand-alone workshop has its door rolled open, the contents stolen with only a few scattered items left. To the side, I see the fence that blocks off the garden that abuts the hill in the back is at least still in good condition.
The moment I turn onto the driveway and pass the lot threshold, I get a System message.
Welcome to 89 Alsek Rd.
Current Ownership: John Lee, Adventurer
Current Occupants: None
Current Assigned Purpose: None
Structural Integrity: 94% (More…)
Would you like to assign a purpose?
Interesting, purpose? I mentally select yes, curious to see what it speaks of. The list of purposes come up, most of them greyed out but the top two – Residence and Safe House. A quick verification shows the first gives a bonus to resting and offers more upgradeable options in terms of add-on facilities, the second a reduced cost for security upgrades for the entire lot. My hand hovers for a moment, trying to decide between the two. The safe house option would allow me to build walls, cameras and other security measures fast but the residence with add-on facilities could really make use of the workshop.
Really though, I should ask Randy first before I make any further decisions. I dismiss the pop-up and draw my sword, heading in through the broken door. Best to see if there are any unpleasant surprises awaiting me inside.
There are, just none alive. The large pool of blood and the blood splatters around the room tell the tale of Randy’s likely fate. The body is gone, hopefully taken care of by one of the citizens, but I really wouldn’t bet on it. The tang of rotten, clotted blood fills the house, mitigated by the open doorway but I sigh, making a note that this will need to be cleaned soon.
I make my way to the garage and open the doors, rolling the bike in securely before making way to my own suite beneath the stairs. The door here is broken too, but nothing seems taken. Then again, it’s not as if I had a lot to take. A couch and my laptop dominate the small living room while in my bedroom, my King-sized indulgence lies unmade. Everything looks exactly the way I left it, and for a moment, I have this surreal feeling that everything I’ve experienced was just a bad dream.
I lean against the doorjamb, mind spinning as I finally realise I’m home. I’m safe - mostly. Monsters can’t spawn in here and Ali would warn me of anything that spawned close by. A tightness in my chest that I’ve carried for days releases slightly, just a little bit and I find myself smiling.
I run a hand through my hair, feeling the stickiness from not having a proper wash and shake the feelings off. First things first, grab a change of clothing and then it’d be time to check out the rain barrels at the back for a quick wash. I grab a shirt and pair of jeans and then pause, laughing to myself.
“Leave you alone for 5 minutes and you go completely nuts eh?” Ali snorts, floating next to me as he surveys my old home.
“Ali! You son-of-a-bitch! Where did you go?” I grouse, throwing the useless clothing aside. Adding a bunch of inches in height was great, except for the fact that none of my old clothing would fit me. I head upstairs for Randy’s closet, after all, he isn’t going to need it anymore and he was always a big man.
“Got an invite from a shiny pair of bits. Rox-boy had an AI Companion who invited me over to chat,” Ali chuckles, shaking his head. “Figured you could handle yourself for a few minutes. Decent buy on this place, but you got fleeced at the Shop.”
I grunt, picking through and finding some clothes that I figure will work. I head to the back, beginning to strip before I raise an eyebrow at the Spirit who shakes his head negatively. Good, no monsters.
“Talk,” I grunt and begin the process of bathing in the garden. It’s not great, but it’s certainly better than nothing and while I couldn’t necessarily smell myself after days of stewing in my own stink, I’m sure others could. Not to mention that the simple act of being clean is bliss in itself.
“Hmmm… where to start. First, don’t fuck with the elf. He’d eat you, me, your friends, the entire city and then wonder when the main course would start. He’s got at least an Advanced-class in the high levels, or, and I’d lay good money on this, a Master class. Very little chance he’s got a Grandmaster class otherwise he wouldn’t be hanging out in a dump like this. Second, he’s in a rush. I don’t think X-124 knew I picked that up, but again, we’re outclassed here. Third, he’s the reason why the Raven’s Circle is so high-level. He’s been giving out Quests like candy in an attempt to get as many survivors in town as possible,” Ali says.
I finish dunking myself in the water and pause long enough to ask “Why?”
“Mmmm, City prerequisites. Once we get the buildings bought up, he’d be able to upgrade to a Town which gives us a series of new building options. There’s a minimum citizen requirement for that though, and of course, you guys are his tax base.”
I grunt at that and then nod. Makes sense. I pull up the house’s menu and flick it to him as I get dressed, sliding the high-tech jumpsuit on first before more normal clothing. Thank the gods the jumpsuit had an auto-clean feature on itself, otherwise, I’d refuse to wear it again. “Recommendations?”
“You’re asking? Shit, did he drug you?” Ali teases as he spins it around and points to the Residence option. “No choice. If you intend to stay, this is it.”