[CHAPTER 19]
The group made it up to the main floor of the stadium, observing the aftermath of the stage they occupied hours earlier. What was once stadium seating packed with screaming fans was now eerily empty and full of broken chairs. The stage where four teams once laid in Mesh chairs now had those same chairs scattered and knocked over. One chair was nothing more than a burnt pile of ash on the stage.
“Wow. I didn’t expect it to feel so…empty,” came Kats subdued comment, “What happened here?” She asked, pointing at the burnt chair.
Leo was staring at the spot, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “That was me. Luke died here and I wanted to honor him somehow. But when I came back up his body was gone.” They stood there for a few moments before Leo turned away. “Let’s go, we need to clear the area.”
The four of them moved to the second floor and began walking down the hallway, checking each shop. In a couple of them Leo found evidence of Antithesis and they quickly took them out. Eventually finding themselves back at the northern stairs, the group went up to the third floor.
“I never made it up here last time, I have no idea what to expect,” Leo said, cautiously peering both ways down the hallway.
“The third floor is mostly high end bars and viewing rooms. It’s where the business people come to make deals,” Hawkins informed them, “It’s also where the announcer box sits.”
“You know,” Kat said, “I don’t remember seeing the announcers in the shelter. You think they’re okay? Anton was always my favorite during the streams.”
Leo shrugged. “We can always check the box and see if they holed up there.” He started walking down the hall and checking into random closed rooms. “I don’t think many Antithesis came up here, I’m not seeing any tracks or evidence. Unless my Predator’s Gaze is already broken.”
Aegys spoke up, “There is no issue with your gear, there is simply no evidence to suggest the Antithesis made it up here.
The group continued walking, checking inside conference rooms, viewing rooms, and even seeing a fully stocked bar with drinks still on the counter. Eventually they reached a room with a sign out front reading ‘On Air’.
“I think we found the announcers box. You think we should knock?” Leo asked.
Kat walked up to the door and knocked. “Anybody in there?”
They waited in silence for a few moments before she reached for the door handle. Before her hand touched it they heard a voice, “Are they gone?”
Hawkins stepped up. “The Antithesis are gone. Can we open the door?”
“Go ahead,” came the tired voice.
Hawkins nodded and Kat, who opened the door, and they got their first look at the occupant.
Sitting in the middle of a room filled with monitors and audio equipment was a middle aged man in a wheelchair. A shotgun rested across his lap as he smiled at them. He looked at all of them but chuckled when he saw Leo and Kat. “You know, Samurai aren’t supposed to compete in the tournament right?”
“Anton? We weren’t Samurai. We got initialized a few hours ago.” Kat asked.
“The one and only,” the man did a short bow.
Leo came forward. “Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
Anton sat back up with a groan. “I could be better. It’s been what, a day or so? They don’t exactly let us bring food in here. Plus my meds are back in my room down the hall,” he let out a cough. “As for what I’m doing here, It’s not exactly easy running from killer plants when you can’t run.”
Leo stepped closer to him, “Let me take a look real quick,” he pulled out his handheld scanner and ran it over the man.
Name: Anton Sokolov
Age: 34
Status: Dehydrated, Pre-starvation, Spinal Inflammation
Recommend: Nutrient supplement, water, Class II nano-regenerative suite
‘Aegys, why would I need the Class II nano-regen instead of Class I? Reducing inflammation isn’t something difficult.‘
‘Can I afford it?’
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
‘Do it, plus the nutrient pack and water.’
Class II Medical Utilities Unlocked!
Points reduced to - 6630
Tokens reduced to - 0
New Purchase: Class II Nano-Regenerative Suite
Points reduced to - 6530
New Purchase: Medical Ration
Points reduced to - 6527
On a desk nearby appeared two boxes. Leo opened one to reveal a nutri-paste tube and a bottle of water. He handed it to Anton. “Here, eat and drink these and then I have something to help with your back. After that we can get you down to the main floor.”
The man looked at Leo as he took the offered food. “Are you sure you weren’t Samurai from the start?”
Leo snorted. “No chance. But I guess I’ve had a lot of practice. Now eat so we can get moving.” He turned back to Hawkins and Burns as Anton ate. “Would you two mind checking out the rest of the hallway? At this point I don’t think we have anything to worry about, but I still want to check the rest of this floor.”
“No problem boss,” Hawkins said while Burns just nodded, “We’ll be back shortly.”
Leo looked at Kat. “I’m assuming you want to stay here?”
“Absolutely, those two can handle themselves just fine.”
Anton cleared his throat and Leo looked back to see that he had finished already. “Not the tastiest meal I’ve had but you know what they say. Hunger is the best seasoning.”
Leo opened the second box and held up the inhaler that was inside. “Ready?” He asked.
