Notification

You have killed a wayward member of the Divine’s flock. The Divine has taken notice of you and thanks you for returning their lost lamb. However, The Divine has also spotted your own demon taint. Therefore, you shall receive no boon for your service and the Divine shall remain wary of your actions.

Shaggy sighed as he reread the notification for the third time. Nearby Branka and the others were looting the latest in Bunch goons. He hadn’t expected to be thanked by this Divine character. Especially for killing an angel. If anything, he was worried about being smited... smote… smitten? Shaggy shook off his own nonsense and tried to think of a way to get the digital eye of TWO in-game gods off of him. One was bad enough, but a second that was specifically opposed to the first seemed troublesome.

“We’re done, boss.” Branka said.

Shaggy sighed and nodded. They had been at this for what felt like a while now. Once they had started southward back toward their own territory, packs of thugs came out of the woodwork. They were spread out and intermittent, but it was still annoying. Of course, the kids seemed happy. All four of their pockets were leaden with credit chits of all shapes and colors. Even Shaggy had pockets full of cash, thanks to the sudden influx of thugs. But that didn’t make him feel better.

They were headed home, and these bastards were coming from that direction. The whole situation didn’t sit right with Shaggy. Rita and Dave were at the cave, so he wasn’t worried about them, but any strike into their turf was concerning. But it made sense. The Wild Bunch wasn’t going to let them march down their blocks without response. Shaggy growled under his breath as he started walking again. The teens fell silent at his growl and walked behind him.

“They’re fine, boss.” Branka said simply.

“I know that. But it still irks me. They probably hit us. I mean, was it too much to ask for them to stay put and let us whittle them down?”

“Apparently.” Heru smiled.

Shaggy growled at the young man, but said nothing. He turned a corner, heading eastward, and spotted another group of thugs limping down the sidewalk. Shaggy didn’t even give them time to register him before he bounded forward. The sounds of thudding footsteps came from behind him as he threw himself into the three wounded men. Shaggy angled for the biggest hybrid first and slammed into the warthog-looking man’s chest. His claws sank deep as the alien gave a squeal of surprise before toppling over. Taking Shaggy with him. A blue bubble popped into existence along Shaggy’s right side. It was just in time to catch several bullets from another thug’s gun. Shaggy darted around the blue bubble and slammed an elbow into the shooter’s neck. The man sputtered to the sidewalk as Shaggy spun to attack the last Bunch gangster. But Nisha was already there. The young girl took a running swing with her stun baton, catching the poor orange alien in the head. The alien crumbled as Branka and the others caught up. Shaggy waved a hand at the bodies wordlessly before he stepped away.

He knew the story. The thugs would have to burn marks on their bodies or cuts on their arms and legs. They would be a mix of straight humans and the standard hybrids the Wild Bunch usually employed. The humans were, most likely, mercenaries hired to supplement the Bunch’s roster. The hybrids were probably whoever George could convince to march out in force. Most of the groups they had run into looked like they were already worn out. These would be no different.

“Aww man!” Nisha moaned.

Shaggy looked over to see the young woman looking at her bent weapon. Supposedly, Nisha had a problem with shooting people. But concussing people? Breaking bones? Injuring for life? Naw, all that was fine. It was shooting people that was really bad.

“That’s because you keep using the damn thing like a bat, Nish.” said Branka. “It’s a stun baton all you need to do is tap them with it.”

“Still though, aren’t those normally pretty sturdy?” Heru asked.

Akie nodded. “Yes. But Nisha has been beating these thugs pretty hard with the thing.”

“Give me another one.” Nisha said, holding out a hand to Branka.

The taller woman merely glared. She clearly had several more clipped to her pants. But she absolutely did not want to give Nisha another baton. Shaggy thought he was going to have to intervene. But Branka finally sighed and tossed a slim baton over to Nisha.

“Stop breaking them. Also, keep the broken one on you. We don’t want your fingerprints out there.”

