We spent another three days clearing the lower city. After clearing out all the Antithesis at the aquafarms, and defending the breached wall, sweeping the streets and killing the remnants felt routine; almost simple. The only thing I spent my points on during that time was an upgrade to my truck, turning the extended cab to a sleeper. After so many days sleeping on the bench seat, I just wanted to be a little more comfortable during the nights, and to not wake up early with knots in my back.

During the day I set the truck to follow behind the established front line, signalled Epona or Silent Saber when there was trouble, and melted the worst of the remnants so they couldn’t be used again. Angelina’s squirrels did locate an infant hive during one of our patrols, but only an infant, half developed one. It didn’t even require direct Samurai intervention to eliminate, just the APC full of rabbits and a handful of flesh melter grenades. Dealing with it was almost anticlimactic.

We continued cleaning the lower city, until the third day, when my team got news that the city was planning to open all the shelters.

“Just like that? They’re confident that the city’s clear?” Alan asked. The entire team was taking a break, after their latest sweep.

“What? Are you honestly surprised? Even at a walking pace we cleared the lower city three times over. Our team might have been a little more efficient than the others, with the combination of Evelyn’s bears and my squirrels, but with the number of Samurai on the streets it was only a matter of time before the city was cleared out.” Angeline replied, while nibbling on an extra large bag of chips.

“Still… I can’t believe we cleared out a whole city that fast.”

I shrugged. “We had to, the whole reason that the Family brought so many Samurai together in the first place was the extreme time constraints. The law is that a shelter should be able to support the residents for seven days, but I’m sure many companies cut corners. The army is rushing to check all the shelters in the city, to check how many were forced to open early.”

“You honestly think there are companies that would skimp so hard on supplies that residents would have to pop the doors of their shelters within four days?” Caitlin had been brushing her horse, half listening to the conversation, but she turned when she heard what I said about the shelters.

“Honestly, in the grand scheme of things, skimping on supplies is a relatively minor issue.”

“That’s a pretty pessimistic way of looking at things.”

“I like to think I’m more of a realist. I’ve had some bad experiences with corp run shelters in the past.”

Caitlin looked like she wanted to follow up, but didn’t, so Angeline took control of the conversation. “Well I, for one, am glad things are winding down. I like earning points, but I was really starting to feel worn down after fighting the Antithesis for several days straight.” She stretched out, then collapsed onto the bench she’d been sitting on, laying there like a lazy cat. “When are we supposed to head back?”

“Hel wants to debrief our team when we head back to camp; she’s expecting us in two hours or so.” Alan replied. It had taken a full day for the man to stop being so jumpy around everyone, and participate with the group. The last day he’d really calmed down and managed to act, well, normal.

“Guess I should start checking if all my stuff is squared away then.” I replied, “Since all bears fit in the IFVs now, Angeline can put her squirrels in the back of my truck.” I paused for a moment, looking at the mass of squirrels hanging on the side of my truck, and frowned, “Not sure why you needed to buy so many of them though.”

“Friends are fun!” Angeline laughed while rolling side to side on her bench, “They’re an efficient way to scout, and since I perpetually have my goggles up for scouting and my combat potential is fairly low to begin with, I was thinking of picking up some bodyguards. I may bother you with that later.”

“Sure, but wait until we get back. I’m planning on overhauling my bears soon.” Seeing Angeline nod in response, I quickly took off to check on my troops. If there was one downside to having so much equipment, it was keeping track of everything.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

After packing everything up, we swiftly made our way back to camp. While the Samurai encampment was relatively empty, the military and civilian camps were hives of activity. Angeline, who was travelling with me in the truck, stared at it out one of the side windows. “They must be planning to let people back into the city already. That’ll be quite an undertaking… Hopefully they don’t ask us for help.”

“I doubt they will. We’ve been here for close to a week cleaning up Antithesis, and they really don’t need heavily armed Samurai to ferry people.” I replied, “but then again, you never know. Someone with a big head may ask for Samurai assistance, I for one, will turn them down. We’ve done enough.”

