《Black Market Merchant》 Chapter 1: Arrival Chapter 1: Arrival The sun beat down on the sandy ground and its rays danced devilishly on the dry parched earth. Insects sang their squealing songs cheerfully in the heat. Grass and scrappy bushes grew in scattered clumps along the broken asphalt road that snaked through the parched wilderness. A tall woman carrying arge darkly polished plywood coffin, wearing it like a backpack, walked slowly along this southbound road. Her leather jacket and jeans were sun beaten, faded and worn, but they were still in good shape. Her shoes still had some sole to them, but they were getting thin. A tattered ck Yankee''s hat covered her face from the sun and her jet-ck hair was tied in a ponytail that dropped down to her shoulders. As she walked, a road sign, half bent over, seemed toe strolling past her. The old white letters of the towns ahead had long faded, but someone sprayed on it the name of a gang that probably controlled the area, amon sight. The symbol was a dog snarling, below was the name of the town: The Damn. The woman scanned over the hazy horizon with tired, bored gray eyes. A far offrge smudge of green lined the horizon to the left of the road, calling to her. She sighed and continued trudging along the road. The sun had started to fall from its zenith and the green smudge slow grew closer and turned intorge pine trees, evergreens and oaks. The road disappeared into its woond shade, beckoning relief from the searing sun. Roots had dug up most of the road leaving it bumpy and wrinkled, like an old man''s face. The change in scenery was refreshing from the open sand strewn rockynd, but the change was misleading. On both sides of the road''s woond entrance, five rough looking men sat around a small fire. A g was nailed to a nearby tree and on it was the symbol of the dog snarling. The very same symbol that was on the sign from earlier. The men noticed her approaching and got up to surround the woman. The woman kept trudging slowly on, giving off an air that she could care less if the men were there. "Hold it right there." One of the men said menacingly. "Where do you think you''re headed?" "I''m just passing through to the next town." The woman replied while shuffling to a stop. "What''s in the box?" One of the men said circling behind her. He was holding an old metal pipe that had its handle rapped in tattered cloth. "Not much." The woman said ncing with azy look from man to man. They had her surrounded now. "Oh ya? Let us see." Another man said patting a dented metal bat menacingly. "Sure thing." The woman said slipping off the wooden coffin backpack. She set it down gently and let out a slight grown of relief from her burden. "The thing is, I only open this box to customers. Are you buying?" The men snickered hearing this. "No, we''re not customers, but we are taking donations. If you''ll just leave the box there, we''ll let you leave." The biggest of the men said stepping forward. The woman inhaled quickly, like a salesman would do when he disliked an offer. "Sorry, but I can''t do that. I sell things. I don''t just give them away." "That''s too bad." The big guy replied edging slowly closer. "I was hoping to not clean off my hands today, but it looks like I''ll have too." "I think you''ll be washing off more than your hands." The woman droned nkly. She reached into her jacket pockets and pulled out two leather fingerless gloves with metal covering over the knuckles of her fists. "Seriously? You think you can take us all? HA!" The big guyughed. "Get her." The gang then simultaneously attacked the woman on all sides. The big guy went to punch the woman in the face, but she quickly drifted out of the way. The big guy faltered for a second, but the woman countered. Grabbing the big guy''s wrist and forearm and she then flipped him, almost too easily, over her shoulder and into the maning at her from behind. Both men hit the ground hard. A third man swung his pipe at her head, but she ducked. Then she countered by grabbing the back of the man''s arm, stopping him from swinging again. She then punched him twice, hard in the ribs, knocking him to the ground gasping. Another guy came at her with his bat and the remaining man followed next to him armed with a knife. The woman dropped to the ground and spun on her hands, kicking out the legs of both men, like some old Kung Fu movie. Then before they could even react, she was back on her feet and pounced at the knife carrying man and slugged him hard in the jaw. The metal on her glove made a pinging sound as it bounced off the attacker''s face, knocking a tooth out. The other man scrambled half up to his knees and tackled the woman. They rolled around on the ground, each trying to get on top of the other. The big guy and the pipe wielding man were up now and getting ready to jump on the two grappling on the ground. When suddenly their own guy was abruptly kicked off by the woman and sent rolling down into a deep ditch that ran along the road. He was kicked with such power, that there was no way she could be a normal woman! The coffin woman quickly got up with her fists ready. The big guy warily closed in as the pipe man also circled around her cautiously. Yet she didn''t wait for them to get any closer. She charged at the big guy and jumped, kicking him in the chest, whileunching herself into the air in the process. Then, like some Olympic gymnast, she flipped around in the air to punch the pipe guying from behind square in the face. Landing lightly, she turned back to the big guy who had recovered from her kick and dodged a swinging from him. Effortlessly she countered, punching him again in the ribs. Jumping calmly back she avoided another clumsy smashing swing from him. The guy she had kicked into the ditch had now climbed out and joined up quickly with the others. The other two were still on the ground, one knocked out, the other was still holding his stomach, but he was struggling to get up. "N-not bad." The big guy said breathing heavily. "But how long can you keep it up?" The woman smiled faintly. She was hardly breathing, and she still had thatzy look in her eyes. "You don''t get it, do you?" She asked, and the big guy looked confused. "It was five to one, but now it''s barely four to one. You''re out matched." "Ha, keep talking tough." The big guy snarled charging the woman, who also charged back. The big guy swung wide at her head, but the woman ducked sliding on her knees, like she was limbo-ing. Then without skipping a beat, she hit him hard in the kidney with her elbow and then kept going at the other two men following behind. She dodged a swing from the pipe man andnded her own punch on his bleeding face. Turning she saw the second man was already in mid-swing at her face! There wasn''t any time for her to dodge, or so the man thought. To him it looked like his hand passed right through the coffin woman''s head! But she had just dodged so inhumanly fast that the human eye failed to notice. The woman skipped lightly backwards to get out of range from the three men. She then put her hands on her hips, while exaggerating the motion. "Really guys? That''s as fast as you can swing?" The woman shook her head. "Want to give up?" The guy on the ground got up rubbing his stomach, finally joining the others. Seeing that they still had numbers on their side, the big man wasn''t finished with this fight. Though it was clear he was suffering from her strikes. "You''re so dead!" The big guy yelled at her. "Sure, whatever. If that''s all you got, I''m leaving." The woman scoffed turning around to pick up her coffin. "Get her already!" The big guy shouted sounding very annoyed and all four of them charged. The woman, still facing away, smiled and thought to herself, "They never know when they''re beat." Quickly unzipping her leather jacket, she pulled out arge folded ckened katana like de. Thepact de could unfold itself and lock into ce at any length she wanted, reaching up to three meters! In a blur she spun around to swing up the ckened sword just as they closed in. The first swing took off a hand, the second stabbed another in the gut. The other two men stopped approaching in shock as the first two fell to the ground screaming, clutching at their fatal wounds. "W-what happened? Where did that sworde from!?" The big guy shouted stepping back, as did the other two uninjured men. "It doesn''t matter where it came from." The woman replied flicking off the blood on her de. "I told you, you''re out matched." She took a step forward and grabbed the man, whose hand was cut off, by the hair and slit his throat. All the while staring coolly at the other remaining men. "L-look miss. We''re sorry! We''ll leave you alone!" The big guy stammered looking in horror at the two dead guys on the ground. "Nope, toote." The woman said taking a threatening step towards them. "W-wait!" The big guy screamed. .. . Some time had passed when his eyes opened. The sun was already setting, and the forest was darkening slowly. He started to sit-up, but there was a jarring pain in his face. Then he remembered, there was that woman who they all were fighting! He sat all the way up, rubbing at his jaw tenderly, while looking around. "Crap, lost a tooth." He said aloud feeling the hole in his mouth. "Oh, looks like you''re finally awake." Someone called from above him. He looked up and saw a ck shadow jump out from one of the trees. It was the coffin woman from before! "Hey, who are you and where are the others?" He said jumping up, fists ready. "I am just a merchant looking to trade stuff. As for the others, well they are not around anymore." The merchant woman said motioning behind her with a thumb. The man looked past her and saw, in the red light of the sunset, four motionless bodies lying in ckened pools. "What! What happened? Are they dead? Did you kill them?" The man fearfully shouted while taking a couple steps back. "We fought, they died, and I did. There, I answered your questions. Now you''re going to answer some of mine." The woman said lookingzily at the man with her bright gray eyes, seemingly glowing unnaturally in the sunset light. "No way. Get away from me!" The man screamed as he turned to run, but suddenly there was a jolt of pain that shot through his leg. He fell to the ground gripping at his leg. Struggling he looked at the back of his leg to see her de sticking into it. "Running from me is pointless. Now tell me, who are you? What is the name of the gang you''re in? And are they in charge of the town?" The woman said putting her hand on the de''s hilt jiggling it a bit. The man grimaced in pain, "I''m Turner! I''m just on road patrol this week for our gang, the Mad Dogs, and we''re the only real gang in The Damn. P-please don''t kill me." "Hmm, well I really don''t feel like letting anyone go knowing that I killed your buddy''s back there. You see, it''s bad for business." The woman stood up pulling the ckened de from Turner''s leg, who gasped in pain. "Sorry. It''s nothing personal." "W-wait, please! I won''t say any." Turner started to say, but the woman''s de was already burrowing into his chest. "Uh, well that was messy." The woman mumbled whipping her de on the dried grass. The sun had now fallen below the horizon and night was closing in. The cool air was settling into the forest now and she felt chilled. Sheughed to herself, "I get chills from the cold, but nothing from killing? What a sad creature I have be." After her de was cleaned, she returned it to its ce in her jacket and picked up her coffin, slinging its straps onto her back. Continuing her journey, she traveled until only the moon light, which struggled through the trees, could barely light her way. Finding somerge bushes off the road, she crawled under them. After tossing aside some branches and a rock or two, she settled into the thick dead leaves. Looking up through the foliage, one star twinkled at her and soon she drifted off to sleep. Chapter 2: The Damn Chapter 2: The Damn The night passed on without disturbing the woman sleeping in the leaves. As the sun arose, distilling the night, it revealed that a thick fog had descended into the forest. The damp cool air soon woke up the woman. She sat up brushing leaves out of her long ck hair and off her clothes. Looking around at the gloomy morning fog, it reminded her of when she first awoke in this decade. It gave her shivers. At the time when she was released from the cryogenic sleep in the military base, thousands of miles from here, her vision was clouded. She recalled the confusion and fear that enveloped her at the start of her recovery. Her once muscr fit body had weakened, and most of her cybeic body parts needed a major overhaul. After weeks of isted rehabilitation in the military base, did she recover and receive new cyborg armor updates. Only then was she informed by the military that the world had changed far beyond what it once was. She had voluntarily gone to sleep for the US military in 2076 after the end of World War Three and peace had returned. At that time, she was in the most advanced Cyborg Navy Seal Unit of the United States of America. As one of the most advanced military personnel, she wasn''t needed for battle at the end of the wars conclusion. Also prompting her decision to go into cryo-sleep, was that she couldn''t join back into the civilian lifestyle with her military secret cyborg modifications. Upon her awaking she was so shocked to learn that the years had flown by in her sleep, and it was now 2278! Four years before her awakening, the leadership of the USA had finally fallen from a Democratic Republic and into a radical Fascist State, the American Fascist Regime or AFR. The country was thrown into turmoil and after two destructive years of the new regime and on the anniversary of the nation''s first American Revolution, a second revolution was dered in 2276. Her cryogenic program had been overlooked by the past government leaders, this was due to the rise of many robotic programming and mass production breakthroughs. These breakthroughs slowly removed a bulk of military and police force personnel from direct conflict. The robotic forces created in this decade, in the Americas, were from three distinctly differentpanies. Astra Aeronautical Industry, or AAI, oversaw the bulk of aerial based robots, aircraft and spacecraft. Titanium Technology Corporation, or TTC, dealt with mainly robotic functionality, data processing in real time and robotic adaptation to the environment. Lastly, was the main producer of the individual robotic units and Artificial Intelligence programming, Silicon Valley AI Robotic Products, or SVAIRP. The only reason that she and a three dozen others from units like hers were woken up, was that the base they were being stored at hade under attack. The entire base had to be cleared of all its secrets. They were moved, still in the cryogenic capsules, too another base under themand of this new Fascist regime and then were ultimately revived by them. It was done to determine if they could continue the Cyborg Studies Program put on hold all those years ago. Long story short, after being revived the soldiers of old couldn''t tolerate being under the new foreign regime and staged a rebellion of their own. Waves of enemy robots sieged them after they liberated the base from within. Only a few managed to escape and either joined revolution fighters or escaped into the nuclear wastends, like she herself did. She wanted her days of war to end, after all, this was a second chance at a new life. In her past life she had attended two marketing university''s and was nearlypleted with her degrees when the Third World War draft pulled her into battle. But now she was "free" from military service and able to return to her financial endeavors. She wanted to pursue her dream of trading withpanies'' all over the world to earn vast riches, despite herbative skills. She was wanted by the Fascist Regime and didn''t want to be bogged down with rebellion factions, getting rich was her only goal. Thus, this is how she had nearly traveled across the entire North American continent, building connections and learning what was valuable to trade in these violent days. All of this led up to where she is now. Sleeping in a pile of leaves in the middle of nowhere. Everything she had strived for till now had failed. ... The woman got up off the ground and arced her back cracking it to relieve her stiffness from sleeping on the ground. She then loaded up her wooden coffin back onto her back and stepped onto the path to the town: The Damn. "Such a vulgar name." She thought. "It had to be some morons who came up with that name." She continued to walkzily down the cracked asphalt road, with seemingly no goal in mind. All her efforts to set up a tradework in Salt Lake City area had gone horribly wrong months before. It all started when simultaneously the Regime discovered her, and a rebellion group seized all her assets. She had acquired a sizeable number of medical supplies and unknowingly to her the supply was already being tracked by both attackers. She was just in the wrong ce at the wrong time, dealing in an area she was not yet established in or supported by a backer. The copse of her efforts happened so fast that it forced her to relocate. She saw a pebble on her path and kicked it forward, over and over, as she walked and thought. She had already decided toy low for a while in these forgotten andwless zones between the major cities and rx. Perhaps this time she could, but after fighting those men yesterday it didn''t seem like this town was going to be the ce. The fog was thinner now and the sun now much higher. The forest had also abruptly ended, and she found herself now walking along some dried-up farnd. In the distance, peeking out from the fog, she could see the town. It was just like any other apocalyptic town. Buildings were burned, copsed and rusting. Streets filled with useless cars, both gas and electric powered, were pushed to the side of the road rusting away. Trash was everywhere and animals were too, even in the town streets or buildings. She continued on the cracked road towards this ordinary looking rundown town. Only one unique feature provided this wastnd town some unique appearance, it was therge Colorado River that had been blocked off by an unpowered hydroelectric nt dam. Somehow the dam still appeared to be in good condition despite being out of use, at least from this distance. It had no cracks, warped or copsed areas on its walls. A single line of multi-wired power lines hung from giant rust red towers that led into the town. However, it was obvious that the town wasn''t using any electricity, thus a main reason for its clear continued decline. The town looked like it could''ve held nearly thirty thousand or more people back in the day. But now she assumed its poption was now half that or less. Still quite a decent number for a town in one of the Lawless Zones scattered all across the America''s. Even after the dismal nuclear wars of old. After a half hour she arrived at a roadblock that kept her from entering the town. Again, there were five more men guarding the entrance. Next to them were several objects and walls painted with the symbol of the snarling dog. "Ho, ho!" Hooted a skinny tattooed teenaged man. "Looking good baby! What are you doing out here?" "Here to trade stuff." The woman answered while patting the coffin on her back. "The other members of your gang let me through the forest yesterday. I got good stuff." "Hmm, odd." Another gangster said. He had a red hoodie on and appeared to be the one in charge. "Those guys usually would rob anyone. What you got?" He got up and started towards her, two other thugs with him did the same. "Toilet paper." The woman said unintimidated by their advance and simply kept staring at them with her steely gray eyes. "They were practically filling their pants with crap. One of them said he used poison oak by ident. Turner, I think his name was?" "Ha-ha! They''re such losers." The tattooed teenughed and the other three stopped moving towards her and rxed. They knew the name, so it seemed she wasn''t lying. "No wonder they let you through. Give me two rolls and you can enter. Just to make sure you ain''t lying to us. You feel me?" The hooded guy said gesturing with his hand for her to hand the toilet paper over. The woman sighed and slid off her coffin onto the ground with a heavy thump. There was a time to fight and to trade; now was not the time to fight. She opened the lid so that only she could see inside and picked out two roles from inside. She now only had five precious rolls remaining in her possession. "Here. Don''t use it all at once." She said tossing the rolls to him. The gangster caught them and gently rubbed them. "It''s been so long since I felt something this soft." "Hey bro, let me go ahead and use that real quick." The tattooed teen said reaching for a role. "Screw off." The hoodie gangster said shoving him back. "You can go in." He said nodding to her. She put back on the coffin and entered the ruined town. She immediately headed towards the center of town. The poption along the way started to thicken, and she soon entered what looked like a marketce. Shacks and tents were scattered along the dirty, pothole ridden roadside. Most vendors were selling odds and ends products, others sold raw foods and some processed foods from out of town. There were a few weapons stalls and electrical parts dealers, which was a good sign for whenever she might need to fix her parts. She saw several men and women dressed in nicer clothes,pared to everyone else, drinking beers outside a tavern. She needed a drink too. Badly! Her throat was dry from being on the road for so long. She entered the tavern and saw that it was mostly well kept, and the bar tender was a big fat man with a thick peppering in color beard. She raised her hand and held up one finger. The bar tender nodded understanding her intentions and filled a mug of dark beer. She was forced to sit at the bar as most of the booths were already upied with regrs. She kept her coffin on just in case there was a thief interested in picking around at it. She had only just finished her first mug when a sudden burst of drunkenughter erupted from outside. Sipping thirstily, she peeked from behind the rim of her second mug at the scene. A young girl with straight muddy red hair had apparently been pushed into a pothole puddle and the perpetrators were kicking at the puddle too ssh at her. She couldn''t be no more than thirteen or fourteen and she looked far too thin, could likely be homeless. She was crying and cowering in the puddle. The woman shrugged and was about to turn away, but the girl suddenly locked eyes with her. The girls dull green eyes were pleading violently too her for help! The woman sighed. Those pitiful looking eyes were just too hard to refuse. "Fine. I guess I''ll help." She mumbled pping several coins onto the counter and turned to get up. "Better leave it be, miss." The bartender said gruffly. "They are gang members. They can''t be reasonable." She waved her hand over her head as she headed towards the incident, signaling that she didn''t care. She was going to hunt some fools. A visible smile crept onto her face. Fighting off bullies was always the best! Chapter 3: The Girl Chapter 3: The Girl Hanna had fallen soundly asleep just after sunset in her home with her mother and father. When suddenly a bullet pierced through the front doors lock! The door was immediately busted down and a dozen or more gangsters flooded into their home. Her father tried to hold them back, while her mother grabbed her and was trying to push her out the window. But someone knocked out her father with a crowbar and two gangsters grabbed both her and her mother. Hanna saw her mother screaming and crying, when a cloth was forced over her mouth and then everything went dark. When Hanna woke up, she and her mother were tied up together on two chairs in a small windowless room lit by torchlight. There was a big mirror on one wall and a metal door on the opposite wall. Other than that, the room was totally empty. Hanna had no idea how long they were in there and her mother was still unconscious. Then the metal door suddenly burst open and a big, tall man with a ck T-shirt came in. Hanna couldn''t speak a word she was so afraid. He walked up to her mother and grabbed her chin and raised her head up to see if she was awake. Hanna noticed that her mother had a huge knot over her right eye and some dried blood had dripped down her cheek. Her heart ached seeing her mother in such a condition. The man grunted as if displeased and turned towards Hanna. She tried to wiggle free, but it was useless. He didn''t untie her from the chair, but instead picked her and the chair with one massive hand! He then carried her out of the room and into a dark hallway. Hanna let out a whimper and asked, "W-where are you taking me? Is my mom ok? Why are you doing this?!" The man didn''t even acknowledge her and simply continued down the hallway. There at another doorway stood two men with metal bats in their hands. One of them had a pistol on his hip. They opened the door and the big man carried Hanna inside. To her surprise her father was with four other gangsters all standing around him. The room was lined with oldputer desks and yellow moldy paper was scattered everywhere. Apletely bald man wearing a yellow tank top and ck and white striped pants was holding a ck pistol to the back of her father''s head and yelling. "I will tell you onest time, fix theputer now!" His voice had a Hispanic ent. Which was unusual to hear in this town. "I can''t." Hanna''s father said his voice faltering. "The hand charger isn''t enough to keep it running." "I don''t care, just do it so we can see what it says about this stupid dam''s blueprints!" The yellow tank top gangster yelled. The big guy put Hanna down and the chair squeaked on the floor. The gangsters and her father turned to look at them. Her father''s face went pale seeing Hanna all tied up. "Ah, there she is." The yellow tank top gangster said opening his arms and sauntered toward her. "Your daddy is being stubborn, and we need you to convince him to help us." He was now standing next to Hanna. He casually lifted the gun to her head and grinned. Hanna''s father stammered in shock and fear. "Ok, ok, ok! I''ll try to get it running. Just don''t hurt my daughter!" He hurriedly turned back to theputer and started to turn the crank to the hand charger furiously. The whir of the generator sounded like a hive of bees buzzing in the room. Theputer screen suddenly glowed blue and beeped signaling that it was powering up. Her father paused for a second and unplugged the hand generator and fumbled at a power cord connected to a car battery on the floor. He then plugged it into theputer before it could power off. Then a log in screen appeared. "Ah, good work. I told you it would work." The yellow tank top gangster said still holding the pistol to Hanna''s head. "Now log on so we can get the blueprints." Her father was sweating nervously and typed fervently at theputer keys. He pressed enter and a failed log in error appeared. He tried it again, same result. "Come on hurry it up!" The yellow tank top gangster said. He suddenly flicked the pistol above Hanna''s head a pulled the trigger. "Pow!" Hanna screamed and a hole in the ceiling appeared. Dust flittered down and scattered among the trash strewn floor. "Please wait!" Her father pleaded jumping at the sound of the gun. "It''s been years since Ist logged on." He typed at theputer and this time he got it right. The screen glowed white and several icons appeared on the screen. In blue letters in the screens background was written Maple Valley Police Department. Apparently, this building was the police station and too Hanna''s surprise, her father must have been a police officer. He had never told her this before, but this was the least of her worries. The yellow tank top gangster turned to the man in the ck T-shirt, "Get the woman." The man nodded and left the room. Hanna''s father was clicking through a series of files. His eyes frantically scanned the screen for the right one to click on. In a few moments, the tall man returned with Hanna''s mother. She was awake now, but the man had gagged her. He put her on the other side of the yellow tank top gangster, who then switched the gun from Hanna''s head to his other hand and pointed it at her mother''s head. "Hurry up, Mr. Policeman." The yellow tank top gangster said tapping the gun on her mother''s head. Her mother''s muffled cry caused her father to speed up at fast as he could. Then atst he turned to the yellow tank top gangster and said with his hands sped together, "I found it, now please let my family go! I did everything you wanted!" "Yep boss. This is it, right on." One of the gangsters said, he was a skinny man with a mullet haircut and orange tinted sunsses. The yellow tank top gangster smiled, "Thank you very much, Mr. Policeman." He pointed the gun back at Hanna''s mother''s head again, and then POW! Her mother''s head spewed blood and nasty chunks all across the floor! Before her father could yell, the yellow tank top gangster pointed his gun at him and emptied the rest of the clip into Hanna''s father''s chest. He copsed to the floor. Dead on the spot. Hanna screamed in horror. The ck t-shirt man pped her head hard, knocking both her and the chair to the ground. She was stunned into silence. She could see her father lying motionless facing away from her. The ck t-shirt man was about to stomp on her head to finish the job when the yellow tank top gangster shouted. "Hold on! I have something more entertaining to do with her. Drag her outside." He then gave a light chuckle. The ck t-shirt man nodded putting his foot down. He then reached down and grabbed the little girls chair and followed the rest of the gangsters outside. It was now sunset, meaning Hanna was in there all night and day, but she couldn''t notice. The shock of seeing her parents murdered before her was too much. Three big dogs were tied up to a fence post and seeing the group approaching they started to bark furiously. Their ribs were clearly visible, and the gangstersughed knowing what their leader intended. "Now let''s be fair and give the girl a chance to run for it." The yellow tank top gangster said untying Hanna. He grabbed her by the back of her muddy red colored hair and patted her cheek. "Now I''ll give you to the count of three to run and then my dogs need to eat, ok." Heughed and so did the others. He let Hanna go and she was so scared and in shock, she only could stubble forward towards a pile of rubble in the parking lot of the police station. She could hear the menughing and tears flowed unchecked down her face. She then heard the yellow tank top gangster yell "Ten" and the dogs were cut loose. Her mind raced desperately think of anything that might save her. She jumped into a small green water pipe just as the dogs snapped at her heels! She let out a scream that echoed horribly in the pipe. At that moment, a roon that was sleeping in the pipe awoke and instantly jumped out of the pipe in surprise. The three dogs immediately killed the roon and they devoured it