The soldiers around Briggs hesitated, glancing nervously between their leader and Atlas, who hadn’t even unsheathed his weapons yet. The Portal Crushers, meanwhile, stood ready, their crossbows at the ready, but none of them moved.
Briggs’ hand froze, fingers just brushing the grip of his gun. His eyes locked with Atlas’, and for a moment, the two men stared each other down, the weight of their confrontation pressing down on everyone around them.
In the distance, a soft hum broke the tension. One of Briggs’ soldiers, looking for a distraction, glanced up just in time to see a glowing red figure darting through the air. His eyes widened as the fairy zoomed toward them, wings buzzing furiously.
“Fairy!” the soldier shouted, panic in his voice.
Before anyone could react, the soldier raised his rifle and fired. The shot rang out, and the fairy exploded in a burst of light and blood, its high-pitched scream echoing in the distance.
The effect was immediate. The other fairies, their eyes glowing with a menacing red light, swarmed from the shadows, shrieking as they descended on Briggs’ soldiers.
“Hold your fire!” Briggs bellowed, but it was too late.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!”
The mini faeries chanted. They had never been attacked before. But every creature is born with a survival instinct. And the mini red faeries were based on the Red Fairy. A creature which gleefully destroyed settlements, for shits and giggles.
The soldiers, panicked by the sudden onslaught, opened fire, bullets spraying wildly into the air as the fairies danced and flitted between them. The creatures moved too fast for the soldiers to hit accurately, lighting bolts slicing through armor and flesh alike as they darted between the terrified men.
PEW!
PEW!
PEW!
“Fall back!” one of the soldiers screamed, but there was nowhere to run. The fairies were relentless, their attacks precise and lethal.
Many of the Earth made guns had misfired and exploded in the soldier’s hands.
One of the fairies darted toward Briggs, who pulled his pistol and fired. The shot missed by inches, and the fairy let out an ear-piercing shriek as it fired a beam of lightning directly into Briggs’ chest.
Briggs, still on his knees, looked up at Atlas, his face pale and bloodied. His soldiers lay scattered around them, either dead or dying, their rifles smoking in the dirt.
Atlas and the Portal Crushers watched with disgust as the fairies decimated the soldiers. They hadn’t even needed to step into the fight. Fort Bone, once peaceful, was now filled with screams and the smell of blood. The brown dirt of the wasteland was stained red, bodies littering the ground.
Atlas sheathed his sword and looked down at the broken man in front of him. “You can’t control this place, Major. You never could.”
Briggs’ voice was barely a whisper. “Please… we were just following orders.”
Atlas didn’t flinch. “Orders don’t mean a damn thing out here.”
When the last soldier fell, and Major Briggs lay lifeless, Atlas called off the fairies. The tiny creatures floated back to the ground, their eyes returning to their normal, playful glow.
“Did we do okay?” one of the fairies asked timidly.
“You did just fine,” Atlas replied, his voice grim. He looked at the rest of the new refugees, many of whom were crying or bleeding, their faces pale with shock.
“Strip the gear and throw their bodies into the nutrient machine,” Atlas ordered, his voice hollow. They had bought the machine to convert organics into compost, a way to fertilize the new farms. Now, it would be fed with the remains of those who had come to conquer them.
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As the Portal Crushers began the grim task, Atlas turned to John. “Deal with this mess. Figure out a plan. We need to stop this from ever happening again.”
John nodded, already mentally preparing the steps they would need to take to prevent another massacre. Fort Bone had been a haven, but it was clear that it was far from safe.
The government of Earth was playing a dangerous game, betting on control without knowing the stakes. And in the wasteland, Atlas knew one thing for sure: the fight for survival was just beginning.
‘Mobs, bandits, government troops? Bring them on‘
‘‘‘‘
POV: CELESTIAL WAGER
Zeltrax rubbed his three green eyes, peering down at the gambling board in front of him, translucent skin glowing faintly in the dim, luxurious light of the Celestial Wager. The board flickered with the latest numbers: bets on how many would survive the latest portal entry.
