[CHAPTER 8]

A few hours had passed with the defensive turrets rattling off a couple rounds every once in a while as a stray Antithesis wandered by. A couple of survivors heard the sounds of gunfire and risked the journey to the shelter, arriving long after the flesh melters had finished their work. Leo was in the process of clearing out the built up Antithesis bodies in the hallway when there was a loud yawn from the shelter entrance. He glanced over to see Kat rubbing her eyes before slipping on a new trench coat that had multiple hardened plates attached.

Leo tossed the wrapping of the field ration he found earlier into the pile of Antithesis bits that were burning nearby. “Morning sleepyhead. Looks like you slept well.” He said, laughing.

Kat waved a hand in his general direction before suddenly stopping. Before Leo could ask what was wrong a cup appeared in her hand with steam coming out of the top. She took a sip and smiled contentedly.

Leo stepped over. “Whatcha got there?”

“Coffee. Probably the best damn coffee I’ve had in awhile. It’s not that hot, coffee flavored water either, it’s the real deal.” she said, taking another sip.

“Seriously? How did you get it? I could use some.” His eyes were locked on the cup of soul liquid.

Kat turned slightly as if protecting the cup in her hands. “Just ask your AI, and stay away from mine!” She drank deeply before wincing as the, presumably, hot liquid burned her tongue.

“We can get coffee from them too? I thought it was just weapons and armor?”

“It shocked me too, but there are whole catalogs with just regular stuff. Clothes, food, drinks. Plus you don’t have to buy the catalogs, all Samurai have access.”

Leo thought about this revelation for a moment.

‘Aegys.’

‘Do you have coffee?’

Leo took a deep breath. ‘Do you possibly know where to get coffee?’

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘You’re an ass.’

New Purchase: Dirty Bean Water

Points reduced to - 2309

Somehow Leo could feel the sarcasm rolling off his resident AI as a paper cup appeared in his hand. He chose to ignore the name as he took a tentative sip and felt the heat suffuse his body in that unique way a warm drink in the morning does. As he savored the feeling he noticed the depth of flavor the coffee seemed to have, far outpacing any coffee he had ever bought from a shop.

Noticing some of the people nearby glancing over at him and Kat with obvious longing, Leo decided to take pity on them. Moving over to the wall near the shelter entrance he asked, ‘Aegys, is it possible to get a coffee stand that can serve everyone out here?’

Wincing a bit at the idea of willingly buying decaf, but realizing that not everyone likes caffeine, ‘Go for it. They need it.’

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

New Purchase: Field Coffee Bar

Points reduced to - 2307

Next to the door appeared a plastic folding table that held 6 large coffee jugs and a couple of stacks of cups and lids. Three of the jugs were marked green and said ‘Decaf’ on them. Turning to the crowd of defenders, “Don’t crowd the table too much, there is enough coffee for everyone.” There was immediately a line of people that moved remarkably quickly as everybody loaded up on coffee.

The two Samurai stood nearby, watching as the defenders shuffled through the line rather quickly. Leo turned to Kat as she finally started to wake up. “I need to head into the stadium to see if there is anybody left. Possibly look at getting some better assistance getting these people out of here.”

Kat just nodded. “I would come with you but…the idea of willingly going out of a defensive area scares me more than I’d like to admit. You–You didn’t see what they did to Jess.” Kat stared into space for a moment before taking a large drink of her coffee.

“You’re right, I didn’t see what they did to Jess. But I was with Luke when I pulled out of the sim. I can’t let what happened to him happen to anyone else.” Leo watched as Kat’s eyes widened before they started shining with tears.

“They got Luke too?” Even if Leo was deaf he would have heard the pain in her voice. As his wordless nod the tears in her eyes began to make tracks down her cheeks. Pulling her to his chest Leo held her as her body rocked, His cloak somehow big enough to wrap around her too.

Some of the people nearby looked over at them but were polite enough to not say anything. After a couple of minutes Kat pulled back, wiping her eyes. She reached out to grab the edge of his cloak, “Your cloak is amazingly soft and warm. It would make the perfect blanket.”

Leo nodded, noticing her change of subject but letting it go. “It really is. There were a couple of times while I was watching out here that I almost fell asleep.”

They stood like that for a few more moments before Leo drained the last of his coffee. “I should probably get going to see if there is anybody out there, will you be okay here?”

She nodded, glancing at his face. “I’ll be fine. Worst comes we have the shelter.” she paused for a moment. “Do you really need to go out there? I’m sure there are other Samurai heading this way, we could hold the shelter and make sure we keep these people safe.”

Leo was nodding before she finished speaking. “I need to do this. I can’t let more people die if there is something I can do about it.”

Kat stared into his eyes for a long moment before nodding. “I get it. Just make sure you come back safe.”

Leo gave her a small smile before turning and heading to the entrance to the stadium, not noticing how Kat refused to let go of his cloak until he was out of reach. Going through his gear, Leo cataloged each item in a mental list. His armor was all in good condition. Glancing at his HUD he saw that his hard-light rings and his chemical bracer were all fully charged.

‘Aegys, just for the sake of symmetry please get me another chemical synthesizer.’

New Purchase: Mark I Wrist Mounted Chemical Synthesizer

Points reduced to - 2207

Unpacking the box Leo attached the second bracer, seeing the status pop up next to his original.

Gear set, he set out into the main section of the stadium. As he exited the stairway he saw that the field he had set the flesh melters in had been cleared of Antithesis. Leo walked over to the stage in the center of the giant room, keeping an eye out for any stray Antithesis. Once he got there he noticed that no bodies were left. Settled against one of the mesh chairs he saw a helmet with a phoenix sticker on it. Picking it up he turned it to face him, staring into where someone's eyes would be. After a few moments Leo set the helmet on the chair Luke had used before drawing two globes of liquid into each hand.

“I’m sorry I couldn't save you. But I’ll make sure to not fail anyone else” he said before tossing both globes onto the chair. As soon as the liquid met the air the entire chair went up in a fireball. As soon as the flames started a bar had appeared off to the side of his HUD. Leo asked about it while moving to the second floor of the stadium.

“Aegys, what is this bar that just appeared?”

“Good to know.” After the fire he just started the bar had barely a sliver. Walking through the empty seating Leo glanced around and noticed something strange, “Aegys, why isn’t there any blood? I get there being no bodies, but no blood seems a bit strange.”

“Well, I’m sure someone would have noticed an established hive under the center of Vegas. Which means there is probably a new hive nearby.”

“Fuck.”