The air reeked of burnt ozone. It permeated the air in most towns outside of the larger protected cities.
Greg’s boots squelched in the mud. Luckily the rain had stopped, else the trip would’ve been that much more unbearable for him. He approached a metal door, attached to a concrete bunker. On the outside, the bunker looked relatively useless. Stone didn’t stop the types of neon creatures that were able to pass through walls. But within the concrete, was thick wire, constantly receiving a low modulating current of electricity that would prevent most intrusions. Unfortunately, it also drew the attention of any neons that might get too close.
Greg opened the door and stepped inside the bunker. Several video monitors lit up the small room. The bunker was essentially a lookout post, to make sure nothing terrible made its way towards town. Greg looked at the video feeds. There were no neons in the area, at least not now.
He turned his attention to the slumped figure against the wall and walked over to him.
Those muddy black boots stopped in front of Tanner. Greg’s knees bent to lower him face to face with the younger male. Tanner stared, seeing the man looking right into his eyes.
“You look like crap,” the older man said.
“Good morning, Greg,” Tanner murmured to the man with a buzzed head.
Greg reached out and placed his thumb to Tanner’s eyelid and eyebrow and tugged upward. He then did the same to his other eye.
“The hell are you doing?” Tanner grumbled.
“When was the last time you slept?” Greg asked. “You’ve got bags under your eyes, darker than most. Your eyes are a little bloodshot. You drinking enough water?”
“Umm, well,” Tanner murmured some more. He breathed in slowly, smelling the musty air of the grungy bunker. He blinked a few times and looked around, as if that’d help his memory. “I don’t think I’ve had any water...like, recently.”
Greg withdrew his hand and shook his head. He looked beside where Tanner sat, seeing several empty capsules laying there on the stone floor. He returned his gaze back to Tanner. “Getting lit up on your watch, again?” he accused.
Tanner closed his eyes and tilted his head back. His short brown hair brushing the wall. “It’s fine man, It’s not hard stuff, just something to keep me through the hours, you know? Besides, like, Nara stopped by and...god man, I can only keep up with her kind of crazy for so long, you know?”
Greg sighed and slowly rose. He looked around the room. “Nara had watch last night? She usually doesn’t show up when she’s assigned. It’s why she loses out on food rations.”
“Naw, she wasn’t on watch,” Tanner said, his eyes opening again. “She was just bored, I guess. She wanted to stare at the screens and see if anything came around. I think she’s hunting something. She was out when it was raining. Looked like she was setting something up in the distance. I’m not sure. Probably another one of her neon traps.”
“That girl is going to get herself killed,” Greg murmured as he looked up at the monitors.
“Hasn’t yet,” said Tanner. “She must be doing something right.”
Greg shook his head “There’s nothing right about her,” he countered.
As Greg watched the video feed on one of the screens, a glare appeared in the corner. The video went fuzzy for a second, then returned to normal and the glare was gone.
“What was that?” asked Greg as he stepped in closer, looking up to the monitor that the glare had appeared on.
“What was what?” Tanner asked.
Greg pointed to the monitor. “There was something at the bottom corner. Almost like a light, but only for a moment. Then the screen went fuzzy.”
“Ah, that,” Tanner sighed. “Yeah, it’s happened a few times in the last few hours. I think the camera must be catching some sort of reflection. Or it’s just distortion of some sort.”
“Did you log them?” Greg asked as he walked over to the desk with the log book. The last thing written on the paper was where Tanner signed his name to accept the shift from the previous watcher.
“Nope,” Tanner murmured.
“You haven’t logged anything,” said Greg.
“Nothing worth reporting. Haven’t seen any neons, so there’s nothing to write.”
“You should be logging anything unusual, and that glare is definitely unusual,” Greg lectured.
“Fine, then you write it down if it’s such a big deal. Just a big waste of time if you ask me,” said Tanner.
Greg leaned against the desk and picked up the three-inch long pencil and began jotting down the details of what he’d seen on the screen.
“So, you coming to relieve me? Is my shift over?” he asked as he pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out his cell. It was a small device, no more than a few inches wide and twice as many inches tall. One third of it was a tiny keyboard with letters and numbers, while the upper two-third was a display. Tanner’s thumb tapped at the buttons. “Damn, I got another ten minutes?”
“Ramond will be here in a few,” said Greg as he finished up writing the incident.
“Eh?” Tanner lowered his cell and looked up to Greg. “Then what the hell are you doing here?”
Greg dropped the pencil and turned around. He walked back over to the young man seated against the wall and crossed his arms against his chest. “Recruiting you for a hunt,” he said. “We need another body.”
