Chapter 43
Traps Casualties and Evil Panda
By the time Leo and the others finished dealing with the mob of implant wearing newcomers, it was late in the afternoon. Leo stood in front of Mr. Osmond, Gretchen, and a small audience.
“Uh... Setting up a trap is easy,” Leo said, looking nervously at the group in front of him. Public speaking wasn't his strong suit. “And it's a great way to get a lot of Demon Tears quickly. You need some kind of room or small building the Afflicted can't easily escape from. You use loud noises and human bait to lure them inside. Then, once the Afflicted are inside, you gas them, or burn down the building.”
“Is my arm really growing back?” asked an implant wearer Leo hadn't met yet.
“Yes,” Leo responded. “Depending on your Vitality, your arm should grow back within the next few weeks or months.”
“Cool.”
“The danger with these traps,” Leo continued, “and this is very important, is the longer you have one of these traps in use, the more likely stronger, smarter Bosses will show up, tear your trap apart, and kill and eat any humans they find. Because of this, you should always bring twice the people you think you might need to set up your trap, and be very careful.”
“Excellent,” Mr. Osmond stood up and joined Leo in front. “I propose we locate our trap up on the west side of the city, where the Afflicted overwhelmed two of our buses yesterday. We'll set up the trap in an old garage over here.” Mr. Osmond motioned to a large map of the city he'd tacked to a corkboard earlier. “Leo and I will take charge of this trap and hopefully gain levels and Demon Tears. We're looking for volunteers.”
“Hell yeah. Let's do this,” someone said. A small crowd soon surrounded Leo and Mr. Osmond.
***
By the time they'd finished working out the details of tomorrow’s expedition, it was late at night. Leo joined his sister for a quick meal. Lydia seemed to be adapting to their new circumstances far better than Leo had expected, grumbling about the work and the makeshift school they were going to force her to attend.
“We were listening to the radio earlier,” Lydia said, drinking her hot chocolate. “Implant wearers in Free Detroit cleared their entire city of monsters yesterday. And this Paladin guy in Kansas cleared his entire town of monsters in an hour. And he killed them with his bare hands because he's super strong. Too bad he's not here. We could use someone who's not a total loser.”
Leo felt like crying. “Yeah. We could use someone like that. Some of us are doing the best we can.”
Leo finished his hamburger and turned in. Funny how much better he slept now that the world had ended. He didn't have to worry anymore, because it had happened and they were all pretty much fucked.
***
Biker Boy: Hey, Leo. How are things?
Future Man 10/16: Fucking insane. Sorry I didn't try to contact you, but things have been crazy around here, setting up a shelter in the stadium.
Biker Boy: If anyone asks, it wasn't easy, but me and some friends busted our people out of the federal penitentiary, and we're sheltering in a nearby city. It's been insane for us too, that's why I didn't contact you earlier.
Future Man 10/16: I haven't seen anyone from your group. Is everyone okay?
Biker Boy: We left the city soon after our meeting. The other implant wearers in the group don't trust you, so I can't say anything more. Don't take it personally. My people are rather paranoid.
Future Man 10/16: Good luck with whatever you're up to. We're working on setting up traps for the Afflicted right now. I'll let you know how it goes.
Biker Boy: Keep in touch.
***
“I'm feeling pretty worthless here,” Leo grumbled. He was standing around in the large garage they were converting into an Afflicted trap.
“You're not worthless, Leo. Could you hold this?” Somebody handed him a bolt.
“Hey, Leo. Do the Afflicted taste like chicken?” It was Paul Sanchez, an implant wearer and friend of Angie's.
“No, Paul. They do not taste like chicken. In fact, their meat is poisonous. Buzzards and rats can eat dead Afflicted, but most animals and humans get sick.”
“Told you, Angie.”
“No, you said they tasted like chicken and I told you they didn't. My arm itches!” Angie kept scratching at the stub of her left arm.
“Your arm's growing back,” Leo said. “Thanks to your high Vitality, it's growing back quickly. You should have a new arm and hand in a couple of weeks.”
“Cool!”
Someone Leo didn't know took the bolt from him and slammed it into place. The large cage they were putting together for protection in front of the garage's rear exit felt reasonably sturdy. It should hold off the Afflicted for a short time which, hopefully, would be all the time they needed.
The large auto repair shop looked dark, empty, and abandoned. Implant wearers with strength skills had pushed any vehicles they'd found outside. Through the drones sent up earlier, they could see cars and trucks lining both sides of the driveway leading to the garage, to (hopefully) funnel the Afflicted where they were supposed to go. Because the garage door was only partially open, there was barely enough light to see. The idea was to create a large enough opening for the Afflicted to get in, but small enough so the garage door could be closed quickly.
