L: You can tell a tree by the fruit it bears.

M: My dad used to lay out apples, then shoot any deer stupid enough to eat them.

3 Hours Later - Megacles - The Woods

I pull the bike off onto a logging trail, and hammer down it for a while. When it gets too rough, I hide the bike in a bush and start walking.

My pack is kinda heavy. I pull out a couple beer to lighten my load. I'm looking for a big fucking tree to hang out under. After a while I find a grove next to a stream. Good enough.

I put the beer in the stream, build myself a nest, and get comfy. Smoke.

I try to enjoy my new life - it's not likely to last long. But I can't relax. Too angry.

Not sure who I’m angry at. At some point Doc-Danger’s research became a doomsday weapon. Then I helped him build it. Now every government, corpo-billionaire, and professional sociopath will be hunting me. And I didn’t cover my tracks very well because one of them already has found me through Lodestone.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I’m probably mad at one of those people. Maybe all of them. How could we be so stupid?

They’re gonna find me. They’ve already found me. The next step is to wring me for information and get rid of me.

Best case I end up a pet monkey for someone like Mr. President. Worst case, Old Money breaks every bone in my body and dumps me in a ditch.

I’d like to think I’m paranoid, but the God Machine works too good, and I know too much. I honestly didn’t think this would be an issue. Didn’t think we’d succeed. Or if we did, we’d make a couple atoms or some shit. Fucking Doc-Danger. Fuck me too.

We were so close! We could be exploring the universe right now. Instead, he's lost, I'm stuck, and psychos are on my tail.

Granted, the psychos had found me before Damocles appeared. Maybe the planaportation was an accident. I doubt it.

I laugh at everybody trying to find the meaning of Damocles’ appearance. There's no fucking meaning. It's just Doc-Danger giving the unknown a good stiff poke. Like he always does. He can't help himself.

Speaking of obsessives, I wonder if the Darkness has found me yet? Is she behind Lodestone? Or Dead Man? It's getting hard to imagine a future where she doesn't murder me.

And there it is. I'm fucked. If I keep doing what I'm doing, the Darkness is gonna take me. I need to move faster. Take some risks. Even big risks are safer than waiting for death.

I pull some beer from the stream. I feel a little better. It's a shit plan, but at least I have it. I drink, and smoke, and think.