The bastion doors creaked open, letting in the moist air of the undercity, Bobby took a few steps out and stared solemnly at the van. It wasn’t completely wrecked by a long shot, if you turned the key it would probably still run, but the dents and broken windows definitely ruined the look of it. It’s lucky we have found a place to stay and won’t need it for a while, but if those guys return I doubt it will be fit to drive again.
“You aren’t getting replacement windows for something that old,” Lucinda said, coming out to stand next to him.
“Yeah, we might need to upgrade our ride soon.” Bobby said.
“I have some electric scooters you can use if you want to get around the city while you’re staying with me.”
“Thanks,” Bobby went up to the van and opened the back doors.
The inside of the van was a mess, the hammock had been torn down, the bin had been half caved in, the tools were mostly intact although they were spread out all over the floor. Bobby stepped in, seeing more and more dented and broken things. It was kind of sad to see all the things they had excitedly packed a few days ago strewn around in damaged states.
He reached the front of the van; the glovebox was dented, the radio was smashed up and the steering wheel looked wonky. Then his eyes honed in on the one thing that was perfectly intact and untouched.
It was the satnav. Bobby smirked and picked the old device up. Gary’s going to be so pissed that this is one of the only things that survived. He wrapped the cable it came with around it and slipped it in his pocket.
“Lucinda, can you help me clear some of the stuff out of here, I want to move anything that might be useful inside, then I’ll go and hide it somewhere where a man child won’t do any more damage.”
She nodded and began collecting up the tools in the back, Bobby went to help her and together they made quick work, even managing to bash the bin out into roughly its original shape, which they then filled with anything useful.
Then he swept the glass off the seat and put the key in the ignition. “I’ll be back in a bit, if the others wake up, tell them what happened.” Bobby revved the engine, and after a bit more coughing than normal the vehicle finally started back up.
He sped off out of the area of cleared buildings, and drove around for a few minutes until he found a dark space between two buildings less than a minutes walk from the bastion. It was sheltered, so the van wouldn’t fill with drips. He made sure it was really hard to see, then shut off the engine and walked back.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Those men will probably return, from what I could gather this isn’t the first time they’ve come to harass Lucinda. His hand clenched into a fist. I may not be a knight in shining armour, and she may not be a damsel in distress, but she’s been so accommodating allowing us to stay that I feel obligated to do something. Bobby released his fist. He wasn’t ever going to be a frontline fighter, but he could now make an army of skeletons to do his bidding.
He got back just as breakfast was starting. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked Michaela as the skeleton opened the door.
“Algae and mushroom porridge.”
“Huh, I’ve not tried such a combination before,” he wandered into the kitchen finding Lucinda stirring a big pot, “You’re sure we aren’t a bother? I don’t want to eat all your food.”
“No, my farm makes a stupidly large surplus of the stuff, I used to sell most of it for money, but that market has been firmly taken over by the Funguy Co-operative.”
“How much of a surplus?” Bobby enquired curiously.
“Enough to feed four times my current guests.”
“Huh.”
Gary and Mcgunkin finally wandered into the kitchen, both looking smart as usual in their suits.
“A gang wrecked the van this morning.” Bobby told them, both looked angry at the news, interestingly Mcgunkin had the more intense response.
“How are we going to make them pay?” the thrall asked.
“We aren’t yet, they seem to be armed to the gunnels, but I’m thinking it might be a good idea to start making an army.”
“An army, what for?” Lucinda raised an eyebrow.
“It’s for my duty,” Bobby said, “World Domination!”
“Who gave you this duty?” asked Wat-haf Wedon, poking his head out from the rusty unused breadbin.
Lucinda jumped slightly at the unexpected appearance.
“A god did, Afkanoob the Necromonger.”
“Hah, that sounds like the dumb usernames people use to play online games with,” said Gary, slapping his knee and laughing.
“Power comes at a price,” said Wat-haf wisely.
“Wait, gods exist?” asked Lucinda. “Do I get to go to heaven if I pray to them?”
“No point, I’ll just revive you.” Bobby said, “Anyway, I think we should go gravedigging again today, TODD survived and it should be able to direct us to one of the nearby ones.”
“Did someone say TODD?” came the muffled voice of the satnav from his pocket.
“Noooo, I thought we were rid of that thing, damn it!” Overreacted Gary.
“As much as I would love to join you, I need to repair some bits of my algae farm,” said their host, definitely not making excuses.
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