Emmy stabilized just as Aeon had predicted. She awoke thirsty but without incident, but Sean and Alison were still worried. He’d called Tim about an hour ago and heard that they’d found a portal and were in San Francisco. Miles was already on his way back from what they were calling Dwarf Mountain, the factory that was producing Gears and where the dwarves had taken up residence.

Sean was ready to race off towards California to help the rest of the Misfits but he had one problem – his Gear had been destroyed in last battle. To make matters worse they were sitting ducks now that the munitions here had been depleted. Lastly, Aeon had warned them she was picking up more hostiles in the area than before. The armies of the undead were getting closer and closer.

He turned to Alison and Emmy. They were all sitting in the mess hall eating bacon and chocolate. After describing the dream she’d had when she was stuck in her pod, they’d all agreed that a little fat and sugar indulgence was in order. “Emmy, you said that you dreamt that Kevin was leading an undead army towards us?” he asked, still incredulous.

“Yeah, it was like a skeletal version of him though. His face was emaciated like a dried corpse but with the bones sticking out. Freaky dream, huh?”

Sean wasn’t entirely sure but it was possible that Kevin was still out there. Considering how angry he’d been it wasn’t beyond possibility that he’d come after them if he could. Before they’d seen Mr. Tiel as a raid boss, he never would have thought it possible. But now, although it just didn’t seem possible, it was oddly likely.

“So, we’re on the run from our former guildy now turned lich and we’re low on resources here. I think we need to have Cheezus provide us with a stealthy escort over to Dwarf Mountain where we can get resupplied,” Sean suggested.

Alison raised her eyebrow, “You think we should go out there unprotected with our real bodies?” She was just saying what everyone was thinking. It was a crazy plan.

“Got any better ideas?” Sean responded.

Everyone shook their heads. “I did find some additional munitions so we don’t have to go totally unarmed,” Emmy offered.

“But I’ve never held a gun,” Alison said nervously.

Emmy smiled, “Aeon can you bring up Gunslinger in our VR? Time to get back to the wild west!”

They each grabbed a pistol or rifle and headed out the door. Sean knew they were banking a lot on whether they could find a cure for Emmy, since they now would all be exposed.

Sean’s back pressed uncomfortably into the rocky hillside. They’d been slowly moving away from the old base for about an hour when they’d run into one of the patrols. Fortunately, Emmy had spotted them before they were seen and the Misfits dove for cover. Everything looked like it would blow over smoothly until another patrol started walking in their direction.

Miles whispered to the group, “If they get any closer I’m going to run out there and distract them. The rest of you head to the mountain.” Emmy shook her head at him urging him not to. As much as he hated to admit it, Sean didn’t think they had any other good alternatives. There were eight zombies and although he’d had a bit of practice with gunslinging the only real gun fighter in the group right now was Emmy. Also, they were zombies and Miles was a runner. If anyone could provide it a good distraction it was him.

As they edged closer, Emmy gripped Miles’ shoulder. He turned to her and gave her a kiss as Alison and Sean looked away. When Sean turned back to look again Miles was running towards the zombies full-tilt, yelling. “Now’s our chance, let’s go,” Sean said hastily. With the zombies distracted they edged away from the hillside and quickly made their way towards the Dwarven Mountain.

On the other side were two zombies right in their path only a few feet away. They saw them nearly immediately and charged. Sean could smell the fetid odor on their breath and saw their sagging flesh flapping back and forth as they ran towards them. Ducking underneath razor sharp claws, he uppercut the first zombie using the butt of his hunting rifle. Spittle and blood flew out of the dead man’s body. Giving no quarter, Sean smashed it again in the face, hammering its head until brains exploded from the skull.

Suddenly, the report of a gunshot in close proximity deafened him. All he could see for a moment was blood and guts and all he heard was the blood pumping through his body. Wiping away the bodily fluids he turned and saw Emmy wiping off her shotgun. The other zombie had a hole where its head used to be but was still alive. Pumping the action on the gun she finished the creature off with a look of disgust on her face. Alison stood behind them, her face pale and another zombie was right behind her.

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Emmy brought her shotgun to bare but she was out of shots. She cursed while fumbling to reload. Sean didn’t trust himself to shoot with Alison so close. He’d played a shooting game for an hour or two but that by no means meant he was an expert. “Run,” he yelled.

Instead, Alison turned and shied away, tripping in her haste. Death was coming for his friend and Sean knew that you didn’t allow the enemy to aggro onto your healer. He did the first thing that came to mind and charged the zombie. His gun still in hand, he had the presence of mind to push the barrel right into the mouth of the enemy as he charged. They landed in a heap with him on top trying to keep the gun in the creature’s mouth and its fangs off his neck. Still, it clawed at him, tearing into his flesh. He released pressure on the monster’s face just enough for it to roll them over and now its beady eyes bore into his as it made disgusting gargling noises, and started to choke the life out of him.