spilling blood and fur everywhere. The men wereughing so hard they couldn''t see where Hanna had jumped too. But judging from her scream and the dog''s reactions, they assumed that the dogs were eating her. When the dogs came back to them, they had blood all over their snouts, convincing them that Hanna was dead. They soon went back inside the police station to do whatever they were nning. Hanna, however, was still in the pipe quietly crying. She didn''t move from the pipe for hours and night had long fallen. Soon she got up and wondered aimlessly out of the pipe and down the parking lot towards the road. Hanna had now been wandering the streets for hours. She was lost. She had never been in this part of town. The buildings were all either storage units or warehouses and shipping containers. All the while rusting trucks littered streets and parking lots. asionally the pale moonlight, poking through the clouds, reviled that the buildings had some permanent residents and their bones glowed white in the night. Hanna shivered and clutched her arms around her. She was trying to walk as quickly and quietly as she could, but her footsteps echoed softly off the metal buildings. She was all alone and on the run. But to where? By morning, in the fog, she had be even more confused and suddenly found that she had wandered into the market area of the town. Atst she was somewhere familiar! She then stepped out into the intersection when a foot came out of nowhere and tripped her. She fell head long into a deep puddle. Laughter burst out around her. She looked up from the muddy puddle and saw seven men and two womenughing at her. Someone then threw a bottle at her but missed and it sshed her again. Theughing continued and she started to cry again and looked around for anyone to help. That''s when she saw a woman, beautiful as a ck-haired fox, looking at her from a tavern bar. Their eyes locked and Hanna thought she could see hope in the woman''s cold gray eyes. The woman got up and smiled, but it didn''t seem to have a very friendly feeling and the hopefulness Hanna held quickly faded. The glint in the approaching woman''s eyes now looked like she was ready to kill, and she wasing right at her! Chapter 4: Gangs Chapter 4: Gangs The beautiful woman came over to where the gangsters wereughing drunkenly at the shivering girl in the puddle. She looked down at the muddy red-haired girl and despite that she was dripping with muddy water, her dark tan skin was very noticeable. The girls fear was also clearly visible to her. The terror on her face and trembling dull green eyes was something the woman had seen before. Countless times, in fact, all during and throughout the Third World War. It was the look of absolute loss, terror and disbelief. Things a child should never have to show. "What''s going on here?" The woman asked casually putting a hand on the shoulder of one of the closest men. He turned to her drunkenly, with a stupid smile on his face. "Matt saw this girl walking and tripped her. Ha-ha, she fell into the puddle like a rock thrown at the river." "Oh ya?" The woman said tightening her grip slightly. "Ya, ha-ha." The man said breathing hard into the woman''s face. His breath reeked of booze. "She fell in, like this?" The woman said pushing the drunk towards the big puddle and at the same moment she stepped on his foot, causing him to fall t head long into the water. Upon seeing this, some of the others around the puddleughed at the sight of their friend sshing about while trying to stand. However, he was so drunk that he kept slipping and floundering in the muddy water. Two of the gangsters watching, that weren''t quite so stered from the booze, got mad. They approached the woman with a menacing look about them. "What do you think you are doing? Don''t you know who we are?" The first to speak was a short guy in a red shirt. "We''re the Mad Dogs." The other said patting his chest angrily. He had a blue and ck striped shirt on and a teardrop tattoo under one eye. "If you know what''s good for you, then you better think of a way to apologize to us. You feel me?" The woman rolled her eyes, "Apologize? To two roaches like you, never." "Hey boys, this freaky tall girl thinks she''s something. We will show you that we ain''t no punks." The blue and ck striped shirted man said. He reached out to grab the woman, but instead she suddenly grabbed his arm and twisted it until his elbow popped! He yelped in pain and clutched at his elbow. Then without wasting a second, she kicked him back into the red shirt guy standing closely behind him. They both copsed into a tangled heap. Everyone started yelling and proceeded to try to attack the aggressive woman. That is when everything erupted into chaos. Hanna struggled and slipped around in the puddle trying to distance herself from the fight now breaking out, but eventually managed to make it out. She quickly crawled behind a nearby, overflowing trash can. From its limited safety she watched as the street fight quickly unfolded before her. A beer bottle whizzed past the woman''s head and its thrower tried punching at her, but she simply stepped back and pushed his arm away. Another taller man pulled out a switch de and tried swinging it at her center multiple times. She continued stepping back calmly, avoiding every strike. Then grabbing his wrist, she gave a sharp yank sending the de ttering onto the ground. Then she kneed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. The two women that were also at the puddle had run off shouting into the tavern and three men came lumbering out. Two of them were holding metal bats with barbed wire rapped around them and the other had a fireman''s axe. The woman didn''t appear afraid of any of this. She merely tossed aside the man in her grip and her rolled twice before struggling to stand up. The guy that chucked the beer bottle at her before tried to tackle her around the waistline. However, when he did make contact with her, she didn''t even budge a step. She merely looked down at him and smiled with a pitying look. She then grabbed him firmly by his belt and the back of his neck and swung him with ease at the three mening out from the tavern. He flew nearly six meters! The men from the tavern jumped back in surprise, avoiding their buddy''s flying body. The man''s head hit the bottom stair of the tavern entrance and he appeared to have cked out. The gangsters changed their approach and now they started to circle her in the street carefully. From behind the woman, the rest of the gangsters that were by the puddle, quickly encircled her. She now had three armed men in front, five drunken men behind her and two that were incapacitated on the ground. Dozens of spectators from the market and side streets had now started to watch the fight curiously, but they kept their distance. It was not everyday that someone would challenge the Mad Dogs openly in broad daylight. "Awee on, ten versus one?" The woman said slipping her coffin off her back and dropped it onto the ground with a resounding thud. Some spectators murmured when they heard how heavy it sounded. "Come on then." The woman said mockingly and motioning with her hand. "Let''s see what the big bad gangsters can do." The men were now furious, and the armed men charged at her first. The first guy on her left swung his bat at her head, but she dodged it by stepping calmly backwards. The other man on her right chopped down at her with his axe as she did step back. Yet he missed, as the woman leaned back just in time and his axe sent sparks flying off the roads pavement. Then the third guy swung his bat at her as she stood up straight. Without even being fazed, the woman reached out and grabbed at the bat with her bare hand, narrowly missing the barbed wire. "You swing like an olddy. Can''t you do any better?" She said still mocking him. She then quickly tugged the bat from his grasp and used it to block another swinging from the other guy with his bat. "Pa-ting!" The shock from the impact stung his hands and he let go of his bat with one hand, shaking it to release the tingling pain. Just as he did, the woman clocked him in the side of his head with her stolen bat with blurring speed. He crumpled to the ground as a deep gash appeared on his temple. The bat had also left a deep impression in the mans head, like a marshmallow with a bite taken out. The man had to have been in from the blow. The axe carrying man roared and swung the axe at her again, but she neatly stepped back avoiding the swing with ease. She then kicked him in the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel at her feet. Tossing her stolen bat aside, she grabbed him by the neck and chin then twisted. "Crunch!" His spine crackled loudly, killing him on the spot. From behind her thest armed guy jumped onto her back, yelling at the other five drunken guys dumbly watching everything going on, to attack. Then they shook off their stupor and rushed at her. The woman wasn''t hindered by the guy on her back in the slightest, but rather just looked annoyed at his presence. So, she merely grabbed him under his arm pit and flipped him over her shoulder using a judo move, onto the street. Then without even skipping a beat, kicked him in the jaw with a heavy thud, knocking him out. The other five guys made a series of swings and jabs at her, one even threw hisst beer at her. However, they were all still quite drunk, and all their attacks were totally useless. She didn''t even need to dodge some of them. She simply stepped forward knocking out the first man with a punch to his temple, elbowing the next guy in the gut and slugged him in the jaw. Then she kicked the next guying at her so hard in the chest, that she sent him careening into the wall of a nearby building. His body flew so fast it left cracks in the walls bricks upon impact. Thest two guys stopped approaching the woman upon seeing all their buddies being beaten so easily and turned to run, but it was useless. The woman grabbed one guy by his hoodie and mmed his head onto the ground with a crunch. The other guy she easily ran down, tripped and then pinned to the ground with her foot. "Listen here, creep." The woman said grinding her shoe into his back, as she knelt closer to him. "Tell whoever you work for to stay clear of thedy with the coffin. You got it?" Her voice was like ice in the man''s ear. "Y-Yes!" The guy whimpered desperately to the woman. "Good. Now get!" She yelled getting off him. Being freed, thest remaining uninjured guy scurried up and jogged unsteadily off down the road. If not for the seriousness of the situation, seeing the drunk man trying to run would have beenical. She turned around and kicked a guy behind her that was getting up in the head and his head twisted nearly all the way around, killing him. Clearly, she eithercked empathy or was just very annoyed. She then walked back towards the first guy she had injured on the elbow. Seeing hering back at him, he screamed and fled into the crowd clutching at his twisted arm. The woman snorted in disgust and ignored him. A couple of people from the onlooking crowd cheered at the woman, upon seeing the fight was over and the gangsters defeated. While others talked amongst themselves, curious by the strength of the woman''s attacks. A few even looked afraid seeing that so many men had been beaten down or killed and hurriedly left the market. Many spectators were thinking that there was no way that this normal looking woman could have such inhuman strength? But she ignored all thismotion and simply walked back to her coffin and put it back on. Hanna''s mouth was open in surprise. "What just happened?" She thought. Then she saw the woman turn and had starteding right for her. Hanna couldn''t move, she was much too afraid and much to exhausted. The woman then crouched down towards Hanna and reached out a hand towards her. Unlike before, this motion was showing nothing but tenderness and care. She smiled kindly and said, "Hello there, little girl. Are you alright? My name is Lisa." Chapter 5: Returning Home Chapter 5: Returning Home Hanna looked at Lisa''s outstretched hand and suddenly tears blurred her vision. She couldn''t hold them back anymore. Finally, someone that might help her! "Awe, don''t cry." Lisa said getting down on her knees and hugged the crying wet girl. "What''s the matter? You are safe now." Hanna continued to sob in Lisa''s arms, unable to speak. The morning air was cold and after walking all night then falling into that nasty puddle, Hanna started to shiver. Seeing this, Lisa took off her heavy coffin once again, while also slipped off her leather jacket. Lisa then draped the jacket tenderly over Hanna''s shoulders. "Goodness, you are soaking wet. Let''s go get you something dry to put on and you''ll want some food too I bet." Lisa said standing up. Looking down at the little girl, Lisa noticed that Hanna wasn''t wearing any shoes. Little cuts and bruises were all over her tinny feet and toes. Lisa could feel a slight ping in her heart seeing the pitiful state that Hanna was in. "No shoes? Something bad must have happened then. Even orphans these days have some kind of shoes." Lisa said to herself. Then she said aloud, "Come along now. I''ll carry you." Hanna nodded and Lisa lifted her up with ease. Luckily, Hanna wasn''t very big, in fact she was rather small for her age. It also helped that Lisa was over two meters tall, so carrying such a small girl was by no means difficult. Then she slung one strap from the coffin over her other shoulder and was ready to leave. She turned towards the tavern to see if she could get some food to go, but saw the bartender closing the door and shaking his head at her. He looked a bit afraid and after seeing the whole fight, he was probably worried that the gangs would return to cause more problems. It probably wasn''t the best idea to stay near here anyway. Lisa sighed. "Let''s find somewhere else then." She turned towards the market area to leave the fight scene behind them. Following her nose, Lisa soon found a stall making small pancakes. She bought two for each of them. Hanna munched on one quietly and seemed to have calmed down a bit. At least her tears had stopped. Lisa spotted a vendor selling some dry children''s clothes and quickly picked out a purple shirt and jeans. Also, a pair of shoes that were just a bit too big, but nothing two pairs of socks couldn''t fix. Lisa carried Hanna to a nearby alley, where an electrically powered car had crashed long ago, blocking the view from the street. "Now, can you go change over here really quick? Don''t worry, I won''t let anyone see." Lisa said reassuringly. Hanna nodded timidly and, in a few moments, she was changed and finally mostly dry. Lisa took her old wet cloths and ced them in the crack of her coffins lid to air dry. "Now, tell me what''s your name?" Lisa asked as they walked together slowly down the street away from the crowded market. "H-Hanna Marshal." She replied quietly. "Well then Hanna, can you tell me where you live, so I can take you home? I''m sure your parents are looking for you." Lisa said looking down at Hanna with concern. She noticed that upon mentioning Hanna''s parents'' tears started to show in the little girls red rimed eyes again. "T-they are g-gone." Hanna managed to say. "Gone where? Did they abandon you?" Lisa said stopping and squatting down to look at Hanna face to face. "No." Hanna said wiping a hot tear away. "Yesterday, after I went to bed, some scary men broke into our house and took us away. I-I didn''t see where, because they put something over my mouth, and I fell asleep." Hanna exined, her lip quivered every time she took a breath. Lisa thought to herself, "Sounds like Chloroform, these guys aren''t regr assants." She then said gently, "Go on, you can tell me the rest." Hanna continued holding back her sadness some, "When I woke up, my mom and I were tied up in a room too some chairs. Then a big man came in and took me away into another room. My dad was there, and four guys were yelling at him. They were saying that they needed some blueprints or something about a dam. I''m not sure." Hanna paused for a second and then spoke much quieter. Clearly what she was going to say next was very traumatic. "My dad got theputer turned on, but he couldn''t find the thing they wanted. A scary guy with a yellow shirt put a g-gun to my head and told my dad to hurry. He then shot right by my ears; it was so loud! Then the big guy brought in my mom and the scary guy put the gun to her h-head." Hanna was crying heavily now and Lisa rubbed Hannas arms gently to try andfort her. The next part Hanna said made Lisa very mad. "Then my dad said he found it. They s-shot my m-mom, t-then my d-dad! There was s-so much blood!" Hanna''s voice faded from all the emotion and abruptly stopped. Lisa reached down and hugged her tenderly. Not only to show her concern, but to hide her angry expression from the suffering child. This was such a traumatic event that it was a wonder that Hanna was able to retell what happened so well. Those terrible people must pay! "I am so sorry Hanna. I don''t know what to say!" Though she spoke kindly Lisa''s face nearly betrayed her true feeling of rage. Luckily, she hid it before Hanna noticed. "Can you finish your story? How did you end up getting away and ending up here?" Lisa asked after a few moments of consoling Hanna. "I-I screamed when it happened," Hanna slowly stammered, "But someone hit me, and I felt sick. They tossed me outside and there were some dogs too. The scary guy with the gun told me to run, but I was so scared, I couldn''t even run. He started to count to ten and then the dogs attacked me. I jumped in a pipe and some fuzzy thing jumped out when I did. I think the dogs ate it. I don''t know how long I was in there, but when I came out it was dark. I didn''t know where I was and just wandered until those people tripped me into the water." Hanna paused and looked at Lisa with red teary eyes. "What should I do now?" Lisa wasn''t sure what to say at all. Dealing with small children was not within her expertise. Compared to fighting in the military and understanding marketing techniques, this was much more difficult for her to figure out. "Umm, well let''s see." Lisa stammered. "Let''s get you home first and then find someone to take care of you. Do you know anyone that is your family or that your parents trusted?" Hanna thought for a moment, "My neighbors were always over, and my parents liked them." She answered a bit unsure and wiped another tear away. "I d-don''t have any other family." "Ok then, well at least that''s a start. Now which way is home?" Lisa said standing up. Hanna nodded and held on to Lisa''s hand as she led her home. They walked through the town passing many winding streets. The area changed from the small downtown area, where the marketce was, to a more residential area. The houses here were either burned down or in nearplete ruins. It looked like some bombs had been dropped here years ago, which wasn''t all surprising considering the whole country was undergoing a revolution. They then turned down another wide road and the houses here were more intact. Lisa could see that several homes still had residence living in them. Many yards were littered with trash, rusting carsy wasted in driveways and burn piles left ck scars in the once quant yards. Doors and windows were barely hanging on by their hinges and paint pealed from every home''s siding. From some of these home''s windows, every now and then a person would stare out at the two walking down the street in silence. The already gloomy morning was even more gloomier seeing the deplorable state of which the residents lived. Lisa sighed to herself, "How could this great country that I remember so fondly, fall into such disarray? Wasn''t the future supposed to be full of light and hope?" Thest street they turned down was a short cal-de-sac. The house here seemed to be in slightly better shape. At least here the yards were cleaned up and doors were looking secure. "Which house is yours?" Lisa asked. Hanna stared with a look of surprise and pointed at a house on the center streets right; however, it appeared to have just been burned down! Smoke was still rising slowly, undisturbed from ack of wind and its beams still glowed dark red in the ashes. They walked slowly closer, unsure what to do next when a woman''s voice called out to them. "Hanna?! Hanna you''re alright!" A short round woman yelled jogging urgently towards them. She looked like she could have been in her forties. "We had no idea where you all went. Last night your home was on fire, but we couldn''t find you or your parents. What happened?" She grabbed Hanna by the shoulders looking her over to see if she was alright. "What''s going on?" A man called following the woman. He was a tall thin man with shaggy blond hair and beard. He saw Hanna and appeared to be relieved some but seeing the strange woman with a coffin on her back, his expression became serious. "Who are you?" He said to Lisa while furrowing his brow. "My name is Lisa Cunningham." She replied fully expecting his reaction. "I found Hanna wandering in the streets and brought her home. Hanna, are these the neighbors you mentioned?" Hanna nodded, "Yes, they are." "Pleasee inside, both of you. You look exhausted." The woman said to the twodies. "Honey, we don''t know this woman" The man said at first, but she cut him off. "Oh hush! She brought Hanna back. She can''t be a bad person." Thedy said ushering Hanna to their house next door. Over the next hour Lisa exined to the two neighbors what happened to Hanna in the living room. Hanna was sent straight to bed to rest up on the second floor, so the adults could talk. When Lisa finished the story the man anddy, whose names were John and Mary Weathers, were shocked. "How terrible!" Mary said getting off the couch she and her husband were sitting on. "I am going to check on Hanna right now." John appeared to be thinking for a moment before speaking to Lisa. "Blueprints of the dam? Computer? What would gangsters need with those?" "Not a clue." Lisa replied shrugging. "Wait. Hanna probably was taken to the north police station. Her father and I used to be police officers, back before this town was abandoned by the government." He said while thinking aloud. "We need to get over there right away to see what happened ourselves and what the gangsters were up to." He said looking at Lisa while standing up. "Me too?" Lisa said surprised. "Yes, you are too. I can see from the way you can carry that coffin and from those scratches on your knees that you might have robotic legs. You clearly have some good strength." John said quickly. He then leaned over and opened a case on the small table next to him. He pulled out a pistol and loaded a cartridge, then tucked it into the back part of his pants. Lisa looked down at her knees and sure enough the skin colored paint had been scratched up reviling their true metallic color. She sighed, "Well alright. I don''t like what they did to Hanna or her parents. So, I''ll help out." Then she smiled thoughtfully, "Plus, I want to see what is so important about these blueprints. I smell a potential money opportunity." Chapter 6: Investigations Chapter 6: Investigations Lisa and John left the house after telling Mary they would be outte. As they closed the door behind them, John started asking Lisa more about herself. As a former police detective, he could tell that there was much more to Lisa than just a pretty face. "So, I haven''t seen you in town before. Word of a woman carrying a coffin on her back is sure to spread." He said turning towards the house next door. "Yes, I just arrived here early this morning. Walked all the way from Salt Lake. Where are we going?" Lisa questioned. "Salt Lake" John mumbled a bit surprised, but ignored his thoughts and continued, "Most of the people living in this cul-de-sac are former cops or EMT personnel. We''re going to get my old patrol partners toe with us too." John knocked on the door with a quick rap. After a moment an older man, looking to be in his fifty''s, answer the door. He looked surprised seeing the woman behind John carrying her coffin. "John, what going on? Who''s this?" He asked nodding in her direction. "This is Lisa, she just brought back Hanna a little while ago. It seems that the Marshals are dead." John said lowering his voice. "Dead! How? Their bodies weren''t in the burned house, so what happened?" He replied covering a pepper-colored mustache with his hand. "I can exin on the way. We are going to where Hanna told Lisa that they might be. Can you get your gun ande with us?" John asked. "Of course." The older man nodded vigorously in reply and hisbed over brown hair fell in his face some. "We need to find out what happened. First the fire and now the Marshals are dead! This is a major problem. This area of town has always been so peaceful. I''ll be back." He then turned and went into his house, but quickly returned, pistol in hand. "Alright, let''s go. Oh, and pardon my manners, my name is Benjamin, but just call me Benny." Benny said reaching out the shake Lisa''s hand. "Nice to meet you sir." Lisa said shaking his hand firmly. "Quite a grip you got there, youngdy." Benny remarked. Lisa only smiled in reply. "Let''s go get Richard next, then we''ll head to the ce." John said to the two and they nodded in agreement. Richard was also an older man, but his age was between John and Benny. He was also a great deal taller than the both of them, just over two meters tall. When John knocked on the door to Richards house, he was alreadying out to greet them. He even had his gun in its holster on his hip, ready to go. "What''s up?" Richard asked. Benny replied first. "Miss Lisa here, just brought Hanna Marshal back from somewhere. It also turns out the Marshals might have been killed. We''re going to check it out." "I''lle for sure!" Richard said closing the door behind him. But before it closed ady''s voice cried out. "Not without me!" Reopening the door Richards wife came out to join the group. She had a worried look on her face, though it didn''t harm her looks. She looked young, despite being only a year younger than Richard. Brushing back her long brown ponytail she said, "You guys are going to get hurt out there, so I''ming." The group looked down in her hands was arge EMT medical kit. "Well no argument there, Joan. We just might need you." John said with a faint smile. "Well this should be enough for where we are headed. Alright, I''ll exin everything as we walk." After an hour or so of walking the sun had finally risen to its peak. The small group decided to stop for a quick rest in the shade of arge oak that grew in the center of town. They were silent after hearing what happened. Then Benny spoke up. "Why would they kidnap the Marshal family, burn the house, then kill them all, just for some blueprint? They are gangsters, what do they care for such things?" Benny said shaking his head. "I''m not sure either." John replied. "That''s why we''re going to the north police station." Lisa had an idea, "What if they are trying to get the power back on? If they did, it could make the gang more powerful. Is the Mad Dogs gang the only one in town?" "Hmm." John though for a moment. "There are three main gangs in town, but the Mad Dogs are already the most influential. As for your theorem, who can say." The other members of the group shrugged, unsure themselves. "Let''s just go and find out." Richard said while walking up ahead. The rest quickly followed his lead. They followed a winding road going north along the Colorado River, which also headed in the direction of the station. The sun sparkled off the river''s muddy brown waters and a breeze was starting to pick up, giving a bit of a chill in the air. Lisa noticed that there were severalrge sail boats and barges traveling on the river. Some were docked on the old rusting piers and she could see several people unloading cargo and supplies from them. By arge barge a hand cranking crane was liftingrge metal containers off of it. Even without a power source the crane was a huge help in the process. "So that''s how this town is staying alive." Lisa thought while making a mental note. This town was far away from any major city''s that had power sources. They also didn''t appear to be in contact with the American Fascist State or revolutionary fighters. As far as she could tell The Damn was in a neutral zone. Lisa decided to keep this in mind. She might be able to buy something to restart her trading business ideas. The issue was exactly what to buy and sell? They soon arrived at the fenced in parking lot of the police station. The tall metal chain linked fence that surrounded the stations perimeter had lots of trash that had been piled up against it from over the years. This provided the group some cover so they could investigate the station from a distance, just in case the gangsters were still around. "Now remember," John said in a hushed voice, "Hanna mentioned three people''s description that we need to keep an eye out for. The guy with a yellow shirt, a big guy with a ck shirt and another with orange sunsses. I know these aren''t very good clues, but it''s better than nothing. If you see anyone or those three, we need to capture and interrogate them." The former cops and EMT nodded. Then as if nned, Richard and Joan split from the group and walked calmly past the station parking lot entrance to get to the other side. Meanwhile, Benny stayed with Lisa and John. They braced themselves just in case something happened or someone was spotted by the couple. Yet nothing happened. "Seems like you''re the boss here." Lisa whispered. "He''s only a rank higher than us." Benny snorted, "He just likes telling us what to do." "Ah, quitining." John said looking at the station through a gap in the fences trash heap. The station seemed to be empty. There were no one outside, nor was there any signs of people walking by the windows inside. The two had by now finished crossing the entrance and appeared to have seen nothing worth mentioning. John waved to Richard and he nodded back and all three of the former officers pulled out their guns. They approached the building carefully, but nothing continued to happen. Once they got to the main entrance, they found that it was unlocked. After entering they found that it was rtively disorganized, but nothing out of the ordinary. They split up and investigated the area. No one was here. Then from the back of the building Benny called out loudly, "Come quick! I found the Marshals." The rest of the group gathered outside of the data center doorway where Benny was standing looking in. There on the floor in drying blood were the two victims. Across town, in an abandoned lot, a crowd of around eighty people had gathered. They were all noisily talking amongst themselves when a young blond man climbed up on an old truck bed and called out to them. "Thank you everyone for showing up. We need to discuss what we are going to do about the gang problem our little town has." The young man voice was easily heard by all and they quoted some to hear him. The crowd murmured only a bit, but no one interrupted, and the young man continued. "My name is