38. Lose some, win some_Chosen by the Zealots [Sci-Fi Post-Apocalypse LitRPG]

Lucy could have smashed Adam into a bucket of icy water and done less damage. He boggled at her, his hands gripping clumps out of his mattress. "Run that by me, again." He said through gritted teeth. "Where is Penny?"

"She has deserted us, Chosen." Lucy said.

"You're sure about that."

‎"Indeed."

‎"She's not hiding in the village. She's not beaten to shit and can't wake up. She ran away from us." Adam said. Each phrase sounded more and more hollow. The real spike lodged when Lucy bowed to him, her tone half guilt, half caution.

"Saria searched after the battle. She could not find the girl in the village amongst the returning villagers, nor in the vicinity. I'm sorry, Chosen."

Adam slammed his fist on the nearby table as a furious snarl escaped his mouth. His food tray rattled. Specks of sauce jumped off onto the sheets and floor. Neither Lucy nor Saria flinched. They watched him pound the table a few more times, then slump against the back of his bed, arms folded in a sulk.

"Are you okay, Adam—I mean, Chosen?" Saria asked.

"Does it look like I am?" Adam snapped back.

"Yeah, I guess not." Saria said, "Sorry."

"How the hell did this happen?" Adam demanded.

"We don't know. Operator Pereia lost track of the girl, as she was too busy escorting Saria and us two to safety. By the time Operator Pereia had room to breathe, she couldn't find any trace of the girl."

He swore again, an ugly word that the two War Maidens blinked at and gave funny looks. Guess it was English this time. Their lack of offense at him only made his mood worse.

"I saved her from those candleheads, y'know." Adam said. Saria gave him a look of confusion at the term. He ignored it. "Right in the middle of that damn inferno, she was. Surrounded by those monsters. They aimed their spines at her ass. They would've piked her through and burned her to bits if I hadn't interfered at the last second. I saved her life! I gave her directions to safety, and this is how she repays me?"

‎"Chosen, I understand, and share, your fury. But you must remain calm. You might re-open some of your wounds." Lucy said.

"Hell no. I'm not done yet." Adam said, "I don't get this. I seriously don't. She helped us in the battle. Hell, we would've lost without her intel. A thousand different ways she could've screwed us over, but no, she dips after the battle and fucks off? Where's the logic in that? Where?"

Neither of the War Maidens had a response. Lucy wore a frown, more towards the absent Penny than him. Saria looked confused. He didn't blame her, since she never met Penny, and couldn't talk. He felt like he should continue shouting. Blame someone. Demand the two girls to get out and leave him to stew.

He didn't.

He didn't know whether it was his general tiredness, his apprehension towards War Maidens, or his already-mangled brain receiving a stroke of good luck. Regardless, Adam's voice petered off, as he fell silent and contemplative instead of riding the high of his anger.

"Chosen?" Lucy asked.

"Quiet. I'm thinking."

The more he thought about Lucy's judgement, the less sense it made. If Penny truly hated him, she could have made up all manner of excuses to trick him into killing himself. Yet, she hadn't. She'd done her job so well Adam doubted they could have won otherwise.

"Oi, Saria." Adam said. "You sure you searched everywhere?"

"Yep, Chosen!" Saria said. "I crept across the roofs of the buildings in that primitive village and took pictures of every single person there. None of them matched the mechanic girl. That Operator lady of yours cross-referenced, so it's a double-check. Then I took a look outside the village. The grounds outside were flat, and there weren't many people there either. Operator Pereia checked. Lots of boats moored at the river-village crossover, though."

"Penny said she boarded a boat with the rest…" Adam muttered. "And I bet she was with that Jona lady. That old crone wouldn't have let Penny go on her own, not in that situation. That means…"

He couldn't finish that sentence. The most obvious answer was Penny hitched a ride on a boat down the river, heading for another riverside town in the valley. Except, Penny had made it abundantly clear she was terrified of War Maidens, as they equalled Witches in her mind. Was she the type of girl to doom another village to Witch retaliation, just for a chance of escape?

Not the first time a knife's been stabbed in someone's back. He thought.

Yeah, because the girl who saw her entire crew wiped out by a Witch is gonna want that to happen again. She came close to shitting her shorts when Lucy interrogated her, remember. Nobody's gonna follow logic when they run. A nasty little voice spoke up from the corner of his mind. Besides, she's not a bastard like you, buddy. You might be better than her old boss, but the old Sally would've run your legs over like a steam train if she knew how you treated poor Penny.

He squeezed his eyes shut until the voice quieted. It chortled in its escape down his subconscious. There was no confirmation. Too many variables and possibilities. When you lived on the streets for long enough, you learned to follow your instincts, and Adam's were telling him this whole situation stank. A piece was missing. Something they didn't account for.

