Chapter 3 - Bounties

After paying my tab, I followed the unusual man named Camel out of the Rathskeller and across The Commons. He had a slight limp in his gait, and I thought I detected a hunch in his back. Could that be why he was called Camel?

And if one could purchase whatever customized body type they wanted for their avatar in The Collective, why would somebody choose to go around in that inelegant state? The longer I spent here, the more questions I had.

I concentrated as hard as I could as we walked, trying to recall some glimpse of my previous life. A kernel of truth. But try as I might, it was as if my life before coming here was completely severed from my present consciousness. No doubt something to complain about to my system administrator.

“There’s the Task Assignment Boards, or as we Volunteers call them, the Bounty Boards.”

Camel indicated a series of large rectangular touchscreen panels, unfolded like an oriental room divider by way of a fast food drive-through menu. The Boards were located near two storefronts. The signs on the stores read Armory and Supply Depot, respectively.

Camel scanned his Volunteer barcode and the screens lit up. A shifting array of data lines filled the screens, changing in real-time. The concept of ‘airport flight tracking board’ came to mind. Some lines moved up, some moved down. Some turned red and inaccessible, while others were crossed out before fading. I deduced that there must be other access points within the city.

“Competition is fierce. Bounties are the lifeblood of Volunteers. A newbie like yourself would have a hard raz securing a decent bounty. Luckily you have me!”

Camel selected one of the white line items, and the display changed. Information on the Task, or Bounty, filled the rectangular screen closest to us.

[Task Assignment: Remove Hellhounds from MAR Station Service Tunnels

Three {common} Hellhounds have been detected in the service tunnels beneath the Palisades MAR Station.

Task Completion Award: 2,000 Crypt

Do you accept this Task?]

“What do you skazat? Want to go halfsies with me? Scan your barcode and we can split the reward. That’s a hundred peets with my eemya of it.”

Hellhounds? Whatever it was I had expected, hellhounds were not it. I reluctantly complied, scanning the number on my wrist beneath the red light. Soon our two Volunteer numbers were highlighted and assigned to this Task, making this particular bounty inaccessible to any other Volunteers.

“Your first hunt! I know the Palisades, just a couple stops down the line. You need to pick up any gear before we go? This is the shopping district.”

I doubt I could afford anything at this point. I have a dagger. Are we really going to have to fight hellhounds? Is that a codeword for something?

“Just stick close to me and you’ll be fine.”

I followed Camel to the MAR Station and after paying 10 additional Crypto at a kiosk, boarded a sleek bullet train that appeared to magnetically hover over a central track. We were the only passengers in the car, but an automated voice and pulsing lights addressed us as if we were in a rush hour crowd.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Now leaving The Commons. Next stop, Royal Heights, followed by The Palisades.

We rode in silence, Camel seated and I hanging on a strap. I felt anxious. The train moved fast, the bright city lights whipping by through the windows.

Now arriving at Royal Heights Station.

The train slowed, stopped, and the doors opened. No passengers departed or boarded. I wondered just how many Citizens lived in The Collective. Camel had mentioned a ‘first wave.’

Now leaving Royal Heights. Next stop, The Palisades, followed by Lower Dresden.

Camel reached and groped in the empty air in front of him, and I worried that I had hitched myself to a mentally ill person. But then I realized he was accessing his own personal menu. Suddenly, a large, scoped, bolt action hunting rifle materialized in his hands. He slung it around his back with a strap.

He reached back into his invisible (to me) menu. Soon, what looked like a flashlight appeared in his other hand.

Now arriving at The Palisades Station.

“This is us, droogie.”

I followed Camel through the sliding doors and soon the train sped away, leaving us in an empty, neon-lit subterranean transit station. Camel paced the station close to the track, searching for something.

I took the opportunity to open my own menu, navigating down to the Inventory section.

[INVENTORY

* CARDS

* * EMPTY

* FRAGMENTS

* * EMPTY

* CONSUMABLES

* * EMPTY

* MATERIALS

* * EMPTY]

I was concerned. Where did my push dagger go? I spent good money on that thing.

Taking a breath, I backed out of the Inventory menu and searched my Equipment menu instead.

[EQUIPMENT

* WEAPONS

* * PUSH DAGGER (unequipped)

* ARMOR

* * EMPTY

* ACCESSORIES

* * EMPTY]

Oh, good. I reached out and selected the push dagger.

[Equip push dagger?]

I selected the option to equip the dagger. Suddenly, a swirl of digitized pixels solidified in my hand. My 200 Crypt push dagger materialized. I felt its weight in my hand. I tested the sharpness of the blade.

It sure felt real.

“Aha! Here it is,” Camel said.

I walked over to him. He pointed with his flashlight at a metal grate underneath the central track of the bullet train.

“Help me lift this up. We need to hurry before another expresso rapido comes through. Otherwise, we’ll be electrocuted or–SPLAT.”

I did not like the sound of that, but Camel was already down beside the track, trying to lift the metal grating up. Looking down both directions of the tunnel, I hopped beside him and stuffed my fingers into the grate, straining to lift it up. It was stuck. I thought I sensed the vibrations of an approaching train, but it could have been my imagination.

Finally, working together, the heavy grate came loose. Camel slid it to one side and gestured to the gaping hole leading into darkness.

“I would make a joke about age before beauty, but you’ve got neither.”

It’s dark down there. You’ve got the flashlight. Please, I insist.

“Suit yourself.”

Camel lowered himself down into the hole, careful not to catch his rifle on the edges. Then he was gone. I peered into the space below but saw nothing. Then, a white glow. He had turned on his light.

The vibration returned, louder this time. It was not my imagination. There was a train approaching the station, and fast.