Nisha rolled her eyes but clipped the broken baton to a belt loop. Shaggy brushed his hands off and glanced around. Heru and Akie had finished looting. So now it was time to keep moving. They were only a few blocks from the deli now and Shaggy really wanted to see how the building had fared against the Bunch assault. Thankfully, their path was clear all the way to the block the deli was on. That’s when Shaggy heard the buzzing and swore.

“Shit! Someone called the cops.”

“Well, if they hit the deli like we think they did, that makes sense.”

Shaggy snorted at Heru. “Does it? We had an ass-ton of Quinica out here the other day and the cops weren’t called.”

“You think it was the Bunch?” Asked Branka.

“Oh yeah. I mean, it makes sense. If you got your ass kicked, you’d call the cops on the ones that beat your ass.”

“That seems petty.”

“Welcome to gang life.”

“That drone’s getting closer. What do we do?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Shaggy looked around until he spotted a small parking lot next to a defunct hotel. “I need to hide out here. I guarantee my bio-metrics are on file. So someone needs to do some scouting.”

Heru raised his hand and jumped in place. “Oh! Oh! Me! Me! I can go! I’m real sneaky, Shaggy.”

Shaggy waved a hand at the excitable kid. “Fine. Git. Just don’t get spotted by any police.”

“I’m going with him.” Branka stated.

Shaggy just shrugged and let the pair of teens run off. He hunkered down under a decaying overhang designed to protect cars from the elements. Nisha and Akie fell into quiet conversation as Shaggy kept a lookout. The sounds of buzzing drones grew louder and softer as the things scanned the neighborhood. Shaggy briefly thought about hiding in the hotel, but it was as decrepit and run down as most other buildings. Chances were, the building would fall on him. But it was a suitable spot for an escape route if he needed it.

With the growing buzzing, Shaggy tensed and got ready to run. But the police drones passed overhead, barely stopping to scan the neighborhood. Shaggy felt his head tilt in confusion, but he said nothing. Maybe the drones were chasing the Bunch patrols? Or someone had called the police because of all the bodies strewn across the streets? He and the kids had left a bunch of bodies in their wake.

Shaggy continued to wait as more buzzing filled the air. The fact he couldn’t see the blasted drones didn’t help. They always sound just close enough to be a nuisance. But they never got close to where he was hiding. It was a full five minutes before Branka and Heru returned. Both were short of breath from running. But neither looked worried as they ran into the motel parking lot. Shaggy waved them over.

“Deli’s clear, Boss.”

“Yeah yeah. There’s no one there. No cops, at least. I think I saw some people in the deli, though.”

“But that could’ve been our lookouts.”

Shaggy gave both teens a nod of thanks before he glanced up again. The damn buzzing was still going, and he was sure he was developing a complex. Behind him, both Akie and Nisha got to their feet. Waiting for his orders. Shaggy sighed. They were going to have to run for it. But Branka and Heru had been fine.

Shaggy pointed his chin at Branka and Heru. “You two lead the way and get us to the Deli. Once we’re there, we can relax.”

Both kids nodded and turned to run. Nisha and Akie followed with Shaggy, bringing up the rear. He monitored the skies as they moved. But the route Branka lead them through was a surprisingly twisty one. They weaved through alleys and into abandoned buildings. Stopping only to check the skies and move on. Shaggy caught his first glimpses of more police drones on the horizon before he followed the kids into a large arcade. At first he thought it was defunct, but the large four-legged alien at the counter seemed to indicate otherwise.

Branka and the others all passed the alien by without a look. They were out the door as Shaggy glanced over at the thing. They caught eyes, and the alien seemed surprised to see Shaggy. Shaggy gave the alien a jaunty salute before he was out the door and into the street again. The alien made a weird gargling noise before Shaggy was down the sidewalk and crossing the street. The drones were getting easier to spot as they got closer to the deli.

