Book 2 Ch. 22

Drew reclined in the collapsable red and black fabric chair, his feet kicked up on the optional attachment, and a fun umbrella with a smiling beaver mascot covering him from the brutal late-summer sun. His sweet tea was in the cup holder as he pulled out a peanut butter sandwich from his inventory. No crust, just the way it should be. Drew thought, before taking a large bite out of his lunch.

He’d made the decision to remain just twenty feet inside the Air Force base, near the gatehouse. Between the two airmen, the base commander should be coming to visit shortly, and Drew saw no point in disturbing the rest of the base with his presence. They likely had tons of things to do with the end of the world around them, and disturbing them from their duties could cost civilian lives.

Half an hour later, with his belly full, and relaxation kicked into full gear, Drew had begun to doze off, only to be interrupted by a nearby commotion. He blinked open his eyes and scratched the stubble on his chin as he turned his head leisurely to investigate the new noise. The commander had arrived and brought friends, and none of them looked happy to see him. Learning from his previous lesson, he quickly stowed the precious chair setup into his inventory and walked towards the marching formation of Air Force personnel.

I’ll give them one thing, they look damn good marching like that, very professional. Drew chuckled, despite knowing what was coming. A yell rang out from the formation, and the frontline dropped to their knees as the next line behind the first brought their old musket-style rifles to bear. The frontline then raised their rifles as well. The message was clear, they weren’t here for a friendly chat. Hmm, looks like they went back to a civil war or revolutionary war style of fighting due to the single shot rifles they’re using. I wonder where they found so many antiques…

“Raise your hands above your head!” One of them called out.

Drew sighed. This is why I liked living in the country, the distinct lack of idiots was so peaceful.

“I’m here to speak with your commanding officer about the state of the city, and to offer aid to both military folks and civilians should it be required.” Drew called back, trying to show an outward appearance of maturity and professionalism.

“You are under arrest for trespassing, assault of United States Military personnel…”

“Look buddy, the apocalypse has hit and the world has gone to shit. Most of y’all look to be barely in E Grade. I’m C Grade, for any idiots out there that means I’m a fuck-ton stronger than any of you. If you attack me, I will embarrass you. Now, are we going to sit down and chat like civil human beings, or do y’all need a spanking?” Drew yelled back, interrupting their bullshit. Spanking, really? That’s just going to piss them off. Piss them off it did. The order was called and smoke filled the air as the cry of rifle shots pierced the silence.

Drew was already gone of course, shaking his head in frustration as he quickly appeared behind each man and woman, delivering a sharp chop to the neck near the carotid artery. He held back on his strength with his control and willpower, only allowing enough to make each individual forcibly pass out. Against barely evolved E Grades, Drew was like a ninja, moving too fast to be seen as line after line of their formation fell to the ground unconscious.

After the last line he paused for a moment, glancing at the bodies to make sure everyone was still breathing. A loud roar sounded, and Drew turned his head, only to feel a massive impact hit his abdomen. He wasn’t pushed back, but the amount of force he’d been hit with still shocked him. Looking down he found a large deformed lead ball falling from his armor to hit the ground with a thud. His armor was perfectly fine of course.

Drew found the source of his irritation, three people standing a bit away from him with a freaking cannon, its barrel still smoking as evidence. They fired a fucking cannon at me? Seriously? The airmen stood by the cannon, their jaws practically on the ground in shock. One of them was clearly the commander. He looked to be in his late sixties, if not early seventies, and even with his mouth agape, Drew could see disbelieving arrogance on his face.

Drew scooped up the deformed cannon ball, one side of it flat from the impact on his armor and… The wind up… annnd the pitch! Threw the cannonball right back at the delivery system, it screamed through the air, a sonic boom pushed out from its trajectory as the lead ball hit the cannon. Shrapnel of lead and wood flew from the new crater in the ground. The three men flew through the air, hitting the pavement with ragdoll physics. They were alive, but heavily injured. Shouldn’t have shot me with a goddamn cannon.

Pulling a health potion that he’d gotten from the dungeon, and splitting between the three injured, Drew grabbed the commander by the ankle and dragged him to the flagpole, where he was quickly stripped and joined his subordinate right below the American flag. Drew scooped up all the guns, and once again sat in his chair, waiting for the military folks to wake up. Everyone was alive, and now uninjured, so Drew went back to his nap.