Nathan Dees and I propose that we get rid of the ck Rats gang from our neighborhood. They have been extorting us, attacking everyone needlessly and treating us like garbage! They aren''t from around here, they just showed up and acted like they own the ce. Well, they are wrong! This is our home, and we need to show them that they are not wee anymore!" He paused for a moment and the crowd started talking excitedly. Several people even called out their agreement. The ck Rats had been a sore in themunity for too long. "Let''s go right now and get rid of these losers!" Someone yelled. Then another person called out, "They stole everything in my shopst week, they can''t get away with this." The crowd was now getting stirred up into a mob now. Most of the people were calling out simr strife and insults towards the ck Rats. "Well then, if you want to rid ourselves from their oppression, I know where their leaders are right now! In the Marriott Hotel by the river!" Nathan said waving with his hand for the crowd to follow. "Let''s go!" The crowd cheered excitedly and started to follow Nathan towards the river hotel. As they were yelling and walking rapidly down the street, more people had hearing them. People came came out from homes and businesses to see what all themotion was about. Some, hearing what the cause was about, joined in with the mob and soon their numbers swelled rapidly. The riot had started! Chapter 7: Culprits Chapter 7: Culprits "How awful!" Joan said covering her mouth and tears started to show in her soft brown eyes. Benny and Richard examined the bloodied bodies and found it was just as Hanna had described. Both were clearly killed by guns. They looked around the room, but there was nothing around that would seem like it would have been of any interest to the gangsters. The only proof that showed that the Mad Dogs gang had even been here, was that their symbol was painted over the Marshals remains on the wall. "We can''t let Hanna see them again like this." John said after a while. "Let''s burry them outside." They quietly moved the Marshals out of the building. Being careful not to damage the bodies any further out of respect. Joan opened the main door to keep it open as the men and Lisa carried the bodies. Then someone caught her eye as soon as she did. There was a maning towards the station. Upon seeing that there were people leaving the building, he suddenly turned and started to run, like he knew what might have happened. "Wait stop!" Joan yelled and the others noticed the man. They quickly, but gently put down the bodies. "Quick, we need to catch him!" Benny said. Lisa and John immediately started chasing the man, who had just rounded the fence around the parking lot. "We''ll take care of things here. Make sure you get him!" Richard called out before the two were too far. John was huffing and puffing hard while chasing after the man, who already had a good head start. The man looked over his shoulder and saw that he was still being chased. He rounded a corner and headed north towards the dam. John took a nce at Lisa running next to him. He saw that even though she still had that bulky coffin on her back, it was barely causing her any trouble. "We should follow him." Lisa said while they ran. John could hardly speak while running after the guy, "Why?" He managed to blurt out. "He''s headed for the dam. What if he leads us to the gangsters that were responsible for the Marshals killing? They were looking for the dams blueprints. This is an opportunity." Lisa spoke as if she was just having a normal conversation, rather than running after a suspect. John couldn''t reply but nodded in agreement. After ten minutes both John and the suspect had slowed down considerably, but Lisa feltpletely fine. Her robotic legs felt no stress at all. In fact, if she hadn''t intended to simply follow the suspect, she could have captured him long ago. The houses and businesses were far apart now as they reached the outskirts of town. The suspect had arrived at the foot of a steep hill that led up to the dam power station. Immediately the man stopped running and then withbored steps, started walking up it. Seeing this steep hill, John quit running and sat down panting heavily. "Y-you can go a-ahead. I''ll wait here." John finally said after Lisa turned back to check on him. "Alright, I won''t be long." Lisa said. "Here, will you keep an eye on this for me?" Lisa slipped of her coffin and leaned it up on a rusty van nearby. "I am counting on you to make sure nobody steals it." John nodded and took out his gun from behind him to sit morefortably. Lisa turned to run after the suspect before he got too far ahead. She saw that he was nearly at the top and she decided to run double time to catch up. John was super surprised when he saw Lisa sprinting at the speed of a horse up the hill. He even felt the wind from her speeding away when she took off. "What kind of prosthetic surgery did she have to have such legs? Not to mention the cost!" John wondered to himself. Lisa arrived at the top of the hill. Going inside the fenced in area, Lisa found it to be quite open. The suspect was now at a doorway that led to the main building and he was talking breathlessly to four armed guards. Lisa quickly ducked behind a shipping container before she was spotted. The suspect went inside with one of the guards, while the other three quickly ran towards the entrance to the dam. Lisa slipped around to the other side of the container as the men passed by her location. She then jogged quickly towards the building, upon being sure that no one was still keeping watch. She came up to the door that the guards had been standing at and pressed her ear up to it. The muffled sounds of a conversation could be heard, and she decided it would be best if she went in another way. Stepping back, she looked up at the green metal roof of the building. There were three levels of roofs and only the highest one had arge skylight at its center. She crouched low then jumped! The height to the first roof was around three meters high, but she easilynded with both feet on top of it. When shended on the metal roof, not a sound could barely be heard. If someone inside had heard it, they could easily mistake it as just the old building settling. Thest two roofs were only a meter and a half higher and she could easily climb over them to get to the skylight. She checked on the three guards below, to make sure they hadn''t noticed her. Two were still at the entrance looking down the road for anyone. While the third wasing back to guard the door. If she had waited around for too long, she would have been spotted on the ground or making the jump. It seemed that she was in the clear for now. Then she took a peek down the skylight, through a broken portion of the ss in one corner. Down below in the center of the room, several men were standing in two groups facing each other. On one side stood six gangsters. They were holding pistols or shot guns in their hands. Their leader was a man in a yellow shirt being nked by a big man in a ck shirt. "Those have to be the two that killed Hanna''s parents." Lisa thought to herself. "It''s not like people in this kind of environment get to change cloths all too often." On the other side were three men in uniform. Two guarding the man in the center were holding what looked like high-end military gradeser rifles. The man in the center had on an officer''s styled uniform and carried only a military pistol in a holster that hung across his chest. Lisa squinted to see what the logo was on the patch that was on all three''s shoulder pads. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and contempt; it was the symbol of the American Fascist Regime! Special Officer Daniel Hawkins was hating his new assignment. He had been transferred from working in the Intelligence Head Quarters to doing field work instead of pushing papers. He thought he had finally gotten an easy position only to be brought back out into active service. On top of that he was sent to this hellish zone far from any descent civilized cities. Now he was dealing with this local gangster scum to try and get this rusting old dam to run again. His superiors had given him hardly any exnation as to why. All he knew was that there was the possibility of a rogue operative that had recently escaped from a raid in Salt Lake City area. He needed to get the power back on to gain ess to the security cameras scattered all over town. This way he could monitor everything from the safety of the base he was assigned to and report his findings. "We did what you asked." The yellow shirt gangster said with a growl. "Now hand over the money and we''ll give you the blueprints." "Very well." Hawkins said dismissively. "Let''s verify to each other that both of the contents are legit." Hawkins nodded to the guard on his left who immediately procured two scanners. He handed one to the gang leader. Then he pulled out a memory stick and slid it into the scanner. The gang leader did the same with his own memory stick. The scanners beeped, revealing their contents and each party confirmed that everything was in order. "Excellent." Hawkins said taking the memory stick out of the gangster''s scanner after it was handed to him. "By the way you did eliminate the witnesses, right?" "Ya, the pig and his family are dead. I killed them myself. You got nothing to worry about." The gangster opened his arms wide and stepped backwards slowly. "Now if you''re not needing us, we''ll be on our way. Thanks for the business." "So, he actually is the Marshals family killer after all." Lisa thought looking at the yellow shirted gangster. The gangsters quickly left the building and headed off in the direction of the northern part of town. The military personnel went out of the opposite end of the building. Seeing this, Lisa followed them towards the back of the building. Despite the fact she was looking for the Marshals killers, the AFR soldiers were more important for her to worry about. Parked at the back of the building was arge heavily armored military Hummer. Its engine was running and on top of it was an automated turret, which kept rotating around slowly guarding the perimeter. The three got into the vehicle and it started to turn slowly out of the parking lot. The vehicle was going to head for the road crossing over the river on top of the dam. "I need to take those blueprints from them and find out what their up too." Lisa said to herself as she jumped like a cat down to the ground. "The gangsters can wait." She quickly held up her right arm and pointed it at the Hummer that was just now pulling out onto the dam''s road. Her arm suddenly mechanically unpacked itself and reviled arge gun like weapon inside. She smiled, almost evilly and fired! Chapter 8: Skirmishes Chapter 8: Skirmishes "Pow! Pow! Pow!" Lisa fired three shots from her arm gun in quick session at the military vehicle. The first struck the automatic turret dealing some damage to its armored tting. The second shot hit the back window cracking its bulletproof ss like a spiderwebs. The finale shot hit the vehicles right back tire, causing a loud popping sound and the Hummer gridded to a halt blocking the dams road. The automatic turret immediately pointed her way and opened fire! The bullets were fired with such speed it was impossible to count the number of rounds. Lisa jumped to one side of the dam and using the wall guarding the edge of the dam as cover to avoid the bullets. She heard the men shouting as they exited the Hummer and set up a defensive position. Lisa took a quick peek from behind the wall. She had a feeling of disappointment. The turret had to of been equipped with heat vision sensory equipment, otherwise it couldn''t have reacted so quickly and found her location. She was going to have to move fast if she wanted to capture that officer. Normally Officers in the American Fascist Regime (AFR) would be apanied by far more military personnel instead of just the two guards that were with him. If she didn''t act now, she might never get a chance like this. From her leather jacket she pulled out her long dull ck sword and in a quick sweeping motion unfolded it. Holding it in her left hand, she gripped it tightly with anticipation. "Probably the best way to end this quickly would be to take out that turret." Lisa thought to herself. She then pulled off the jacket and tossed it aside. Underneath her leather jacket was a skintight faded ck body suit, it looked simr to what a surfer''s spring suit might look like, but this was no ordinary suit. It was made of densely packed Ker fibers, ceramic, and other sci-fi like shock absorbent materials; perfectly capable of taking on nearly all small arms and rifle fire. If someone were to look closely at the suit, they would see a hexagonal pattern of the materials molded together, adding both flexibility and impact absorption technology. She jumped out onto the road and purposely rolled as the turret locked onto her heat signature. Bullets sprayed out at her in repeated bursts. Lurching up, she dashed as quickly as she could across the dam road towards the opposite side of the road. The bullets zipping behind her were just millimeters from ending her life! Then she jumped behind the wall on the other side of the dam road and the sounds of the turret shooting instantly stopped. She calmed herself and regained her breath, "Well now that I got the timing of the turret memorized, let''s take it out." Lisa thought while giving a wiry grin. She reappeared from behind the wall just as she did before. However, this time instead of running straight across the road, she charged at the Hummer. Bullets flew at her in angry hot bursts, but every time there was a pause in its fire rate, she changed direction zigzagging down the road. Closing the distance in no time, she suddenly leapt high into the air above the turret. The turret rotated upwards following the woman''s movements and shooting rapidly. Every shot trailed just behind her as she dropped like a meteor from the sky. Shended with a heavy ng on the turrets metal armor. Her sword embedded deep into the exposed armor she had shot off before. Giving her sword a quick twist upward she lifted the turret off from the roof of the Hummer. Bolts and electrical wiring screeched loudly as she tore the turret apart! Officer Hawkins was at first shocked seeing the speed and power of the woman. But as soon as she was tearing apart the turret, he snapped out of it and yelled at his guards to shoot her. He also whipped out his pistol and took aim at her head. "Pa-Zoom!" The sound of aser zipped past Lisa''s cheek, much to close! She could feel the heat searing her cheek as it pasted by her. Reflexively she let go of her sword and raised her arm up to cover her face. Both of her prosthetic forearms opened up and spread out to create a shield to defend her face! "Ping ting! Ping ting!" Laser projectiles streaked upwardly at her from the two guard''sser rifles, every shot intended to kill. Her arms were military grade metal armor and deflected nearly every shot, but one slipped under her arms knocking her in the stomach! The force of its impact knocked her off the Hummer roof and she tumbled out of sight. "Circle around and finish her off!" Hawkins ordered quickly. The two guards immediately circled each side of the vehicle guns raised. As soon as Lisa hadnded on the ground she looked down at her stomach. Smoke was rising from a ckened hole in her suite that had somehow absorbed theser. But it hurt bad and she was short of breath. Then she heard the officersmand and knew she need to act fast. She scrambled towards the back of the Hummer and saw the feet of one of the guards moving towards her. As soon as the tip of his gun poked around the edge of the vehicle she attacked. Lisa grabbed the gun barrel with her left hand and swung at his head with her right. Even though her power was greater he still blocked the attack at the expense of breaking his arm. He then countered with a knee at her stomach, but she blocked it with her right hand. He stepped back trying to pull his gun free, but she grabbed his arm and pulled the gun from his grasp. At that moment, the other guard arrived behind her. In a panic he fired hisser gun at her but missed, nearly getting her legs. She grabbed the first guard and chucked him with unbelievable strength at the second guard and they copsed into a pile against the dam wall. Then she shouldered theser ruffle and fired into them. She quickly turned and dashed around the Hummer and took aim at the Officer. But he was waiting for her. "Pow!" Fortunately, he shot just a tad too soon and his shot deflected off the window of the Hummer. Lisa quickly ducked back behind the end of the Hummer and waited. "I know you''re ex-Military." Officer Hawkins called out still holding his pistol at the ready. "What''s your reason for betraying the AFR? Not that it matters anyway. We will reunite thisnd. Why can''t you just submit?" "I know your stalling." Lisa called out. She could now just barely hear the sound of a helicopter approaching in the distance. "Perceptive." Hawkins spoke out. "I''ll find out who you are eventually. When I do, you''re finished!" In seconds, the helicopter had risen over the crest of the mountain behind the officer. Lisa couldn''t risk exposing herself to shoot at the officer or she would be immediately targeted by the helicopter''s guns. So, she decided to stay put, ready to run if she had too. The helicopternded behind the officer sending dust and trash in every direction. He walked backwards towards the helicopter, keeping his pistol ready. He then climbed into the side door as it slowly rose into the air. Lisa sighed. She had let him escape. Theser rifle she took wouldn''t have the power to take down the military helicopter anyway. She stayed hidden until the sound of the retreating helicopter disappeared over the mountain. She then walked over to the open doors of the Hummer to loot it for anything of use. To her surprise the scanner wasying on the floorboard. She picked it up and found the officer had foolishly left the chip still inside. The blueprints were hers. "Finally, a little luck hase my way." She chuckled to herself and continued searching the Hummer. The rioters had surrounded the Marriott Hotel the ck Rats gang had been using as their base. The number of rioters had risen from eighty people to now closer to four hundred. The gangsters had barricaded the lobby and other exits, but they wouldn''t hold for long. Nathan Dees was up at the front swinging an axe at the barricade along with some others. Some others threw rocks and parts of furniture at the windows smashing them. Someone had found an oily rag and lit it on fire, tied it to a rock and chucked it into a second story window. It must havended on something mmable, for soon smoke was billowing out of the window and was quickly followed by smokeing out of another. The crowd was in an uproar now. Indiscriminate yelling and screams raged from the rioting below as the boss of the ck Rats looked on from a safe height. "Boss what are we going to do? There''s too many of them?" His top lieutenant said gripping his shot gun tightly. The boss, a thickly muscled Germanic guy, grimaced as he spoke, "We''re going to have to make a break for the boat dock and get onto our ship. We''ll have toe back and find out who responsible and kill the b******." There were only twenty-two gangsters at the Marriott Hotel when the rioters first surrounded the ce. They all were currently in the room with the Boss. The ck Rats boss pushed his way through them and flung open the door to the hallway. "Are youing?" He yelled turning back to his gang. "Or you are waiting for an invitation?" The men shuffled and quickly filed in behind their boss. They headed down the winding staircase and into the back of the hotel. The number of protesters outside these locked doors weren''t as numerous as by the front lobby. "All right, you two, get ready to open the door. The rest of you," the boss said turning with a smug look on his face, "Get ready to fight!" The men shouted ready to go and a couple of gangsters readied their guns while others gripped their hand-held weapons. "Attack anyone in our way and head straight for the boat. Ready? Go!" The boss shouted as the door were flung open. The rioters were surprised for a moment when the doors swung open. But their surprise turned to fear once the gangsters came pouring out with guns firing and weapons swinging. The gangsters easily broke through the rioters and quickly thumped down the wooden docks towards arge fifty-foot pleasure boat docked in the middle of the boating slips. Someone from the rioters in the back quickly ran around to the front yelling that the gangsters were escaping. Nathan heard this and pointed his axe high yelling to the rest to give chase. The mob slowly moved in mass around the hotel. By then it was toote. The gangster''s boat was already pulling out of the docks and onto the open river. The gangsters were waving their guns and throwing taunts at the people on shore. One even mooned at the people on the docks! One rioter tried chucking a rock at them, but it fell short. The gangstersughed at this. Nathan grumbled out loud, "It''s not over yet." Then he turned to the crowd and yelled as loud as he could. "This is a victory!! They are running away!" The crowd gave a cheer and waved their handheld weapons. Nathan, however, wasn''t finished yet. He had to stop the gangsters from regrouping. "They might have escaped onto the river, but they have tond somewhere. So, some of us need to keep following them. As for the rest of us, we know there are other ck Rats in town, let''s get them!" Nathan said raising his axe high. The crowd cheered again and started to disperse down the roads and into the town. A few of the rioters stayed with Nathan. One tall scraggly man with a thick beard came up to him. "You are the one that started this riot?" He said with a gruff voice. "I am." Nathan said tly. "Well now you''re our boss and have my support. We need someone who can stand up to those gangsters and unite this town." The old man said and two dozen others behind him also voiced their agreement. Chapter 9: Loot Chapter 9: Loot There wasn''t much to take from the Hummer or bodies of the two dead soldiers. From inside the Hummer she hadn''t found anything important until she spotted the scanner that they had used in the dam building earlier. Turning it on she found that was intact. A truly lucky break indeed. Then checking over the bodies of the soldiers, she took their weapons. The two Laser rifles were called ZKZM-7000. They were far different looking than its predecessors, now less boxy and more streamline. It was made of modified carbon fibers and stics. The rifle consisted of two importantponents: theser, which shot redsers in a solid state, along with fiber optics doped with rarer earth materials and its lithium battery, which ounted for most of the weapon''s weight. It also had a digital counter built into its stock. This disyed the remaining battery power and slowed the user to adjust the power level of each shot. She also had taken two military helmets, knives and grenades. Additionally, she ripped out the Hummers battery. The battery could power smaller vehicles or charge devices for a long time. This would allow her to view the blueprints after she got hold of aputer orptop. She had also pulled out her long, thin sword from the destroyed turret. Its sleek shiny, but still dull, metal reflected well in the sunlight, not a scratch to be seen. Folding the sword back up, she grabbed her leather jacket from the ground and put it back on. Then she ced sword back in its ce within the jacket. Everything else was useless to her and nothing would have been worth reselling to anyone in this town. Taking what she had collected, Lisa decided to leave. She had also lit the Hummer on fire before leaving and its ck smoke billowed out over the dam and the river fedkeside. John was waiting nervously at the entrance of the dam power station. He dared not enter the ce after he lost sight of Lisa. Upon hearing the massive amount of gun fire on the other side of the building, John was worried that she might be in danger. However, his fears were quickly subsided some after seeing Lisa casually returning from the back of the building. "What happened?" John said trying not to raise his voice. He didn''t know if there were any other shooters around. "What was all the shooting and that helicopter about?" Lisa sighed. She hadn''t thought of what to tell him. "Well, I figured out who killed Hanna''s parents. It was the gangsters that left not too long ago. Did you see or follow them?" She asked trying to change the topic. "Yes, I saw them leave the building and I started to follow them. It looked like they were headed towards the town''s government district. I was going to follow them further, but then I heard all that gun fire. You hadn''t returned yet either. Then that helicopternded behind the building. I thought it''s symbol looked like it could have been from the AFR!" Then he saw she was carrying the twoser rifles. His eyes widened with concern, "Where did you get those guns? What in the world happened?" "Let''s just say," Lisa said thinking quickly, "That there was some AFR soldiers and now there are less soldiers. The details really aren''t important. Also, I got the blueprints." Lisa said holding up the scanner to him with a triumphant look. Johns face was riddled with confusion and more questions, but before he could say anything, Lisa interrupted him. "Well now that we know where the gangsters are likely hiding out, we need toe up with a n. Let''s go back to get my coffin and then to the others." Lisa said while adjusting theser guns straps on her shoulder as she walked past him. John tried to say something, but it was clear this woman, whom he just met this morning, had some secrets. It would take time for her to gain his trust or for him to learn what happened himself. After all he was a former police officer. Discovering secrets and clues was his former duty. He decided to silently agree and just observe her for now. He then curiously, but cautiously, followed her back down the road to where her coffiny. "I tried moving it to a more hidden location, but it was far too heavy for me. How can you even carry such a thing?" John probed. "As you guessed earlier, I do have prosthetic legs and they are really great quality. Besides, I got used to carrying the coffin after a while." Lisa said without hesitation. "How did you get them?" John asked seeing her put the heavy coffin over her other shoulder without any effort. "I mean, those prosthetic legs specifically. Sorry if I am reminding you of any bad memories." John corrected himself, feeling a bit embarrassed at his own forwardness. "It''s nothing to be embarrassed at. I will tell you the story one day, but for now you should know my profession truly is a merchant. I buy, trade, sell and steal, if need be, to make my earnings. I hope you don''t mind this, but can you keep this a secret?" Lisa said exined as they walked back towards the police station. "I think I can do that much, but I will need answers eventually." John said with a sigh. "The police around here, if you couldn''t tell, no longer exists. To be honest, most of us couldn''t have survived without stealing, as shameful as it is." "Not at all. This strange world we live in is harsher than anyone can imagine. The future is never going to be clear. We do what we can to survive." Lisa said looking far away, as if she were somewhere else. John saw her disconnected expression and decided not to ask anything else for now. From just looking into herzy grey eyes, it seemed she had probably gone through a lot. Soon they arrived back at the station and saw that the three had finished burying the Marshals. Joan had even tied some wood together with rags, to form a cross over each grave. "You''re back. Did you get the guy?" Richard called out waving to them. "Not exactly, but we did confirm who the culprits were. We need toe up with a n to get them." John replied. "But first I think we need to pay our respects." Joan said quietly. The rest started to look sad at hearing this. They had lost some apparently good friends and the gravity of this was still settling into there minds. After each one of them had said a few words about the Marshals, they left the quiet police station without a word. Then they started walking back home in reverend silence. Suddenly, Lisa''s stomach growled uncontrobly. Hearing the funny sound, the tension between everyone broke. The group chuckled amongst themselves. "Let''s get something to eat." Lisa said rubbing her stomach, in an effort to quiet it. "I haven''t had a full meal in a few days." "Well in that case let''s head home and I''ll cook something nice." Joan said putting a friendly hand on her shoulder. The three men behind got excited, apparently, she was a great cook. Special Officer Daniel Hawkins was furious! Not only had he allowed some random woman to not only destroy his Hummer and kill his men, but he had apparently lost the blueprints. The helicopters des hummed loudly as it flew just feet from the treetops towards the temporary AFR base. The base was located in a deep, but small, canyon on the far side of the mountain. There were only two possible routes to get there. From the air, via helicopter or hover transport ships; or by a thin dirt road that went through the mouth of the canyon. Its position was so neatly located, that even by satellite its location could hardly be seen. The helicopter pilot skillfully floated down into the tightly walled canyon and onto the basesnding pad. Then as soon as the pilot hadnded the Special Officer jumped off. He headed straight for the transmission tower building. He had to survey his body camera video to see if he could identify his attacker. He barged into the building startling the four military personnel inside, who then immediately jumped up and saluted seeing his rank. Hawkins went right up to the first soldier and took off his own small camera that was on his chest. "Search the video and identify the woman near the end of the recording immediately!" Officer Hawkins yelled thrusting it into the soldier''s hands. "Yes Sir." The soldier said taking the camera and plugged it into hisputer. Officer Hawkins waited impatiently as the soldier found the correct footage and yed it, while simultaneously running a facial recognition software on the woman''s image. After several minutes, the soldier finished running the program. "Sir, the findings were inconclusive. It seems that because of her hat and speed at which she moved at we couldn''t get a proper identification." The soldier reported. "Are you sure? Run it again." Officer Hawkinsmanded. But the results in the end were the same. He grumbled to himself as he left the transmission tower building carrying the data from the program. However, before he left, he submitted his findings to his superiors back at headquarters. Perhaps they would find out more. He went right to the headquarters of the base straight away. After going inside, he went directly to his office. It was a medium sized room with arger thick