“M-more bunnies…!” Two Tap warned, pointing ahead.
Coming down the street through the pouring rain, like angry rolling clouds, swarms of white horned rabbits appeared. With red eyes locked on the Humvee, the rabbits positioned their horns to pierce through it. The creatures then shot from the street into the air.
“Get down!” Amelia shouted as she lowered in the driver’s seat while pulling down Two Tap’s head along with her.
The horned rabbits flew like missiles and landed heavily against the vehicle, causing it to shutter over and over again. If the Humvee hadn’t been made of monster materials, it would’ve been torn apart.
Amelia began to dislodge the rabbits from the dashboard and tossed out those that made it in the car like a paperboy throwing newspapers. More of their kind that had missed the target spun around to give chase.
Exhaustion dragged Amelia’s senses, even more so seeing the rabbits not giving up. Two Tap sat beside her, her face stricken with fear. They needed cover. Lucian needed them too but they wouldn’t last long if they couldn’t find somewhere to settle for the night.
“Fort Freedom” appeared on a rusted street sign. Amelia spun the steering wheel to send them down the street the sign guided them toward.
“Please still be standing…” Amelia prayed, only choosing this route because the word “fort” was reassuring, but a destroyed fort wouldn’t do them much good.
A robust series of buildings grew larger as they neared it, fencing falling apart around it, barbed wire upon it as ruined as the rest of it. Broken vehicles and inoperable planes could be seen with the faded stars and stripes of Old America painted on their sides, but Amelia had no time to observe any of it. The horned rabbits were too close to them for comfort.
“Welcome to Fort Freedom” — a sign they had to drive over in their haste.
“Come on, entrance, you can show up any time now…!” Amelia muttered, her bright green eyes flickering back and forth in search of a way into the fort’s most fortified structure.
A reinforced garage gate appeared like a sign from heaven, seemingly inviting them in as it was wide open. Amelia drove directly into it and hopped out immediately once inside. Swiftly, she grabbed hold of the heavy garage door and pulled downward. Yet, nothing happened. She tried again, only to find that it wouldn’t budge, even with her Anointed strength.
Two Tap's eyes widened at the sight of white fur filling the parking lot outside. She hurried out of the Humvee, taking a spot next to Amelia to help as they tugged desperately on the garage door.
The monster rabbits were nearly upon them, their long incisors like knives, their red eyes focused solely on them.
“Dammit…!” Amelia shouted, conjuring Mana that shrouded her in brilliant blue light, forcing Two Tap to shrink away from the sheer brightness. In an instant, the garage door came down without resistance. Horns could be heard striking against it along with the stone walls of the building, but none of the creatures could get through.
The darkness of the space enveloped them, with only the lone, functioning headlight of the Humvee piercing through it. Amelia went to stand before it, drawing in deep breaths to calm herself.
“...You used a spell?” Two Tap asked, knowing the sight of blue light typically meant an Anointed was using Mana and Mana users conjured Spells.
Sighing, Amelia replied, “No, I just used raw Mana.” Chagrin had taken hold of her expression as her eyes dashed back and forth at a multitude of messages from the master system popping up. "This is why I don't fight...”
Two Tap watched her curiously.
“It’s because I want to stay a certain level of strength” Amelia could see Two Tap unable to understand. “I don’t want to grow stronger than my friend. She needs my protection. I won’t be able to get into the same Monster Gates as her if I end up too far ahead.”
“…You care about friends that much?” Two Tap asked, the confusion upon her tan face made it clear she couldn’t relate, even more so with abstaining from power. Power was all you could rely on in the Wasteland. Friends could not amount to that.
Amelia fell back against the wall, her face illuminated by the Humvee’s headlight, her eyes becoming distant. Exhaustion and the mental strain of trying to find Lucian to rescue him had made her reflective.
“When I was born, I had the world at my fingertips,” Amelia answered, her manicured hand reaching toward the working headlight and grasping at the image of it. “I could have had anything I wanted. I only needed to ask.”
She suddenly became bashful. “I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I wasn’t interested in toys and games when I was little. What I wanted more than anything, more than the world my dad was willing to give me, were friends.” She laughed at herself, somewhat mockingly. “It was because of this silly kids show that came on every Saturday morning—’Kid Hero,’ a show about a group of friends who could triumph over anything as long as they had each other.”
“I was obsessed with Kid Hero. ‘One day,’ I thought. ‘One day, I’ll have friends like that—friends that would fight alongside me, friends who would understand me—friends who loved me.’” Amelia saddened. “But that didn’t happen. All the friends I got weren’t my friends at all. They used me. Spoke bad about me. Betrayed me.”
An empty laugh echoed through the concrete hall as it escaped her, “I was betrayed a lot, Two Tap. Can you believe it? Me, betrayed by so many. And I still can’t believe it to this day, but I was in love once.” Her brow furrowed as hurt contorted her expression. “I thought my heart would burst with how much I felt about this person. And what did that get me? More betrayal.” She crossed her arms and nibbled her bottom lip in bitter frustration. “Bastard had his way with at least two of my friends, and all because I wanted to wait until marriage to have sex.”