Tanner let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “Man, I don’t wanna go on a hunt, I just finished a shift! I wanna head back to my room.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t my idea to come get you,” said Greg. “But Ben and Janet insisted I try and convince you to join us.”
Tanner shook his head. “Shoulda sent Selena, I think her chances on convincing me are a bit better. For one, she’s prettier than you, two, she’s probably...well, she’s definitely a lot smarter than you. She’d have me thinking it was my idea to join you guys.” Tanner paused a moment, letting silence fill the bunker for several seconds before continuing to speak. “What the hell you hunting this time?”
“We got a ping on a rare class three,” said Greg. “Ben recorded it last night on one of the scanners we set up last week. So we’re going to go out and see if we can get it. Could really use you and your crux.”
Tanner brought his hands up to his face and rubbed at his eyes. “That’s all you guys ever want.” His hands lowered, his vision more blurry. “You just want me for my rare neon.”
“Well, yeah, you as a person are useless,” said Greg. ‘You lucked out somehow and nabbed yourself a powerful rare neon, so you’re right, we want you for your neon as a backup precaution. Which means, you get to slack off like you usually do, and still reap in some reward. So, you in?”
Tanner brought his cell back up and looked down at it as his vision cleared. He stared for several seconds before shaking his head again. “Yeah, I’m in. Selena is gonna be there, right?”
Greg smirked. “Guess you’ll find out when we head out in an hour and five minutes. When Raymond relieves you, get cleaned up, get some water. We’re going to need you awake if things don’t go according to plan.”
Tanner looked up to the older man and managed a half smirk. “When do things ever go according to plan?”
X
Selena stood with her back to the metal siding of the gate that led out of town. Her black hair draped against her shoulders. Her skin a slightly darker contrast compared to the fair skinned woman standing beside her.
Selena’s thumbs flit over the buttons of her cell.
“Your gear is fine,” the woman beside her said in a low voice.
“It doesn’t hurt to check again,” Selena replied.
“Suit yourself,” the older woman spoke as she brought a bottle to her lips.
Selena stopped tapping at the keys of her cell and looked up to the woman beside her
.
“Should you really be drinking, when we’re about to go on a hunt?” she asked.
“It’s because we’re going on a hunt, that I’m drinking,” the woman replied.
“Selena, Janet!” a voice called from a little ways away. A man with greying hair at the edges of his scalp approached them. He wore a pair of dark blue denim pants and hefty black boots. His body was a bit lanky, surely due to low nutrient intake. On his back, was a long-barreled rifle.
“Keith, glad you could join us,” said Janet as she lowered the empty bottle from her lips and let it fall beside her with a clank on the concrete. She leaned off the metal wall and approached the older man.
“Well, I had nothing better to do, you know me, always looking for work,” Keith chuckled.
Janet extended her arm out and Keith took it, the two clasping their hands to each other’s arm, just above the wrist.
“Well you don’t seem to be losing your grip old man,” Janet teased him.
Keith chuckled. “Lugging this old rifle around gives me quite the workout, ya know.”
Janet smirked as they released their grip on each other’s arm. She peeked back to the rail rifle poking out from behind him. “Well, it’s seen you through some tough shit,” she said. “I’d carry it everywhere I went if I had half as many stories of it saving me as you do.”
Keith’s wrinkled cheeks squished to allow a broad smile. He then looked over to Selena, who was still focused on her cell. His smile faded and he looked back to Janet in front of him. “Don’t tell me it’s just the three of us?” he asked. “That’s not much of a hunting party.”
Janet shook her head and pointed back to Selena with her thumb. “We got here early. You know her, she likes to make sure her gear is working every five minutes.”
“Doesn’t hurt to be prepared!” Selena called over to them, while slowly leaning away from the wall and walking over to the two of them, despite her gaze being locked to her cell.
“Where’s that buzzing little drone of yours?” Keith asked.
Selena finally looked up and a frown befell her face. “It’s kind of out of commission, at the moment,” she said. “I need a new motor, or four.”
“The shop doesn’t have any?” Keith asked.
Selena shook her head. “I’ve checked every day,” she said. “No one’s brought in any salvage with a motor.”
“Maybe you’ll find one,” said Janet. “Gotta be something laying around. Plenty of downed drones throughout the city.”
Selena sighed. “Yeah, I’ll be keeping an eye out.”
“Keith!” a boisterous male voice called from nearby. “I thought you had watch in the south bunker?”