window looking out towards the dusty canyon road. On his desk were piles of paper and data reports that he had yet to organize since the base''s recent formation. This particr location had very little strategic purpose to the AFR and there was no need for a military oversight of thesends either. The area currently had no resistance forces at all. Officer Hawkins tossed the data onto the growing pile on his desk and sat down exhausted into his padded chair. He rubbed his temples as he thought about what had happened. Why did she suddenly attack them unprovoked? That was only his third timeing to that decrepit town. Not only that, but her skills and movement was far superior to that of any normal or even modified human he had ever encountered. There was a sudden knock at his door. He was surprised as hearing this and called for the person to enter. The door opened quickly and his assistant, Second Lieutenant Mark Caswell, stepped inside. "Sir, the Commander is sending a transmission to you. He''s on screen now." Caswell said standing in attention. "Already? I just sent my findings only a few minutes ago." Hawkins said quickly getting up and he walked into the headquarters to see, on the big screen in the center of the main wall, was his superior. "Reporting Sir." Hawkins said standing in ridged attention. "Special Officer Daniel Hawkins." The Commander said with an aged but powerful voice. His gray hair was shaven down in neat Military style and his decorated, yellow trimmed ck uniform was impable. "It seems that you have indeed found a person of great importance there in that little town. It was unexpected that you would find such a high priority target so soon. Though we can''t confirm her identity, we know that she''s a dangerous Queen type soldier." Chapter 10: Plans Chapter 10: ns By the time Lisa and the others had arrived back at their cal-de-sac the sun was already getting low. Since the towncked electricity nearly everyone had to rely on old fashioned fire to cook their meals. In order to be able to cook outdoors, yet avoid the bad weather, anyone living with a decent home used the car garage to cook out of. This way they could cook while being protected from the elements but avoid being choked out by the smoke. However, this unusual kitchen wouldn''t hinder Joan''s cooking talents at all. Dinner was delicious! Lisa had been living off of MREs for thest three weeks upon leaving from Salt Lake City. She was so hungry for a warm home cooked meal, she ended up having three helpings of Joan''s vegetable stew. The vegetables hade from arge joint garden that everyone living in the cul-de-sac shared in their backyards. While as for the salt and spices, she wasn''t sure as to how they got these items. After asking Joan, she told Lisa that the barges would transport the goods from southern towns further downstream in exchange for metal scraps or other items the townspeople could scavenge from the town. This sparked Lisa''s interest some. This meant that setting up some sort of tradeworking might be possible here. However, she doubted she could ever make a fortune in a ce with no electricity. She needed to learn more about what this town had to offer. "Wait electricity!" Lisa suddenly thought. However, this sudden idea would have to wait for the right moment toe. "Everyone." Lisa then spoke to the others that were all chatting around the dinner table with her. "We need toe up with a n to deal with Hanna''s parent''s killers. We now know what they look like and where they might be. However, getting too them or how dangerous it might be to confront them, we don''t know. Any thoughts?" From all her military experience, Lisa understood the importance of gathering intelligence. In this particr incident it was no different. Hopefully these kind people would be able to give reliable advice. Benny was the first to speak, "Simple really. We just stake the ce out and wait for them to go to a vulnerable location and bam! We take them out." Johnughed, "How long would that take? Besides from what Lisa saw they had been doing dealings of some sort with the AFR soldiers. That must mean the gangsters that were there, might very well be the leaders of the Mad Dog gang. If we did it like that, there''s no way we could guarantee our lives." The group was silent for a few moments. Then Richard adjusted himself in his chair and cleared his throat. "What if we got into the Match Fighters Association and challenged him?" "The Match Fighter Association? What''s that?" Lisa asked curiously. "What? No, you''re not going to do that." Joan said looking very worried. "Neither can any of you. You all are too old to be getting involved in the Match Fighter Association." "Again, what''s the Match Fighter Association?" Lisa asked a bit louder before the others could argue with Joan. John started to exin, "The Match Fighter Association is like a one on one cage fight, but there can be more fighters at a time. It''s where locals deal out issues between each other. Also, the three big gangs also hold Match fights between themselves to see who controls what or to take care of disputes. It saves everyone from turning the whole town into one giant riot every time the gangs fight. The system has been around for a very long time and even prominent people utilize its potential." "Interesting." Lisa said tapping the side of her cheek with her finger. "Who are the three gangs? I know of the Mad Dogs already and they are the strongest, right?" "Yes, they are." John continued. "They control the capitol areas, as well as the industrial zones from the dam all the way too downtown. Which is only a few kilometers to the south of us. Practically everything on this side of the river is under their supervision." He cleared his throat and continued. "Then there''s the Skulls, they control everywhere downtown that the Mad Dogs don''t. They also control the main docks by the river and the smaller residential area beyond downtown. Lastly, the ck Rats control practically the entire eastern far side of the river. But that side of town is only a third the size of everything on this side." "I see. So, how would someone enter the Match Fighter Association? Just walk up to someone and challenge them?" Lisa asked. "No, you have to earn your way up through reputation to be able to challenge anyone. Wait, you''re not considering going into a Match? Lisa don''t. I don''t know what you''re capable of, but as a woman you can''t possibly be able to handle yourself in a Match. These guys are the real deal." John said with a bit of concern while raising an eyebrow. Lisa was actually quite offended hearing what John had to said. When she spoke, she hid her anger as best as she could, because he did seem genuinely concerned. "John, me being a woman has nothing to do with me being able to deal with a fight like a man could. In fact, I have my own reasons besides helping with your revenge." "Like what?" Richard said with a bit interest. "You do remember that I had gotten my hands on those dam blueprints?" Lisa said looking at John, who nodded ''yes'' back. "I want to see what was so important that the AFR would send gangsters to kill the Marshal''s over it. Just to get some old data or is there actually something valuable we don''t know about. Its defiantly I know we just met and all, but I am only interested in getting a profit and I smell one such opportunity here." Lisa said standing up. "Well if you really think you got what it takes, I don''t mind helping you." Benny said and the other three looked at him surprised. "Let''s face it." He continued. "We are old now. If she says she can and wants to help us too. Let''s help her." "Sounds reasonable." Richard said giving a sigh. "I''ll agree, but you have to beat me in an arm-wrestling match for me to agree. I''m the strongest one of us here. If you can''t beat me, then we won''t help." Lisa smiled smugly, "Deal." She dropped down in her seat quickly and her right elbow thudded heavily on the tabletop. She opened her hand showing she was ready. "You ready to lose?" "Nope." Richard saidpetitively as he put his big hand into her delicate looking hand. He noticed that her hand wasn''t as soft and feminine like his wife''s, but it had rough calluses. Then when she tightened her grip slightly. Richard then realized that he shouldn''t underestimate her. "I''ll judge the start." Benny said putting his hand on top of theirs. "When I say go, you can start." The two nodded. John scoffed slightly. Even he had never beaten Richard before, and he worked out every day outside of his normal efforts to provide for his family. Then Benny started counting down, "3, 2, 1, Go!" The two immediately started their match. Richard was apparently doing his best to pull Lisa arm down. His arm was bulging greatly, but Lisa didn''t even budge. Then in one quick flick of her wrist, Richards arm was sent crashing onto the table with a boom! Everyone was in shock. No one expected that the young and pretty looking woman to be so strong! "Well then, where do we start?" Lisa said smiling with great satisfaction. That night, inside of a big warehouse on the east side of the river, nearly a hundred people had gathered. They had all just voted to volunteer Nathan Dees to be their new mayor. This came as a great surprise to Nathan. Sure, he had been quite vocal in hisints towards the gangs and their present living conditions, but to be mayor? Never would have guested to gain this position. At the meeting he discussed with a mittee" of sorts, as too how they would deal with the gangsters they had captured in the town. As well as how to stop the ck Rats leader that escaped and end the gang''s control over them permanently. The results were simple, everyone hated the gangs. Most of them were outsiders and not local residents and as thus, the vote was to kill them all. Mob rule was a terrible thing, democracy at its purest form. Nathan decided to find a way to avoid such rash decisions from happening again. Sure, he agreed they deserved it, but what if this was to happen to someone from their ownmunity? A system of rules needs to be set and a judge that could fairly deal out punishment. However, now was not quite the time. By the end of the meeting they also decided to form a volunteer militia to act as police for the neighborhood and deal with any remaining gangsters. That is the main reason why the hundred people where gathered here. To volunteer. Nathan was still feeling the sweet feeling of gaining his new power when he walked out in-front of them to speak and they all apuded. "Thank you all for volunteering to join this militia. As well as choosing me to lead you. We will protect our own and see to that no one will treat us like trash as the gangs did before. We shall call ourselves the East River Militia for now." The crowds reply was quite enthusiastic. Nathan smiled to himself, he might actually have a talent for this. "Starting tomorrow we will finally eradicate the rest of the ck Rats and free ourselves from them. Then we will rebuild the city like it never was before and bring us out of this hell we have endured for far too long! No more hunger, darkness or cold will be in our future!" The crowd cheered so loudly that the warehouse rafters shook slightly, sending dust toe loose and fall onto the enthralled crowd. A new young leader was being born to the town. Chapter 11: Prep-work Chapter 11: Prep-work Downtown had been fully controlled by Skull for so long and well, that no citizens dared disobey their rule. They were a gang on the surface but acted more like a cult than a gang. All their members faces were painted or tattooed with fearsome skull designs. Some of the more devoted members even wore the bones of defeated rivals as a warning and testament of their strength. n Stockholm the Bone yer was no exception. He had proven himself countless times in dealing with the other gangs, civilian rebels and in the asional Match fight. His nickname, Bone yer, was aptly given thanks to his nasty fireman''s tactical hammer. Using this special axe, he had been able to sheer off numerous opponents arms, legs and heads, all with one precise chop. His capabilities came from not only his skill, but his size too. He was by far one of thergest and strongest persons in town other than the Head and a handful of others within the Skull. His reputation in the Skull was very well respected and he was given the rank of Hand, which was basically a lieutenant member in the gangs rankings. Only the Head, or leader, and the two Eyes, vice leaders, ranked higher than him. There were also several other Hands each as powerful as himself, but he was clearly the youngest and fastest rising member of the Skull. Making him someone to keep an eye out for. However, the area of their control had be increasingly boring. The people had been fully subdued, a bnce had been made with the other two gangs and trade from outside town was steady. There was no one to fight anymore. He was almost to the point where he was considering challenging the Eyes for their position, but he knew that even if he won against them wouldn''t change the situation. The only option to sedate his restlessness was to convince everyone to start a war with the gangs on their borders. The Head might not want to do this. Sure, they were strong and capable, but their numbers were few. If they attacked the ck Rats they could win, but they had to travel across the river to do so. The huge sixne bridge that once crossed over the river had been bombed in three separate locations, making it impossible to cross. So, controlling that side would be extremely difficult. As for the Mad Dogs, their numbers were far more than their own, nearly six to one. This fact didn''t perturb n at all, for his strength alone was enough to beat the odds. At least that is what he had always boasted. Currently n was traveling down Main St. and Fourth St. conducting a simple and boring patrol of the area. He had twenty Fingers, those that ranked below him, and fifty Feet, the lowest rank, that were doing the patrol. As therge group walked down the center of the aging main road, not one of the townspeople dared look their way. They passed several market stalls, stores and ces that owed them "protection" pay and collected foods, items worth trading and in rare asions money. Money in this era were typically expressed in three forms: Solid, such as coins or jewels. Paper: physical paper money. Lastly, Digital: Many people in the world, upon birth or up to the age ten, would receive an imnted chip put into their bodies, typically in their forearms. The chip could be scanned or picked up by Wi-Fi, and its signal would interpret how much that person owned in the bank or other saving means. This system had long since reced conventional credit and debit cards. They could even act as identification for the person, checking on their medical health, or a governmental means of tracking personnel. However, in this town with no electricity, all they had was physical simple coins and asionally dor bills. These items were even considered rare. The whole patrolling and doing payment collection job, day after day bored n to death. He wanted to fight! Too feel the rush of adrenaline as his very life was at risk or putting to an end of another''s life, was truly addictive. "Curse the Head." n mumbled. "If only he wouldmand us to crush the Mad Dogs I could do it single handedly. Not one from them could beat me." One of his Fingers overheard him, "Bone yer, why not just ask and see what the Head intends to do? We have been doing nothing for too long." Apparently he wasn''t the only one that was board. "He won''t do it." n said giving a loud sigh. "Why not?" The Finger asked scratching the side of his head. "He''s be too content with the peace we now have. Ever since his new wife started giving birth, all he does is y and dote on them." n replied. "As long as we''re not attacked, he''ll stay this way." "But we haven''t been bothered by the other gangs in nearly two years." Another Finger said listening in on their conversation. "Exactly the problem." n said sounding annoyed. Then a big crazy smile spread on his ck and white skull painted face. "Bet theirzy now. They''d be so easy to kill. He-he!" The other two Fingers took a small step away from the crazy looking Hand. They knew if he looked this way someone would be in trouble. Their leader was often unpredictable. "Y-you really think so?" One of the Fingers asked cautiously. "Maybe so." n continued, "Should we provoke them to attack us?" "How would we do that? I doubt that we could just walk up to them and say, ''Hey, fight us.''" The other Finger said giving a light chuckle. "Don''t be so stupid." The first Finger said leaning forward to see past n''s huge body. "I''m sure you have something in mind Bone yer." "Actually, I just might. All we need to do is go to the border of our territory, find an area that is important to the Mad Dogs and take it over. We won''t need to fight anyone. Just force them to send over their guys and tell the boss that we were being attacked first and force him to make a move." n said as they passed over Sixth St. "Oh boy, what a good n. It''s so simple though, will it really work?" The first Finger asked excitedly. "Only one way to find out." n said turning down Sixth St., which headed north towards their territory''s boarder with the Mad Dog gang. The rest of his followers also followed close behind and the two Fingers talked to each of them exining the n. Everyone''s anticipation grew as no one disagreed with this n. War and trouble were beginning to brew. The next morning, after a long night, Lisa and the other had thought up some ideas as to how Lisa was going to be in a Match and finely settled on one. It was Lisa that actually created the opportunity, by chance, only just the day before. When she had fought against the gangsters, that were bullying Hanna, she called herself the ''Lady with the Coffin'' to one of them, as well as killed many of the Mad Dog members. From this incident she already had made some kind of reputation as an enemy of the gang. So perhaps she could force them to do a Match to get their revenge on her? "Let''s go over the n." Benny said to Lisa, John and Richard. They all had gathered at Johns house to discuss what to do. "First, we make contact with the gang and find out who knows about Lisa already. Richard that''s your job." The big guy nodded, and Benny continued, "John, you''re going to find them and get them to set up a Match somehow. Try to make it sound important enough that their boss will notice." John nodded, "This will be tricky, but I''ll try to manage." "Then Lisa, you need to win. Not that I think you can''t. You''ll probably fight some weaker low rank Match fighter, but you need to make the win as noticeable and amazing as possible." Lisa nodded sleepily. She had slept on John''s couch and it had been so long since she had slept on something soft. She ended up sleeping reallyte into the morning and wished it could have been longer. "Not a problem. I can practically guarantee a crazy fight." She said sleepily rubbing her grey eyes. At that moment Hanna came walking down the stairs. The group grew quiet and turned to look at her. "Hey there sweetie." John said gesturing to Hanna toe over. "How are you doing today?" He was trying to be as nice sounding as possible. Hanna was likely still in shock and depressed after all that had happened to her. Hanna walked over to them slowly. Her expression was nk, and her eyes were clearly still red for crying. She sat down on the couch next to John and leaned on his chest. John put his arm around the little girl and hugged gently. "Don''t worry Hanna, everything is going to be all right. You have us now." John said a bit unsure as what to say in this kind of situation. Hanna ignored him slightly and looked right at Lisa. "I heard you''re going to fight those gangsters." Hanna''s voice was quiet and raspy from her crying. Tear trails were still noticeable upon her cheeks. "Yes." Lisa replied. Hanna kept starring at Lisa, "I saw how you beat those men from before. Make sure you make them pay. I''m too small to get back at them, but you can do it for me. Right?" The tone of Hanna''s words made the others shudder. No little girl should ever sound as cruel as this. Though she had every right to be. "Don''t worry Hanna. They won''t get away with anything else." Lisa said putting a hand on Hanna''s head. "I promise." Hanna felt the friendly and confidence of Lisa''s words. Also, just by looking into her confident grey eyes, Hanna knew everything would be alright. This was the first incident that continually solidified the little girls trust in Lisa. Chapter 12: Identified Chapter 12: Identified Three days had gone by since Richard had started inquiring into how to get a Match fight for Lisa versus the Mad Dogs gang. However, every attempt to negotiate had been met with failure. No one wanted to set up a fight with some random woman that was unknown, not a member of a gang or not backed by some wealthy backer. She was just a nameless no body. "I''m sorry everyone." Richard said disheartened. "I know who to talk too, but no one is interested. We might have to think of another way to take out the leader." "It''s alright. You did what you could." John said patting his big friends'' shoulder. Sitting in the living room, Lisa was talking with Hanna, Joan and Mary about information from outside the town. It was rare to hear anything about what was happening outside the town and they asked Lisa so many questions. Hanna only listened to the older women talk, she wasn''t all that interested. She was still very depressed and though they were so nice to her, the damage was done. Lisa was also in a negative mood. Even though she enjoyed talking and rxing here, she needed something to do. Overhearing the men talking she decided she had enough. She was a woman of action, not of rxation. "Welldies, it''s time for me to go now." Lisa said getting up from the living room couch. "It seems the men need my help." "Are you sure you want to do this? Aren''t you scared?" Mary said standing up as well. "Of fighting against the gangsters? Nope. I''ve dealt with things far worse than some random gangsters." Lisa said giving a faint smile. "Be safe then." Joan said quietly. "I will. Dinner was amazing these past few nights. I really appreciate all you''ve done." Lisa said sincerely. She then turned towards the two men. "Come on guys. Let''s go figure this out my way." Lisa said walking in between them as she headed for the door. The two men looked at each other puzzled. "Where are we going?" John said scratching his head. "Richard take me to wherever a Matchpetitor is. I don''t care who." Lisa replied. She picked up her coffin that was leaning on the wall next to the front door. Opening the door, she headed out for where the gangsters liked to hang out. The two men nced at each other again and hurriedly said farewell to their wives and scrambled after Lisa. She was at this point rounding to corner and disappeared from sight. Apparently, she had no intentions of waiting for them. "It seems like the old saying is still true today. If something can''t get done right, do it yourself." Lisa thought to herself. The two guys eventually caught up to her. They were silent for a while before John finally asked Lisa a question. "I''m not so sure what you have in mind, but I don''t see how you can convince anyone to set up a fight with you?" He said bluntly. Lisa sighed. "I won''t be going to set up a fight, but to start one." "What are you talking about?" John said confused. "If you just barge into the gangsters hideout and start up something, nothing good wille of it." Lisa didn''t reply right away, like she normally did, but continued heading for their destination. They were soon in an area where the gangsters would hang out in some local bars that somehow had managed to stay in business. Only those that had connections to the outside world could bring such items into town. They arrived at a bar named, The Ragged gon. Lisa couldn''t help butugh to herself. Her father had once mentioned a game that had a simr name in it, and he was obsessed with ying it. It was extremely odd that a bar name like this hadsted several hundred years. Several moments went by as they walked up to the door then Lisa finally replied. "Don''t worry John, I do have a n." Looking through a gunshot hole in the door Lisa could see that the ce was packed with many costumers. They were a raggedy lot and many of them were part of the Mad Dog gang. After spending so much time with the others she had learned how to identify who was in the gang or not. They had small tattoo of a dogs paw print put over the spot on their forearm where their chip had been installed. This way they would always be known as a member of the Mad Dogs, even if the symbol of the snarling dog wasn''t being disyed. Tattoo identification was amon practice among gangs in rural areas. "Richard, you see any Matchpetitors in here?" Lisa taking a step back for Richard to nce in. The big guy leaned down and peered inside. "Yep, in-fact I see two. They both are sitting on the table in the far-left corner at the end of the bar." Richard replied secondster. "Really? Let me see." John said as he went to look in the hole. Suddenly, someone opened the door to leave and whacked John in the forehead! "Ouch!" John shouted jumping back while rubbing his head. The man that was leaving then fully pushed open the door again and looked at John with an odd expression. He didn''t say anything to John who was still rubbing his head while ring back at him. The other two, however,ughed loudly seeing the look on Johns face when the door mmed into it. "Shut up!" John mumbled embarrassed and angry. "Ah well, wish me luck." Lisa said grabbing the door to enter. "Might be best for you two to stay out here. Might get a bit messy in there." Her voice was low and focused. The two wanted to go in, but she sounded serious. So, they just stood with the door open and watched. Lisa walked in and did so while making heavy footsteps to help draw attention. "Hey, I have been looking for you!" Lisa suddenly called out to the whole room. Everyone stopped drinking and talking to look at her. They were surprised to see such a young and pretty woman had entered the bar. Instantly men began gawking at her and nudging their buddies next to them trying to get them to talk to her. "Are you looking for me, beautiful?" Someone called from the right side of the room. "I''m over here baby!" Another called on the opposite side. Ignoring them, Lisa confidently continued walking down the middle of the room towards the bar. "I sent a guy to set up a meeting, but you ignored me. How mean!" Lisa said loudly in a cutie sounding voice. Someone whistled at her. Then she looked at the table Richard mentioned while exaggeratively crossing her arms under her chest. Four men were sitting there, and she instantly could see who her opponents were. The first guy was bald and had a small pointy mustache and with well-rounded muscles all over his body. He looked like a man that might perform lifting stunts in a circus. The other guy, though sitting, Lisa could tell he was huge. He had long ck hair that covered up his face, so she couldn''t see him too well. But his body size was no smaller than the other man across the table. The other two men had to of been their handlers or manager''s. "You two." Lisa said pointing at them. "Why won''t you pay attention to me?" She continued her cutie voice. The two men nced at her. Then at each other. "Do we know you?" The bald guy asked. "You should have!" Lisa said with exaggeration. Then putting her hands on her hips, she said, "Can''t you tell by looking at me?" The bald guy shook his head ''no''. "Well then does this help?" With saying that said she quickly swung off her coffin and used it to crush the table next to her! The men sitting there were knocked back out of their seats and the room let out a collective awed response. "I''m that ''Coffin Lady''. I beat several of your guys a few days ago. I want to challenge both of you to a Match." Lisa said pausing for a moment and the room suddenly grew hushed. There had been a rumor that several of Mad Dogs guys had been beaten pretty bad and that a woman with a coffin was responsible, but one believed it. Now she was here and from the way she crushed the table was all the proof they needed. "What do you want little girl." The ck-haired guy said rising slowly rising from his seat. He was even taller than she thought. His head nearly hit the powerless lights hanging from the ceiling. "I want to see your gang boss and get something from him." Lisa said taking off her leather jacket and tossed it onto the top of the coffin. Then she took off her Yankees hat and shook her jet-ck hair loose. Again, someone whistled at her. "You are joking." The bald man said also getting up. Lisa stretched and flexed her arms. "Nope. If you win you get whatever you want from me. Sound fair?" Then she suddenly picked up a bar stool and chucked it at them. They ducked to the side, surprised by the sudden attack and the stool leg punctured the wall and stuck there. The bald guy snarled and charged Lisa. The two collided as he tried to tackle her and m her to the ground, but Lisa was also ready. She met him head on and they collided with such force it looked like two sumo wrestlers making contact. The crowded room was a buzz of excitement as many people cleared out of the way and cheered seeing them fight. No one expected Lisa to be this strong. Neither did the bald guy. He struggled greatly to knock her back. "Who are you? You''re not a Match Fight Competitor, I would have heard of you." He grunted as he tried to push her back. Lisa also was pushing back at him and appeared to have an advantage. "I''m your worst nightmare! Call me Queen." Chapter 13: First Match Chapter 13: First Match The two struggled to knock the other down. Lisa had grabbed him around his waist and was keeping her body stiff and low. While he was also holding on to her waist from above her, trying not to get pushed backwards and fall from her attack. They each tried to sweep the other over by throwing their momentum to one side quickly and knock them to the floor. But they were eventually matched in strength in this position. "Well this is a surprise." Lisa said breathing heavily. "Can I ask how you''re this strong?" "Not going to tell you." The bald man said taking a small step back to keep his bnce. Then he suddenly switched tactics. Lifting hard he lifted Lisa by her middle up into the air over his head and chucked her at the bar! Lisa''s body twisted rapidly, as she flew through the air and crashed onto the top of the bar. The impact knocked drinks and cups in every direction. She rolled twice then immediately sprung up, unfazed and slid to a quick stop on one knee. She hopped off the bar neatly and patted off her clothes. "Impressive throw. Let me at least have your name. I can''t just call you baldly." Lisa said while tossing her hair back. "Vance." The bald man replied taking a boxing stance. He now knew her strength and was prepared to take this fight a bit serious. "Well then, Vance, let''s have a good fight." Lisa said taking an