Angeline nodded, but continued watching the activity anyways.

Since the Samurai encampment was mostly empty I was able to park the semi fairly close to the central command tent. There wasn’t enough room for the IFVs, but we didn’t need those right now, so I sent them to land on the outskirts. As soon as the truck landed Alan and Caitlin came over to meet us.

“It’s a lot quieter here than I expected.” Caitlin remarked as the group made its way towards command. “They must really be winding down operations here.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. With so many Samurai in the city we managed to do a real number on the Antithesis. I doubt there’s much left to kill in there.” I pushed open the flap to the central tent and attempted to let everyone inside. Most of them needed to move the flap a little more to get past, but I pretended not to notice. The inside of the tent was dark, and the only one inside was Hel, sitting at the back with her feet up on desk.

“Welcome back kids, have a good time?” Hel asked, with a smile. As we approached I could see she had a glass of alcohol, and the bottle was on the desk. “You all did well out there, we probably wouldn’t have cleared the city so quickly without you.” She took a quick sip of her drink, then offered the bottle to the group. “Drink?”

Angeline frowned, “Should you really be drinking right now?”

“Don’t worry about it. The city is pretty much secure now, so the Family has decided to wind down the major operations here. We have control of the streets, the vast majority of Antithesis have been eliminated, and all the wall breaches have been identified and plugged. The family is going to station a dozen or so extra Samurai here to keep an eye on things for now, but things are stable. You’re welcome to stick around and earn some extra points if you want, but my recommendation is that after working for so long you all need a break.” She took another drink, “So go home.”

“That’s it?” I asked, more than a little surprised.

“What did you expect, a medal? The army is too busy dealing with the civilians, and the civilians are too busy worrying about themselves. Samurai are respected, but at the end of the day our rewards are the points and tokens earned during the job. That, and the respect of your peers.” Hel took one more swig of her drink, then locked her eyes on me, “By the way, Magpie and the twins wanted to see you off; they’re just busy organising the Samurai still in the city. They sent their regards, and said they’ll message you when things calm down.”

I nodded, but was uncertain on what to say. The entire group was quiet for a minute, so Hel just shooed us out of the tent “Go home. Your job’s done.”

“That was anticlimactic.” Alan said, dejected.

“Maybe, but I’m glad to be done here,”I replied. “My family just moved into a new place right before I left Calgary. I was glad I could help the people here, but I kinda just want to go home.”

Caitlin looked over at me in surprise. “I didn’t expect you to be a family person.”

“I just don’t like to talk about it so much, it’s safer to keep these things to yourself where I’m from.”

“I’d just like to sleep in my own bed again. Exterminating Antithesis is fulfilling, but I really want a break.” Angeline said, trying to relieve the awkwardness a little. “Will you two head home together?” She asked Caitlin and Alan.

“Yup, I left my truck over there, it’s the one with a horse trailer. Shouldn’t take us more than a few hours to get back to Sacramento.” Alan smiled a little. “I’ve never been one for long good-byes, but I’d like to say it’s been nice working with you. Keep in touch.”

“You too!” Angeline surged forward, and grabbed Caitlin and Alan in a hug. It looked pretty awkward. “I’ll have Dyana send you our contact information.”

Neither Caitlin or I were conversationalists, so we just waved good-bye as the team split in two. Angeline and I went one way, Caitlin and Alan the other. Angeline threw her arm over my shoulder as we walked back to my truck. “That was some adventure huh? If it wasn’t for the Antithesis invasion here we may never have met, but now we’re friends forever, forged in battle!”

I glanced over at her, a little suspicious. “That’s true… what do you want?”

That’s when Angeline spun around, a smile on her face. “Can I bum a ride? I need help carrying all my squirrels.”

I just laughed, “Yeah, I can do that. What are friends for?”