Are they really gone?

Who knows? We can only hope and pray.

Three. Not one or two but THREE corporations gone just like that.

Did Maniac teach him?

They brought it on themselves they fucked with Samurai and found out.

Now what though? Who's to say that the next corps that take over are going to be smarter or treat people better?

Online New Pittsburgh discussions group 2056

******

WRAITH

With the addition of Janelle Regan and her family, our travel plans were pushed back a few days. I used this time to hunt antis in the woodlands around Pittsburgh and get used to the new upgrades. Liza used it to get used to her upgrades as well, and to destroy more Lurkeroff buildings. It also gave Lissa and her time to talk with the therapists.

The way there was little to no wildlife compared to what it had been only a few days ago, reminded me a hell of a lot of the way the woods around Harrisburg were.

"Mara what's going on? Even after a fucking fire the animals come back fairly damn quick, why are there none here right now?"

Simply put, there is a hive in the area and it's feeding off of the local wildlife, to build itself up, and to keep itself hidden from humanity, If it was not for your familiarity with the local environment, and you were just a normal citizen of the city that knows nothing outside of the city, would you know anything was wrong?

"No, I guess I wouldn't. How do I go about tracking the fucking hive's location?"

Well considering this is recent, you should be able to find the trails left by Antithesis as they dragged biomass back to the hive.

"So, I just follow them like I'm tracking an injured animal by the damned blood trail it leaves. Sounds simple enough."

It took two days and several damn hours on the third day to find a decent trail. Then it took another thirty minutes heading almost due south to track it to a fucking dead end, literally. I had followed the trail the wrong way and found the spot where an animal had died. In my defense, this was the first time I was trying to track the fucking antis. After carefully checking the area, I found another trail leaving the area, heading northeast away from the damned city. I started to follow the trail.

Two hours later I found more trails heading in the same damned direction as the one I was following. I started to follow the trail more carefully. With the trails converging like this I had to be close to the fucking hive. Which meant I might run into something heading back out to gather more. I follow the trail to an old logging road and found the trails continued along it as well.

Thinking back to the old maps my grandpa had me memorize, I tried to recall if there were any fucking caves or mines that had been abandoned. The old maps were more useful for info on where caverns that used to be tourist spots, and old mines that had been abandoned before the 2020's, were. Modern maps left off anything that were either not important to the corps, or so important to them they didn't want people to know where the fuck they were. Not remembering any, I continued forward.

A fucking 4 tried to ambush me by hiding in the trees above. It would have succeeded if it weren't for the fucking fact that I essentially have eyes in the back of my head. It had hidden far enough up the damned tree that I had not seen it until it fucking moved to the lowest branch of the tree to hit me. It swung one of its bone tipped tentacles at me. This was the first real fucking test of the upgrades I had gotten. I spun around and was able to catch the fucking thing and I yanked it out of the tree. This was going to be so damned awesome when I wore my power armor again. Realizing that what I had done was really fucking stupid, I finished it off quickly and engaged my stealth, as the noise of the 4 hitting the ground might attract others. I jumped onto the very branch I had yanked the fucking 4 off of, without the aid of the jump jets in my boots. Then I settled in to wait.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long, maybe an hour, when two damned 3s came sniffing around. I watched them eat the carcass of the 4 in silence. They sniffed around again before they finally fucking left. They didn't seem to be in a hurry, which made it easy to follow them back to the fucking hive, while keeping a much sharper eye and ear out for more antis. I spotted another fucking 4 hiding in a tree. I waited until the 3s were no longer within visual range. Then I shot the 4 with a chemical coated round and let the process repeat itself. The 3 that ate the gunshot wound didn't survive long, which caused its partner to take off running. It left a very clear, fresh, and easy trail to follow.

At this point I marked the location I was currently at on the map, as the sun was starting to get low in the sky. Seeing in the moonlight wouldn't be a problem, but caffeine can only help keep you alert for so long. I wasn't confident enough to try camping out here with the fucking antis... yet. So, instead I made some traps around the dead one that would string 3s up in the trees by their legs. Once I was done, I headed back to the city, my cabin being on the western side of the city.

"Mara, is there something I can do to be able to hunt for longer periods of time, instead of having to retreat to the city every night?"

Yes, there are several in fact. One, you could buy a shelter with points that can stand up to model 12s. Doing so, for every day, would get to be cost prohibitive quickly, though. Two, you could buy a vehicle to make travel faster, but the closer you get to a hive the more likely it would be to get spotted. Three, you could buy an upgrade that would allow your brain to function properly for a week without sleeping, after which you would need five hours of sleep. Four, you could get an upgrade that would allow your brain to function without sleep for the rest of your life. Right now, you don't have the points or tokens required to get this. Five, just wear your power armor and leave the stealth function engaged when you need to sleep. If somehow the Antithesis were able to detect you, I would be able to wake you up. Once your current upgrades are complete, your physical body will be able to handle functioning for the same amount of time, with the same amount of rest, as option three.