A moment later its head was gone. Sean could see the smoking 9mm in Emmy’s hands and the intense focus in her eyes. Of course, he was even more gross than a moment before but at least he was alive.

After that they ran the rest of the way. There were no further incidents and they setup camp in the new bunker an hour later. It took that long for Sean’s hearing to return. The first thing he did when they got there was jump in the shower. He smelled like zombie ass.

Emmy walked back and forth across the new control room, her entire body tense. Alison and Sean gave her some space and hauled the new Gears into position. They checked with Aeon to make sure she could access the new bunker. Everything seemed to be up and running.

Miles had still not returned. Emmy wasn’t the only one who was worried but there was little they could do. The run in with the zombies reminded Sean that they weren’t invincible. Yes, he’d charged in to save the healer just like he always did in game. Only this time he was a mortal and if it hadn’t been for Emmy’s steady hand, he would have been a goner.

It was time to get to LA and find the cure. “It’s time. We’re going, Emmy,” Sean said quietly.

“I’m not leaving until Miles gets here,” Emmy said, daring him to try to order her to go. “I know what you’re thinking. I won’t leave the base.”

Sean didn’t know whether he could trust Emmy to keep her word when her man was in trouble but he would have to trust that she would. From what Tim had told him, the mystic was only in LA during the exact full moon. They had to be there no later than 7pm their time and the sun had gone down an hour ago.

***AR Online – Aeon 2.647.18***

Logging back in to AO with a new Gear didn’t feel any different than before. If anything, being back made him feel more in control. However, he’d lost his sword in that last fight with the dracolich and needed a weapon to take with him until he could find a new one. He grabbed a rifle that had a bayonet affixed to it. He slung his shield across his back since it would be difficult to fight with both at the same time.

Smash and Linca met Deathberry, Rygor and Seona at the portal in the middle of Dwarf Mountain. He didn’t have much time to inspect it, but the Gears factory was everything that Deathberry had described. He wanted to ask Aeon some pointed questions about their former employer and how much he’d known about other corporations’ access to the Gears but now was not the time for that discussion.

Deathberry programmed the portal to send them to their destination. Apparently, they had twenty-four hours to return. Hopefully, that would be sufficient. The mystic was supposed to be in a place called Pasadena, a suburb of LA. Sean had heard of the place but never been there.

The streets of Pasadena must have at one point been a pretty tranquil place. From the opulence of the quaint brick stores, to the remnants of Mercedes and Teslas, it had obviously been a one-time place for the nouveau riche west coast elite to pretend they were always this wealthy. While he’d never been there in person, Smash suspected that if those same people saw this place now they’d run screaming. The apocalypse had not been kind to Pasadena: rioters had smashed and stolen from most of the boutique little shops, cars were overturned in the street, and bombs had cratered entire sections of the city.

They got to the end of one row of brick buildings and turned onto a street with a bent sign that read: Arroyo Parkway. The streets of Pasadena were empty. It didn’t seem to be a place that would have a lot of NPC shopkeepers, but then again, the group knew little of this supposed seer. At the end of the block was a tacky little shop that was plaster instead of brick. Inside was a neon sign that read “Palm Readings and Tarot”. What caught their eye was the sign was lit up in a world without electricity.

“This must be the place,” Deathberry said with a chuckle. They walked inside.

The shop was small and they all crowded to make room. The smell of patchouli incense was immediately noticeable. The shop was filled with all sorts of occult paraphernalia: tarot cards, incense burners, various pentagram jewelry and the like. An old cash register rested on the counter in front of them which also had a bell for service. After a minute he rang the bell.

A voice like dry leaves said, “Come in. I’ve been expecting you.”

Of course, they would say that, Smash thought. But psychics like this guy were all a bunch of hucksters and Sean felt like a fool thinking this crazy old man could help them save Emmy’s life. However, that didn’t stop him from going past the counter. They passed behind a red and purple rug that was hanging from the ceiling.

There in the back room sat an old man, sitting in rags with a scraggly beard. He looked homeless and Sean was just about to turn around when he said, “Sit.” It was the commanding tone and power behind that voice that got his attention.

“My name is Rory and I understand that you’ve come here looking for a cure,” the old man said. Upon further inspection, Sean could see that he was blind. His eyes were milky and didn’t focus on them directly.

“I will help you, but first you must pass the test to prove you are worthy.”