Two Tap only could listen but she had no reaction. Amelia laughed more genuinely this time.
“I’m sorry, Two Tap,” Amelia apologized. “I didn’t mean to bore you with my baggage.” She sheepishly fiddled with her chestnut hair. “I didn’t even know I was trying to unload that stuff. I don’t even think I told Elina all of this.” She soon sighed. “We must’ve lived so differently, you and I, Two Tap.”
“The Wasteland is dangerous,” Two Tap decided to say. It soon became obvious that Two Tap was attempting to match Amelia’s story with one of her own. “My parents betrayed Two Tap. They left Two Tap with the lab and never came back.” She nodded matter-of-factly. “Yea, they left Two Tap with the crystal and forgot about Two Tap. Dougy found Two Tap and then we met Xavier. Xavier betrayed us in the Monster Gate.”
She nodded again, strands of her sweat drenched blonde hair wiggling as she concluded, “Two Tap got betrayed too.”
Amelia felt awful, thinking Two Tap must’ve led such a horrid life. The Wastelander girl wasn’t even socialized correctly, made obvious by how she couldn’t even tell her life story properly without using Amelia’s story as a template. Amelia had too much empathy not to feel for the thin girl before her, though Elina often complained about Amelia’s bleeding heart.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
She wanted to help Two Tap in some way and asked, “Was Dougy your brother?” She thought perhaps if they both unloaded some emotional weight, they could grow closer.
Two Tap stiffened, as if suddenly taken to the edge of a cliff. An emotional surge was on its way to overwhelm her. She wanted to avoid it at all costs. Her bottom lip trembled as she stared unblinking at Amelia, fighting not to succumb to what was swelling up inside her.
“It’s okay, Two Tap!” Amelia rushed to say. “You don’t have to talk about it!”
“D-dougy…brother!” Two Tap stammered, her mind taking her to the scene of his death, his arms dangling uselessly by his side. [Metal Man], her brother’s Skill that she had admired, the Skill she thought unbreakable, was torn through like a sheet of paper.
The Wastelander girl frantically rubbed her fingers against her metal teeth, teeth she had forced Dougy to get for her, so she could be more like him—her brother, her savior who had come back for her when their parents did not. Even with her memories muddled by the fog of drug use, she remembered how he had stuck by her side.
A scene surfaced in her mind of Dougy’s strong arms lifting her from the cold floor of the drug lab, relief in his face finding her. He made a promise then to never leave her again.
“D-dougy…!” she whispered. Another scene took hold in her mind—she was standing there above him as he lay there dying in front of her, the healing Magic she had once been proud of useless to heal him. Guilt began to build up inside her, washing over her.
Amelia suddenly grasped onto her. “You don’t have to talk about it, Two Tap!” Amelia reiterated, hugging Two Tap close.
Two Tap began twitching. The unfamiliar feeling of Amelia’s warm gesture reeled her back to her normal state. It felt awkward to the Wastelander girl, so awkward in fact that she stopped thinking of Dougy. Instead, her discomfort caused her anxiety, forcing her mind to focus on wanting to be separated.
Teary eyed, Amelia unlatched herself and laughed seeing Two Tap’s awkward expression, “Why am I the one crying? Man. Elina was right to make fun of me for being so emotional.” Amelia always had a problem with empathizing too much with people. Often, she would find herself overtaken by their struggles, unable to maintain her own emotional boundaries.
Such a trait had even led her to a few of the betrayals she had experienced.
“I have a friend who never betrays me,” Amelia decidedly shared with a warm smile. “Her name is Elina. I promised never to betray her, or any friend I make, including Lush.” She offered comfort the way she held the Wastelander girl. “You’ll feel better too, in time. Rainstorms don’t last forever.”
Amelia straightened herself out and nodded firmly. “Plus, we’re two strong, independent women.”
Two Tap echoed softly, “Strong…Independent?”
“That’s right! We dress fierce and walk fierce. No one can stop us from doing anything if we put our mind to it!”
Two Tap became thoughtful, the words reverberating within her: strong and independent. Though her inner uncertainty was all that arrived to meet those words, faced with Amelia’s confidence, she began to feel as if there could be a version of her that could live up to such lofty titles.
***
Asher stood in shock, staring at the pink claws erupting from Lucian’s back.
Blood ran down Lucian’s body as the [Incubus] picked him up with the same arm that had run him through, bringing him face to face with it. Pink light exuded from its gold and black eyes like fireworks as the pink demon savored every spasm running across Lucian’s face. It started to cackle without humor, a furious sound rather than one of pleasure.
The demon could sense emotions—could taste them on the creatures it killed. Humans were the most satisfying for demons to eat, as their emotions were stronger than those of monsters and greatly supplemented by their heightened intellect.
But what the demon felt from Lucian left it not only unsatisfied, but also infuriated it as well. All it could feel from Lucian was belittlement and mockery.