Keith turned his head and smiled as he saw Greg coming from the street between the various buildings that led up to the gate. Makeshift metal sheets had been put up between all the buildings, to allow for some cover from the rain, while also providing makeshift shielding from certain types of neons.
“I traded shifts, so I could come out on this hunt,” he said as he turned to face Greg, who was walking up to the small gathered group. “Trying to collect enough credits to buy the last parts for my distillery setup. I’ve just about got it all together.”
When Greg reached the older man, he greeted him with a hand-to-arm grasp. “You plan on sharing, right?”
“Only if you bring me some corn or something to work with!” Keith laughed.
“Good thing Bonnie owes me for covering her last three bunker watches,” Greg smirked. “I’m sure I can get you what you need for no cost.”
“I don’t know how you do it,” Janet spoke up. “I swear, you live out in those bunkers.”
“It’s a good way to earn some rewards from people,” said Greg. “I’m sure I can get some corn or potatoes from Bonnie for covering her shifts. I think I could get some parts from Daniel at the mech shop for covering his. Then there’s Pete, who I cashed-in on earlier for some extra EMB mags for our hunt.” Greg said, patting the pouch on his right leg, which held a number of magazines filled with Electromagnetic Bullets.
Janet shook her head. “I don’t see why you even bother coming out on hunts, when you’ve already got a good thing going.”
Greg chuckled. “Can’t sit in a bunker and stare at video screens all the time, gotta get some excitement every once in a while, ain’t that right Keith?”
Keith shrugged. “Does the body good to move around a bit.”
“Yeah, how else am I supposed to live as long as Keith here,” Greg said, gesturing to the older man.
Janet smiled and looked between the two, then over to Selena. “Where’s Ben? Anyone seen him?”
Selena spoke up. “I think he’s just running a little behind. Said he had to take care of something in town before joining us.”
“Well we kinda need him,” said Janet as she looked around the incoming street. “He’s got the coordinates for the ping on that neon.”
“We’re fine,” said Selena. “I had him copy me the coords, so we’re good on that end, but I don’t think we should leave without him. He’ll be here.”
“What did he ping?” asked Keith as he reached up and rubbed at his bald head. “I heard you were hunting, but not what.”
“He wasn’t sure at first,” said Selena as she looked up to Keith. “He just knew it was a rare signature until a little bit ago. But he narrowed it down to likely being a Lasher.”
“Oh, one of them buggers?” asked Keith. “Haven’t seen or heard of a Lasher being nearby in a couple years I’d say.”
“Yeah, that’s why we want to get the jump on it before anyone else catches on to it,” said Janet.
“So definitely a capture then? We’re not getting paid to kill it, right?” asked Keith.
“That’s right. We’re gonna catch it and we’ve agreed to turn it in for a reward at the pawn,” said Janet. “I’m assuming with your distillery, you’d want the credits anyway? I don’t think any of us have the means to pay out the rest of us, if someone was wanting to keep it for themselves.”
“I certainly don’t,” said Selena.
“I’m a little far from being able to payout the cost of a Lasher, even if I was undercutting a good deal,” said Greg.
A loud clunk of metal sounded from the nearby gate. The group of four all diverted their attention as the two slabs of metal which made up the gate, slowly retracted back as a yellow light lit up and slowly spun above the frame. Two headlights shown in, and when the gate was fully opened, an Armored Personnel Carrier known as an APC, slowly drove into the square of space between the gate and the street leading through town. It was almost entirely pitch black with sleek siding. There were dark-window slits all around it, but there was no visibility inside. It could’ve been empty, for all anyone knew. Behind it, followed two similar vehicles. Their engines ran on electricity, like most things in the world. All that was heard was the wheels on the concrete and the dull hum of their fusion pulse generators as they drove right on by and deeper into town.
Once all three vehicles were through, the gates creaked and groaned as they were shut tight together again.
“I bet if you took all our credits combined, we couldn’t afford one of those,” said Greg.
“Not even close, I imagine,” said Keith. “Wonder what they’re doing here?”
“How many people you think were in those APCs?” asked Janet.
“Could’ve been zero,” said Greg. “Or a few dozen total, across all three.”
“Think they’re a well-funded hunter group?” asked Janet.
“Hard to tell,” Greg responded. “If they are, I’d hate to imagine what they’re going up against with hardware and personnel like that.”
“They didn’t look like the usual neon transporters,” said Selena.
“Could be from one of the cities,” said Greg. “Might just be passing through and using Lidale as a stop.”