Anton reached out for it. “As I’ll ever be, give it here. I’m not entirely invalid yet,” he laughed. He held it to his mouth and breathed deeply as he depressed the button. After he held his breath for a few seconds he let it out. “Man that feels funky, like staticky fire in my lungs.”
Leo chuckled. “That means it’s working. As soon as the other two make it back we’ll get out of here. Unfortunately you won’t be able to walk for a couple hours, but after that you should be good to go.”
They settled down to wait and a short few minutes later both of the guards showed up. The third floor was clear and they all made their way to a set of elevators with Leo pushing Anton. They arrived at the main floor and quickly made their way out the main doors.
Once outside they saw a welcome sight. Arranged around the massive parking lot were military vehicles with soldiers running around. Mori was talking to one soldier that seemed to be older and more experienced than the others. As soon as she caught sight of the small group, she waved them over.
“Hey there kiddos,” she said once they were close enough, “I see you found another one.”
“It’s one of the announcers, Anton Sokolov. We found him in the announcers booth since he couldn’t make it down to the shelter,” Kat said.
The older soldier stepped forward, she waved at a couple soldiers who were running by before turning back. “Colonel Feugate, BlackStone Security, pleasure to meet you. We can take care of Mr. Sokolov here.” The two soldiers carefully took Anton and wheeled him to a tent nearby. “So, the Witch of the West here was telling me about the situation inside. Anything new you two would like to add?”
Leo glanced at Kat who shrugged. “I’m assuming not really. We made our way back to the second and third floors but didn’t see anything. The big items would be the hive we took out in the sub-basement, which wasn’t on the stadium blueprints by the way, and the shelter full of civilians.”
Colonel Feugate nodded. “That’s what I got from Mori here. We haven’t seen any sign of the Antithesis for the last hour or so. I’m going to start sending in crews to perform final sweeps and get the civilians out of there. If you three wouldn’t mind hanging around for an hour or so I would appreciate it, but I can’t exactly make you stay.” She turned to Hawkins and Burns. “As for you two, I haven’t seen you in a couple years, I thought you retired.”
Hawkins laughed out loud while Burns just smirked. “Mira! Long time, no see! Looks like they finally decided to put someone competent in charge,” as he talked he walked over and grabbed the colonel in a hug.
She just shook her head with a smile and slapped him on the back. “Yeah, yeah. What about you? Something tells me the stadium doesn’t supply gear this nice.”
Hawking stepped back. “Nah, this is all Phoenix here. We decided the mall cop life wasn’t for us, we missed the excitement. Speaking of, could I ask a favor?”
Mira nodded. “Anything for a friend.” Hawkins stepped close and whispered something in her ear. A smile slowly formed on her face as she laughed. “Alright, fine.” She straightened her back and her face fell into a commanding look. “Sergeant Hawkins! Sergeant Burns! Front and center!”
The two guards stepped forward and stood at attention, staring into the middle-distance. “You are hereby ordered, under Chapter 5, Section 2.7.4 of the BlackStone Security Service Manual, to return to active duty effective immediately. Failure to comply will result in punitive measures including but not limited to fines, confiscation of belongings, or indentured servitude. What say you?”
Both Hawkins and Burns smiled widely before shouting, “Yes ma’am! Reporting for duty ma’am!”
Colonel Feugate smiled as well as she continued, “Your first order is as follows. You are to follow the orders of Samurai Phoenix for a term of one month, at which point your duty to BlackStone Security will be considered accomplished in full, that is all. At ease!”
Both guards relaxed and turned back to Leo. Hawkins said, “And that is how you get out of a contract.”
Leo just laughed. “I’m just going to pretend I know what happened.” He turned to Mori. “Speaking of, Are you able to bring them to Montana with us as well? If not I can get them transport, I just don’t have access to my own transport yet.”
Mori just waved him off. “It’s no problem. The Witchcraft has more than enough room.” She turned back to Col Feugate. “Now, let’s get those people out of the shelter, shall we?”
The two women went off into the organized chaos, leaving Leo, Kat, Hawkins, and Burns standing around. Leo looked around before settling on Hawkins and Burns. “Did you two have anything you needed to grab?”
Both shook their heads and Hawkins responded. “Not that we’ll miss. Just some clothes and simple things we can grab later.”
“Well, I guess we just wait for Mori to be ready to go,” Kat said, “I’m gonna go sit down. I feel like I haven’t been able to relax in weeks.”
The group all went to find somewhere to sit out of the way. An hour later they saw a stream of people leaving the stadium. Two hours later Mori came back out and finished setting things up with the colonel. Three hours later they were all in the air, flying rapidly to Montana where Leo was simultaneously excited to go home, and nervous at having to see his friends’ parents.