Drew awoke to the sounds of mumbled curses a short time later. After yawning and stretching, he found several airmen standing and looking around in confusion or disbelief. Appearing next to one of them, he placed his hand on their shoulder. They turned, and seeing Drew in his armor, the man quickly paled and tried to turn and run, but Drew’s hand held firm.

“So, apparently asking politely doesn’t work around here. You’re going to lead me to the second person in charge of this base.” Drew said seriously, while holding a solid grip on the airman.

“... Second?” The man croaked.

“Yeah, I’m assuming that guy was numero uno, right?” Drew asked, hitching his thumb behind him to the flagpole where two men hung hog-tied in their tighty-whities. The airman followed Drew’s gesture and his eyes widened.

“G…general?” The man gaped.

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“I guess? So who’s second in charge around here, and I’d prefer someone with a level head.” Drew shrugged.

Drew wasn’t going to wait for any more cannon surprises, and carried the man princess-style as the airman gave him directions to the new commander in charge. Soon they stood outside an office, and Drew gave the man a shove. The man held up a hand, hesitating slightly before knocking on the door.

“Enter.” A feminine voice called out from behind the door.

The man looked back at Drew, as if to ask him if he was sure he wanted to do this. The two entered the room.

“Senior Airman Gonzales reporting ma’am!” The man announced.

A middle-aged woman sat at the spartan desk, looking over paperwork before raising her head to address the airman. She paused when she noticed Drew, standing next to him in full shining armor. Her eyebrow raised slightly before she let out an audible sigh.

“Airman, I take it the response company led by General Harington has failed?” The woman asked, already knowing the answer. She wore Air Force fatigues, her brown hair tied up in a bun, dark bags under her eyes and wrinkles on her face said she hadn’t slept well in a very long time.

“...Yes Ma’am.” The man answered, the pause and hesitation saying everything that needed to be said. She nodded her head.

“You’re dismissed Airman, close the door on your way out.”

“...But Ma’am…”

“I said you’re dismissed.” She said far more sternly. The man gulped and nodded quickly, saluting and quickly retreating from the room before closing the door. The woman looked Drew up and down, before waving her hand motioning for him to sit in one of the chairs across from her. Drew sat down casually, before removing his helmet and placing it on the chair next to him.

“Are they dead?” The woman asked, her voice firm, but Drew noticed the pitch changed slightly between words.

“No. Three were heavily injured after they shot me with a cannon, but I healed them.” Drew answered.

“And the General?” She asked.

“Alive, healed, and currently hog-tied and hoisted on the flagpole at the gatehouse in his underwear.” Drew answered again. The woman nodded her head and sighed, before the corner of her lip turned upwards for the briefest of moments.

“Thank you for sparing them. The General has not… adapted well to the world we find ourselves in. I assume you’re not here to conquer the base and take control of it?” She asked. Her tone was flat, but the last sentence had a hint of underlying danger.

“No, nothing like that.” Drew answered. The woman’s shoulders visibly relaxed at his words. “I live over the border in Oklahoma, I’m here to gather intelligence on the state of the city and the surroundings and to offer aid to both the military and civilians should it be required.” Drew answered honestly, but in a tactful manner.

“Do you still wish to offer aid, even after we attacked you?” The woman asked.

“Knowing what’s out there, folks probably need help either way. The people of our settlement are strong, very strong, and we can help out. We have reliable defenses set up, so everything is safe on the home front.” Drew shrugged.

“So, you’re reconnaissance for your… settlement?” The woman asked, her eyebrow raised again in question.

“I guess, yeah. Although I’m technically the leader of the settlement as well.” Drew answered. The woman leaned forward.

“Then I propose a trade. Information for information. What do you say?” She asked.

“Sure, that’s fine with me.”

The next couple of hours were spent answering the woman’s questions, talking about Sanctuary, about the invaders, monsters and beasts. She asked many questions about The System, classes and professions as well. Drew left a lot out, specifically anything dealing too deeply with the gods and their bullshit. He knew she was gathering all the information possible, trying to determine how big of a threat Sanctuary was, and what their intentions were.