Ap Kubi stance, a basic front stance in Taekwondo. She too would be taking the fight more seriously. "I might be getting rusty with these moves." Lisa thought to herself watching Vance carefully. "This is a good chance to practice." Vance took a step this right with his arms raised. Lisa kept her pose but rotated keeping him in front of her. Seeing no openings to attack her, Vance charged her regardless. Closing the distance quickly, Vance took a jab at her, but Lisa took a small step back avoiding the attack. Then she countered. Everything that happened next was so fast, that it appeared to be a blur to those watching. Lisa used her step back too fuel her stances attack power and with an open palm, slipped past Vance''s arm and mmed right into his chest. There was an audible cracking noise. His body was struck so forcefully that his chest rippled, like a rock hitting the surface of ake. He was sent flying back into the crowd behind him, sending chairs, tables, and people tumbling down. Vance struggled to sit up, breathing heavily. The fight wasn''t over yet. The huge, tall guy suddenly lunged at Lisa from her blind spot. He grabbed her arm with a hand the size of a dinner te and picked her up like a child holding a doll. He lifted her so that they were looking at each other at eye level. "My name is Gaston." The tall ck-haired man spoke in a deep slow voice. His hair parted briefly exposing a very Neanderthal like face, with a big brow and strong starring eyes. "Hello Gaston." Lisa said shing a smile. Then she kneed him hard in the jaw, forcing him to drop her and stagger back. Her attack didn''t faze him for long. In a fit of unsealed anger, he picked up two chairs nearby and used them to attack her. Gaston first swung at her head, forcing her to duck low. Then he chopped down at her with the other chair in his hand as she went into this vulnerable position. Lisa quickly jumped backwards rolling onto the old wooden floor. The chair hit the ground and shattered like ss, sending splinters and chunks of wood flying. He quickly repeated his attack with the other chair, but this time Lisa didn''t jump away. Rather, she moved closer towards him. The second chair blew up as it hit the floor just behind Lisa''s head. Then as soon as it did, Lisa grabbed Gaston under his shoulder and by the cor of his shirt and she twisted her hips quickly while lifting him upwards. A look of surprise lit up Gaston''s face, as his huge bulk was suddenly lifted up over this slender woman''s shoulder and was sent flipping over her. Hended on his back so heavily that the room shook with the impact. Gaston let out a gasp trying to catch his breath. Lisa quickly spun around to stand over Gaston and punched him hard in the face knocking him out. By now Vance had recovered and was on his feet. In a rage he attacked her with a flurry of punches. Lisa could only raise her arms up quickly to defend her face from his onught. He knocked her down onto one knee as she defended herself. Thinking she was being beaten, Vance powered up for a heavy blow. That''s when suddenly Lisa countered. She kicked out while spinning on her knee knocking out his foot from under him. Vance tumbled downnding on his butt and Lisa jumped up and outwards to attack him with a punch of her own. Yet her attack was cut short when Gaston suddenly let out a deafening roar. He had regained his consciousness sooner than expected and jumped up turning towards Lisa. When Lisa took a nce at him, Vance used the opportunity to get up as well. Lisa was now pinched in between the two hulking men. The crowd was cheering loudly throughout the edges of the room. John and Richard struggled to see what was happening inside. They shoved aside several people until they got to the front of the crowd to get a better view. From this point on they couldn''t believe their eyes. Lisa looked like a tiger battling two oxen. Standing in between the two men, Lisa was watching each carefully with quick nces. She knew this was a bad ce to be in, but she still had some tricks up her sleeve. The two men suddenly tried attacking her at the same time. Vance swung fast and wide at her, while Gaston reached out to grab her. In a blur of motion, Lisa jumped high over the men''s attacks! Then, like from some action movie, she kicked both men squarely in the face while performing a split! The impact stunned them, and they staggered back. Gaston''s outstretched arm was closest when Lisanded, and she grabbed it and spun throwing him at Vance. The two collided and fell to the floor in a tangled pile. Lisa then jump at Gaston with both feet and nted them on his head. This time he was immediately knocked out for good. Finally, she turned towards Vance and slugged him hard in the face also knocking him out before he had the chance to block. The fight was over! "The Queen wins!" Someone yelled and others began cheering her nickname. "Queen! Queen! Queen!" She had done it! Not only had she won but gained a reputation as a Matchpetitor. Now she would be able to have the chance to meet the Mad Dog boss. Or so she thought that was how it was going to y out. ns just never work out how you''d want them too. Turning to the other two men that were with Vance and Gaston, Lisa headed for them. The two handlers were clearly shocked to see that their guys had lost. They, however, quickly recovered as she approached them. "Now, let''s talk." Lisa said breathing a bit heavy. She had taken little damage and couldn''t wait to get on with what was to follow. "I have to ask you first, how soon can you set me up with the Mad Dog boss?" The first guy that spoke was a small man with a nice purple and gold jacket, his chubby cheeks wobbled as he spoke, "I can''t help you with that. I''m afraid. I am only a merchant from out of town. I was just here to set up some trade deals." "Really? Well hold on for a moment. We might be able to do some business because I''m also in the merchant profession." Lisa said interested in what he might be trading. She then looked at the other man. "How about you?" "Well I can''t directly set up a meeting with the Boss." The second man said a bit timidly. He was just slightly shorter than she was and just as thin, if not more so. His nervous brown eyes darted around like he was afraid to be seen talking to her. "I can get you into another Match with one of his lieutenants though. Jackson Williams, you heard of him, right?" "Ya, I know of him." Lisa lied. She had to act like she knew him to help smooth over things. "Cool, cool. I can set up a way for you two to meet back here. But it''ll be a few days." The thin guy said nervously looking at her. "Why not now? Or today?" Lisa said taking an impatient step towards him. "I can''t just force him to show up. He''d kill me." The guy said holding up his hands defensively. "Best I can do is two days. Juste back here and I''ll be in this same spot, I promise! My name is Jerry by the way." "Well then Jerry. I hope for your sake you do." Lisa said with bit of intimidation dancing in her voice. Jerry nodded vigorously and slipped by her and bolted through the crowd to the door. Along the way he pushed in between John and Richard that wereing over to Lisa. They didn''t say anything to her. They were absolutely speechless. Lisa turned back to the merchant, "So please tell me, what do you trade? I too am also a merchant interested in opening a trade channel here. Perhaps we can do some business? You can just call me Queen for now." She said giving him a reassuring smile. "Well this is interesting. Sure, we can talk." The chubby guy said gesturing to a table that wasn''t smashed up from the fight. The two sat down facing each other. "My name is Frank Sellers. I deal in metal and construction materials." Chapter 14: Border Trouble Chapter 14: Border Trouble n''s n was working. They had found a gap in the Mad Dogs patrol routes and snuck into a storage unit facility. At the facility''s main office is where they set up a temporary base. They chose this ce because it was located on top of a hill and was not far from their own territory. The building was spacious enough that all of them could upy the buildingfortably. One wall had somehow been knocked down and idently created a perfect view of the roads below, perfect for observing the popce. Over the next few days, they started intimidating and making themselves known to the people living in the immediate area. Then when the Mad Dog gangsters came to investigate, they would suddenlye under attack by Skull members and forced to retreat. The Skull gang would call after them saying that the Mad Dogs were trespassing on their territory. The Mad Dogs knew full well that it wasn''t so and sent word to their boss. "The Skulls have imed two blocks?" The Mad Dogs leader, Martinez Sanchez, yelled. He chucked a half full cup at the wall in anger, sttering its contents on the wall. "What is their Head thinking? I thought we had a deal to have peace for another two years! That lying bone freak!" Martinez yelled. "Don''t worry boss." Hugo said unfazed by the bosss temper. He was one of Martinez''s top lieutenants and had seen him angry quite a lot. "I''ll go personally to deal with the situation. They might be strong, but their numbers are too few." Hugo was not an original member of the Mad Dog gang when they first arrived in the town. He joined them once the Mad Dog gang and another rival gang started fighting for control of the neighborhood that he lived in. Since then, he had quickly risen up in the ranks and could be considered Martinez''s number four guy. "Fine, deal with it. I want them gone as soon as possible. I want the freak Head to know who the real leader of this town is. I want you to kill as many of them as you can and while you''re at it and take two blocks from him as well." Martinez said sounding rather heated as he kept pacing back and forth in his office. The office was located at the top of the National Bank where the gang had set up their main base to utilize the vaults to store their plunder. The bank was also one of three ces that had electricity in them in the entire town. The other two ces were the office building to the right side of the bank and arge warehouse on the banks left side. The two ces were where the top gang members lived, fought Matches, and traded with merchants or townspeople. The lower level members lived in unpowered apartments behind these three main buildings. The electricity was being provided by three sr powered generators, of which were located on the roof of the warehouse. They were kept under close guard and Martinez even hired technicians to keep up the maintenance on them. This was a major factor for the reason the gang had been able to stay so powerful. Hugo nodded hearing the Boss''s orders and turned to leave the room. Leaving Martinez with the other lieutenants and his main bodyguard, Joe Swanson. Hugo headed down the hallway towards the stair leading to the lobby. Two of his subordinates were talking with some other gang members, but quickly followed after him upon seeing him leaving. "What up boss?" One of the men questioned. "Skull forces are breaking the border deal. We''re going to put an end to it." Hugo replied. "Finally!" The other guy said with a sigh. "I was getting bored just waiting for something to happen." The three men were heading out of the entrance to the bank when another gangster, that Hugo recognized as a handler of one of their Match Fighters, hurried past them going inside. It was Jerry. He looked worried, yet excited. Hugo payed him not much attention though and hurried on. Jerry quickly went up the staircase to go find the lieutenant Jackson. But once he arrived at the top, he saw that the gang was holding a meeting. He then decided to wait with the other members that were talking in groups scattered around in the hallway. "How''s it going Jerry?" Someone called. He saw it was his buddy Phil. They had been friends for most of the time that they had been in the gang. "Not good." Jerry said shaking his head. "Things are getting messy." "What are you talking about? Where''s Vance?" Phil asked. At that moment the door to the Boss''s office opened noisily. The lieutenants were leaving rather quickly; some were headed for the stairs, while others joined up with the groups of other gangsters to talk about what went on. Jerry also spotted Lieutenant Jackson heading towards the stairs. "I''ll tell you what happenedter, I need to speak with Jackson." Jerry said to Phil. "Jackson, I need to tell you something!" Jackson paused and turned to see Jerry hurrying over towards him. "What is it?" He replied with a tinge of annoyance. "I went to meet up with the merchant like you told me, but our meeting was interrupted by a woman. She challenged Vance and the merchant''s Match Fighter at the same time!" Jerry paused at this point and spoke in a low voice. "She beat both of them." Jackson was interested now. To beat Vance alone was a feat in itself, but for a woman to beat two Match fighters in the same fight was unheard of in these parts. "What was her name? What does she want? If she sent you here, there has to be a reason." Jerry nodded and replied, "She wants to fight the Boss for some reason. I told her that I would talk to you first and then we would meet back at the Ragged gon in two days." Jerry took a breath then finished, "She called herself Queen." Special Officer Daniel Hawkins sat in thisfortable office chair brooding. Mulling over what the Commander had told him about that woman concerned him greatly. At the time when the Commander had mentioned the Queen type soldier, Danielmanded everyone, except for Mark Caswell to leave. This information was clearly going to be confidential. Once the nonessential personnel were out of the Command Room, the Commander continued. "A Queen type soldier is a female soldier from a special unit that has been brought back from the past. Kings are the description of male soldiers in that same unit. Additionally, the King or Queen code name is followed by an identification number." "Two hundred years ago, after the Third World War, a USA Marine Cyborg Unit called the Hazard Corps. had been voluntarily put into cryo-sleep for future use by the military. However, as you know, the robotics industry had been making human personnel in the military obsolete in the wake of their sleep. But two years ago, the base in the West Virginia area that they were being stored in, became under attack by insurgents. The secret Hazard Units were relocated and then revived." The image of the Commander talking then switched over to a video of the Hazard Cyborg Unit. They were preforming training drills and live fire exercises. "We thought we could utilize this old force to help us quell the rebellion. They were refitted with upgraded cybeics and weapons. The exact specifics I can''t disclose to you, yet. Using them worked for a few missions, until they learned that we were no longer like the government they once knew." "At first it was just one or two insubordination instances, but it spread. They eventually started their own rebellion inside the base they were stationed in. The real cause that sparked the incident is unclear. To stop this rebellion, we sent two full Mark 7 Assault Robotic Battalions to face them. Our forces were defeated, and the Cyborg Unit dispersed. Some we know formed up with each other and into rebel groups. While others, like this Queen soldier you discovered, have gone on apparent solo endeavors. We have been trying to track their movements with low sess and fortunately you discovered this one out of chance." The Commanders image reappeared on the screen. His face remained regal and sullen. The Commander then boomed out the following orders. "Your orders are to observe this ''Queen''. Find out what her motives are in this area. Is she in contact with any other cyborg Kings or Queens? You do not need to engage her unless you have a clear opportunity. Lastly, if you can take her alive that would be preferable. Understood?" "Yes Sir!" Daniel saluted making a fist with his right hand and thumping it over his chest. "Very good. We will be sending to your location Recon drones and allow you ess to a spy satellite when requested. That is all." The image of the Commander instantly disappeared from the main screen. Adjusting in his seat, Daniel knew he need toe up with a n. Before that he still had to first relocate the woman. Then try to track her without raising suspicion. This could be aplished with the drones once they arrived. However, if he hadn''t lost the blueprints to the dam, he could have brought power back to the town and utilize the security cameras scattered everywhere. He cursed his ipetence for loosing that seemingly unimportant intel. "Second Lieutenant!" Daniel called out. Second Lieutenant Mark Caswell opened the door and stood in attention. "Sir?" He replied. "Get me the Sargent and tell him to bring two others with him for a recon mission." Daniel said getting up from the chair. He then sped his hands behind his back and turned to stare out the window. "Dismissed." "Yes Sir." Mark said giving a salute and left the room. "Now my mysterious Queen, let the game of cat and mouse begin." Daniel spoke quietly to himself. Chapter 15: Deals Chapter 15: Deals Frank Sellers was a rather calm fellow, even after seeing his Match fighter, Gaston, get beaten just moments before. The whole time he spoke with Lisa, he had remained calm and collected. Like a true merchant. "Metal and construction materials? Perfect!" Lisa said pping her hands together. "I will definitely need your help in the future. If my ns do work out, I assure you that we can make some good money together." Frank raised an eyebrow skeptically, "How so? Not many people have an interest in construction materials here in this town. Also, I was only here to buy scrap metal from the Mad Dog gangsters. So, if you are also considering selling me metal, I''m afraid you are going to have a dangerouspetitor." "That won''t be a problem. I won''t be selling scrap metal to you, but rather, I intend to buy copper and tools for repairs." Lisa said brushing off his warning. John and Richard were sitting at a nearby table right behind Lisa. They nced at each other and the look they gave meant that neither of them had any clue as to what Lisa could talking about. The initial goal was aplished, now why was she talking to some random merchant about trade stuff? Then Lisa continued, "I will soon have ess to an opportunity to acquire electricity. I intend to get this town back and running in no time. So, I will need your copper to rebuild power lines and transformers. As for the tools, those will be obviously for fixing machines to continue my ns." She smiled her charming smile again, but still retained a serious look at the same time. "Hmm, now this is interesting." Frank said tapping his fingers on the table in thought. Lisa thought too herself while waiting for his answer, "Every merchant has a tell, for when an opportunity interests them, or they hear a good deal. His has to be him tapping on the table, its kind of obvious." Then she spoke to Frank again, "Even if my ns don''t work out or take a while to happen, I won''t hinder your deals with the gangsters at all. So really this promise won''t hurt your current profit margins in the slightest. In fact, it only begs the chance for you to gain even more." "So, if I agree to provide the resources to you, how much will I be getting out of my investment? Also, how long until you need these materials? I won''t be here in town for much longer and it will take me two weeks or more to return to my business to the south." Frank said opening his hands matter-of-factly giving a shrug. "Great questions." Lisa nodded understandably. "As for the price of your cut, that will start out with full purchase of materials and tools. I will only buy what I can afford or need at the times I need them. I can assure you it will be worth your while." Lisa paused for a moment. Then she turned to the two men listening behind her. "Can one of you get me a drink please? All this talk after the fighting has made my mouth dry." Richard nodded without a word and got up to head to the bar. The room was still a mess and he had to watch his step as others were clearing out the room. John, however, whispered back to Lisa, "What is going on? What do you mean get electricity? How are you going to pay for all this!?" "I''ll exinter." Lisa whispered back. "It''s all part of the original n we have, you''ll see." She then turned back to Frank before John could ask another question. Still confused John sat back and continued gleaning for information as the other two spoke. "Sorry about that. They are with me." Lisa reassured Frank with a nod. "Let''s see, ah yes, as for the time of the purchases it will be whenever you return to town next. I won''t pressure you toeback if it''s too inconvenient for you. How long does it normally take for to return back here from your business?" "One month from when I leave my business." Frank replied. "This is the farthest up North I am able to trade too. Anything above the dam is currently out of my reach." "That time frame won''t be an issue. I should have things ready for when you return." Lisa said just as Richard returned with arge mug of water and she nodded to him thankfully. She looked inside the mug and fortunately there was nothing floating in it, as was likely going to happen in such a ce. She took a sip, wetted her lips and then continued, "When you return to the town juste back here or ask around for me and I''lle right away. So, do we have a deal?" Lisa said while standing up and reaching her hand out for a handshake. Frank also stood up and straightened his purple jacket before epting the handshake. "Sounds good to me. Considering for now I won''t be losing anything for the moment. We can talk prices and more detailster." "d to hear it." Lisa said cheerily. "Also, let me apologize for beating up your Match fighter, Gaston. I though he was with the gangsters." Frank sighed. "It''s all right. I didn''t expect you to challenge him barehanded. Most people challenge an opponent with a weapon. Gaston is quite a capable fighter with his war hammer. But too clumsy for hand to handbat." Frank said gesturing to a huge hammer at his feet. Looking closely Lisa could see that the massive hammer might be made ofpacted metal parts wrapped up with twisted rebar. Its handle looked like it was also made of metal, but it was wrapped up with cloth, so it was hard to see what it really was originally. However, its size was ratherrge and unnerving, that much was clear. "You can fight with weapons?" Lisa asked with some surprise, as she sat back down. "Why yes. Didn''t you know that? I mean you are a Match Fighter after all." Said Frank sitting down as well. Lisaughed a bit embarrassed, "Actually no, I didn''t know that. This was my first Match fight. I hadn''t even been to a Match fight before this. Back in Salt Lake City, where I was trading before, I knew of these fights; but never learned about them." "Your first Match fight!" John and Frank said at the same time in surprise. Richard too raised his eyebrows in surprise. From her strength and skill, everyone thought she would have been in some kind of Match Fight. "So that''s why you fought bare handed." Frank said leaning back in his chair to dab a handkerchief at his brow. "Let me exin some of the rules for you then." "First, the fight can be started at any time, by any challenger. However, no sneak attacks are technically allowed. You must announce your intention to fight before engaging and have a witness. Otherwise it won''t count as a Match Fight." "Secondly, you can fight with any weapon except for guns orser guns. Crossbows and bows are allowed though, but only in rare cases. The challenged party is the one that deres what weapons are allowed to be used in the fight. This helps to make things slightly fairer." Lisa nodded attentively as she listened to the merchant talking. John and Richard were also listening in intently. They too didn''t know all the rules. "Next," Frank continued, "There is no time limit or limits to the number of Match Fighters that can participate in a fight. So be careful when challenging an opponent. If you challenge someone that has a lot of fighters and you don''t specifically say who your challenger is, then they could send as many people as they want." "Additionally, is that any written contracts, spoken deals or bets made must be upheld after the fight is over. But if the looser still has more Match Fighters, they can challenge again to avoid this. Be sure to avoid this instance by agreeing, at the start, that no additional challengers can join in." "Lastly, the fight will not always have a referee. So, the way a fight is decided is when one deres that they lose, if they are rendered unconscious or if the opponent is killed." Frank finished exining and cleared his throat, which made his chubby neck wobble. "That was very helpful indeed." Lisa said. "I am d you''re helping me with this." "Don''t mention it." Frank replied waving his hand dismissively. "Think of it as payment for your win and as some friendly advice to a new business partner. There are more rules and personnel to exin, but my time is running short." "Well this has been a most sessful trip." Lisa said getting up again. She downed the rest of the water in the mug with one gulp and left the mug on the table. "But it''s time we get going too. It was nice talking to you. I hope to see you soon, Frank." "Likewise." Frank said giving a quick wave as Lisa turned to leave the tavern. Then he looked down tiredly at the messy room. "Now to figure out how to wake up my friend here..." John and Richard quickly got up to follow after her. People were still crowding the tavern entrance and they had to squeeze their way out. When they did get outside, John couldn''t keep quite anymore. "What is going on already Lisa!" John shouted loudly. "Well at first it was just to fight some of the gangsters to get a reputation. I think that part went well." Lisa trying to calm John down. He looked like he was about to blow a fuse. "Yes, I get that part." John continued still simmering. "But what about that merchant, Frank? How are we going to get electricity or money to buy anything for that matter? Aren''t we getting revenge for the Marshals?" Lisa motioned with her hands for him to calm down while she exined her actions. "First, we need to get our hands on aputer. We can try to get one by betting against Jerry, once hees back with a challenger and I beat whoever it is. Then I can use the blueprints I collected of the dam, and get the dam running once again. We can get people pay us for the electricity and hire or extort other that can help us deal with the gangsters." "This is crazy talk!" John said throwing his hands in the air. "Hire people to fight the Mad Dogs?" "Don''t worry John, I know that''s a crazy idea. If things get to hard, you don''t have to be involved with me any longer. But I also can''t continue to rely on you guys all the time for food and housing forever. This doesn''t even need to be the final n, but it''s a start." Lisa said calmly to John. "I still promise that the gang boss will pay dearly for what he did to Hanna and her parents. This will alwayse first!" Chapter 16: Leadership Chapter 16: Leadership Nathan Dees was struggling. Not long after he became a leader and dered the creation of the East River Militia, many problems kepting up every day. The militia troops were a mess. No one knew who would be in charge of the militia, who was higher ranked or what they were actually going to be doing. Nathan had first decided, during the riots, that they would rid the town of the ck Rats. However, the people just wandered the streets looting everywhere they went. Those that didn''t know of or understand who this new militia was, had immediately regarded them as just some other gang. Fighting was naturally inevitable. Nathan also found that the verymittee that voted for him was also falling into a total disaster. Some wanted to try and take over the area like the gangsters did, by demanding that the people pay for their protection. While others wanted to help the people by returning what the gangsters had stolen and help rebuild homes and shops. Yet even a few others wanted to call everything off, seeing that this near impossible task was clearly going to fail. Nathan sat back in his chair, at the head of the table, watching everyone bickering and yelling at each other in the warehouse that had be their meeting ce. He had not expected things to go like this. All of the excitement from the riot and his sudden rise to power was gone. The realization of leadership was now settling in. "Everyone shut up!" Nathan finally snapped. "And sit down, now!" The angry crowd slowly quieted. Some were still arguing at the far end of the table, but Nathan yelled at them some more until everyone calmed down. Then everyone just stared at him waiting for what he had to say. "Things cannot go on like this." Nathan said leaning forward with both his hand on the tabletop. "What we need to do first is restore order. Go get everyone that is out there in the streets back here. I feel that they are making matters worse at the moment." No one moved. It seemed that Nathan still had to deal with the issues of this loosely formedmittee first. "Well, since no one is volunteering to leave and help out, let''s disband thismittee and start over." Nathan started to say but was immediately interrupted by several people all at once voicing their disagreements. He held up his hands to get them to calm down. After a moment they finally did. "As I was saying, thismittee is too big. Other than my position as leader of the East River Militia, or ERM, we must form a proper chain ofmand here. So I say we need to vote on a few people here to fill the positions of Vice Leader, Treasure, who''s in charge of the militia forces, who keeps track of the meeting and records them; and then anything else that needs taking care of. Everyone here needs to pick some position that they feel qualified to be in and exin why. Then once everyone gets a say, we vote." The group murmured amongst themselves for several minutes while Nathan waited nervously. Finally, a tall middle-aged man with a balding shaven head stood up. Nathan recognized him; he was a former member of the old city''s council. "I think what Mr. Dees has said is a very rational concept. This rushed formation of the currentmittee is useless as it stands. I Henry nagan would volunteer to be elected as Vice Leader. I was a former Public Servicesmittee leader here in town. So, I understand the importance of why and what a city needs to function properly." Henry paused for a moment and scanned the room. Then he looked at Nathan, as if saying that Nathan needed to say something to continue the motion. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Mr. nagan. Does anyone wish to put in their own bid for Vice Leader." Nathan said looking about to see if anyone else made a motion, but the room was silent. It wasn''t all too surprising though. Mr. nagan was an actual government official, while most everyone here were mainly civilians. "Then if no one objects, Mr. nagan is now East Rivers new Vice Leader." Several people pped around the room, Mr. nagan nodded to everyone with a smile, then took his seat. Then over the remainder of the afternoon different positions were filled. Next to be unanimously voted in to lead the militia forces as the ERM Commander was a retired Match Fighter, by the name of Gillian Taws. He was over fifty years old. However, if it weren''t for his pepper colored hair and his extremely well-built physic, he would still look to be in his early thirty''s. After being voted on, Gillian announced that he would be going to stop the rioters that were destroying the town. "Before you go, we need to be able to distinguish you and the militia from ordinary people." Nathan said thoughtfully. Nathan quickly started scanning around the warehouse floor for anything that might be of use to fix this issue. Then he spotted some cratesbeled "Sheets" and had a sudden idea. He got up toe over to check on them while everyone looked on. Nathan pulled out a six-inch pocketknife he always kept in his back pocket, for protection, and pried open the closest crate. Inside was a ton of dark green cloth sheets. Pulling one out he seemed satisfied that his n might work and then turned towards everyone to exin it. "Let''s use these sheets to help solve the issue. We can cut them up into small strips and tie them around our arms to help identify ourselves. Eventually we can make new bands and sew on the ERM letters to look more official." Nathan said while cutting a part off and tying it around his own left arm. Nathan knew he had to take the initiative to get the others on board. Fortunately, no one objected to this simple and easy to implement idea. "Sounds good to me." Gillian saiding over to Nathan and getting a strip of the sheet to tie around his arm. "Anyone here not looking to get a spot on themittee, but still wants to help,e get a sheet and follow me so we can stop the looting quickly." Roughly twenty people, of whom were mainly standing away from the table, joined up with Gillian''s proposal. They too tied the green sheets around their arms. After they all had left, Nathan continued forming themittee. Jill Smithy was voted to be the Treasurer. She was a former bank finance manager. She was an agingdy with pail blond hair and thick stature. She seemed to be rather quick witted and no one questioned whether or not she could fit the role. She also put in her motion to volunteer quite adamantly, which Nathan admired as he was not very economically minded. Joshua Zimmerman was voted to be the head of the Judiciarymittee. He was also a former judge in the town. Fortunately for the ERM he had been unwilling to leave when the town was destroyed years ago. This was simply because his family had been living there for decades. Mr. Zimmerman had said he still had all thew books in his private library at home, so starting over wouldn''t be too difficult. Thest notable position to be filled was the Head of Records. The position wasn''t normally all too important, but since the town had no power to keep track of who owned what on aputer, it now had to be done the old-fashioned way. By using just paper and ink. Thedy that finally volunteered for the unwanted position was Nelly Havens. She had been a University teacher at Texas A&M before she had moved here, to only to get trapped by the town''s destruction during thest bombings. Everyone else filled other minor roles to assist the higher positions, like secretaries or work assistants. Those that were not voted for or voluntarily chose to work, were in total about forty people. Nathan asked that those remaining go help Gillian with the rioters or if not just to leave for the time being. About ten decided to go to Gillian while the rest left. After everything had been settled Nathan decided to start the next issue of importance: finances. "Now we need to figure out how we are going to pay for all this. I think that after the rioters have been stopped, we need to figure out who owns what. This way we can go a search every house, store or building to determine what we can sell, use or make to earn a profit. Until then, all our positions will be voluntary with no pay." Nathan exined and some of the people murmured to each other. He ignored them and continued. "This won''t be permanent. I understand we all need to support our family''s and lives, but this is all we can do for now. Once we figure out what we have, only than we can sell stuff to merchants in the south and get some money or goods flowing in our budding economy." Treasurer Jill voiced her agreement, "I can agree with this for now. As we have no budget, we can only start from scratch. Starting up a trade route will definitely be a step in the right direction." "Thank you, Mrs. Smithy." Nathan said nodding in her direction. "Now as for the ck Rats we have captured so far, Mr. Zimmerman, I hope you can try them as soon as possible. I trust you will take into ount that we have no jail or means to keep them fed at the moment. So, you''ll need to be a bit harsh in judgement for now. Eventually we can return to the ways things ought to go in a proper court." Nathan said though he was unsure if thewyer would be willing to bend the rules a bit. "I will see what I can do. However, the top leaders of the gang I won''t tolerate. You can rest assured they will be punished severely." Mr. Zimmerman said resolutely. "All that they have done to us is irreversible and condemnable." "That''s good to hear." Nathan said felling slightly relieved. Then he noticed that the sun light in the room was beginning to dim and they had no candles or fire to continue the meeting. "I think this is as far as we can go for today." Nathan announced rising up from his chair. "We can meet back here tomorrow to finish the rest of themittee''s formation. Please get home safe." The people all got up in agreement, it had been a long afternoon. The town at night definitely was not a safe ce for anyone to be in. Another set of issues to deal with at another time. Everyone had left so far except for Nathan and Vice Leader Henry nagan. Mr. nagan turned to Nathan and pped a hand on his shoulder. "You surprised me today." He said with a sharp smile. "I didn''t expect someone so young to do so well at handling everything like you did. But if you ever feel like you can''t handle the situation, I can always be there to help." Nathan smiled and replied, "Thank you. I will keep that in mind. I will always try my best." "Good man." nagan said patting him heavily on the shoulder before turning to leave. Watching him go out the door, Nathan felt slightly uneasy. "I know what Mr. nagan said was alright, but it was how he said it that made me feel like he would rather lead than follow me. I best keep my wits about me." Nathan thought to himself. Chapter 17: Next Step Chapter 17: Next Step After returning from the tavern that afternoon, the trio arrived to find Benny sitting in awn chair on his porch waiting for them. Seeing theming back, Benny stood up and gestured with his arms out wide signaling his displeasure. John moaned under his breath seeing him. "Where did you guys go without me?!" Benny said getting up and angrily stomped over to towards them. "I''m not so old that you don''t need my help!" "I''ll leave him to you guys." Lisa said dipping over to Richards house. "Joan might have dinner ready and I''m starved." She easily abandoned the other two to deal with Benny and entered the house. She took a big whiff of the delicious aromaing from the soup Joan was cooking in the garage. Her stomach groaned uncontrobly, ready to eat. However, the rest of house was quiet, so that meant everyone must be elsewhere doing chores or resting. Lisa put her coffin down by the door gently, then hung her Yankees hat and leather jacket up on the coat rack. Leaving her shoes on, she went back outside and crossed the yard towards the open garage. Inside she could see that Joan was cooking at a small fire with a pot of soup simmering on top. Hanna was there too, but she was only watching glumly from a chair in a corner. "We''re back Joan." Lisa called out stepping inside while also waved to Hanna. Hanna replied with a short sad small smile. It seemed that she still needed time to cope with her parent''s death. "Soup smells good. What''s in it today?" Lisa asked hungrily. "I added some spice this time." Joan replied as she stirred the pot slowly with arge metal spoon. "The marketce had just received a new shipment of practically everything today. So, the prices were lowered just for the day and I got some good deals." "Everything?" Lisa said thoughtfully. "Maybe in the morning I''ll go take a look at what''se in." She gave a quick chuckle. "I haven''t been to the market area since I found Hanna. What a terrible merchant I''m turning into." "Don''t worry about it." Joan said looking up from the pot. "You have been busy helping us." "I know, but I still feel annoyed by that fact." Lisa replied crossly. Lisa grabbed a nearby stool and sat down to watch Joan. The whole set up of the fire in the garage fascinated Lisa. The fire was lit with wood and other mmables, so smoke was rising into the room. However, instead of filling up the room Joan had rigged arge hand powered fan on the back wall of the garage. Joan would only need to pull on a rope tied to the vertical fan and when it swung back and forth, it had enough power to blow the smoke outside. Richard had cut off the top of the garage door to allow the smoke to leave. Then if it was too cold or raining the door could be shut without smoke building up inside the garage. It was simple and yet clever solution. Additionally, to prevent the roof from catching fire, Richard had also screwed to the ceiling two car hoods close together, which blocked the smoke and sparks perfectly. The car hoods had been ckened extremely so at this point from the constant use of the firece. "So, what do you n to buy at the market?" Joan asked after a few moments. "Hmm, well I need to stock up on some personal supplies, but I mainly want to see what is popr to buy and sell here in town. It might help me to know what I can make a profit from." Lisa replied thinking of some possibilities. "Can I go too?" The small voice of Hanna called out, surprising the two women. "Well looks like someone can speak again." Joan remarked smiling at the little girl. She hadn''t hardly spoken to anyone since Lisa brought her back. "Why do you want to go to the market?" "It''s boring here. Besides, I would like to have something to do, rather than just chores. It might help me to maybe rx some." Hannained while still speaking quietly. "That sounds fine to me. One more set of eyes can help me find something neat in the market." Lisa replied cheerily. "Alright, but make sure you bring her back by lunch time." Joan said while wagging a finger jokingly. "That''s fine. By the way, it looks like the soup is ready." Lisa said licking her lips hungrily. Dinner that night was a noisy one. Benny couldn''t believe what John and Richard had told him about Lisa''s fight and talk with the merchant. Benny made Lisa exin it again to everyone just to be sure. Joan and Mary were shocked after hearing what happened directly from Lisa. They kept asking Lisa if she really was alright and not hiding any injuries from them. Eventually they settled down some and let her talk about the deals she made with the merchant, Frank Sellers. "Do you really think you can get the electricity running again?" Mary asked first. "It''s been years since I had my air conditioning working. I can''t stand the summertime heat." "I am really hoping that I can. But even if I do get it working, it might take a long time for me to get power lines to run all the way out here." Lisa replied apologetically. Mary looked a bit disappointed, "Please get it working." She mumbled. Benny was next to speak up. "Let''s say you can get the electricity running. How are you going to hire people to work for you, much less pay them? Do you know anyone that can run a hydroelectric dam?" His questions were definitely valid and the others at the table nodded their heads in agreement. Lisa though for a moment before giving her answer. "First, I need to beat the Mad Dog Match Fighter to get aputer to open the blueprints. Once I get that done, I can look at the dam. I may be a merchant now and studied Marketing in college, but I switched majors three years into my learning. I was going to learn about engineering, but I absolutely hated learning how to design blueprints and schematics. Not to mention those ridiculous levels of math I had to learn." She paused seeing that no one was really interested in her reminiscing. "Ahem." She coughed and continued. "If I can get the power on in just the dams'' buildings then I will probably have to live there. Just so that no one else will try to steal my findings." "You mean you''re going to be leaving us?" Joan said sadly. "Yes, unfortunately I will have too. But only if the dam works." Lisa said cing a hand on Joan''s. "I really have appreciated your hospitality." Joan smiled, though unhappy about the idea of her new friend leaving. "Ok, I understand that much, but what about the workers?" Benny asked. "That''s the hard part. I need people that I can really depend on following my orders. I also need to first finish helping getting revenge for the Marshals." Lisa shrugged. The others also nodded understandably. Then Lisa continued and she spoke with absolute seriousness, "So, John I won''t be hiring anyone to do this n. I n on doing this idea by killing two birds with one stone. I am going to take over the Mad Dog gang after killing their boss." The room was silent. Everyone was too shocked to say anything. The sound of a cricket chirping outside was clearly audible. "You WHAT?" John said first standing up quickly. "You heard me." Lisa replied leaning back in her chair to look up at John. She looked calm as she exined. "I am going to take them over and run things the right way around here in town. It will be the easiest way to get people to work on the dam too. With electricity back in town, peoples way of life will defiantly improve. Then once Frank returns, I can get the needed supplies to rebuild the dam and power grid." "How could you possibly get the whole gang to do that? They''re nothing but stupid thugs that do nothing but bully the whole town?" John continued his argument. "This is an even more oundish idea than the first." Lisa''s idea did sound rather crazy to everyone present. "True, they probably are mostly idiots, but even idiots have a purpose. If anyone causes me trouble, I''ll let my fists do the talking. From what I''ve seen around here is that violence is about the only thing these kinds of people understand." Lisa answered him calmly. Then while ncing at Hanna she continued, "Also, what better way to punish them than by making them do work for those they mistreated." John sat down heavily and rubbed both his temples with his hands. "Everything you do seems to be getting crazier every time. If I hadn''t seen you fight those two Match Fighters in the tavern or hear the way you dealt with the merchant, I couldn''t back such an insane n." He paused briefly. "If you need any help and I''m able, I''ll help. With one condition." He looked serious at Lisa and she took the hint. "After you kill their boss and something happens that we can''t handle, you can never return here. I can''t risk my family and friends here in themunity. Is that understood?" Lisa nodded slowly while giving her reply. "I promise that if I can''t handle it, I will leave." "Thank you." John said rxing some. The darkness of night had arrived long ago, and everyone was getting tired. The light of the candles on the table were starting to burn low. Mary pped her hands together and spoke, "Well it''s gettingte and you, Lisa and Hanna, will be leaving early for the market. So, let us all go to bed." Everyone agreed without any argument. It was not long before everyone was in their homes fast asleep, all except for Lisa. Her mind was racing as she thought about how she was going to take over the gang. Not to mention the amount of money she might get from exploiting them. She smiled at the thought of controlling bullies and making glorious money! Before the night grew toote, she finally drifted off to sleep. Chapter 18: Rural Market Chapter 18: Rural Market The sun seemed to have risenter that morning, but it was only because of the heavy clouds that had arrived overnight. When Lisa and Hanna stepped outside, they found that it had rained somest night as well. Rain was an exceedingly rare asion for southern Utah. The roadside''s drainage had long since been clogged up with sand and pebbles, causingrge puddles to line the streets as they walked to the towns market area. The market was not as far away as it had seemed when the two first met. Now that Lisa knew the way, they got there in half the timepared to before. When they arrived, the main street of the market was already packed with people. Over a hundred worn out looking shoppers were trying to buy the best produce or meats avable before they ran out or risk going hungry. In this kind of town life, food was a tricky thing to get. One either had to grow their own foods from gardening on their homes small properties or to do field work outside of town that was the owned by farmers. Neither option was easy thanks to the poor nutrient sandy rock ground. Another even more difficult option was to go hunting. It was very time consuming, difficult and dangerous to travel out of town to the forest to hunt game and gather food. The hunters that did go out from town would be gone for weeks at a time to hunt deer, boar and otherrge game. They had to be quick to return to town with their kill as well, otherwise the meat would spoil and go to waste. This made the price of meat exceedingly high and only the most fortunate could buy meat. However, Lisa was not interested in buying food for this trip. She was interested in other necessities that the market might provide. Such as water filters, gas mask parts, toilet paper, medicines, robotic parts, electronic devices, weapons and anything that might be useful to survive in the harsh post nuclear world she now lived in. The duo wandered from stall to stall window shopping. The raggedy stalls lined the edges of the road in tightly packed groups. The roofs were made from faded colored wood, metal or fabric making the entire street spear like a patch work quilt. This gave some happy color to the dismal gray sky and buildings all around. Most of the items on main street stalls were typical items like soap, food, trinkets, drinks, clothing, furniture and so on. Nothing was of any real interest or value to Lisa. "So, what are you looking for exactly?" Hanna asked quietly. Lisa looked down at the little girl sticking close beside her. Her muddy red hair had been pulled back to one side by a hair piece exposing her forehead. Hanna looked back at her with sadness still lingering in her dull green eyes. "Well I personally don''t need to much. However, right now I''m just surveying the trade that''s going on here in town." Lisa said inly. "It has been said that two things determine the power of a city. One is the amount of trade it can provide. The second is how fast it can carry out the trade itself." Hanna gave a confused look and her eyebrows furrowed deeply. It gave her an unbelievably cute appearance and Lisa smiled on the inside seeing this. It took her a while to understand this concept herself. Lisa thought to herself, "I remember I gave the same look as her when my father was exining this to me. I think he was ying some Civilization game at the time." Then she spoke to Hanna, "Don''t think too hard about it. I hadn''t understood this too well until I had gone to college." Hanna nodded, but Lisa could tell she was still trying to figure it out. They then turned down another market lined road and the shops here wererger, but they didn''t look as nice. On one of the nearer stalls Lisa could see that there were weapons for sale here. Just by giving the items for sale a quick nce, Lisa knew that they weren''t worth purchasing. Axes, bats, machetes, pocket and kitchen knives, rebar that had been sharpened at one end were all outdated weapons for this future era. The gangsters around here, Lisa had also noticed, carried simr weapons and only a few actually had guns. In fact, only the AFR soldiers had any modern styled weaponry. This puzzled Lisa. She had been in other towns like this before and they even had better weapons than these. Looking up at the shop keeper she decided to ask him. "Excuse me sir, but do you sell any bullets?" The shop keeper looked surprised upon hearing this and his eyebrows raised up his tan bandanna on his forehead. "No, I don''t. In fact, no one here has any bullets as far as I know." "Hmm, is that so." Lisa said while thinking aloud. Then reaching towards her jacket pocket she unzipped it and pulled out a leather wallet. The shop keepers'' interest was piqued when she pulled out actual paper money; it was a five-dor bill. It was rare to have any this far away from a main city. Even Hanna eyes widened seeing the paper money. "Maybe this will help." Lisa said pping it down gently onto the stall table and slid it towards him. "I seem to remember something." The shop keeper said quickly pocketing the money before someone could take notice. Then in a low voice he leaned closer to Lisa, "Go to a shop, an actual building, called Fogle''s Corner Store and ask for a pound of sawdust." Lisa didn''t question what the shop keeper said. It was clearly a code. Apparently, there was some reason for the secrecy going on concerning why there was ack of live fire weapons. "Where is it?" Lisa replied quietly in return. The shop keeper pointed with his thumb down the road and said, "Two rights and a left. It''s got a big sign; you can miss it." "Thank you." Lisa said giving a satisfied grin and the two headed off. Hanna was still confused, again, and she asked Lisa, "Why are we going to get sawdust? I thought you asked for bullets." "I did, but getting bullets here is dangerous, so he had to talk in code." Lisa exined as they took their first right at the next intersection. The road here had a huge puddle, and they were forced to stay on the curb side to stay dry. Lisa took the lead walking atop of the curb edge and Hanna followed. "Why did he have to?" Hanna asked her carefully bncing on the curb with her arms spread wide. "I''m not too sure." Lisa replied finally skirting the puddle, then turning to watch Hanna''s crossing she continued. "My guess is the gangsters are trying to hoard the weapons and ammo." Hearing Lisa mention the gangsters Hanna''s face darkened. "We can''t let them have those." She said sounding angry. Lisa nodded understanding the young girls tone but didn''t say anything further. She didn''t want to make Hanna have to remember what they did to her parents, though it was inevitable. They took the next right in silence. The road no longer had any market stalls and only several closely packed abandoned store fronts lined the road now. There were also far fewer people here. Then they took the next left and there at the corner of the intersection was their destination, Fogle''s Corner Store. The shops name was written on arge metal sign above the door. The signs white paint was chipping all over it and getting very faded. The shops windows were all boarded up, giving it an abandoned look. However, if it weren''t for the big ''Open'' sign on the front door, the shop would look like any other abandoned building. Lisa opened the door and a little bell dinged announcing their arrival. Lisa had to duck low to get her coffin to fit inside the doorway. Inside the air felt still and warm, like some old antique store. The shelves and tables scattered spaciously from each other, were covered with odds and ends, kitchenware, toys for children of all ages, furniture and outdoor tools. They nced around for a few moments until the owner came out of a door at the back of the store and stood behind the counter. "Wee to my store,dies. Please take your time and let me know if you need help finding something." The store''s owner said in a chipper voice. He was an older man with grayish hair and his plump chin wobbled slightly when he talked. A pair of sses rested at the end of his nose precariously. Lisa walked slowly down the main aisle looking at everything as she spoke to him. "Nice store you have here. I was wondering if you sold sawdust by the pound here?" The owner raised his eyebrows suspiciously but didn''t show any signs of worry. Then speaking normally to Lisa, he said, "I might have some sawdust in stock, but what kind of wood are you interested in?" He had been resting his hands on the counter, but now he had slowly lowered them underneath. Lisa took note of this action. Clearly, he was a cautious person and was likely reaching for a hidden weapon. Lisa smiled to him calmly, "No need to worry Sir. I came here to by .50 caliber wood from you, if it is still in stock." "I might." The owner said while still keeping one hand ready below the counter. "It''s not often I get new customers. Who are you affiliated with?" "No one, just me." Lisa took a nce at Hanna who had just picked up a shinymp. "Hanna, put that back. If you break it, I have to buy it." Hanna nodded and set themp back down carefully. Seeing this interaction, the owner calmed slightly. Not many assants would have small children around them normally. "I see. Please wait one moment while I check the back." He then quickly turned to the counter door and disappeared for several minutes. Lisa used this time to search for anything of interest. She came over to a tablebeled ''Electronic Devices''. Digging through several baskets, she discovered three MP music ying devices that were in good condition and figured they might have some good songs. "I wonder what kinds of music''s are now popr in the future?" Lisa thought curiously. But that wasn''t the reason she was here. She then grudgingly ced them back into the basket. By then the owner was now returning. He was carrying arge green ammo box. He put it on the counter with a thud and opened the lid. Lisa came over and saw it indeed was .50 caliber bullets. "Normally no one new knows any codes, but I''ll make an exception." The owner said patting the green box. "How much?" Lisa asked and she slipped off her coffin cing it gently on the floor. "Depending on what you got to trade, of course." The owner said seeing her do this. Lisa started to open up the coffin and Hanna, who had juste over, started to get excited. She was finally going to see what was inside this suspicious coffin! Chapter 19: Contents Chapter 19: Contents Lisa unlocked the key lock to her darkly polished wood coffin. The lock was iyed smoothly into the wood, allowing the coffins surface to remain sleek. She had the key tied around her neck on a small but strong metal chain, along with her military dog tags. The shop owner noticed the tags and gestured towards them. "So, miss, you''re a former soldier I assume?" "Yes, I used to be. But that was many, many years ago." Lisa replied indifferently while ncing up at him. She tucked the tags and key back under her shirt as the shopkeeper continued the conversation. "Oh please." The aging owner said giving a small smile. "You look so young; it couldn''t have been all that long ago. You still look quite young." Lisa chuckled softly and opened the lid revealing its contents. "Looks can be deceiving." Hanna stood on her tiptoes to curiously peer over Lisa''s shoulder. The inside of the coffin and its contents surprised her. She had imagined some kind of mummy or creepy artifact hidden inside. Yet it was far simpler than what she expected. The coffin indeed was made of simple dark polished plywood, but its insides were lined with some kind of darkly colored metal. Hanna wondered how Lisa could manage to hold up something so heavy. Ignoring this discovery for the moment, she then eagerly looked at the other things inside. It was also far more organized than she had expected. The inside of the coffin was separated into several smallerpartments like a bookshelf. At the very top portion were four rolls of toilet paper, triple-ply. Then below the toilet paper were two slightlyrgerpartments that were half filled with MREs. Both items were also super rare here in town. Hanna knew that Lisa hade from Salt Lake City, but she didn''t anticipate that she was still this well off. The next threepartments, below the MREs, were in the middle of the coffin and were muchrger. The one on the left had a clear lid with various electrical wires and various tech parts piled in mass inside. The centerpartment had some changes of clothing and arge box of matches on top. All of which was strapped down for travel convenience. Thepartment on the right had soaps, perfume, and other grown updy necessities in it. Just like the left side, this too had a clear lid covering. Then Hanna watched Lisa as she fiddled with a locked safe, it was located on the bottom right of thest two equally sizedpartments. There were also two ammo boxes stacked and wedged above it. The words on the ammo boxes were torge, faded and confusing for Hanna to read so she ignored them. Thest remainingpartment, on the left, surprised Hanna yet again. There were three guns and what looked like two others that were disassembled but bundled together. Two of them were ck ones Hanna had never seen before, while the other was a .45 caliber pistol. The exact brand she had no clue. As for the two disassembled guns she couldn''t distinguish what they were, but even she knew that they had to be huge based solely on their barrel sizes. Lastly, among those guns was arge medical supply of practically everything imaginable. From bandages and cotton swabs to a small cardiac defibritor and cauterizing tool. Just then Lisa opened the safesbination lock. Inside, Hanna could see many shiny objects, but there was too much paper money inside. Which ultimately obscured what they really were. There was so much that Hanna couldn''t believe her eyes! "How rich is Lisa?! There''s more money here than I''ve ever seen!" Hanna thought in awe. There was one thing out of ce inside that safe. It was arge satellite phone. Though judging from its dark screen, it was unpowered. Lisa''s hand shifted through the money and she pulled out an expensive looking watch. Then she closed the safe and locked it. Next, she held the watch up to her ear. The tiny tic-tock sounds of the gears running inside proved it still worked. She held out the watch to the shop owner who took it and observed it closely. "My, my." The shop owner said as he turned the watch over in his hands. "This is actually of particrly good quality. Though it will be difficult for me to resell, just as it is equally as difficult to sell the .50 caliber ammunition. So, I''ll ept the watch for just this one box." Lisa smiled. "d to hear it. By the way, may I ask, what is for all the secrecy? Is there any reason to be so cautious?" "Naturally, this should not be a very difficult question to answer. Yet I cannot tell you for free." The owner said closing the lid to the ammo box and sliding it across the counter to