“Our plan is simple,” Mr. Osmond said, studying the drone feed. “Step one: set up our trap. That would be this garage and several large tanks of carbon monoxide gas. Step two: set out the bait. Are you ready, Mr. Bait?”
“Yes, sir, let's do this.” Paul jumped to his feet.
“Are you sure?” Mr. Osmond asked. “Because you'll be out there on your own. If you get overwhelmed by the Afflicted, we may not be able to help you.”
“You do your job, I'll do mine. I was born to ride!” Paul pumped his fist in the air and left the garage by the rear exit.
Leo watched through the drones as the young man got on his electric motorcycle and took off.
Paul was a skilled biker who'd chosen a biker-related character class Leo had never heard of. Which was why they were sending him out. Whoever they sent out needed to be fast. Also, the Afflicted were more attracted to younger humans.
As Paul headed out, a couple Afflicted spotted him and sounded the alarm. Per the plan, Paul let them chase him into a distant intersection. Then he stopped, turned around, pulled out some firecrackers, lit a fuse, and threw them. From the garage, they could barely hear a distant Pow! Pow Pow Pow!.
“Come and get me monsters, I taste yummy!” Paul shouted and fired his pistol in the air. The Afflicted came out of nowhere, converging on the young biker.
He tossed out some cans he'd tied to the back of his motorcycle newlywed-style to make as much noise as possible, and headed back to the garage, smoothly avoiding the Afflicted trying to cut him off. He was doing an excellent job of biking, slow enough for the Afflicted to follow him, but too fast to be caught.
“Shit!” Leo said, studying the drone feed. “There, and there,” he pointed at two of the larger Afflicted gaining on the biker. “Bosses.”
Mr. Osmond turned to the other volunteers. “Kill teams one and two, you know the drill. Take out those Bosses, and get back here. Leave the rest of the Afflicted alone.”
“Are you sure I can't help?” Leo asked, reaching for his khukri short sword.
“Of course you can,” Mr. Osmond said. “Use your skills to juice us up and keep an eye out for more Bosses.”
Disappointed, Leo put away his khukri and activated his Augment skill, enjoying the burst of energy augmenting his stats gave him.
The two kill teams left the garage and activated their speed boosts, each group going after their respective Boss.
“Two more,” Leo hissed. Shit. These were bigger than the first two and looked scary. “And another two over there,” he pointed. “This is why traps are a pain in the ass. If we don't stop them, the Bosses will destroy our trap and do their best to kill us.”
“They can use firearms?” Mr. Osmond asked. “That one's got military weapons. I think that's a bazooka. Kill Team Three, that is Charlotte and Angie, take out the one with the firearms first, and be careful. Charlotte, sneak Angie over there so she can take that thing out.”
Charlotte and Angie nodded.
“Are you sure I can't help?” Leo asked, reaching again for his khukri short sword.
“Stay where you are, Leo,” Charlotte said. “We may need a Group Heal before this is over.”
Leo could only watch as Kill Team Three left the garage and vanished from drone view. It turned out Assassins could bend and alter the light to make themselves and those nearby invisible, something he'd previously wondered about.
“Kill Team Four,” Mr. Osmond said. “See what you can do to help the others.”
“Will do.” Kill Team Four left, leaving Leo alone with Mr. Osmond.
The electric guy from yesterday, part of Kill Team One, threw out a lightning bolt to immobilize their Boss while the other two team members shot it in the head. This seemed to annoy the Boss. As soon as the lightning bolt wore off, it roared and threw a boulder, narrowly missing Electric Man, who jumped back in time to avoid getting crushed.
Electric Man threw another bolt of lightning while his two teammates unleashed kinetic weapons. One smashed the Boss to its knees while the other cut at its head. The Boss went down.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
With a screech of tires, Paul slid himself and his bike underneath the garage door. The Afflicted came in after him by the hundreds as he abandoned his bike and rushed for the door into the iron cage. He made it inside, joining Leo and Mr. Osmond, before slamming the cage door behind him and bolting it shut. The cage shook as the nearest of the Afflicted smashed into it, trying to get through, hands pushing through gaps in the bars.
More and more of the Afflicted entered the garage. Leo plugged his ears to dampen the screaming of the Afflicted and the shaking of the iron cage that suddenly didn't seem anywhere near as strong as it had earlier.
Kill Team Two took out their Boss, as Boss Three, the one with military weapons, grabbed its bazooka, aimed it at them, and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened. With a roar, the Boss threw the bazooka. The bazooka slammed into Kill Team Two, knocking them to the ground.
Kill Team Three (Charlotte and Angie) took advantage of the Boss's distraction to creep up behind it. As it pulled out a machine gun and opened fire, Angie attacked from behind. In a blur of motion, she hamstrung the Boss with a flaming broadsword and chopped off its arms and head in less than a second.