The one positive thing about the training dungeon had been all the scenarios thrown at Drew and his party. He’d engaged in conversations with rulers, military commanders, kings and queens there, and that experience allowed him to understand the meaning behind every question the woman asked. Finally the woman leaned back in her chair, her arms folded and her brows furrowed.

“What level are you?” She asked after some time.

“I’m C Grade. I believe that’s more than enough information to go off of.” Drew answered firmly. He’d given her the benefit of the doubt, and a ton of information, now it was her turn to supply information to him. Knowing his specific level wouldn’t matter to her anyways, C Grade should have been enough to answer the question.

“C Grade? I see, that certainly explains a lot.” She answered, nodding her head.

“The state of the city and civilians?” Drew reminded her.

“Ah, yes. Apologies. Everything you’ve said is a lot to take in. Honestly, we’re at a loss here. Our lines of communication are cut, none of our technology works… it’s a fucking mess. Our planes are grounded, our drones won’t function, and even our rifles won’t fire. We’ve had to dig around our armories for old antique firearms, parade guns, etc… just to have a fighting chance out there.” The woman began, Drew nodding his head as she listed off things.

“Monsters are everywhere, and we’re too few in number. Our weapons work, but they take so long to reload that we lose good men and women nearly every day. House cats turned into mountain lions, mythical creatures walk the street slaughtering civilians, we’re at the end of our rope trying to get things under control. To top things off, our base has been assaulted three times by living shadows…” The woman sighed, leaning back in her chair as she rubbed her temples.

“Living shadows?” Drew asked, curious about the monster he hadn’t heard of or encountered yet.

“We don’t have a lot of intel on them, but our guns barely do any damage. Some of our airmen have driven them off with their parade swords or their backup knives. They attack, killing dozens and kidnapping more, and then retreat. They melt into shadows, flowing between the airmen. We've tried tracking them, but our scouts never come back.” The woman’s wrinkles and dark bags under her eyes now made a lot of sense. Drew pondered for a few moments, but he couldn’t remember encountering creatures like that before.

“I don’t have any information on them either, but if they're kidnapping people, that shows some form of intelligence. They may be from a local incursion nearby. As for your people, you should seriously consider moving away from firearms. Your people will have better luck with more medieval or fantasy-style weapons or magic. Swords, spears, axes, maces, bows, crossbows, that sort of stuff.” Drew replied.

“I considered that, but Wichita Falls doesn’t have an old-fashioned blacksmith or anything, and all the CNC and machine shops don’t function either.” The woman sighed.

“Trade then. We have a working blacksmith, probably two or three by now actually, and we have a System Shop. If you need weapons and armor you can Trade with Sanctuary for them. Also, before you get the bright idea to try taking the settlement for yourself, you should know that there are at least five other C Grades there, along with a B Grade. For the record, I’m almost certain the B Grade would survive being nuked. So no funny business okay?” Drew finished, watching the woman closely. Her right eyelid twitched ever so slightly.

“What would your settlement want for the weapons and armor?” She asked cautiously.

“That, I don’t know. You’d have to ask my town manager who manages the economics of everything. I do know that memorabilia is highly popular, as are books.” Drew said after some thought.

“Memorabilia?” The woman asked while leaning forward.

“Yeah, you know… like posters for music, movies and games. Collectible shit like action figures, hell even kids toys and stuff.”

“Why that stuff?” The woman asked, confusion written all over her face.

“Apparently Earth stuff is super popular and in high demand in the multiverse. Our old movies and TV shows are being broadcast on their TV networks. Remember when the last big cartoon movie came out, and everyone everywhere had that stupid song stuck in their heads? It’s like that, but across the cosmos. You want your people properly defended, that’s probably the easiest way to do it.” Drew said seriously.

“I can’t tell if you’re yanking my chain right now, it sounds too unbelievable.”

“I’m serious. We’ve got goblins running through the streets and in the forests right? Is it so hard to believe people like our movies and shit?” Drew asked, his eyebrow raised.

“I guess not… What do you intend to do with the information I gave you?” She asked.

“About the civilians, monsters and shadows?” Drew asked. The woman nodded her head.

“I’ll send a report back about the civilians and get our people mobilized for rescue operations. Sanctuary will take everyone that your base can’t. We’ll wipe out any monsters we come across, and I’ll look into the shadows. If there’s an incursion around here, it needs to be shut down. One way, or another.” Drew said firmly.