After several minutes of discussing the arrival of the three vehicles, a dark-skinned man walked out from the opening of the main street. He wore a pair of brown denim pants and a green button-over jacket. A black backpack hung off his shoulder, which he was just pulling over his other arm as he approached the assembled hunters.
“Sorry I’m late,” he called. “Had to check over the equipment and cover some of Donald’s duties before I could head out.”
“Well it’s not like we were going to leave without you,” said Janet.
“What’s wrong with Donald?” asked Selena. “Is he alright?”
“He’s got that virus that was going around last week,” Ben responded as he reached up and tightened the straps on his backpack. He scanned the four others. “Hope they can manage without me and him for a few hours. But I guess they’re going to have to, huh?” he smiled. “So is this everyone?”
“I think this is it,” said Janet.
Greg sighed and then turned his head to look around the nearby streets. “I was hoping that lazy good-for-nothing would be joining us, but it seems like he’s not coming, so I guess this is it.”
“Oh, you actually asked him?” said Janet.
“Yeah, I caught him this morning before the end of his shift, he seemed like he was interested, but I guess not,” said Greg.
“It would’ve been nice to have him, but we can’t keep waiting around,” said Janet. “I think we can cover everything with the five of us, don’t you think? Besides, he’s usually just for backup precautions anyway. Not like he’s ever really done a lot for us in the past.”
“It never hurts to have a little backup,” said Keith. “But I agree, we should get a move on.”
“I’m ready to go,” Selena spoke up.
“So am I,” said Ben.
“Then let’s get going,” Greg confirmed as he took one last look at the group before turning and heading over to the large metal wall next to the gate. There was a smaller doorway used for personnel, which the five of them approached.
Greg was the first to reach the personnel door. When he did, he pressed and held a small red button next to a display beside the door. “This is Greg, with Janet, Ben, Selena and Keith. Heading out north for a bit. Requesting door unlock.”
A few seconds later, an image of a man appeared on the display. He had medium-length blonde hair, slicked back against his head. His narrowed eyes seemed to burn through the screen, focused on Greg.
“Greg, you better not be running off and skipping out on your debts,” said the man.
“Jim, c’mon now,” said Greg. “I’m working on it. Do you really think I’m going to bail now? You’re not seriously going to keep me from going out and making credits, right? Besides, Zach let me out earlier. I could’ve bailed on Lidale at any time. I’m telling you, Corwin will get his money.”
An audible sigh came from the speaker on the screen as the blonde-haired man leaned back in his chair. “You better be coming up with those credits in the next two days, else we’re coming knocking. Remember that.”
The video feed cut out and the screen went black. The small light beside the door flipped from red, to green. The locking mechanism clicked.
Greg shook his head and pulled the door open. He walked outside the enclosed walls of the town and immediately turned on the small circular device attached to the right side of his vest. It would act as a strong lantern, since the sun wasn’t quite up yet.
“The hell was that about?” asked Janet. “You owe the booker?”
“Forget about it, I’m dealing with it. It’s no big thing,” Greg said, and stepped faster to put a couple feet between him and Janet as the other members of the party followed after. One by one, everyone’s lantern’s came on. Six bright directional lights illuminating their surroundings.
As the door was closing behind Keith, a voice called out.
“Wait, I’m coming!” called a male voice.
The five of them turned their attention back to the door, which pushed open to reveal the young man, Tanner. He seemed a bit out of breath, as if he’d actually ran through town to get there.
“So you decided to join us after all?” said Greg.
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry I was running a bit behind. Tried to get a few minutes of sleep,” said Tanner as his tired and bloodshot eyes scanned the group and rested on Selena for several seconds. He then looked back to Greg as the door closed and locked behind him. The green light flipping to red. A camera on the wall slowly surveyed the outside of the gate, turning side to side at a gradual pace.
“Glad you could join us,” said Keith.
“Yeah, thanks, no problem,” Tanner said quickly, as if he wasn’t entirely sure what to say in response.
With Greg in the lead, the group began to move again with Keith and Tanner in the back, Selena, Janet and Ben at the center.
Greg had already unslung his rifle from his back and held it low, but ready. His cell was attached by magnet to his vest, and would alert him to any nearby neons if they entered its scanning range.
Ben wore a headset over his bald head, which had a display glass over his right eye, which allowed him to see electromagnetic signatures and fields. He’d be able to see any electronics with a dull glow, but he’d also be able to spot neons without using a hand to hold his cell up. His cell was specially modified with a mod that analyzed the data it received, allowing him to record neon signatures and attack patterns, to be uploaded and sold to other hunters or whoever might be interested in the data.