“It looks like these are all the Afflicted we're likely to get in here!” Mr. Osmond shouted over the monsters’ deafening screams. He hit a red button on a remote, lowering the garage door while twisting knobs to open the tanks of carbon monoxide gas brought for this purpose. Then Mr. Osmond, Leo, and Paul left the cage through the rear exit of the garage, into light and fresh air.
***
“Those things are loud!” Paul shouted as they waited outside the garage for the poison gas to take effect.
Leo watched through the drones as the remaining kill team members converged on the final Boss, killing it. Then he activated his Group Heal, healing at least some of the damage the kill team members had taken.
They waited as the screams and pounding from the garage became quieter and finally stopped.
“Alright! 1080 Demon Tears!” Paul raised his hand and gave Leo a high five.
Leo checked his implant. He'd gained 560 Demon Tears. Not bad for a morning's work.
“Could you celebrate more quietly?” Mr. Osmond hissed. “It's unlikely we killed all of them.”
There were more Afflicted screams in the distance.
“Sorry,” Paul said.
The kill teams joined them behind the garage. There were three wounded, but no fatalities. And thanks to Leo's Group Heal, the wounded were able to walk under their own power. One of the wounded was Charlotte. “I was going to try out my death touch skill on the fourth Boss,” she said. “Never got a chance.”
“That went better than I thought it would,” Leo said.
“Indeed,” Mr. Osmond said. He hit the red-buttoned remote and opened the garage door. After letting the gas dissipate, the group walked around and inspected the hundreds of dead Afflicted lying piled against each other.
“If we can set up three of these a day, we should be able to clear out the city in maybe a month. And you were right, Leo, this is a great way to get more Demon Tears.”
“You say that now, but we haven't had any fatalities,” Leo responded.
“I'm not seeing any better options. Are you?” Mr. Osmond asked.
Leo shook his head.
“That's what I thought. Right now these dead Afflicted are a health hazard. Someone get some gasoline and light them up.”
***
Over the next several days, Leo and Mr. Osmond, along with numerous volunteers, set up thirty more traps, killing thousands of the Afflicted and gaining a lot of Demon Tears. There were two fatalities. The first, a friend of Electric Man, Leo didn't even try to heal, because a Boss had bitten the man's head off. The second casualty, Leo did try to heal, but after being crushed by a Boss-thrown car, the damage to the man's body had been too great. Leo barely knew either person, but their deaths hit him hard.
Both men were cremated with the rest of the dead at a group funeral. Leo felt old and tired, and the war was just beginning.
Tuesday
October 21
6 days post Armageddon
The Professor: Future Man. Everyone. Some allies and I tried to ambush a High-Level Boss, and things are not going well. Of the twenty of us, I'm the only survivor.
Leo could feel the man's fear over the implant. Leo choked on his coffee, coughing and spraying the small table in the cafeteria kitchen he was sharing with Lydia and Jason. He tuned out Lydia's complaints.
Future Man 10/16: Shit! Is there anything we can do?
The Professor: I don't think so. It flew away and is now returning carrying... Are those septic tanks? I've passed on as much information as I can to everyone in my network. You will have to go on without me. Godspeed to you all. It's directly above me now. It has just released the septic tanks. I must say this was not how I wanted to-
Future Man 10/16: Professor! Professor! Are you there?
There was no response. Leo frantically checked his list of contacts. In his list of contacts, the Professor was now listed as The Professor.
“Imp?” Leo asked.
I'm sorry, Leo. When a contact is crossed out, it means that contact is no longer active. That contact name has either been forcibly canceled by the user... or the contact has died. I'm very sorry.
Future Man 10/16: Mr. Osmond?
Teach: I received the message, too. I never liked the bastard, but he was a good man. He'd want us to forge on without him.
Future Man 10/16: Will his death affect our plans?
Teach: No, Leo. His death won't affect our plans. We are still a go.
Leo got up, his food forgotten. Ignoring Jason and Lydia, he walked aimlessly until he found a forgotten corner of the stadium where he could be alone. He sat on the floor and cried.
Wednesday
October 23
7 days post Armageddon
Biker Boy was next.
Biker Boy 860: Got some tentacled Boss creature flying overhead. We're going to take it out.
Future Man 10/16: Good luck. You want me to juice you up? I'm the Guardian after all, it's what I do.
Biker Boy 860: No, thanks. We have our own system here. You'd mess things up. In case I don't make it, I wish you the best in the future.
Future Man 10/16: You'll be fine. Just hang in there.
That was the last thing Biker Boy messaged. An hour later, Biker Boy 860 became Biker Boy 860.
Fuck.
He wondered what happened to the others in Biker Boy's group. He supposed he could ask Gretchen, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
Thursday
October 24
8 days post Armageddon
He was a happy, happy panda, and he wanted to make friends and meet people. He liked people.
