It was late afternoon by the time Doug was carrying the last ten gallons of diesel to his bunker.
For a moment, he thought about his encounter with the mysterious stranger earlier today. Was the man truly after him? Or was it merely coincidence? He didn’t seem to know anything about Lisa, so Doug let him go. After all, he had bigger fish to fry.
Still, he couldn't stop thinking about it. Why would someone try to threaten him? And why would they come looking for him specifically in broad daylight? Maybe the man was part of a gang trying to intimidate others from scavenging in the area? That would explain why he tried to scare him off. Still, it bothered him. Something just didn't sit well with him about the whole ordeal.
Shrugging it off, he locked the gate behind him before heading back toward the bunker entrance. There was nothing more to investigate anyway. Once inside, he removed his protective helmet, then sat down on a chair. Staring blankly at the ceiling, Doug wondered if there really was any hope left in this forsaken world.
He shook his head sadly and sighed aloud. No matter what happened, he had to keep moving forward. Whatever lay ahead, he needed to prepare for it. Otherwise, he risked becoming another victim of the apocalypse.
After another successful day of survival, Doug needed an escape from reality. He put on his VR headset and pulled on his haptic gloves.
After logging in, he was greeted by the CyberBolt logo followed by the hymn of Conquest as the game’s logo hovered in the sky above. The sun shone brightly overhead. Bright reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks painted the sky. Clouds swirled lazily across its expanse, forming patterns in the air. Birds soared high above, chirping merrily, oblivious to the destruction happening below.
One of those birds swooped low over the cobblestone streets, passing through a thick layer of smoke that billowed upward from burning huts. On the ground, figures ran frantically past. Some carried children while others dragged large sacks full of belongings. Others simply walked aimlessly, unsure of what to do next.
They passed beneath the bird, which circled higher and flew away. Its cries echoed faintly among the ruins, fading gradually into silence. Soon, only the sounds of wind rustling trees and animals scurrying about could be heard.
On one street corner, a young woman wearing torn clothing stared vacantly into space. Her pale blue eyes glimmered, reflecting the sunlight. She clutched her hands tightly in front of herself, shaking violently as she fought to contain the torrential emotions threatening to overwhelm her mind.
Doug approached the NPC and asked her what had happened.
"I lost my family…" the woman sobbed softly. "My husband… my son. They burned alive! My daughter… she died too."
Doug reached into his inventory and handed the woman a flask of water. She drank greedily from it, wiping tears from her cheeks.
"Thank you," the woman whispered gratefully.
She wiped the rest of the moisture from her eyes and sniffled. "Are you from these parts?”
"No ma'am.” his eyes scanned the horizon, “Can you tell me what happened here?”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"That was our village. We‘be lived here peacefully, farming crops, raising livestock, and hunting deer. Then last night, a Fireboar rampaged through or town and set fire to our homes.”
"A Fireboar?" Doug asked. "Do you know where it went?"
"According to one of the injured victims, it headed north towards the forest."
"Thanks for telling me. I‘ll meet up with my guild and tell them what happened. You stay safe now."
With that, Doug turned and started walking back to toward the Harmony encampment hidden in the mountains. The sun beat down upon him, causing sweat to pour down his brow despite the cool breeze blowing gently across the plains.
Soon, Doug arrived at the base camp and greeted his companions.
"Hey, where’s Jenn? Is she okay?" he asked. "Is everyone alright? Did everyone else make it out of the town safely?"
"Yeah, yeah, we're fine," said Kari, his fellow guild member. "We got lucky. We managed to get most of the group out before the FireBoar could reach us. Everyone else should already be at the rendezvous point."
Kari motioned toward a nearby hillside. About fifty yards away, several members of their group stood waiting for Doug to arrive. All of them appeared healthy, save for a few scratches and bruises.
When Doug saw them, he breathed a sigh of relief and waved cheerfully at them.
"Good job getting everybody out," he said enthusiastically. "How many did you lose?"
"Only six of us are unaccounted for," Jenn replied. “Most of the others made it out without incident, but at least three of our guys were killed during the evacuation process. They will each have a 10-minute penalty lockout before they can respawn. But we were able to secure all of their gear so that it wouldn’t get looted by other players.”
"Good idea," Doug nodded. “So what’s the plan boss? Are we going after the FireBoar?”
"Not yet," said Jenn. "First, we need to gather some intel on the creature's lair. If we can learn where it’s hiding, perhaps we'll have a better chance of defeating it."
Jenn pointed toward a nearby hillside.
"Let's check out this site first," she suggested. "There are scorch marks on that side of the mountain, so the beast has at least passed through that area."
Together, the team followed Jenn along the path leading to the summit. At the top, they stopped and surveyed their surroundings. To either side of them, vast stretches of scorched earth stretched endlessly down into the valley. Dark smoke obscured much of the view, preventing them from seeing far beyond the crest of the nearest hill.
"Looks like the FireBoar definitely came this way recently." Jenn pursed her lips thoughtfully.
Just then, a faint roar sounded somewhere deep within the distance. A second later, another roar joined it, echoing loudly across the plain.
There’s two of them?!
Everyone tensed immediately. Doug’s heart raced wildly, his breath coming faster than normal.
Then, something caught his attention: a flash of movement near the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley below. His blood froze instantly when he recognized what it was.
Two FireBoars, both larger versions of the beasts than he’d ever before seen, were making their way slowly across the rocky terrain toward another settlement in the valley below. As they drew closer, the creatures became visible enough to identify individually. One of them was slightly smaller than the other, probably a female.
Both beasts looked angry, snarling viciously at anyone foolish enough to approach. Their massive tusks jutted prominently from their mouths, ready to tear flesh apart. Large fangs protruded from their lower jaws, dripping saliva onto the rocks beneath them. Their bodies were covered in yellow flames.
Without warning, the female FireBoar let out a terrifying roar that sent waves of terror throughout the entire area. With incredible speed, she charged forward, leaping fifteen feet straight up into the air and landing directly on the roof of a house, immediately lighting the thatched roof on fire. From there, she launched herself off again, flying through the air until she landed atop another building.
Her male counterpart moved quickly to follow suit. While airborne, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, using the houses to launch himself farther into the sky, leaving a trail of burning buildings in their wake.
“Charge!” Jenn roared as she made a beeline down the mountainside and most of the guild followed suit.
----------------------------------------
© Copyright 2023 R.M. Mulder. All rights reserved.