Branka stopped at the end of an alley and peered around the corner. Shaggy heard her suck in a breath as he jogged to a stop. Heru tried to look around Branka, but she shoved him back. Shaggy waved a hand.

“What is it?” he mouthed.

It took Branka a second to understand his meaning, and when she did, she pointed up. Shaggy glanced upward, but all he saw was a clear sky. When he looked back to Branka, the girl had a hand up, palm facing down, flying it through the air. Shaggy nodded.

Drones.

He crept past the others and crouched low. Branka slid to the side as he glanced around the corner. Four drones were at street level, scanning the entrances and windows of buildings. Shaggy groaned, but quickly stifled it. The deli was at the end of the block, past the drones. He sighed as he tried to think of something. Heru was pointing up, but Shaggy shook his head. The roofs would’ve been a good idea, but there were still drones flying around. Shaggy came to a decision and grew his claws. They were going to have to attack the drones and make a run for it.

The cops would immediately know where and when they lost their drones. But hopefully, they wouldn’t immediately focus in on the diner. Shaggy gave Branka a nod and then looked at the others. Akie and Heru looked ready to go, but Nisha looked worried. Shaggy raised an eyebrow and the small girl moved close enough to whisper.

“Why don’t we just use another maintenance entrance?”

Shaggy froze as the feeling of wanting to slap his own face overcame him. Of course! They were close enough to the same block. All they had to do was get to a maintenance access and get through the door. Hopefully, it wasn’t as magically protected as the other had been. But even if it was, that would be safer than dealing with the drones. Shaggy gave the girl a thumbs up as his claws shifted back to fingers.

He glanced at the two buildings on either side of them. They were an apartment building and an old bookstore. Shaggy chose the bookstore and rushed in. They didn’t need to risk a bunch of people seeing them in the apartment. The bookstore was deserted save for a few ancient shelves and the smell of old paper and mold. He and the kids spread out as the buzzing was growing close. They needed to find an entrance to the tunnels below.

Shaggy poked his head in the back office as Akie and the others went to the storeroom. It was worthless. Not even a desk was leftover in the carpeted room. Shaggy wasn’t sure what he had been hoping for, but a loud gasp from Heru drew him to the storeroom. The teens were crowded around a set of stairs leading down. Shaggy had to push past Nisha and Branka to see what had Heru freaked.

A large metal door with a maintenance sign on it sat at the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately, the weird purple glow of random magic was set into the metal of the door. Shaggy sighed as he waved the kids back. Levy had said it was an Everlock Ward, which meant opening it was going to be a pain in the ass. Shaggy bolstered himself. He was going to have to ram it and hope for the best. A single tap on his shoulder brought him back around to Nisha again. The young girl seemed tired as she pointed at the metal door.

“That’s a metal door enchanted with magic. Do you really want to break it open?”

“You got a better idea?”

Akie shrugged her shoulders. “We could wait. I mean, how long does a neighborhood scan take?”

“But we need to get back,” Shaggy growled.

“Right now, boss? What are we going to do? Run all the way home and then hole up THERE until the cops leave? We can do the same thing here.” Branka explained.

Shaggy huffed. He had been trying to get back to the cave ever since his mind put two and two together. They had been hit by the Wild Bunch; he was sure of it. But after seeing the patrols returning to Bunch Turf, he was also sure that his crew had beaten the attack. Still, he had wanted to make sure his in-game home was okay. But the kids were right. He needed to calm down and think. They could take some time and collect themselves while the cops chased their tails.

Shaggy put his back to the stair wall and sighed. “You're right. We need to stop and wait. We’re pretty hidden in here.”

Nisha, Akie, and Branka all sighed and sat on the steps. Heru looked confused for a few seconds before he sat next to Akie. The young boy gave Shaggy a shrug as the sounds of drones still hummed around them. Shaggy cracked his knuckles and sighed. He opened up the in-game forums and looked around. It was going to be a long wait.