Selena and Janet had their cells out in their hands and were occasionally looking around with them. Janet moreso than the younger Selena. The two of them had the same precautionary alarms set in case a neon was detected in their proximity, but those sensors weren’t always 100% accurate, so looking for themselves, was always a better option.
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Keith wore a blue vest which had a collar mount that allowed him to hold his cell just in front of his chest. This way, he could look down at it at all times, to see if it picked up anything nearby.
Then there was Tanner, who wasn’t holding anything or even looking at much of anything. Between his lips was a thin device which he sucked on every now and then, before exhaling pale wisps of water vapor.
“How far out are we going?” Tanner asked as the view of the northern Lidale bunker came into view.
“Five miles north,” said Ben from ahead of him.
“And what are we hunting? Some rare?” Tanner questioned.
“I picked up the signature of what appeared to be a lasher on beacon one,” said Ben. “So hopefully it’s still in the area and we can catch it for a tidy profit to split between the six of us.”
“I’m surprised you decided to join us at all,” said Ben.
Tanner looked to Selena again, and then to Ben. “Yeah, I wasn’t going to, but I figured I could use some spare credits. Maybe that way I can pay Greg to take over my bunker watches.”
“I thought you didn’t mind taking watch?” Greg called back from the front of the group about fifteen feet ahead. “You just sit around and smoke anyway.”
“Hey, I watch the monitors like I’m supposed to,” Tanner called back.
“Yeah, but the problem is that if something actually happened, you’d be too high out of your mind to know how to deal with it,” said Greg.
“That’s what Crux is for,” he countered.
“You still gotta be able to see and press the buttons to make him do all the work,” said Greg.
“I can handle myself, I’ve been doing it all this time, haven’t I?” Tanner defended himself.
“Somehow,” Greg murmured.
“I for one, am glad you’re with us,” said Keith with a wrinkled smile.”
“Thanks buddy,” Tanner replied to the old man.
“Oh, if anyone spots any downed drones, or even just some small motors, I could really use them,” said Selena. “Not hugely important, but if you could keep a look out, I’d really appreciate it.”
Tanner’s eyes livened up as he began to look around their surroundings, whereas previously he seemed only concerned with the vaporizer between his lips.
The group of six remained in close proximity of each other, as they traversed the broken paved streets. There were numerous holes in the concrete, long since unpatched. The buildings nearby ranged from perfect condition, to more war-torn with broken windows and chunks missing from the roofs. There were many homes and apartment complexes nearby. Old shops that hadn’t been in use for decades. Grocery stores that had long since faded from memory. If the neons hadn’t befallen mankind and taken the vast majority of its population, these structures would’ve gone unused in recent times, with the advent of greater food-printing technologies.
Just like in the town, the air had the unmistakeable burnt scent of ozone, caused by numerous neons passing through the area.
Greg’s cell vibrated and his hand immediately pulled it from his vest. The screen lit up automatically and revealed a radar-like overlay of their surroundings. Several orange dots were shown a short ways north east of their current position. Greg tapped an icon on the screen and held his phone up in the direction of the orange dots. With a swipe of his thumb, the camera zoomed in and showed a faint outline of small ovoid neons with numerous tiny legs, slowly crawling around a nearby alley.
“We’ve got skits, five-hundred feet that way,” Greg said as he pointed to the alley. “Maybe, three or more.”
“Let’s just veer a little to the left,” said Ben. “They shouldn’t be a problem, but we don’t want to be too close if we don’t have to be. No one needs to catch a skit, right?”
“I don’t see what use a skit could be,” said Selena. “They’re pretty useless.”
“I’ve used them as lures before,” said Keith from just behind. “But we’re using Lumes, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a couple,” said Janet. “Ben, don’t you have a bunch still?”
Ben, as if uncertain with his own preparations, pulled his backpack off and began rifling through it. His footsteps slowed somewhat as he counted several small cubes about two inches by two inches in size. “I’ve got five, I haven’t replaced the three I lost the last time we were out here.”
Greg turned his head and looked back to Ben. “Sorry again about that, I should’ve been paying closer attention.”
“It’s alright,” said Ben. “Just learn from your mistakes, it’s all I ask,” he smiled.
“I’ll be sure to,” Greg responded as he looked forward again, while gradually leading the group a bit to the left to put some extra distance between them and the vermin-like neons nearby.
The group passed by more broken buildings and demolished vehicles. Selena looked around, her gaze lingering on destroyed structures and the open spaces around them.
“We’re almost there,” Ben said five minutes later.
“Didn’t we plant the beacon behind that structure?” Janet asked, as she pointed to a building a ways ahead of them.