He felt soft skin. Lucy was holding his hands.

"Chosen, listen to me. Remember what I said in the hotel? It's a similar situation. This is not your fault." She stressed, stroking his fingers. A tingling sensation ran up them, somehow cooling his imminent headache. "You are not responsible for the insolence and the rot inside that girl's heart. No-one wielding that corruption has turned out a good person. But it'll be okay. We'll recuperate. We'll strategize together. And we will track down that person."

He looked at her again. Her face was a collection of bandages, blisters and bruises. That long, silky blonde hair was cut short at uneven ends, as if she'd walked out of a second-rate hairdresser. Faint tremors clung to her movements. Her cheeks were shrunken inwards, and her skin held the pallor of a marble slate.

Lucy was beatable, he realised. If Saria wasn't here, he'd be seriously considering whacking her over the head and making a break for it. Yet, she chose to comfort him, with tenderness and care that suggested more than an act of duty. Adam sat there, stunned, mouth drooped halfway between a shout and a gasp.

"Fucking hell, you're doing it again." He blurted out.

"Pardon?" Lucy said.

"Sitting there, talking to me, even though I'm…" He shut his mouth. Lucy blinked. A swell of shame churned regardless, supressing his anger. His adrenaline quietened. The tension in his back relaxed and he slumped back down, prising Lucy's fingers off in the process. She retreated to her seat.

"You were saying?" Lucy asked.

"Never mind!" Adam said. His palm was on his forehead. "Go on. Say whatever, Lucy."

Lucy bowed to him once more. "If anything, this is my fault. I should have placed a marker on her body."

"Wasn't like there was time. We had to fight the Flame Witch in a rush." Adam said. He noticed Saria agreed with Lucy, interjecting nothing, nodding along the whole time. The two girls had spirit, but the Astraean faith clouded their worldview, and they couldn't speak Penny's language to boot. Neither were reliable sources when it came to Penny's motivations.

If she hadn't thrown that grenade full of the red... Even as he thought that, he couldn't blame the girl for defending herself. He would've done the same. It was just bad luck, that her only weapon was the one thing Lucy feared and hated the most.

Ultimately, the War Maidens couldn't be entrusted with Penny. Only he could, assuming they tracked her down.

And what makes you think she'll want to come back? That same nasty little voice whispered. 'You would've done the same?' Think about that again.

"Yeah, this whole thing sucks." Saria said, as she rubbed the back of her head. She shrugged her shoulders and twisted her sides. Fleshy, human muscle flexed and moved beneath the clean War Maiden's uniform. Saria hopped on the spot, landing with a grin.

"But hey, you brought me back. Isn't that a win?"

"Saria's right. You did so well out there, Chosen! You brought back my closest friend to me. I cannot thank you enough for that! This is our victory!" Lucy exclaimed, smiling with her friend. "So please, do not let that girl rule over your emotions. She's not an unsolvable problem. One day, by Her Providence, she and the rest of the heretics will face the consequences for their awful behavior under Her gaze. While you, Her Chosen, will have long since forgotten about the girl, having reached greater heights."

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Adam said, putting his hands out. "I get it. The Herald basically told me the same thing."

"So, you good?" Saria asked.

"Could be worse."

‎"I'll take that as a yes then, Chosen." Lucy said, still smiling. "I'm glad to have you back."

"You War Maidens sure are built different." Adam said. Despite the comment, relief settled upon him.

For now, they were safe.

For now, he'd consider Penny only missing, and not a traitor.

----------------------------------------

Lucy returned to her own room in the Medbay, having exhausted herself from running to his room and conversing alone. It'd take her a week to fully recover, by her estimations. The moment Lucy was, she'd prep herself up to battle-readiness, then they'd set out to search for Penny.

Adam busied himself with ADOSCH in the meantime. A review of himself was in order.

Username: Adam Westfield

Ethnicity: Unknown

Title: Her Chosen

Competence Level: 2-7

Experience: 60.00%

Vitality: 100%

Plasma: 100%

There was nothing much to see here, except his Competency Level had passed 2-6 without ranking up to the next Main Level.

Reminder: Each Main Level has a variable amount of Sub-Levels that must be all acquired before the Main Level increases. The greater the Main Level, the higher the Sub-Level requirement.

Surpass Competence Level 2-12 to reach 3-1.

‎

Damn, that meant he needed over 400% experience before he unlocked the next rank of augmentations. He'd been looking forward to Rank 3, which according to the previews included weaponry, such as blades that burst out from beneath the skin or reinforced teeth capable of chewing through stone. Superhero crap. Batman would be jealous. Adam thought, a contemplative, convinced finger on his chin.

There existed no shortage of computers on the MOB to break apart for experience. His eyes landed on his old cryo pod as he thought.

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38. Lose some, win some

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