“Ten thousand humans. I’m betting half die within the first month,” Gorvax rumbled, his massive stone-like frame shifting as he laid down his chips. His four arms folded as he glared at the board.
“That’s optimistic,” Kroxar muttered, his tentacles twitching. “I say sixty percent gone in three weeks. This wasteland eats people alive.”
“That Major Briggs fellow… Did anyone bet on him dying in under 15 minutes?” Lurox fluttered her wings, throwing an iridescent sheen over the table. “I had him dying under an hour.”
‘Not a bad payday though. Even with the lower odds of under an hour, versus the under 15 minutes.‘
Zeltrax leaned forward, his translucent hand waving over the board. “Not so fast. I’ve got my money on the wastelanders. Especially this ‘Atlas’ they keep talking about. He’s not one to bow easily.”
“Atlas? The Canadian warlord?” Virelia, an elegant waitress with lavender skin, floated by with a tray of mid-air delicacies. “I’ve heard he doesn’t play by the rules. The way Earth’s governments think they can control him? Laughable.”
Kroxar laughed darkly. “Oh, they’ll learn.”
POV : FORT BONE
Atlas headed into his house, the weight of the day’s events pressing down on him like a boulder. John was out there dealing with the aftermath, but Atlas knew they needed to prepare for what was coming. Lighting a cigarette, he leaned against the rough wooden wall of his home, staring out the window as the smoke curled around him. His thoughts swirled as he tried to make sense of what the future might hold.
He knew one thing for certain: this wasn’t just about surviving anymore. It was about control. It was about building something that could stand against the inevitable flood of government forces and other factions that would be drawn to this new world like moths to a flame. The incident with the soldiers was just the beginning. More would come, and they wouldn’t be as easy to deal with.
When John finally returned, Atlas stubbed out his cigarette and turned to him. “What’s the aftermath like, John?”
John’s face was grim. “Well, as you know, the soldiers are gone.”
Atlas nodded slowly. “Yeah, they’re gone here, at Fort Bone. But how many other settlements do you think were taken over?”
John frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Ooooh, good question.”
Atlas sighed. “We need to get ahead of this. Gather all the leadership.”
***
Within an hour, the leaders of Fort Bone were assembled in the war room, the air thick with tension. Atlas looked around at the faces of those who had stood by him through thick and thin. They were strong, but the day’s events had shaken them, and he knew they needed to hear what he had to say.
“Do you all still trust me and want to follow my commands?” Atlas began, his voice steady but firm. He paused, letting the weight of the question settle over them. “Because the portals are going to bring more and more government troops, and that means more conflicts with them. More fights like today. They’re going to want to control this world, and I’m not going to let them.”
Atlas had made a big statement.
There was a heavy silence in the room as the leadership exchanged glances. Then, Isabella spoke up, her voice tinged with concern. “What about our loved ones back home? What happens to them if we resist?”
Wang Bo, a stoic man who had been through more battles than anyone could count, shook his head. “China will definitely never let any one man control an entire world. They’ll come for us hard.”
Atlas responded to that question. “Nobody on Earth knows what’s happening here. And they can send orders all they want. But communications will always be one way.”
He kicked the shattered remnants of the SAT phone to emphasize his point.
Alexander, always the rebellious spirit, snorted. “Never had much use for the revenuers. I’m with you, Atlas. I didn’t survive this long to be pushed around by bureaucrats.”
John, ever the pragmatist, chimed in with a smirk. “Canada’s Prime Minister has always been a giant pussy. No worries there. We’ll handle it.”
Atlas nodded, feeling a surge of determination. “Then we need to set up a formal government here. Let’s draft a constitution. Laws, and more importantly, a way to deal with all conflicts—both from the Wasteland and from the people of Earth.”
‘Here I am fighting Earthlings on a post apocalyptic world. Does that make me Atlas the alien?‘
For the next few hours, they hashed out the first set of laws that would govern Fort Bone. They had to be harsh, but fair—something that would keep the settlement strong in the face of the challenges ahead.