“What, exactly, did you light that building on fire with?” I asked, while watching the raging inferno that used to be a shopping center and former Antithesis hive.

“Plasma throwers,” Sharron replied, from within her battlesuit. The two of us decided the best solution would be to torch the entire building, given the fact that it was infested with Model Sevens. Sharron even said she had the proper tool for the job. After we’d finished securing the location she returned to her RV, retrieved her battlesuit, and returned armed with a handful of tentacles I’d never seen before. I had to say, the results were impressive. I’d never seen a building burn blue before. “Did the bears find anything else while I was cleaning up down there?”

“Not yet, they’re still sweeping the streets with the IFVs and the lures. I’m pretty sure there’s something on the south side, considering how many Threes there are in that area. Blatantly hunting wildlife and digging up plants,” I replied.

“Give me the location, and I’ll head over after I finish cleaning up here.” The big armored suit shifted so she could look at me out of the front screen. “Didn’t you come here to collect supplies?”

“Yeah, well, it seems like no matter where I go there are more fires to put out,” I said, staring at the building. “Pun not intended.”

Sharron snorted in reply, “Sure, totally unintended.” As we watched one of the walls collapsed, spilling debris into the street. A couple of the tentacles on Sharron’s massive suit just casually swept the area and sprayed it with some sort of foam, preventing the fire from spreading further. “I’ve got this, so you can return to salvaging, if you want. I’ll head over to check out that second location when I’m done.”

I turned towards her suit. It was hard to get a read on Sharron when she was within the massive ten foot tall frame. “You sure?”

“Absolutely. I came to farm points, you came to farm supplies, we both get what we want. You’re not a member of the Family, but I am, and we’re expected to investigate and report suspected hive activity, so everyone wins.” I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear some smugness in her voice, “Now run along and play.”

I had the urge to kick her, but I was absolutely sure she wouldn’t notice. Besides I’d probably break my foot in the process. “Fine, I’ll have Nyx shoot you the location of the second squad. They’re all Class II so there should be no problem with the tracking signal.”

As I walked away from the raging inferno Spooky fell into step beside me.

Evelyn, your biosigns are showing that you’re suffering the effects of extreme stress right now.

“No shit,” I replied, with slightly more vitriol than I intended. “Every single time I try and get something done it feels like I just encounter two new issues I need to fix.” I sighed, “It feels like I haven’t had a break in weeks.”

You are aware that you don’t need to solve EVERY single problem you encounter, right?

“That’s true… but it's better to solve them now, than let them fester and become worse later.”

That might be true, but the world is full of problems and you can’t solve them all. You really need to let some of this stuff go, and relax, before you burn out.

I paused for a moment, then turned to look at the bear. “You’re probably right. I’m tired as balls of dealing with this shit. When we get home I’ll take a few days off… unless the cult shows up.”

Evelyn…

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Fine, unless the cult, or someone else, is knocking on my door, happy?”

I don’t feel happiness, but I calculate your mental stability and combat efficiency will improve exponentially once you relax.

“Wonderful, good pep talk.”

When I got back to the collection area, the Class I bears started breaking things down again, and I decided to buy a specialized collection truck. It turned out, without a proper storage container, atomized materials blew away at the slightest breeze.

The collection vehicle looked like one of those typical garbage trucks that dropped off random scrap and garbage in the undercity, but it was hover-capable, was sealed to prevent the dust from escaping, and had storage racks for six collection rigs.

Since my Class II squad was searching for hives, and the remains of the Class I was breaking shit down, that left my personal squad for security. I decided against sending them away from the collection group this time; It just seemed like a better idea to keep them close than ‘accidentally’ finding another problem.

Once everything was set up I hopped up onto my truck’s trailer and sat on the edge, watching everyone work. It was actually relaxing to watch the bears slowly vaporize buildings, and dump the collected debris in the truck. I’m not sure how long I sat there, just staring at the slowly dissolving streetscape, but it was long enough for Sharron to come back, bears in tow.

As her massive suit clomped right up to the side of my trailer, I could see her through the front viewport. “How’d your hunt go, find anything?” I asked.

“Just a small hive. Considering the size, it must have sprouted recently. Perhaps, a straggler from the stealth hive got lost and settled down.” She shrugged, “either way, it’s destroyed now. What are you doing up there?” Sharron asked, looking up at me.

“Sitting. Watching the bears,” I replied.

“Really? That’s it?”

“Nyx thinks I’m trying to do too much, and stressing out about it, so I’m taking a break,” I replied.

I could see Sharron smirk, “Well, it’s about time. You’ve turned into quite the little workaholic over the last few weeks. I never expected for you to come home, and immediately find a bunch of gangs to pick a fight with. Most people would have at least taken a few days off before starting the projects first.”

“A couple weeks ago I couldn’t afford to ever take time off. If one of us got sick, or injured, it meant we couldn’t afford food for everyone for a couple days.” I sighed, “Of course, at that time I only had to worry about junking cars, or buildings, not protecting an entire city.”

Sharron opened the front of her battle suit, got out, then jumped up to the top of the trailer to sit next to me. “You can’t protect everyone, all the time. Just do what you can,” she said, while giving me a pat on the head.

“You sound like Nyx.”

“Well, they have your best interests in mind. If only to keep you alive and fighting aliens.”

I laughed, in spite of myself. “Yeah, I can see that. Nyx isn’t exactly the cuddliest companion, but they’re keeping me alive.”

“So… you’re going to take it easy for a few days then?” Sharron asked.

“That’s the plan. I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I’m sure I’ll find something. Hopefully.”

“Not hopefully. Definitely. I’m going to make it my mission to teach you to relax. Maybe a BBQ, and then crappy movies? Board games? Videogames? I’ll figure something out.”

“What the hell is a board game?” I asked.

“You know, it’s like a videogame, but without the electronics.” I just stared at her for a minute, still not grasping the concept, so she just waved her hand in my direction. “Never mind, I’ll show you. I’m sure the kids’ll love it.” Sharron bounced in place, a wide smile on her face. “This is going to be so much fun!”

“If you say so,” I replied with a shrug.

Sharron just threw an arm around me, as the two of us stared at the street below. “There’s a lot more to life than just living, my friend. I’m going to introduce you to a whole new world.”

I elbowed her in the side, lightly. “Fine, let's see what you can do. Just please, don’t make me regret it.”

Sharron just looked back at me, a mischievous look on her face. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.”