“Yeah, it’s in the ground just behind it,” Ben confirmed. “So we should be careful. Have a cube ready. Other neons might be in the area, and the more we linger in one spot, the more likely of a target we become.”
“Weapons ready. Let’s catch this thing and head back home,” said Greg.
“So, can someone tell me what a Lasher looks like?” Selena asked, as she held her cell up, looking for any signs of neon.
“It’ll be orange,” said Keith. “A bit of a sphere-like core, four bending legs.”
“And a ghost whip,” said Ben.
“I was getting to that,” Keith huffed.
“A ghost whip?” Selena asked, looking over to Ben and then back to Keith.
“Yeah, it’s not always visible on the scanner,” said Keith. “But you can generally recognize the lasher’s main body. The whip is like any of the ghost neons. So be really careful. This thing can take you out through walls, and you can’t even touch it. It’s a tricky neon that’s taken out plenty of hunters who weren’t aware of what they were seeing, until it was too late.”
“How far can it reach, do we know?” asked Selena.
At that question, Keith looked to Ben. “What would you say? Six feet?”
“I think it might be closer to sixteen,” said Ben. “I’ve seen data on several of them, and there’s been different results of how far it can reach.”
“Well damn, I’ll have to be more careful,” said Keith.
“And we’re hunting this thing?” asked Tanner.
“The plan is to catch it,” Ben responded.
“Oh, right,” Tanner murmured.
The ever-watchful group headed down the street. It wasn’t long before they were able to see into the parking lot of the large structure they’d pointed out earlier.
“Right over there,” said Ben, pointing to a beat-up black vehicle which looked as though it could seat two passengers comfortably. “Should be just behind the trunk, in the ground.”
Greg was still at the lead of the group. He walked to the back of the car, keeping his cell out and his rifle on his arm. Now that they were in a more dangerous area, he placed the cell back to his chest, the magnet causing a ‘click’ as the cell connected with it. Greg then lifted his rifle, which had a similar display as the cell. The display would be linked to his cell, giving him the same augmented reality overlay to see when neons were present.
Greg surveyed the surroundings and looked down to the broken-up rubble behind the vehicle. “You still getting a signal from it, or do we need to pull it out?”
“We can leave it as it is, if it looks undisturbed,” said Ben. “It should have enough power to keep invisible and repel neons for a few weeks at least.”
Ben was looking around with his over-the-eye lens. He pulled his cell out and began tapping away at the buttons below the screen. “Just going to boost my scan range a little,” he said.
“I don’t see anything yet,” said Janet, who had a similar rifle to Greg’s. Her phone would emit a soft blip sound if anything started getting close.
Selena had her cell out and was looking for threats. Her pistol was in her hand, but lowered toward the ground. Despite their current hunting situation, she couldn’t help but keep a lookout for anything that might have a spare motor.
“So what’s the plan on catching it?” asked Keith. “We know it’s in the area, right?”
“It was earlier today,” said Ben.
“Who all has cubes to catch it?” asked Selena. “Cause I don’t have any on me.”
“Greg and I have some class three cubes,” said Janet. “We’ll make sure we’re in tackle range.”
“I’ve just got the one class four on me,” said Ben. “But only as a precaution. With how expensive they are, I’d rather not have to use it unless we’re in danger.”
“If anyone’s in danger, I’ll just bring out Crux,” Tanner said with a bit of a yawn.
“We’re here to catch it, Tanner,” Janet reminded him. “We should be able to handle a single Lasher if it doesn’t get the jump on us. But if other neons start coming out, then we might need your Crux to clean them up.”
“Yeah, right,” Tanner murmured as he pulled his pistol out and checked it. He then pulled his cell from his pocket and began searching the area.
“Normal tackle tactics,” said Greg, answering Keith’s original question. “Keith, if you can set up somewhere with a good vantage, we might be able to spot it early. It doesn’t seem to be around here right now. Janet and I will take point here in the open. Selena, Ben, Tanner, you three separate but keep in sight of each other and us. Main goal right now is to find where it’s at. We can then lure it towards us for the capture. We don’t want to go chasing this thing.”
“It has a little higher intelligence than others,” said Ben. “At least, that’s what’s been recorded of lasher behavior in the past. So, just be prepared everyone.”
“Alright, sounds good,” said Janet. “Everyone take positions and make sure your cell’s mic is set to push-to-talk. We’ve done this before. Keep your head, and we’ll be heading back home in no time with some extra credits.”
Several members of the group gave their acknowledgements as they dispersed around the large parking lot.
