[CHAPTER 9]

Leo called over the comms, “Kat, Aegys and I think there may be a new hive that has set up nearby. You may want to make sure your turrets are prepared for another horde just in case.”

“Thanks for letting me know. I’ll get things set up here, you just make sure to keep yourself safe.” came the response.

He made his way up the northern stairs to the second level, intent on searching the level for both Antithesis and survivors. As he carefully picked his way through the scattered trash and signs that had been tossed everywhere in the panic, Leo was discussing his situation with the AI who had taken up residence in his head.

“Alright Aegys, I need to know what I could be walking into. Assuming there is a new hive nearby, what models should I expect and what kind of behavior?”

Leo thought about this information as he carefully made his way down the halls, listening at the doors to various stalls to see if he could hear anything before slowly opening them to check for survivors. “I’m assuming I’ll see a lot of Threes and Fives, maybe some Fours hanging around somewhere. If the hive is faster than we think or it takes too long to find it may start pumping out some Eights.” At this point Leo had made it about a quarter of the way around the second level ring and could just see the edge of the eastern stairs around the bend. He had yet to see any sign of either bodies or even blood.

“I’ve had to do a lot of research the past few years to be ready for the Antithesis in Samurai Rush. I think my biggest hang up is that a lot of the gear that is in the game was changed for balance or copyright reasons. Like the technical load for using the rings and the wrist bracer, that was never a problem.” Leo stepped into a fast food joint after listening for movement inside.

He looked around and noticed that the stove was still on even though the top was clear of any food. Turning the dials down on the range he moved over to the walk-in fridge. Briefly looking over the door, Leo spotted some scratches that marred the previously unblemished surface. Sidling up to it he tried pressing his ear to the door to listen for any sounds. Before he got too close though, he accidentally kicked a can that was lying on the floor. Freezing in place, he stopped to make sure no Antithesis heard him. While he didn’t hear any Antithesis, he did hear some quick shuffling inside the fridge.

‘Aegys, is there any way for me to check inside the fridge without opening the door?’

Leo thought for a moment. “I’ll set a hard-light wall to stop the door from opening more than a couple inches.” He said quietly.

Swiftly putting his plan into action, Leo set a hard-light wall at an angle to stop the door from opening more than a couple inches. Slowly, he pulled the latch and opened the door. Before he could open the door more than an inch, there was a loud bang and Leo felt something punch onto his stomach throwing him to the floor.

“You may eat me, but I’ll take as many of you plant fuckers down as I can before I let that happen!” a voice screamed out from the fridge before the iconic racking of a shotgun reached Leo’s still ringing ears.

‘Thanks for the pep-talk chief.’

Groaning in pain, Leo levered himself into a sitting position. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think humans taste too great. Too many chemicals and micro-plastics in our food.” he called out as he stood back up.

“You…You’re human? Oh thank god! I thought I was going to die!” There was a clattering of something falling to the ground before the fridge door slammed into the hard-light wall Leo had erected. “What is this? Why won’t the door open?” the young man said, repeatedly trying to slam the door open.

“Oh yea, kinda forgot I put that wall there. Easy thing to miss while getting shot at.” Leo dismissed the wall as he spoke and watched as a young man wearing a white and red striped uniform stepped out. He wore a similarly colored visor over sandy blond hair. A face with the barest hint of facial hair told Leo this kid could only be fifteen or sixteen.

“You’re a Samurai. I just shot a Samurai. Ooh, I’m fucked.” He stood there staring at Leo in shock.

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Leo chuckled, “Relax, it was an entirely justified response. My fault really for standing in the doorway like an idiot. What's your name, and are you hurt at all?”

“My name is Sylvester, but I go by Syl. Not really hurt anywhere, I was in the fridge umm doing inventory when the incursion alarm went off.” Leo caught sight of something littering the floor inside the fridge. “In the rush I guess one of the guys kicked the can I use to prop the door open which locked me in there.”

Leo smirked when he realized what he saw was cigarette butts. “Don’t these walk-in fridges have emergency releases inside for just this occasion?” he asked.