Lisa. She grabbed it and put the ammo box into thest open space on the bottom of the coffin and closed the door. It automatically locked with an audible click upon closing. "Oh, I think I do already know, but what''s the harm in knowing the specifics." Lisa said effortlessly shouldering the coffin once again. "Consider this intel to be an investment. You tell me and I be a new customer for you in, how shall I say, more troublesome items?" "Hmm, very well. Sales have been low." The owner mumbled thinking it over. "The Mad Dog gang deres that anyone that has guns or ammunition will be killed and the items will be property taken from them. Of course, this caused people to resist, but the gang was smarter than most suspected. They first decided to do this when they controlled only a small area. Then before taking over an area, they scouted potential new members that had such weapons or just the potential to join them. Then after they got them or learned where their opposition was, did they then take over and dere their rule." "Very interesting." Lisa said thinking about this intel. Thinking to herself, "Simple gangsters couldn''t have thought up something as cunning as this. They might either have an outside backer or the leader actually is smarter than I guessed." Then turning to go, she called over her shoulder, "Thank you very much Mr.?" "My name is Tyler Nakamura." The owner replied curtly back. Lisa opened the front door for Hanna to exit first. "Well then Mr. Nakamura, thank you for your help. I will see you again sometime soon. I hope that I will have things worth trading to you sometime." Lisa said before walking out of the shop. Once back outside, Lisa adjusted the coffins straps on her shoulders and looked down at little Hanna. "Well that was fun!" Lisa said with a small gleam in her grey eyes. "I guess." Hanna replied casually. "We just bought bullets." "Oh no, we did a bit more than that. This is one of the reasons I decided to let youe with me. Other than finally getting you out the house." Lisa said smiling at the little girl and taking a step down the road. "The real reason was to teach you about gathering intelligence. If you are going to get your revenge, you must first know your enemy. You''re not very big or strong and with no special skills at the moment. So, gathering intelligence is the best thing for you to learn right now." Hanna perked up hearing this. She quickened her steps to keep up with Lisa. "What do you mean?" Hanna asked. "Simple." Lisa replied and started to exin. "We knew before who our enemies were. The Mad Dog gangsters and especially their boss. Just from getting the ammo, we found out that the gangsters are not only equipped with lots of guns, but lots of people, too. Also, that they are apparently rather careful. So, we can''t just rush into the enemy''s base and start fighting." Hanna nodded thinking the information over. Lisa turned to walk back towards the way they hade, and Hanna followed closely behind. They soon got to the road where the big puddle was without much trouble. When they were halfway across, from the opposite side of the puddle, Lisa saw a familiar face entering the intersection. It was Jerry. He wasn''t alone either. There were four other guys with him. Like Vance, from their first fight, two of the men were just as big. Clearly, they were also Match Fighters. A sudden thought popped into Lisa''s mind. "How were these guys so big and strong? Clearly their size was farrger than one could get from natural weightlifting. So, what tricks did they use?" Lisa and Hanna were just a few meters from the end of the puddle, when Jerry noticed Lisa, thanks to her easy to spot coffin. He pointed to her and excitedly talked to the men with him. "This isn''t good." Lisa thought. "Alone this situation wouldn''t be any issue, but I have Hanna now. I can''t act rashly." "Jackson, that''s her! That''s Queen." Jerry was nearly jumping in excitement saying this. The two fighters immediately tensed up hearing this. Jerry must have warned them that Queen was actually a dangerous opponent. "I thought you were joking when you said she carried a big coffin on her back." Jackson said looking her way. Now that Lisa could see who Jackson was, she was intrigued by his appearance. He looked nothing like a typical gangster. He wore a nice ck suite and red tie; his shoes were polished and his ck hair, with a white striping from his bangs, wasbed over neatly. He even had a handkerchief tucked neatly in his front pocket. The other man next to him, however, did look the part. He had a long white T-shirt, two sizes too big, sagging jean shorts and sun ss that looked like they were holding up his afro. In his hands was the modern example of the AK47, the AK97. Over his shoulder was strung a long chain of bullets. He had to be a personal bodyguard for Jackson. Lisa sighed and stopped moving. Hanna nearly bumped into Lisa when she did and almost fell into the puddle. Luckily, she grabbed hold of the coffin and peaked around it to see what had happened. "Who are they?" Hanna asked timidly. "Trouble." Lisa replied quietly. "If they start shooting, jump behind my coffin. Immediately run home as fast as you can if I can''t stop them." Hanna looked afraid, but nodded and continued cling to the coffin. "Well hello, Miss Queen." Jackson called out to Lisa. "I know you intended to meet with us tomorrow, but I couldn''t wait that long, so we we''reing early. I hope this won''t be an inconvenience to you." His voice was calm and sounded much younger than Lisa expected. Lisa smiled showing she wasn''t afraid. "Not at all. I only told Jerry that to give you guys time." "Thank you for the consideration." Jackson replied. "Now, shall we get to the point? What do you want with my boss?" Chapter 20: Second Match Chapter 20: Second Match Lisa and Hanna were still standing on the curb next to the deep puddle. Its depth appeared to be deeper than what would be safe enough to walk in. Meaning Lisa couldn''t attempt to confront the gangsters just yet. She first needed to get where Hanna would be able to hide or run away if need be. The small girl''s life was to be prioritized in any case. "You mind if we finish crossing?" Lisa ventured to ask. Jackson smiled casually, "Not at all. Please feel free to cross. I can see that you have a child with you." He said motioning to the tan little girl behind Lisa''s coffin. The twodies cautiously continued crossing while keeping an eye on them. The gangsters kept their promise and didn''t make any move on the pair. As soon as Lisa finished crossing, she took off her coffin and ced it close to the corner of the brick building nearby. "Hanna, go behind my coffin for now and remember what I told you before." Lisa spoke quietly to the girl while motioning with her hand to move quickly. Hanna did as she was told and quickly hid; only peaking carefully around the coffins edge to watch. Lisa turned to face the gangsters. She showed no signs of fear. After the countless battles she had been in the far past, this street scuffle was nothing. "Again, I''ll ask." Jackson said inly. "What do you want with my boss?" Lisa wasn''t sure how she should answer him just yet. If she outright told him her intentions than he would probably just immediately attack her. She needed to dodge the questioning for now, until she knew his situation more. As she had just exined to Hanna, gathering intel was very important. "First let me ask you, who are you? Are you even somebody that is close to the Mad Dogs gang''s leader?" Lisa replied with a questioning look. "I am indeed close to him." Jackson replied unperturbed. "I am one of his lieutenants." "I see. So, I guess I can exin things easier." Lisa nodded slightly. "I want to get the opportunity to fight him. I want to fight the strongest people in town and he is the leader of the strongest gang here. So, he must be strong. Right?" Lisa had to make up something to sound somewhat convincing. In a way she really was not lying. She did want to fight him, but not just forpetitive reasons alone. "Oh, I see. So, you are a Match Fighter then. Howe I haven''t heard of you before?" Jackson asked putting on a curious expression. He then took out of his nice jacket''s inside pocket a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He quickly lit one and took a quick drag. This seemingly unimportant action showed that he indeed had some wealth, for both these items were considered very valuable in run down towns and city''s such as this one. His nicely dressed appearance now seemed that it indeed wasn''t just for show. "I just came from out of town a few days ago." Lisa replied casually. No need to lie about that. "Sounds reasonable." Jackson said taking another puff. "Prove to me your worth any more of my time." He then nodded to the two fighters with him. They both stepped forward aggressively and brandished their weapons. Jackson gestured to the man on his left, "Howard here can be your first opponent." Lisa looked at the man without giving to much consideration. He was a thick bearded man of average height. He had on a thick sweater that came up high on his neck, almost a turtleneck but not quite. He didn''t look all that impressive except for the weapon in his hand, it was a firefighter''s axe. It didn''t have one axe head, but two instead. The second one was attached to the opposite end of the axe, so he could likely attack in some crazy swirling patters. Lisa nodded to the other opponent. "Why not him? He looks more like a fighter to me." The other man was much taller and broad shouldered than Howard. Almost a bit taller than Lisa was. But his most striking feature was his face. The man had a very Neanderthal looking block head, and to top it off he even had a thick ck mono brow. His appearance looked ratherical. "You''d rather fight Bruce? Fine with me." Jackson said with a shrug. Bruce stepped forward in-front of Howard. His weapon was much more standard, an oversized spiked bat. It actually looked more like a caveman''s club with train track nails in it. Lisa held back a chuckle seeing him this way. "You know what, let''s just make this easy on the both of them." Lisa said reaching into her jacket. "I can just fight them both together, it won''t make any difference." She could feel the familiar grip of her katana like de and a slight smile parted on her lips. Jerry nudged Jackson excitedly, "See, see! I told you she''d fight two guys at once. She''s getting cocky." "Yes, it seems so." Jackson said pushing Jerry away from him and wiping off his sleeve. Hearing this Hanna thought that Jerry was right. Lisa did seem to be acting cocky. These guys looked very big and scary to her. These Fighters were nothing like the drunken gangsters she had seen from before. Lisa didn''t seem worried one bit though. She then asked a question. "So ording to the rules the challenged party gets to pick to weapons?" Jackson nodded yes and Lisa continued. "So, I guess they can use whatever they got and just them two can fight. I don''t want any surprise fighters." Lisa then whipped out from the jacket her copsible ckened de katana and with a series of quick soft swishing noises the sword reached its full length. The sudden appearance of the thin three-meter-long metal de made Jackson raise his eyebrows, but he said nothing outright. Though his facial expression gave it away that such a weapon was defiantly not normally seen around here. "So be it." Bruce said in a deep slow voice. Lisa now couldn''t resist saying with a chuckle, "Not only do you look like a Neanderthal, but sound like one too. That''s just too funny!" The silly remark definitely triggered Bruce and he growled angrily and charged recklessly at Lisa. His club like weapon was raised over his head ready to pound this foolish littler woman. Howard also moved to attack but hung back to see how Lisa reacted. Lisa didn''t move, she just stood there and calmly waited for the big guy to attack. Then, just as he hade within two steps of her, did she attack with quite the fluid motion. Taking one step towards him and swinging upwards in a silver streak, her de moved too fast for him to counterattack. His arm holding the weapon suddenly slipped off his arm and the weapon ttered woodenly on the asphalt road. Bruce reeled back screaming and clutching at his missing arm. Blood sprayed violently about, like a leaking shower head. Lisa stepped forward again and with a second calm swing, ended his screaming for good. Bruce''s limp body thumped to the ground, defeated and dead. Howard stopped his advance but gripped his fireman''s axe in careful anticipation. At the first strike Hanna saw the blooding from the big guy and ducked behind the coffin to stop watching. The sight of the blood brought up the moment of her parents'' death. Her breath sped up and she hugged her shoulders tightly. As soon as Bruce was silenced, did she even dare peak out again. She was frightened and a bit sickened to see that the man was dead at Lisa''s feet. "Well that was disappointing." Lisa said stepping past Bruce''s body. "Maybe you can do better?" Howard started circling Lisa, who followed along by doing the same. The wind was gently blowing, and Lisa tucked a strand of loose ck hair behind her ear. Just as she did, Howard struck at her. He used both his hands to spin the two headed axes at her like a helicopters rotor de. Lisa quickly shuffled her feet backwards to avoid the odd rapid whirring attack. He was backing her closer to the wall of the building behind her. His intention was to back her into a disfavor-able position and then kill her while his movements were restricted by the wall. However, Lisa was not going to just let that happen. As soon as Lisa reached the wall she suddenly jumped backwards, and kick jumped off the wall! While flying over her attacker, Lisa stabbed downward at Howard like her sword was a spear. He was unable to defend from this sudden and awkwardly angled counter strike. Her de stabbed right through his heart. He fell to his knees with a nk look on his face. cing a foot on his chest Lisa pulled the de from his skewered body and it crumpled backwards at her feet. Lisa then turned to look at Jackson who had a look of surprise on his face. He apparently had never expected her to beat both of them so easily. He quickly hid this expression and tried to smile as if unaffected. "Well fought. It seems Jerry wasn''t lying about your skill after all." Jackson said maintaining hisposure. Jerry and the guard with him, on the other hand, looked very uneasily at Lisa who wasing slowly closer. Lisa only stopped approaching as soon as she was again between them and Hanna. Hanna looked just as surprised as the others. "Now that I have your attention." Lisa said. "How can I fight your boss?" Jackson shifted his body weight a bit uneasy as he thought. Then after a moment he replied. "We have a tournament style fight every two weeks at our base. If you prove yourself there, I am sure you''ll attract the boss''s attention." "When?" Lisa asked. "Next week." Jackson replied. "How do I get into this tournament?" Lisa asked again. "Jerry here can bring you there the day of the tournament." Jackson replied and Jerry gave him a nervous look but didn''t openly refute him. "The event is at night, so you''ll have time to meet up with me and I can exin the rest." Lisa folded her sword back up and tucked it into the pocket inside her jacket. "Sounds good to me. Jerry, same ce at the Ragged gon?" Jerry nodded nervously without a word. Then the three men started to back away. They didn''t seem to be all that eager to be near this dangerous woman any longer than they needed to be. "See you then. I look forward to speaking more." Jackson said while quickly turning back down the street the way they hade, along with the others following closely behind. Lisa sighed and turned back towards the small girl still peaking timidly from behind the coffin. She then knelt down to her and extended out a friendly hand. Giving a pleasant, calming smile, Lisa then said, "Sorry you had to see all that. Come on, let''s get you home." Chapter 21: Lucky Find Chapter 21: Lucky Find Hanna sheepishly took Lisa''s hand and stood up. Lisa smiled approvingly and then shouldered her coffin again. "I sorry you had to see me kill them. It wasn''t the best thing for you to have seen. Its just that I needed to make an example of them, to show I mean business and deserve to fight their boss." Lisa spoke softly to Hanna. "I hope you can forgive me." Hanna slowly shook her head. "I''m ok." Her dark tan face was slightly paler than normal, but Lisa could tell Hanna was a strong girl. After fighting in so many battles herself, Lisa had grown numb to seeing death and she had seen many of her allies be as well. Hanna seemed no different. She too was seemingly growing numb. Unfortunately, a child should never be this way. Lisa shook her head to dispel these thoughts and started forward towards home. Hanna quietly followed close behind. The two were about to leave the area when Lisa suddenly remembered something very important. "Awee on!" Lisa said giving an audible moan. "Hanna, I cannot believe I made a mistake." Hanna looked up at Lisa a bit confused and asked, "What mistake?" "I forgot to bet on the fight for a poweredputer orptop. Now I can''t read the blueprints!" Lisa said shaking her head. "That is unfortunate." Hanna replied quietly. "Oh well." Lisa sighed as she took a step forward. "Guess I better do it next time. Everyone makes mistakes." Then the two continued to head back home. The two women were going to cross back through the market area again to go back home. This time however, Lisa went down a different side road just to see the rest of the market before they returned. The road was the same as any other, trashy, wet and rickety market stalls were scattered on both sides. Most of these stalls were selling things that didn''t interest either of them. For example, kitchenware, faded old clothes, and other random items one normally wouldn''t need. They were passing by thest run-down stall when something familiar caught Lisa''s eye. It was a grey stic square corner of what might be some electronic device. It was under a stack of books and she almost didn''t see it. The stall owner was an older woman. She looked about as decrepit and aged as her stall. Lisa eyed the stack of books and the grey stic corner. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. Stopping abruptly, Lisa asked if she could look at it. The olddy nodded looking happy that she might have a costumer. Carefully Lisa took off the books to revile the object beneath them. Her eyes sparkled seeing her find. It was a smallptop! A bit of retribution for her previous mistake. Carefully and with some hesitation, Lisa lifted the top of theptop. There was an audible crunching crackling sound as soon as she did! Lisa could feel her heart clench hearing the awful noises. She tried to peak at the screen hoping that it wasn''t cracked or ruined. However, she couldn''t tell yet. Closing her eyes, she carefully finished raising theptop top, doing her best to ignore the horrid crackling sound as she continued. Finishing to raise the top, Lisa tentatively opened one eye, hoping for good news. She sucked in her breath sharply seeing the screen. The screen was miraculously ok! Only one corner was cracked, and the rest of the screen only had lots of dust and dirt on it. The joints of theptops lid and bottom must have had a lot of dirt in them. That is what caused that terrifying crackling noise. Lisa sighed out loud relieved. Next was to see if it worked. Looking down at the keyboard every key was ounted for. The touch pad and selection keys at the bottom of the board also seemed to work. Finally, the real test. Was theptop capable of running? Lisa presses the power button gently. Nothing happened. She pressed it again, a bit harder and longer. This time there was a slight ''click'' noise from the power button. Then the ck screen of theptop suddenly turned dark gray. The sound of a small fan running inside it could also be heard. Then theputerpany name appeared on the screen. It worked! Concealing her excitement, as best as she could, Lisa looked at the old woman. The olddy was looking up at Lisa expectantly. She then crossed her arms expectantly for Lisas answer. "I''ll give you five dors for theptop." Lisa said without betraying her excitement. The olddy didn''t budge hearing the price. She calmly folded her arms across her chest and leaned back against the wall behind her. "We both know it''s worth more than that. It even runs. One hundred dors." She replied tly. Lisa sighed in her head. "Let me think for a moment." Lisa answered unfazed. Just then the screen changed to a login page. Seeing it Lisa then asked, "Do you know the password? I can''t use it if it''s locking me out." "I do." The olddy replied with a nod. "How about twenty-five dors. It''s not like I have any way of charging it any way." Lisa offered. By trying to phrase her wording to say that theptops usage would be limited, Lisa was trying to negotiate the price to be lowered. A quite simple tactic. The olddy sighed aloud and grumbled out a reply, "Fifty dors. I won''t go any lower! "Deal." Lisa said gently putting theptops lid down. It crinkled a bit, but no harm was done. Then Lisa set it back on the olddies'' stall and slipped of her coffin. Since Lisa was in a public area, she was sure to be careful that no one watching could see the coffins contents. After getting the money from her safe, inside the coffin, she gave it to the olddy. "Pleasure doing business with you." Lisa said giving a smile. The olddy in turn shed a half-hearted smile while also quickly stuffing the money safely away deep in her scraggly coat pocket. "Like wise." Turning to go, Lisa motioned to Hanna that they were going and then tucked theptop gently inside her jacket. This way no one would see her new valuable possession. Having aptop in a town with no power might draw unwanted attention. The walk back home was rather uneventful. The wet roads puddles had shrunken considerably, and the sun asionally peaked out from behind the clouds. They talked about some of the random things and clothes they had seen in the market, but other than that, they walked mostly in silence. They were only one street away from home when Hanna asked a question. "What''s the best way to collect information?" "You are doing it right now." Lisa replied. It was good to see that the little girl was taking her advice seriously. "By simply asking questions and listening carefully to others. Most of the time people like to hear themselves talk and end up telling you everything they know. Half the time you don''t even need to trick them, just simply let them talk." "I guess that makes sense." Hanna replied thoughtfully. They arrived back at home far sooner than everyone expected. Lunchtime was still over an hour away. When Joan heard Lisa announcing their arrival from outside, she had only just started the fire in the garage. "Youre back really soon." Joan called to the twodies as they entered the garage entrance. "Did everything go alright?" "We had a few problems, but we got most everything I need for now." Lisa replied. Then while watching Joan cook, Lisa exined what had happened to them on their trip. Joan looked worried when hearing about the fight with Jackson''s Match Fighters but didn''t interrupt. Then only once Lisa was done, did Joan speak. "My goodness that does sound rather like a very exciting trip! It makes my runs to market for food sound so boring." Joan said with a sigh. "So, does theptop work at all?" "Yep." Lisa said taking out theptop from her jacket. "I''ll try to open the dam''s blueprints after we eat." Just then the rest of the neighbors arrived at Joan''s garage. The smell of the soup cooking must have drawn them over. Seeing Lisa and Hanna were already present, they curiously asked why. Lisa then had to retell their trip to the market all over again. "You actually met one of the Mad Dog gangs'' lieutenants?" Benny eximed first. "What a lucky break!" "And you got aptop as well." John said joining in. "So, you''ll be leaving us soon?" Lisa nodded slowly. "I still n too, but only if I can read the blueprints." "I see. Well at any rate, the soup smells done. Let''s eat." John replied licking his lips hungrily. Soon an hour or soter, everyone had eaten their fill and gottenfortable inside the house. Being midday, everyone was going to try and take a nap before resuming their afternoon work. Lisa sat alone at the kitchen table and opened theptop. It creaked loudly again with all the dirt in its joints. She tried to blow the dirt way and managed to get a lot of it out. Then she started it up. While waiting for it to load up, she got up and headed over to her coffin that was still in the garage. Inside it mixed in with the electric parts box was the scanner she had taken from the AFR Officer. It had a port on its backside to where she could connect it to theptop. Fortunately, the two could connect to each other. Then after typing in the password that the olddy had given her, did she finally have a chance to see the main screen. ncing at the battery meter she saw that there was forty eight percent remaining. Plenty of power for the moment. Plugging the scanner to theptop was a simple as it sounded. The file to the scanner''s contents opened up immediately after plugging it in. Thankfully, there were only three files inside. One was the system files of the scanner. The next one wasbeled Random Files and had nothing all that important it when Lisa checked. Then the final file wasbeled, Maple Valley Dam Files. Lisa excitedly clicked on it and watched as a loading screen popped up and slowly loaded the files. Then after a minute the files opened. When it did Lisa held back a cheerful shout, so as not to wake anyone napping. Just as she had hoped, there indeed was all the blueprints, schematics, maps and functions of the dam were all there. In fact, there was more avable here than she expected. She could now start her takeover of the dam facility. Lisa rubbed her hands together excitedly and started studying everything about the dam carefully. She could almost feel the money in her hands knowing that it wouldn''t be too long before she would get rich from the electricity. However, the future would not be that easy as she was eventually going to find out. Chapter 22: Setting Up Base (1) Chapter 22: Setting Up Base (1) Skimming slowly through the files of the dam''s blueprints, Lisa was only able to remember some of terms and designs that were depicted. After all, she did only take three years of Engineering and most of her sses were at the freshman and sophomoric level. She would have to go see the dam parts and operations in person to fully understand how everything worked. She had to make a bet that the dam would be able to function when she inspected it and be able to provide enough power to keep theptop powered. At least until she understood the blueprints enough to make repairs. The afternoon was nearly over by the time Lisa felt like she had studied the blueprints enough for the time being. Not to mention the power of theptop was getting low now. She would have assumed that after two hundred years in the future that technology would have evolved to have more superior energy storage capabilities. However, it seemed the wars must have slowed progress of technological somewhat in this particr field. Upon seeing the time, Lisa decided to wait until the morning to go to the dam and set up her new base. As Joan, Hanna and Richard were out for the moment, Lisa went to find John or Benny to tell her intentions. Stepping outside Lisa found that John was out in the back working on themunity garden. He was pulling weeds and Crab Grass that were out growing the cucumbers near the edge of the garden. "Hey John." Lisa called to him while crossing the little field. John stopped working hearing his name being called and stood up from a crouched position. Rubbing his hands together and knocking dirt everywhere, he looked Lisa''s way. The two waited until they were closer before continuing the conversation. "What''s up? Did everything work out with theptop?" John asked. "Yes, it worked just fine. In fact, I n on leaving in the morning to set up a base there. Assuming no one is already there." Lisa said tapping a finger on her chin as if the thought just urred to her. The idea that someone might already be there was definitely going to be an issue. She hadn''t seen anyone that looked like they were living there when she spied on the meeting, but that was another bridge to cross at ater time. "I doubt anyone would want to live there." John said shaking his head. "It''s too out of the way from where the merchant''s ship in food and supplies or from where the market is as well. Most people, including us, are not far from food and water." "Hopefully, you are right." Lisa said nodding in reply. "Well, it''s starting to gette." John said looking up at the sun''s position. The sun was still two finger widths from the top of the mountain to the west of town. The sun would soon fall behind the mountain, but daylight would stillst for an hour or more before darkness really came. This life in the mountain''s shadow helped everyone to know when it was best to go home from their jobs or prepare for dinner. It was theck of electricity that eventually forced everyone to ept this quaint lifestyle. "Maybe since it might be yourst night with us for some time, Joan and Mary can make something extra yummy?" John said with a hungry smile. Lisa gave a chuckle. "That would be nice. Hopefully, they will." That night, John''s wishful guess turned out toe true. When the two women heard that tonight was thest night Lisa would be with them, Joan added some chicken to the soup just for the asion. Mary even went back to her home and made hand-made bread from scratch. The small group of neighbors had given Lisa a wonderful ce to live in peace for a few days. She almost felt reluctant to leave them, but she knew she couldn''t stay here leaching off of their kindness any longer. Everyone talked long after the sun went down, and it was quitete before they decided to rest. Everyone slept great that night. They all were well fed and ready for the next day''s challenges. All except for Hanna. Hanna ended up tossing and turning all night. She was afraid to let Lisa go. She felt safe knowing that if anything happened, Lisa could take care of it. Now that her parents were gone the little child in her sought sce in Lisa in their absence. Hanna understood that Lisa wasn''t abandoning her or going far away, but it just wasn''tforting to know that help was not close by either. Before she knew it, morning had alreadye. Lisa was the first one up and out of bed that morning. She was ready to get an early start and make sure she had everything ready before leaving. The night before Joan and Mary had packed a small supply of food in a create for Lisa, so she could work on the dam and her base for a while. The create had potatoes, carrots, and corn. Also, a small pot and metal spoon to stir and eat with. Lisa had intended to leave early to avoid saying goodbye. However, as soon as she opened the door of Richard and Joan''s house, Hanna