"Thanks. Then let's put option three on the list of upgrades to get. I'll start using option five tomorrow."

ELIZABETH

Billy has been going hunting out in the woods recently. I shouldn't be surprised, I mean hunting is what he knows. It would be nice if he was here right now though. The corporate stooges had been leaving me alone as they knew that I wasn't someone they could swindle. Then they saw Billy leave our airship and now they are asking me when he might be back. It's as if they're insane! He has helped topple four corporations in less than four years. Yes, they might not have been as big as any of the ones they're working for, or my own family's corp. Still with a track record like that, do they really think he'll just join up without looking at the fine print. Wait, why do they think he'd be interested in joining in the first place?!

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Problems with corporate salespeople aside, today Billy left wearing his power armor and said that he'd call if he was going to stay out overnight. I myself have been going around the city and removing pockets of antis that survived the "end" of the incursion. I have also been overseeing the remodel of the... crew deck, for lack of a better term. Having Janelle and her family wanting to join us on our trip home made me realize that four rooms for trusted people was not enough space for everyone. If Billy's, or my family, wanted or needed to travel with us for some reason later on, making them stay in rooms that they wouldn't be able to personalize seemed mean.

Billy thinks I trust Janelle because he vouched for her. I mean, I do go out of my way to cultivate the airhead image to make people underestimate me in the business world. The fact that up until a few days ago, I was unable to know just how many cameras and microphones were around, and who was watching and listening on the other end, meant that anytime I had been out and about with Billy, I had to act like an airhead with him as well. Now, with Reckoner I knew how many. While I still didn't know who was watching or listening, now I could shut them down if I wished to, which I only did when Billy, Haley and especially Lissa were with me. The fact that he vouched for her is part of it, but the truth is she was(is?) an employee of my family. I'm not actually sure of her current status with our family as her file in the company records don't list a date of end of employment, but she hasn't received payment from the company in five years.

Uncle Winston speaks highly of her and dad didn't raise any objections to me bringing her along. She was listed as a cook for the executive cafeteria, at the company's headquarters in New Harrisburg, five years ago. She wasn't the only cook who had relocated, but hadn't been listed as no longer employed by the company. The rest had gone to other cities that could be considered close to New Harrisburg. All had returned to headquarters two years ago. She was the only one who hadn't returned.

After I returned from a patrol, I asked Lissa to take Haley and Rossetta shopping. When Maria heard, she volunteered to go as well. Once they had left it was time to speak with Ms. Regan.

"Janelle, can we talk?" We sat down in the lounge area.

"Of course, we can, Young Mistress. I believe I know what you wish to speak of, as well." She straightened up her posture, and replied in the tone, and somewhat British accent, of one of the maid bodyguards/teachers I had when I was a child. When I was nine, my dad had changed how my security detail was set up. I hadn't seen any of the ladies who had been my maids back then since.

"Jany?"

"I am heartened to know you remember my voice. You have acquitted yourself admirably in highly trying circumstances, and I am proud of you, Young Mistress." I couldn't stop the tears that started to fall. She came over, sat next to me and hugged me.

"It's alright. You're safe now, and there is no one of importance here to see the mask you are wearing fall. Though I do wish that fool of a boy you like would pay more attention to you, instead of making your father spend resources to keep track of his whereabouts." Despite her unkind words about Billy, her voice and presence made me feel safer and cry harder.

"Your father and George Grazer started talking to each other more as you started spending more time with that boy. During their conversations six years ago, George started complaining about how difficult it was getting to find wildlife to hunt. Your father figured it was only a matter of time till that boy struck out on his own. So, he sent several of us who knew how to properly cook venison, to cities he thought were likely places for the boy to stick near, so he could buy ammo. We went, and with your father's help, we set up diners and made names for ourselves. So, if William did indeed end up going to one of the cities, he would hear about us and have a place to sell any surplus meat. The others had to find someone who would sell him ammo without ripping him off. I was lucky in that regard as I could just refer him to your uncle. I will say now, having dealt with him for the past three years, you chose well."

We stayed seated, with me bawling my eyes out and talking to her about things that had happened over the last few days. Things I hadn't been able to talk about with anyone else, not even the therapists, for the next several hours.

WRAITH

When I woke up this morning, I had more damned points than what the daily allowance would give me. So, I quickly made my way to the trap line I'd set up to catch fucking antis. I turned on my stealth systems as I approached the area and landed one hundred yards from the traps and saw that they had been set off. Most had no carcasses in them anymore. There was a hell of a lot more trails leading to and away from the area. I reset the traps and even added a couple of pit traps, some with spikes and some with mines at the bottom. In the ones with spikes, I also placed canisters of the gas that was acidic to anti flesh. The mines released the same gas. Then I cautiously started to follow the trail again keeping my eyes and ears open.

