Evil reigned when good men stayed idle.
It was a phrase Cole read when he was young. The merchants rotated their boats and carts through Glenn's rest every fortnight, bringing with them all sorts of wares. While the elders of the village handled rare meats to old world artifacts and a half-rusted robot, Cole begged his ma to spend what little spare money they had on a bundle of old books.
He read the phrase from the story of a great hero, who rose from humble origins under an oppressive king and travelled the land, saving people and fighting evil. His life transformed after that. He learned how to shoot. He volunteered for the town watch. It kept him going through the long nights, as the shapes in the darkness blurred together and his eyelids threatened to droop.
The other boys called him a loudmouth, a bookworm, a prick with a stick up his ass. Cole didn't expect them to understand. He had a purpose. He was doing something important, and it was all thanks to that book.
That's why he detested that new outsider, Adam or whathisname. The buzzcut swaggered in one day, hauling an entire fortune's worth of star-tech on his back, and began poking around like he owned the town. Sure, he took down a couple of bandits, but that wasn't out of goodwill. It was for money—a most disgusting motivation. He then upped and scarpered when it was clear the town didn't have anything left to offer.
He could've helped lift some heavy crates, or clear out a few pests with that fancy rifle. Instead, he used that power for his own sake. Who the heck did that ratbag think he was? How did that pretty blonde end up sticking with him? She probably was one of those 'trophy girls' described in that old world sightseeing book.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed the smoke.
Red skies meant hot colors blurred into the background. It took him a double take for him to zoom in with his scope. Far across the plains, behind the town's wheat fields and the old dried ravine, plumes of acrid, dark grey smoke rose.
Initially, he thought it was summer when farmers burned away the brush. He realised it was spring, and he could smell the smoke from all the way across here.
A ball of fire erupted in the distance, soaring like a mystical bird. The radio in his pocket blared, sounding nothing like the village's distress protocol. He took out his rifle, peered through the scope, and almost fainted at the sight.
----------------------------------------
"You think this is a time for a makeover?" Adam said, disbelieving.
"Oh no, this is no fashion statement." Esther said. She wore a grim look on those youthful, round-cheeked features. "Adam, a Herald is an envoy from Her, sent down to provide guidance that may take the form of future insight."
"The hell are you saying?"
"My previous form, Adam, and the one before that. Did you think I took those girls because I wanted to? Did you not notice that red-haired, ponytailed girl anywhere?"
Adam scowled, already prepared to slug back another insult. The image of a certain hallway in the MOB popped into his head. Lucy was there, captured in time, sitting proudly in a grand hall with her War Maiden associates, one of which was…
"You gotta be shitting me." He said, groaning. "Already?"
"Fate waits for no-one, excluding Her." Esther said, "And now you know your next goal, too. We'll have to cut this training session short. I suspect your War Maiden friend will try to wake you up soon."
"Hold on, I paid Stellari for this session!" Adam said, "You're ripping me off!"
"Don't worry, I can refund you as the host here." Esther said. She walked over and patted him on the shoulder whilst standing on her new body's toes. "You did a good job today. Practice the [Physio-Dash] more when things calm down, and good work in increasing your bond with Lucy Klavdia. Keep that up and you'll be six-star scrumptious in exactly the way She wants."
Again with that sentence. Again with that damn name!
"Shove it." Adam hissed, "I don't need your damn goddess's approval."
"And yet, you didn't refute Lucy back in the hotel, no? Best of luck, Adam!"
Esther laughed, pure and shrill, like the cry of a songbird, and pushed Adam out of the space back into reality. His consciousness slammed into a brick wall and his vision faded in and out.
PRECISION has increased by 1.
Refunded 100 Stellari!
"Is he awake yet?" He heard Miriam shout through ADOSCH's interface.
"No, I'm preparing the technique right now!" Lucy cried.
"Oh, piss off!" Adam shouted, shoving Lucy back. He scrambled to his feet. "I'm up already!"
"About time." Miriam said, "Adam, we've found the next War Maiden."
"Yeah, I know." He said.
The emotions wrapped around him like a cloud of toxin. He was stronger, he told himself. He unlocked a whole suite of augmentations and even raised himself to the next level. He was better at mystics than before. He had a crew, full weapons and a stock of medical items.
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He failed to stop himself from trembling, for his teeth to not crush themselves and his stomach to cease roiling with acid. It appeared again. An awful visage of a mouth serrated, blood and filthy dripping around the sides, a cluster of hexagonal pupils twitching and seeking like the contents of a hornet's nest.
"Calm down, Adam." Miriam said, almost-barked, "She's not near you."
"Where is she? How close are we?"
"Check this out." Miriam summoned a map to the screen and expanded it. Unlike the chicken scratch he wasted chips on, this map was a top-down, professional photograph of the entirety of Grassruin Valley. Miriam flexed her fingers, expanding a section. A red dot marked their current location. A blue line followed out of it, leading up and around the way they had come, until the trees and the grass fell away to red and grey.
"Bushfire. [Pyrokinesis]." Miriam said, "Your War Maiden blazed a trail through this place. You won't have to track her down this time."
The line was measured at around 50 ADO-standard stretches. Adam estimated it to be a bit more than a few miles. It curved away the path of devastation from them. Assuming it didn't swerve, it would head through a batch of grasslands, across a hill and towards a group of brown blocks surrounded by a…
"Chosen! That's the village we were in!" Lucy cried.
"Village? Oh, you're referring to that cluster of humans near the river." Miriam said, "Yes, she's heading that way."
Lucy looked horrified. "They only possess primitive bolt-actions, Operator Pereia! [Pyrokinesis] will destroy their entire home. We have to do something!"