Syl rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but the company is cheap. This one has been broken for months and they refuse to fix it. Anyway, by the time I managed to jimmy the latch open and look outside, the hallway was full of those dog-like monsters. I snuck over the manager's office to grab his shotgun but one of them apparently heard me. It started pushing at the outer door and I rushed back to the fridge. I decided to just close it and hope I could get out later since I wanted to keep the beast from getting to me. I’ve been in there for a few hours now and let me tell you, it’s cold as shit in there. So once the door was closed….”

Leo just nodded, listening as the obviously nervous teen rambled on about his harrowing experience. While he was talking, Leo heard what sounded like metal hitting the ground. He shifted over to the counter to peer out into the long hallway. Peering carefully through the scattered debris Leo saw a flash of movement, shortly after he saw what might have been a Model Three.

He turned back to Syl, “Hey, Syl?”

“...and then I started getting really cold and these uniforms are so thi…”

“Syl!” Leo said more forcefully while grabbing his shoulder.

The teenager started a bit at that. “Yessir?”

“Just call me Leo for now. Do you know of any other people that are nearby?”

Syl thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I heard some people in the shop across the hall back when I first hid but…” he got a far away look in his eyes for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I don’t think there is anybody nearby.”

Leo nodded. “So here’s the deal. There is an Antithesis down at the end of the hall. I am going to escort you to the shelter, I can’t leave you here.”

‘Aegys, get me a Hummingbird please. Can we do no box this time?’

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Leo held out his hand to catch the pistol that appeared a second later. “Also here, it will work a bit better than that shotgun. Just point it at the Antithesis and pull the trigger once the circle turns red.”

Syl got wide-eyed when the pistol appeared. “Yessir! No problem.”

While he got used to the new aiming reticle, Leo peeked out into the hall and saw that the Model Three was creeping closer. Turning back to Syl, “Alright here’s the plan. Out the door and to the right I need you to run for the North stairs and get to the shelter. Do not stop running for anything, you got it?”

Syl nodded, tightening his grip on the pistol.

Leo moved up to the door and counted down, “Three, two, one!” before bursting out of the door and waving Syl to run ahead of him. As they both ran for the stairs Leo heard a crash come from behind them. Risking a glance back he almost stumbled. Rushing down the hall was the Model Three they saw earlier leading a small swarm of other Model Threes and even what looked like a Model Six.

“Syl, Keep running!” Leo called before spinning around with two orbs of Greek Fire in his hands. He tossed both globes towards the rushing Antithesis before continuing his rush to the stairway.

Normally, the Antithesis make no noise. Not a chirp, bark, growl, or roar. They will be completely silent while tearing through anyone in their path. This swarm apparently did not get the memo as there was an intense squealing coming from the swarm.

Leo and Syl made it to the stairway. Before they descended Leo placed hard-light walls to block the entrance.

Drawing up an orb of the chemical concoction he did what Aegys suggested. As soon as the orb touched the wall it changed. Instead of looking like a wall of flames rising from the ground, it looked like liquid fire falling from the ceiling.

‘What does that do?’

‘Good to know.’ Out loud, “Syl, let’s keep moving to the shelter and get you protected. I’ll need to go up the eastern stairs to clear them out.”

At Syl’s nod the two moved down the stairs until they could see the shelter entrance and Kat’s turrets. Kat herself saw them coming down the stairs first and rushed to Leo.

“Leo! What happened? Are you okay?” she asked while inspecting him for any injuries.

Leo chuckled, “I’m fine. Just found Syl here and then spotted some Antithesis nosing around after he shot me. Had to make a rush for the shelter to drop him off before I head back up to clear them out.”

Kat’s eyes widened before she whirled on Syl. “You shot him! Why would you shoot him!”

Syl looked like a deer in the headlights, something that Leo had only seen once when he was a young kid and the deer still roamed near the town he grew up in. He grabbed Kat’s shoulder, “It’s fine Kat, he was trying to protect himself from the plants and I made the stupid decision to stand in the doorway as I opened it.”

She just looked at him. “Are you really fine?”

“All I got was some light bruising. Nothing a little bit of rest won’t fix and all else fails, I have a super pharmacy living in my head”

Kat looked at him for a moment more before sighing. “Fine. But stop getting shot at.”

Leo gave her a sloppy salute before turning to go back up the stairs. “Yes Ma’am, Samurai Ma’am”

As he passed by one of the guards Leo thought he heard, “Smooth.”