Selena sat behind a van-like vehicle which had been completely smashed to about a third of its height. She tapped at her cell and set her pistol down beside her. She began scanning the area and looking for neons.
Tanner made sure he was in sight of Selena, but tried not to look over to her too often. He pulled his vaporizer from his lips and pulled out the empty capsule and fished a new one out of his pocket. He tossed the empty one, which clinked against the concrete as he slotted the new one in and began puffing away at the stimulating coffee-flavored liquid, laced with nicotine.
Ben stuck by the location near the beacon. He pulled an application up on his phone and began to interact with it locally, able to run more data and CPU intensive diagnostics on the device.
Janet remained about twenty-five feet from Greg at all times. The two of them had their rail rifles up and were aiming up at buildings and around the parking lot.
“What do you think, toss out the Mitar? Or a few Lumes?” asked Janet.
“Never fought a Lasher before,” admitted Greg, who was only really in earshot of the woman. “If it’s smarter, like Ben said, then it might not be an easy trap. Let’s try casting a lume out in different directions, one at a time.”
“Start with north?” Janet asked, gesturing in the direction. The entire area was littered with broken down vehicles, and was relatively vast. The only real structure in the immediate vicinity was the five story building which Keith was heading towards.
“Go ahead,” said Greg.
Janet reached up to the cell resting in a half-pocket on her vest. She pressed a button and spoke in a normal tone. “Casting the Lume now,” she notified the rest of the group.
She released the button and reached down to her belt where several small cubes here hanging on chains. She detached a two by two inch cube, meant for class one neons. She tossed it out in front of her and it clattered on the concrete. It promptly righted itself with internal pistons and the side with a circle emblem, faced the sky.
Holding her rifle in her right hand and arm, Janet used her left to then pull her cell from her jacket pocket. She tapped an icon labeled ‘Neon Control.’ She selected ‘Cube 1’ and was given a number of functions and controls. She tapped her thumb against a button and the cube emitted a low buzzing drone. Human eyes were unable to discern anything going on with the cube, but as Janet looked at the screen on her cell, she watched as the once-trapped Lume was released from its cube prison. The neon known as a Lume, was a small class 1. It had a circular center, with tentacle-like strands coming up from its core. Staring at it through the overlay, it looked like a fiery cyan neon candle. It was considered a ghost type, and could pass through walls. Which made it incredibly dangerous to humans. If touched by a ghost type neon, a person could instantly die, due to the intense electromagnetic field contacting their nervous system.
With another press of a button, the Lume drifted northward at a slow speed. It hovered several feet above the ground as it moved.
Janet pressed her thumb to the button on the side of her cell and said. “Lume away. Going to pull it back after a thousand feet, then try again in each direction. Stay alert. We might lure something we don’t want.”
“Or some things,” said Greg, but not loud enough for anyone to really hear, other than Janet.
Keith had the longest to walk, making his way over to the structure that the parking lot had been meant for. He heard Janet’s voice emanate from his cell, telling him the luring procedure had begun. He entered the nearby structure through a rear door which was hanging open. He’d already unslung his long-rail rifle, which was highly accurate at distances. He went up the stairwell and made it to the third floor before taking another door and finding an old office room with a full-sized window connected with the floor. Once he reached it, he promptly used the butt of his rifle to knock out the glass, causing shards to spill outwards towards the parking lot below. He then brushed any loose shards away with his boot, before laying down and gripping his rifle. He aimed it out the large window, using a similar display to the ones Greg and Janet were using on their own rifles. He set his cell nearby, keeping the screen on so that it could keep him apprised of his surroundings. No one would be watching his back, so he had to be extra careful that nothing snuck up on him, especially during a fight. He reached over and opened communication to the group. “I’m in position, I’ve got sight on the Lume.”
With her rifle slung over her arm, Janet continued to control and watch the Lume. When it reached the one-thousand foot marker she’d given it, she let it remain idle for several minutes. She opened comms and said. “Ben, you detecting anything at its range?”
Ben’s voice sounded from her and Greg’s cells a few seconds later. “Nothing,” he responded. “Only picking up the Lume.”
Janet waited several more minutes and then recalled the Lume on a slow trek back to her location. “North is dead,” she spoke on comms with the others. “Trying northeast.”
Again, Janet sent out the Lume on a different trajectory.
Greg held his rifle low, but occasionally lifted it to check the nearby buildings in the distance. Every so often, he looked over at the structure Keith was in, trying to keep an eye on the old sniper as best he could.
Selena kept a close eye on her area scanner, looking for blips.