"Wow, that bad? I knew this valley was primitive, but that's a new level." Miriam gave a non-committal shrug. "Guess you better go and help them out. Idleness is a sin."
"How long until impact?" Adam said.
"About an hour." Miriam said. "You three better hurry. And Adam, stop panicking. You have a full-fledged War Maiden with you, remember?"
"A First Class, one at that." Lucy added.
"First Class Novice, but we can't be too picky. Leave most of the heavy lifting to her. Support her with your [Psychokinesis] and prepare that miracle of yours, if it exists."
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I got it." He swallowed the dry air and whacked himself in the cheek. The pain steadied him. Lucy gripped his hand again. He let her have it. "Let's do this."
There was no time to dwell further. The group scrambled to pack up their gear as fast as they could. Weapons, pack, boots and mystics—all green. They dumped the trash in a pile in the corner and burned it to cinders.
Their boots thudded as they raced up the tunnel to the entrance. He held little connection to the townsfolk of Glenn's Rest, but he refused to let that place burn to the ground. It was too valuable of a supply depot. Even gangers like him knew how valuable a constant supply of meals was.
The faint scent of ash hit them as they emerged into the daylight. Adam ran up to the vehicle the Gasheads had abandoned. It was a pickup truck, its frame riddled with bullet holes and covered in grime. He checked the door. Locked. He took his tomahawk and smashed the windows open. No keys were hooked to the engine.
"Penny, can you hot-wire this?" Adam asked.
"I…" Penny hesitated. The girl had almost curled up in a ball when Adam gave the order. It took Lucy poking her on the cheek and giving her a hard stare for the scavenger girl to resume moving. It only took Lucy a tap of her foot for Penny to resume moving.
"Let me at it, boss!" Penny took out a screwdriver and a set of pliers from her toolkit. She got to work. Meanwhile, Adam checked the wheels while Lucy dumped water on the windows and mirrors and rubbed all the grime off with a cloth. It took them agonizing minutes for Penny to learn the workings of the pickup truck and rewire the ignition. He couldn't blame her, this time, given the state of the vehicle. She was a miracle worker. Better than a lot of adults he'd met.
The engine sputtered to life. Lucy hopped in the driver's seat. She stared at the brake.
"What?" Adam said, impatiently.
"Well, this is embarrassing." Lucy said, rubbing the back of her neck, "I don't know how to drive this primitive vehicle."
"Oh, for the love of...give me that!" They exchanged seats, Lucy sheepishly getting out to switch places and sit in the back. Adam grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and the handbrake with the other. He wasn't an expert driver. The Marines had neglected to teach him that in favor of ground combat and tactics. He had jacked vehicles and joyridden twice. It was practically a rite of passage for young kids back in good ol' Steeldale. How hard could this be?
He undid the hand brake, slammed the pedal to the metal and turned the steering wheel with all his might.
The pickup truck lurched out of the grass, crunching the twigs and leaves beneath the wheels. Puffs of black smoke poured out of the exhaust pipe as Adam manhandled the vehicle back on four wheels and zoomed down the road. Shrubs, tree branches and clumps of dirt flew up around and onto the front window as Adam struggled with the wheel.
"What's with this vehicle?" Lucy screamed, as she clung onto the backrest. "It's so primitive!"
"Welcome to Honda, baby!" Adam shouted. "Enjoy the ride!"
"It's not a Honda!" Penny shouted, "It's a…Toyota?"
"Who gives a shit!"
"Be careful, Chosen!" Lucy pointed forward. Adam swerved right, causing Lucy's head to smack against the glass. Penny covered her mouth and tried not to giggle.
"Oi, Miriam, you tracking us? Which way?"
"West. Avoid the fire! And drive carefully!"
The bumpiness flattened out as Adam guided the car back onto the main road. The devastation became apparent almost immediately. Billows of smoke in the distance, spreading out in an approximation of the line. Tiny orange-red embers fluttering in the air like moths. Their lips drying, skin searing, followed by coughing from the incoming smoke. Lucy grabbed water out of her backpack, mixed it with a powder and wrapped it around three pieces of cloth. She tied it around Adam, then did the same to Penny and herself. The powder made the water congeal, blocking the smoke particles, while also providing room to breathe.
They crossed a bridge and raced through burning underbrush and across plains lit ablaze. The windshield was now coated in smoke and dust. Adam coughed as tears filled his eyes. He wiped the front of his face, and heard a buzzing sound.
It was the radio. Garbled static emitted from it. Adam snarled and hit the off button. The very next moment, something leaped out of the brush and onto the road.
"Look out!" Miriam screamed.
[Perception Acceleration] kicked in. Time slowed down. Flecks of ash hovered above the front mirror, in which he saw Lucy kick the left door open. Penny reached for the other door, one hand grabbing her pack. He sent the signals for his arms to steer right, taking the truck off-road and towards a patch of dirt. The screech of the tires melded with Miriam's cry and a bestial roar, extended out in this guttural moaning that sent tremors up his spine.
Time resumed. The thing crashed into the car. A hard thump. The shattering of glass. All occupants vacated and ejected in different directions.
Adam's world rolled around over and over, orange mixing with ash-brown, until he lay face-down in a patch of dirt. He spat out a mouthful and climbed up. A wall of flames burst to life in front of him, causing him to reel back.
"What the…"
It was on his left, his right, all around him. This was a prison! The heat was bad before, but now it felt like a backhand from God itself. His skin was burned by just standing here.
There was the faint whoosh of a [Physio-Dash], and Adam turned around.
Lucy stood before him, facing the monster striding out of a wall of flames.
"Saria?" Lucy croaked, "Is that you?"