Lucian looked square into the demons eyes and began to laugh, his blood splattering against the [Incubus]’s impossibly handsome face.
The demon couldn’t understand. Here was this human’s death. Of what the [Incubus] knew, murdering a human filled them with a spectrum of emotions, each one as delicious as the last.
Yet, this human dared to still laugh, feeling nothing but ridicule for the [Incubus].
“What’s wrong, bitch?” Lucian grunted, blood pouring out of his mouth, noticing the demon’s bewildered face. “Where’s that happy smile?”
He then threw his head back and laughed louder. All the while, the demon stood in stupefied confusion. It licked some of the blood from Lucian but spat it out immediately. All the blood offered in taste was mockery—a completely bitter and unsavory taste.
“What are you doing?” Lucian shouted, looking back to see Asher watching from a crack in the bunker door. “Close it already!”
The [Incubus] felt a shift in Lucian’s emotions and looked back to see the dark eyes of the Corp Anointed peeking over at them. It was through that door that held the key to Lucian’s emotions. The demon was certain. If it killed all who were there, it wondered if Lucian could still laugh.
It wondered how tasty a defiant creature like Lucian would become if stripped of all his bravado and confidence.
The demon shoved Lucian off its arm and rushed the bunker entrance.
“Close the fucking door!” Lucian roared, turning over after flopping onto the steps.
Asher tensed and finally shut the bunker door completely, only to feel it begin to open back up. On the other side, the pink demon held onto the door, using its immense strength to pry it open slowly.
[Acute Focus] x [Strength of Arms]
Blue light ran across Asher as he conjured his Spell empowered by his Inner Trait. His arm muscles bulged beneath his black suit jacket, straining to close the door. With effort, he managed to get it shut but could do nothing else.
“Someone come turn the lock!” Asher shouted, struggling to hold on.
Red hair appeared below him as Wendy ran to his side. Her freckled hands grabbed hold of the locking mechanism and she shoved against it. The lock didn’t move. More Wastelanders followed up, panicked sweat mixing with the rain that drenched them as they used all their might to push against the lock together.
Bit by bit, it moved until the lock finally turned into place.
From beyond the door, the [Incubus] screeched, clawing against the door with the resounding sharp sound of metal being scraped. It suddenly stopped when the sound of laughter erupted from behind it.
The pink demon could sense it—could sense even more powerful emotions. The mockery and belittlement had only grown in Lucian. The human lay on the stairs dying, facing upward as laughter poured out of him.
“Better luck next time, demon!” Lucian roared with humor. He then shouted, “Attaboy, Ash! Madkids win again!”
Ash stood quietly behind the door listening. Lucian was speaking nonsense again. However, he felt a sadness begin to creep in.
Lucian’s voice was abruptly silenced. The demon had killed him. Then there came explosions that rattled the bunker, stirring dust from the ceiling to fall as if a bomb went off outside. The [Incubus] had started using magic to try and blow apart the door.
Ash knew it was a similar attack that the [Succubus] had used when they fought it, gathering magic power into a ball of energy and releasing it as an explosive attack.
Still, the bunker showed its quality and its door remained in place, not showing any signs of coming apart.
“Fucking Crow…” Ash grunted, slamming his fist onto the door. He felt frustrated and angered, unable to understand why Lucian had sacrificed himself. The look Lucian had given him and how he said everything was going to be alright—it had all been a lie.
“It wasn’t like you were my friend anyways, Crow…” Asher mumbled to himself, though falseness was sewn in his words. The Corp Anointed had in fact begun to warm up to Lucian. They had gone through hell and back together. Fighting side by side had left Asher respecting Lucian, if not thinking they could possibly be friends.
If they had only known each other for longer, Asher thought he might be able to outwardly admit they were in fact becoming friends.
He felt crestfallen. Asher’s word was his bond, yet he had broken that vow. He could no longer pay his debt to Lucian for saving his life.
“Lord Anointed…” Wendy probed quietly.
“Shut the fuck up…” Asher whispered in anger before turning around suddenly, shouting. “If it wasn’t for you fucking dust eaters, Lucian would’ve—”
His words left him. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There on the table lay Lucian, injured and pale, but it was as if he had never walked out of the bunker in the first place.
Asher walked up slowly to him, thinking he might be hallucinating.
“How…?” Asher uttered in disbelief, staring at Lucian lying there. In response, Lucian held up four fingers. Asher couldn’t understand. “What?”
“That’s four times, Ash…” Lucian croaked, a tiny smirk playing on his lips. “I saved you four times now…”
Helplessly, Ash let out a slight chuckle, “Just go to sleep already, Crow, since I know you’re going to pass out anyways. But when you wake up, you’re going to need to explain what just happened.”
As expected, Lucian dropped out of consciousness again.
Mich stood on the other side of the table. He shook his aged head, unable to comprehend the world of the Anointed.
“He did the same thing as those demons,” the old Wastelander muttered. “He copied himself just like them…”
Asher’s brow furrowed. “He used a monster’s ability…?”