Ben’s cell had a heightened range on scanning, as well as analyzing neons. He was locally tapped into the beacon, allowing him to pull its information and scanning data without having to be back at town at his terminal, which was linked up to a long-ranged data transmitter.
Tanner sat with his back against a vehicle, his eyes closed. A three-by-three inch cube rested on the ground beneath one of his fingers. He was slowly turning it over, one end at a time. Occasionally, a wisp of vapor left his lips as he relaxed, waiting for something to happen.
“Selena,” Keith’s voice called across her cell. “Take a look south. I think I see part of a drone or something sticking out from behind that old truck. Might be worth taking a closer look at if you need parts.”
Selena activated her mic with a press of a button. “Going to go check it out,” she said, so that everyone knew she was going to be moving locations. She grabbed her pistol and slotted it into the holster on her hip. She held her cell at the ready and scanned the area with it visually, before she looked for the old truck Keith had mentioned. As she went among the various vehicles, she spotted a singular truck in the direction the old man had indicated.
“That’s the one,” Keith called over the comm.
“Thanks,” Selena sent back as she walked around the banged-up vehicle. She spotted the downed drone and knelt by it to check it out. She picked it up and inspected it, slowly turning the broken blades of the quad-copter drone. It wasn’t a top-tier drone. In fact, it was probably less than the average quality drone you could make from spare parts at the mech shop, but the motors seemed to be in good shape. She then called back over the comm link with the group. “I’m going to take a few minutes and salvage some parts from this drone,” she notified them.
“Confirmed,” Greg called back, letting her know there wouldn’t be any issue with her plans.
Selena pulled out a few tools and began disassembling what she could. She had a small backpack over her shoulders, which she pulled off and began filling with parts from the drone.
Time passed slowly for the group. Most of them were on edge, except for Tanner who became more and more relaxed as the minutes passed.
Janet tried east, south east, and then after Selena had finished her salvage operation and returned to her previous location, the Lume was sent South.
“Running out of directions,” she said to Greg as the Lume approached its southern destination.
Greg lifted his rifle and aimed down towards the blueish Lume heading south. “Can’t believe we’re not getting anything,” he said. “It’s a bit strange, but not entirely unheard of. That Lasher might’ve cleared out some of the neons nearby, or scared them off.”
“Might not be in the area anymore, might’ve just missed it,” said Janet.
Greg pressed the button on his cell. “Ben, you got that lure cube on you?”
There was silence, but Greg knew nothing was wrong. He could practically visualize Ben hunched over his backpack, sifting through it in order to find out if he’d actually brought the lure cube with him. Eventually, Ben’s voice came over the cell. “Sorry, looks like I forgot it,” he said.
Greg responded. “Don’t worry about it, was just checking. Those can be pretty expensive and I thought the Lume would work just fine.”
“This is usually how our plans go,” said Janet.
The group waited, their anxiety having lessened since their initial arrival. Eventually, there was only one direction left to test as the Lume slowly returned from the southwest.
“Should I send it through the structure?” asked Janet, turning her head to Greg. “Or should we just call it? If it hits something on the other side of the building, we’re going to be in a poor position to engage it, not to mention it could put Keith in jeopardy.”
Greg reached up and scratched the back of his head. “Hmm,” he murmured.
“Make sure you’re thinking with your head, and not your wallet,” Janet cautioned him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he grunted.
“How much do you owe the booker?” she asked, reigniting the conversation she’d tried to start up with him earlier.“
“Don’t worry about it,” said Greg.
“I need to worry about it, if you’re not thinking rationally about things,” she said. “Just how much in debt are you?”
“Look,” Greg said as he lowered his rifle. “I made a bad bet, and I’m working on paying it off. It’s only four-hundred credits, and I’m paying him off. I just need some more time.”
“Four-hundred?” Janet yelled, looking up from her cell and back to Greg. “What the hell are you doing betting that? That’s like, half a month’s expenses!”
“I know, I know, it was stupid,” said Greg. “Just don’t worry about me, and let me handle it. You know me, I’d never put the group at risk.”
Janet stared at him for several long seconds, before returning her gaze back to her cell. “I know, just don’t prove me—” her comment was cut short as a rapid bleeping sounded from her Cell. Her eyes widened. “Shit, the Lume’s gone! I’ve got something incoming!”
Greg stepped over, raising his rifle. “What is it?” he asked as he looked through his scope.
“I’m not sure,” Janet swallowed, staring at the scanner on her cell, then looking out to towards the direction the Lume was coming back from. “But it’s too big to be a Lasher.”