I soon saw a group of six fucking 5s methodically and slowly heading for the trap area. I was able to shoot two in the head at an angle that allowed the round to travel through the eye and neck to exit from their front shoulder and hit two others. The remaining 5s including the ones that received secondhand damage released spikes in every direction that was not occupied by another 5. I had to take flight to get out of range. The 5s were grouped in a way that provided mutual protection but made them vulnerable to explosives. I fired two missiles; they each landed in between a pair and took out two of the 5s. While firing the missiles is silent, their aftermath is not. I landed in a tree and waited to see what the reaction was going to be.

My caution was rewarded. A 6, with half a dozen 3s following it, showed up, and then disgorged half a dozen 4s, before I was able to get a clear shot at the 6. It wasn't a headshot, but I took it anyway. When I hit the 6, the 4s spread out and started climbing trees. The 6 lost the use of one of its legs due to being hit with the explosive filled hollow point, but was still alive. It disgorged another group of 3s from the side that was protected from me by its body. I shot it again and it lost the use of another leg. The 4s were moving from tree to tree trying to find what was attacking the 6. I fired a third shot into the 6, this one a chemical coated round into the existing wounds. The nearest 4 was two trees away, it was time to move. I jumped to the ground and started to kill 3s with the blades built into the arms of my armor. The 4s started to come back to the ground and move to aid the 3s. I returned to the tree branches and stitched a line of fire through the antis on the ground with the smg.

While this fight was happening, I noticed more antis of multiple different models heading my way. I deactivated my stealth and started retreating to my trap line. I had to reactivate my stealth a few times to stop a couple of 5s from shooting at me. My armor can take a couple hits from them, but I really don't want to find the limit of my armor's protection today.

Once I got to my traps, I activated my stealth, and the lure Voretexia had given me to lure antis to LFC properties, what felt like a month or two ago, even though it had only been a few days.

Bill, just to make you aware, the lure sent out a location ping when you activated it. Do not be surprised if Voretexia shows up.

"Thanks, Mara, I'll just leave it here for her to pick up. I'll follow the fresh trails these antis were kind enough to make for me." I tossed the lure into a pit trap with spikes and left. As I saw the antis just keep walking into the traps like lemmings, I asked: "Are there lures in the catalogs I have? They seem useful, but I don't want Voretexia being able to follow me."

There are, and most of them are more powerful, but because of their size and weight they are considered one time use items. There are options to reduce the size and weight to make them reusable without sacrificing range, but they are exceedingly expensive. For the price of one the size Voretexia gave you, you could buy another missile system.

"Is there a way to make it so I can retrieve them remotely as well? If I find the hive, or decide there is a better place to set up traps and lures, having to come back to get the lure is going to be problematic. If I get the lures and can retrieve them easily, they'll eventually make up the points, and then some. If it can be done, I'll take two."

Yes, that can be done. You seem to have a very specific plan in mind, I look forward to seeing what you have come up with.

Purchased

Long Use Returning Echo Small x2

Points Remaining 1,000

I flew for half a mile and found a decent sized clearing. I landed and started digging more pits and stringing up more snares.

MELLISSA LOCKHART

Liza had told me that my parents had declared me dead three months ago. She gave me access to a credit account so that I would have money to spend. I wore my hat and scarf to hide my face. My shares in the family company had been given to my brother, while my father had started to take control of Lurkeroff's Imports. I couldn't trust anyone except Liza and Billy. If my family found out I wasn't dead, there was a very good chance they would try to make sure I ended up that way.

Liza had provided me with a steampunk handgun. I was better with handguns than I was with shotguns and melee weapons. During a shooting competition almost four years ago, I came in second while Billy took first, his siblings had come in third and fourth. Liza and Billy had also bought me augs with points. They included cyberwarfare and intrusion suites, so I would be able to remove any surveillance footage taken of myself, if needed. They had also made it so I could buy ammo for the handgun from their catalogs, if needed, which would also send them an alert that I was in trouble, if I hadn't been able to do so before I ran out.

Maria and I were taking the girls shopping, as Haley needed things like a toothbrush, a stuffed animal to sleep with, and clothes that weren't Samurai armor. All had gone well, we had gotten everything except the toothbrush when I noticed we were being followed. Our unwanted followers were wearing the uniform of another PMC owned by the Lurkeroff Imports company. One that had been bought after I was sold to Thergood. The name of the PMC was Battlefield Stalkers. I sent an S.O.S. to Liza and Billy.