The noon sun glared down on the defenders, making it unseasonably warm for this time of year. The defenders gathered on the top of the stadium, looking down at the thing approaching the stadium entrance.
“Well, holy shit,” Leo said, looking over the edge of the stadium. “That's Evil Panda. I'd forgotten about that.”
“You lived through this before, Leo. How could you forget that?” Mr. Osmond stared disbelievingly at what could only be a High-Level Boss, one that had somehow squeezed itself inside of a twenty-foot-tall panda costume, and was awkwardly walking around. Even more disturbing than the costume were the twenty children with it, ages four to six. From a distance, it looked like the children were being pulled or carried with ropes, but on closer inspection, it was clear that each child was being held by a tentacle coming out of the monster and wrapping around the children's necks or bodies. “And where did it get a panda suit that big?”
“I didn't actually see it last time around,” Leo said defensively. “I remember people talking about it. They drove Evil Panda away, but they took serious losses. That was the strongest Boss this city had encountered and people became very discouraged.”
“What does it want?” someone asked. Evil Panda wandered around, kicking a car out of the way like Leo might kick a pebble. “Does it want to come in?”
“We need to rescue those poor children.” Gretchen and at least half the stadium implant wearers had joined them at the top of the stadium, staring down at the evil panda monster.
“Didn't there used to be twenty children?” Mr. Osmond asked. “I'm counting nineteen.”
“It just ate one,” Leo said. “We need to do something and we need to do it now.”
“Agreed,” Trent responded. “We're stronger than we were when we fought the last one, but that thing is huge, and I'm guessing it will not sit still and let us kill it.”
Mr. Osmond clapped his hands. “I propose we handle it like the one we fought a week ago, only without the incompetent bungling.”
Gretchen said. “Team One, our heavy hitters, you know who you are. You will engage the monster while trying to avoid hurting the children. Team Two, our sneakier, speedier members, will rescue the children when our heavy hitters attack. Team Three will be our snipers. They will get some of Mr. Al's medication into Evil Panda to slow it down, and use bullets to try to cut off the tentacles holding the children, though that last might be an unreasonable request.”
They nodded.
“I will go see what it wants," Gretchen continued. “I'll talk to it, do my best to distract it and get it to release the children while the rest of you prepare for battle. Leo will juice us all up and hang back with the snipers. Teams One and Two, wait for my signal to attack. Sound good? Any questions?”
“I really think I should be the one to go out and distract it,” Leo responded.
“We've talked about this, Leo,” Gretchen responded. “You are not allowed to go off and kill yourself, and I'm the one with the voice of influence skill. Don't worry, I'll be fine.”
Leo stared at Gretchen and the others. They stared back. Leo sighed. “Okay, okay. Try not to get killed.” He left to join Jason and the other snipers.
***
“Can you believe Howie ran out of fresh milk?” Jason said, looking gloomy as he stared at the scene below him. Gretchen looked tiny as she went out to confront the monster. “Condensed milk does not taste the same, and powdered milk is inedible.”
“I'm amazed Howie had fresh milk to begin with,” Leo responded. “If you spot any milk cows, let us know and we'll see what we can do.”
Evil Panda stopped wandering aimlessly and turned to face Gretchen, bending over slightly as if looking down on her.
“Jason, how well can you shoot at this distance?” Leo asked. Evil Panda stood some 200 yards away.
“With my skills, I could hit a fly from here,” Jason said. “Provided that fly is stationary or has a predictable flight path.”
“I see.” Leo watched through binoculars as Gretchen spoke.
“Hello,” Gretchen said. “I'm Gretchen, and your name is?”
Evil Panda looked down on Gretchen, who looked tiny by comparison. “Francis Cockron,” it said in a muffled voice.
“I've heard of him,” Jason said. “He owns a bunch of costume companies. There was a scandal involving him following some kids while wearing a teddy bear costume, but I don't know if anything came of that. I didn't know he was in our city.”
“Great.” Leo used Augment to juice everyone up, not waiting for Gretchen's signal. Shit was about to get real.
“Well, Mr. Cockron, that is an amazing costume. Those children look like they could use some food and water. Why don't you let us care for them while we continue our talk?”
There was a long pause as Evil Panda thought it over. “No.”
Even from this distance, Leo could see Gretchen looked alarmed. A quick kid count revealed there were only eighteen left.
“Mr. Cockron. I really think you should relax and let us take care of those children you rescued.” Gretchen raised her right arm with an extended index finger—their signal.
From the top of the stadium wall, Leo could feel Gretchen's voice of influence. It wasn't enough to influence a High-Level Boss, though. Not even close.
“No,” was Evil Panda's muffled response. “Let me in. I want to be friends.”
“Jason. Activate your Time Freeze skill now!” Leo said while doing so himself.
Gretchen dropped her hand.
A lot of things happened very quickly.