and John were alreadying across the road towards her. Hanna waved, giving a rare smile. John nodded at Lisa and said, "We couldn''t let you go without a proper goodbye." "Yeah, well I''m not too good at saying goodbyes." Lisa said giving a quick grin. "How about we just say, ''see you soon'', instead?" "Then in that case, see you soon." John replied. "See you soon, Aunt Lisa." Hanna said quietly just above a whisper. "Aunt?" Lisa said surprised. "Did I hear you correctly?" She said while leaning forward to look at eye level with Hanna. Hanna blushed, clearly embarrassed, and nodded silently before ducked behind John. Lisa didn''t mind her reaction and smiled feeling ttered. "Well I''ve never been called ''Aunt'' before. Do I really look that old?" Lisa said jokingly. Hanna didn''t reply but nodded ''no'' fervently while still hiding sheepishly behind John. "Well if that''s all, I''ll ept the nickname for now. But if you are lying and think I am old looking, I forbid you to call me that." Lisa said crossing her arms, but still smiling. "I''d better be going now." She turned to leave, heading for the dam to the North of town. Giving one more look behind her, the two were still watching her. She waved goodbye and they cheerily returned the wave. After arriving at the dam''s buildings, where she had seen the gangsters and soldiers meet, everything was quiet. Lisa first decided to check the perimeter for any signs of inhabitants. There was a tall fence with rusty barbed wire that surrounded the ce. Despite being rusty and old, the perimeter was still in great condition and still looked sturdy enough, nor where there anyrge holes in the fence. There were only three entrances to the fenced in property. Two entrances had traffic stop gates, and the one to the south was where she hade from in the direction of Hannas cul-de-sac. The other one to the west was in the direction of the government buildings that the Mad Dog gangs assumed base was. The third entrance was the small road that crossed over the dam to the eastern side of the river. On the far side the road it was not connected down to the eastern portion of town, like it was on Lisa''s side. Instead alongside the river and dam createdke, was a dense forested area. Then there was a tall cliff further to the right of the dam itself and a far-off mountainside that prevented anyone from being able to cross the dam and into the east side of the town. The road, however, turned and traveled northwest around the small mountain and along the river. Lisa remembered that the AFR soldiers and helicopter hade from that direction. She would have to keep an eye on that area in case they came back. As for the gated areas, she would have toe up with a solution to block anyone from entering through them. That could wait for now. Seeing everything was in secure order, Lisa turned to the smallest of four buildings located at the north west corner of the property. Coming up to the rusty door, she tried the handle and found it was already broken and it opened right away. Inside she found that it was a pump house. Nothing seemed to be clearly damaged or living there, and though the pipes inside were peeling paint and slightly rusty, they looked entirely intact. This was a good sign. She wouldn''t need to worry about fresh water while she lived here, that is if she got the electricity running and the pump wasnt busted. Going to the next building, which was in the south west corner of the property exactly between the two gates, Lisa found this door simrly was simrly damaged. When she entered the building, however, it was in much worse shape than the pump house. It was the old security building for the dam. There were two big holes in the copsed roof that let rainwater rust and rot everything inside. All the monitors, cameras,puters and facilities were allpletely destroyed. Next, she went to a mid-sized building at the south east corner of the property. Just like the other two, its door was destroyed as well. Stepping inside, she discovered it was a storage and maintenance building. The storage area was nearly empty. Only a few boxes and a forklift remained. It seemed that someone a while back had looted this ce and taken anything of value. Then going to the maintenance workshop, Lisa was relieved to see that nearly all the tools and manuals to the hydroelectric dam were still there. She carefully opened a few of the yellowed manuals just to check on them and sure enough, most of the words were readable. If the climate had been any more humid the pages would have wasted away long ago. Lastly, was the main building of the dam. This time however, the doors were all ok, except for the big sliding doors on its south wall. The chain and lock holding it closed had been cut. Going inside carefully and quietly she surveyed the giant room. There were three floors above ground and at the east side of the room was a long slopping pathway going underground to the dam itself. She decided to explore the three floors first. She started by looking over a dismantled generator, several transformers and power converters briefly on the first ground level floor. Fortunately, it appeared that despite some rust, they all looked like they could still function. Still walking around quietly, Lisa went through the storage rooms and other small side rooms and saw no signs of anyone living there. Then going up the metal stairs to the second floor, she headed straight to the main control room. She could feel her heart beating in her chest. This was the first moment of truth. If the control room were destroyed, her in would be a total failure! Pushing on the heavy metal door to enter, she was relieved to find it was locked. Taking a step back she kicked the door hard twice. Its rusted hinges and lock gave out, knocking the door inwardly and onto the floor causing a puff of dust to rise. Upon stepping inside her fears were immediately gone. Everything looked dusty, dry and undamaged. Anxiously she tried turning on theputers at the main desk yet found there was no power running to them. Now for thest top floor to check out. Up here she found that the roof had leaked in several of the offices, molding and rusting everything inside them. There were only two rooms that were still in ok condition. Looking around these rooms, Lisa decided to make the closest one to the stairs, an old office call center, her temporary base. It even had an old couch inside the bosss room for her to sleep on. Things were really starting off on a good note. Chapter 23: Setting Up Base (2) Chapter 23: Setting Up Base (2) There was still a good amount of daylight remaining and the rooms were still bright enough to work in. So, Lisa decided to start organizing her new living space and fortify the entrances to the Powerhouse building first. The living space was going to take the most work. After all, who knows how long the rooms had be covered with dust and clutter. This clutter Lisa decided to use as part of the fortifications. It was going to be a bit tricky to turn this office ce into a suitable living area. The Powerhouse building is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power, definitely not a ce designed to be lived in. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid which runs into the town and beyond. Many power stations contain one or more generators, a rotating machine that converts mechanical power into three-phase electric power. The rtive motion between a maic field and a conductor, creates an electric current. The amount of electricity produced from a hydroelectric dam, such as this one, is normally measured in megawatts and kilowatts. To make things simpler to understand one megawatt can power around one thousand homes. Then a kilowatt can produce one thousand megawatts. Lisa estimated from the dam''s huge size the electricity produced here could be a huge number of megawatts and potentially even kilowatts. This Powerhouse has four such generators and transformers just in this room alone, as well as the offices and control rooms above them. As Lisa cleaned, she decided that she would continue exploring the many other rooms the next morning. Then search in more detail the other buildings and what they might have stored in them. Also, going down into the dam itself to the lower Powerhouse was a must. Lisa could then see how many other generators and transformer there were and whether or not getting this ce running was possible. If so, then getting power running to the town was the next step and that was going to be something to worry about at a muchter date. Lisa took a break and looked around the office room that would be her headquarters. It looked like a typical cubical office. There were three sets of four cubicles in the middle of the room, with one managers office near the entrance. Just outside of the manager''s office was an old looking couch and a printer. Lisa opened the office door and found that the room only had a simple desk and an office rolling chair, along with several yellowed file cabs. The manager''s room walls only had two small windows. One was looking outside to the north an east, while the other faced the entrance to the office''s main room. Thinking for a moment she decided to toss out the cabs and desk to bring in the couch to sleep on. It would be safer having to sleep in a smaller room. As for the contents of the file cabs, Lisa decided to look briefly through them before tossing them out. Apparently, this particr office dealt with employees pay checks, healthcare and other HR (Human Resources) duties. They were utterly useless to her. Thanks to her monstrous strength from her cybeic body, Lisa was able to carry the cabs, along with the cumbersome desk, down to the bottom floor of the building. She stacked them on their side longways in front of the entrance on the west side. Even though it was locked it would be best to block it up since she had no intention of using that door. Then looking through the other cubicles in the HR office, she found that everything else there was useless to her. Especially the cubicles, they were taking up too much space that she could possibly useter. Everything except for some nk printing paper, staplers, pens and pencils were carried out to block up entrances. Now that the room was empty, she decided to use that space to keep things she was going to get or needed. Now on the third floor where her base is, there were four office rooms that looked exactly alike. Her base office and the one on the opposite side were the only undamaged rooms. Going into the next HR office, she found that it looked like the boss''s office, but only much nicer. The furniture here was, though dusty, very fancy and in good order. Taking and moving another couch from this boss''s office, Lisa carried it to her base and pushed it up next to the other couch. Now she had an extra wide ''bed'' to sleep on. Lisa went back to the boss''s room and rummaged through the desk to find anything helpful. She was excited to find several keys that belonged to the Powerhouse building. The keys were evenbeled exining what they opened. The master key apparently opened all of the offices, storage rooms, and break room on all three floors. The next key she found opened the main control and auxiliary control room doors on the first floor. But since the main control room door was already busted down by her and the auxiliary control room had sumbed to water damages and from rust, the key was nearly useless. Lisa then found three keys that would have opened the pump house, security building and maintenance buildings, but they too had little use. There were many other smaller silver keys that opened the lockers on the first-floor break room and file cabs all over the Powerhouse, yet again useless. There was one golden key mixed in with them, but she couldn''t find out what it opened, as there was nobel on this key. However, she decided to keep it for now and put it on her dog tags chain. The final three keys she managed to find were much bigger and longer in design than the rest. One wasbeled Generating Facility Tunnel, which likely opened the tworge swinging doors to the tunnel going into the dam itself. The other two werebeled Dam Start-Up and Emergency Shut Off keys. Lisa recalled in the main control room at the far endputer was arge monitor. On each side of it were two locks that the keys looked like they could fit into. Apparently two people were needed to start and turn off the dam, but thankfully they were close enough together she could probably turn them on by herself. Next, Lisa looked through the other two water damaged office rooms. Only the metal framework of the desks, cubicles and chairs remained. The holes in their roofs were so bad it appeared to look like Swiss cheese. Even the floors of these rooms were dangerous and likely leaked to the rooms below. She took the rusting metal parts out from these rooms and piled them in front of the other exit doors on the north and eastern sides of the building. Then going down to the second floor, Lisa did another check of the Control Room. Apart from theputers, monitors and electrical wires, there wasn''t anything else of interest in here. Satisfied, she went on to the only other two rooms on this floor. This was because the big, tall double doors on the south wall prevented another room from existing. On the east side were the locker rooms for employees to change into their uniforms or store their personal belongings during work hours. There were several uniforms in decent condition, with nearly no dry rot, still hanging inside on their hooks. She was even excited to see numerous safety helmets wereying around here too. These would be needed for when she got people to work for her on the dam in the future. Especially the uniforms that werebeled to be electrocution proof. Safety first! Going to the western room, Lisa found that the room had been also badly damaged by water leaking from the floor above. Fortunately, the other half was in moderate condition. Doing a quick nce of the molding box''s stored here, she found they were stocked full of PPEs, (personal protection equipment). Rubber aprons, rubber andtex gloves, rubber boots, rubber jackets and rubber pants were all still in their stic packaging. In addition to the helmets she found earlier, these were a super lucky find! Finally, she started checking the first-floor extra rooms. These were much smaller than the upper level rooms, but more numerous. The eastern side room was actually a break room and in it used to be a food and drink vending machines, but they had been raided long ago. Besides the three tables and chairs around them, there was nothing worthwhile here. The first-floor northern rooms contained nothing special. Two of the four rooms werepletely empty. It looked like, judging from the oil stains and tire marks, that the rooms once stored the forklifts she had seen rusting away outside. The other two had electric Gator transport vehicles in them and of course they had dead batteries. Thest room was the auxiliary control room. Everything in here was so ruined that she doubted they could even be used for spare parts for the main control room. It wasn''t even worth looking around this room anyway, thanks to all the damages. Thest thing Lisa wanted to check before the sun went down was the hallway shaft leading to the bowels of the dam. Seeing the lock and chain holding the two big swinging doors in ce, Lisa had to use the key she found earlier to open it. When she opened the big metal doors the hinges creaked as they scrapped heavily on the concrete floor. She winced hearing it as it was painfully loud and grated terribly in her ears. Immediately a cold damp wind came rushing out of the shaft, almost blowing her Yankees hat off her head. The silent ckness of the unlit shaft was very intimidating, like some monster''s gapping jaws. She shivered slightly seeing all this. "I hope I don''t have to go in there often to fix anything in the dark. Its spooky." Lisa spoke quietly to herself. Lisa then closed the doors, mainly just to ease her mind, and headed towards the southern entrance after locking it up again. It was too dark to explore the tunnel just yet. She hadn''t blocked up this area yet, even though it was thergest entrance to the building. Luckily even if she did close the two big sliding doors, there was still a smaller door built into the left sliding door to exit from. Looking out at the property and maintenance building, she figured no one would have any reason toe here. There was need to block the gates or fortify the maintenance building yet. So, closing the doors and locking them up with the chain would be fine for now. The sun had long ago slinked behind the mountain to the west. This meant that it was dinner time and the time to prepare to sleep. Going upstairs Lisa finally took off her coffin and the crate of food she''d been given and put them in the office next to the couches. Taking out the pot, corn and potatoes, she decided to cook some stew. Then she ran into a small problem. Where was she supposed to cook? The water wasn''t an issue, the dam was holding millions of gallons of river water. Yet if she lit the fire indoors, she would damage the floors and fill the building with smoke. Her only usible opinion was to cook outside in the parking lot. Even though this would potentially expose her to anyone looking her way, the dam was far away from the town buildings. So, the chances of being spotted were low. After eating and cleaning up herself in the river some, Lisa was quite tired and ready to sleep. The couches werefortable and even though she had no nkets, the small office room wasn''t all that cold. So far, her first day living here was a sess. Chapter 24: Rivalry Chapter 24: Rivalry n Stockholm was howling withughter seeing his enemies retreating. The Mad Dogs, being led by Hugo, had lost their first attempt to take back the blocks the Skull gang had imed. Originally it was just one block that the Skull upied, but seeing that the Mad Dog''s forces were thin, he advanced deeper into their territory. By now n had captured five blocks so far. n''s forces, a total of seventy people, were now bing too stretched out to patrol their newly captured territory. None of his men had been killed, but seven were badly injured in the initial skirmish and couldn''t fight. They could, however, still serve as lookouts as they recovered on the top floors or roofs of tall buildings. He also still needed to convince other Hands from the Skull to join in. He could probably convince a few of them, but the rest were likely going to follow the Head and aim for peaceful intentions. Some might even try to force him to retreat from the boarders and give up the invasion. The thought of a potential attack from his own side actually excited him rather than deter him. Also, if they did, he would have the chance to prove himself in a two-sided battle, which was totally exhrating! This is what had happened during the fight that day. Hugo hade with one hundred and thirty gangsters to counter the small Skull invasion. Though even with so many people, he couldn''t break the Skull forces. They were just too crazy! Though both sides nearly used the same kinds of handheld weapons, it was the way in which the Skull gangsters attacked that was very unorthodox. Previously Hugo''s forces had at first marched along the streets openly. They did not see the Skull gangsters as a threat at the time. Then as they approached the area that had been taken over, a few Skull members suddenly started to taunt them with rocks from further ahead in the road. Hugo sent his troops to give chase, only to find that Skull reinforcements quickly begun attacking them from the houses on their nks. Then even more Skull gangsters crawled up out of the manholes in the street and attack them from behind. All his men could do was scatter to form a defense, defend themselves or retreat. Hugo, being a renowned Match Fighter, was able to singlehandedly fend off several Skull attackers easily. Together with two other Match Fighters, Hugo broke through the rear attacking Skull forces and opened an escape route for his men. This stopped themselves from losing to many men in the first fight. Doing a quick count after retreating to somewhere safe, Hugo found that three of his men had been killed and ten were missing. This made Hugo absolutely furious! "I should have known it was a trap!" Hugo yelled and he punched out a car window in frustration. "It''s all right boss." One of his guys said calmly from nearby. "We''ll get them next time. I didn''t count that many of them." They had retreated two blocks away from where the fight took ce. Here they started to regroup and while they did, Hugo tried to think of a n after calming his anger some. From the fight, Hugo had counted the Skull''s forces and estimated that the Mad Dogs did indeed out number them. After giving this problem some thought he called over a skinny man nearby. "You can run fast right?" Hugo asked with a serious expression. "Yes sir, I can." The skinny man replied. "Good. Go back to base and get Darius toe here with his men. Make sure you tell him to hurry, because the Bone yer is here." Hugo said with a faint smile. "Get Darius, hurry and Bone yer. Got it boss." The skinny man said with a nod. Then he turned towards their base a took off at a quick jog. Being a messenger was nothing new to most of the lower ranking gangsters. They didn''t have the means to have cell phones formunication due to theck of electricity. Meaning they could only use word of mouth or written letters as their only options. Only the higher ups had any connections to the outside world. It wasn''t ideal, but they made do with what they had. Hugo then called to the other two Match Fighters that were with him. "Harry, you take thirty-five guys with you. Go right one block and get ready for my signal. George, you take thirty-five as well and go left one block. Don''t attack until I give you the signal." Both men nodded as Hugo continued. "Here''s the n. We probably can''t beat them in a head-on fight. So, we need to use our numbers to our advantage. When I give you the signal, Harry you are to attack, but don''t try to win. Just charge into them and try to cause some damage to their forces. After a while you are to retreat. Then I will give the signal to the other group and George will do the same thing. Then I will attack with this same pattern soon after. We will repeat these attacks and it will hopefully cause those mindless Skulls to wear themselves out trying to stop us." The two men smiled knowing that this n was a good one. Hugo had given them simr attack pattern orders before and hadnt steered them wrong yet. Then George asked, "What if they try attacking us even after we retreat?" Hugo nodded understandably as this was a fair question. "Simple: keep running and I''ll send my men to attack them from behind, like they did to us just now. Then we can crush them! However, I did call for more reinforcements, but hopefully it won''te to us having to rely on them for help." The two guys agreed with the n and didn''t seem to have anything else to say or add. So, Hugo sent them on their way to get in position. Fortunately for Hugo the town roads in this area were designed in square blocks. Which ended up making his n very easy to implement. Soon the Mad Dogs gangsters had spread out into their trident like line of attack. Seeing that everyone was ready, Hugo waved to Harry and Harry''s forces charged forward. n was watching the Mad Dogs as they ran away in disarray. He had perched himself on top of a three-story apartment building to get a better look at the battle ground. He had expected as much from these pathetic weaklings, as soon as they faced a difficult situation, they would always run. He couldn''t understand how they had managed to be the strongest gang here in town. As he was thinking to himself, another Skull member with him tapped his arm. "Bone yer, their forces are splitting up and forming ranks." n looked at the Mad Dogs and saw they were indeed splitting into three groups. "What were they up to?" He wondered to himself. The two on the roof watched them carefully. Suddenly, the group on the Skull''s left, Hugo''s right nk, started to charge. n was about to jump down and send his men to counter, but he noticed the other two groups didn''t move. In fact, they didn''t even look like they were going to attack. Some of them even were sitting on the ground rxing. "This is odd." n said as he turned to the guy with him, his rank was a Finger. "Tell half of our men to go attack thoseing at us. The rest are to get ready to fight the others if they attack and try to nk us." The Finger nodded and dashed over to thedder they had used to climb onto the roof. He slid down it quickly to ry the message. In a matter of moments, the half pf the Skull''s forces had set off to counterattack. n watched as the two groups collided and fought. The little forces didn''t fight long or very hard at all and soon the Mad Dogs retreated. n frowned seeing this. Then he saw the Finger he sent earlier, was now waving up at him. Apparently, he was asking whether or not to chase them. n felt that it was too risky to chase them, because he wasn''t too sure of their intentions just yet. He then motioned for the Skull forces to hold position and the Finger gave a thumbs up in reply. Just as he did this, the Mad Dog gangsters on ns right started to charge simrly to the way the others had done. Seeing this, he leaned over the edge of the roof and called out for those waiting below to go counter. They quickly did as he said, each gangster was already anticipating being in a fight and could hardly control their enthusiasm. n looked wearily at the group still waiting around in the center road. They still hadn''t moved one bit. Looking at the group that had attacked first he saw that they stopped running two blocks away and were catching their breath. By then the second fight was already taking ce. Yet again only after a brief fight, the Mad Dogs ran away. Then the middle group of the Mad Dogs started to form up. It was their turn to attack. n''s first group had juste back from fighting off the left side attacking Mad Dog''s and the others on the right hadn''t got back yet. This time n decided that he himself would join in. He was ready to pound some guys to vent out some of his pent-up excitement. However, the chance never ended uping. The middle Mad Dog group attacked, and n''s forces countered the same as before, but by the time n joined in, the enemy had already retreated again! "What are they doing?" n yelled in frustration. This kind of attack was pointless. Where was the fun? The thrill of battle and putting your life at risk? Hugo''s n was going well. They repeated this kind of attack style several more times. He could see that each time they attacked that the Skull forces were getting tired from running the three different streets to defend these attacks. So far it seemed that he would win the battle of attrition in the end. Hugo chuckled to himself, "Good, good. Let''s keep this up and by the time Darius gets here with the reinforcements, we can crush them quickly." He waved to George again signaling that it was his turn and they advanced yet again on the tiring Skull forces. These shorter fights had been good for them. Unlike the first fight, they hadn''t lost any men yet to serious injurie. Only a few had minor to moderate wounds, but Hugo had guessed that it wasn''t the same for the Skull gang. The battle of brains or brawn wouldn''tst long, and he was winning. Hugo smirked and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "The boss will be surely pleased by this inevitable victory!" Chapter 25: Scouting Chapter 25: Scouting Special Officer Daniel Hawkins was now ready to begin his surveince mission. Yesterday a Transport Hover Ship ss 3 had arrived from some airfield hundreds of miles away in the east. Every time he saw such a ship it brought himself such awe. The way it cruised silently through the air, just feet above the trees and cliffs, reminded him of a ghost. If he wasnt a Special Officer for the AFRs Marines, he would have loved to be a hover ship pilot. The Hover Ships and vehicles of all types in this era had neither propeller, rocket, nor fueled engines. Vehicles ran only on electricity and in the case of Hover Ships, maism as well. The details he never really could rap his mind around, but he understood the basics. The Hover Ships would use sr energy, absorbed from sr conducting paints on its top side, to run its electric motors. The motors then charged super conductor mechanisms which would then spin at super-fast speeds. The speed of which these super conductors would go created their own special maic field. The maic field it created reacted by repulsing with the earths naturally created maic fields. This repulsion would then lift ship upwards and quite literally cause it to float above the ground. The science behind these amazing ships was one of the highest achievement''s mankind had created up to this point. So many different technology''s and great minds hade together to create this marvelous invention. It was hard for him to imagine anything that could be more amazing. The Transport Hover Ship ss 3 was strictly used only by the military and it had brought twenty new personnel to work under Special Officer Hawkins. They were all recently trained in drone reconnaissance and targeting applications. Their drones came in three different types and all were nonbatant drones. Each had their own unique functionality and uses. Thergest one, an Osprey Drone ss C5, had the capability to fly at a height far higher than the human eye could see. Yet it''s cameras could zoom in, from that height, so urately you could read the words on a US penny clearly. Its wingspan size was only one and a half meters and mostly white in color. Lastly, it could remain airborne indefinitely thanks to its efficient sr power system. The second drone was designed for urban travel. The Blue Jay Blitz 3 Drone was much smaller and more agile than the Osprey. It had a 26-centimeter wingspan, multiple propellers for instant directional change, sr powered, and it was superpact. Its shape wasn''t at all like a Blue Jay, in fact it looked more like a deck of cards with propellers and one camera on its front. Yet again this drone camera was able to spot targets at super far distances and the cameras focusing capability was nearly instant. This allowed the drone to be able to chase and track moving targets effortlessly in forest or city terrain where loosing temporary sight of a target was often. Thest drone was as tiny as its name implies, Fly Drone 7. No bigger than a thumbnail, its function was simple: infiltrate a building or small space, spot targets inside and record audio. Just like the others it was sr powered. Its only downside was for the audio it collected had to be delivered back to the operator or field download station, as its storage space was limited. Still it could collect fifteen minutes of audio and more if its information transmitting functionalities were turned off. It also had a swarm mentality downloaded in its systems. When one Fly found a target and started recording other Fly''s nearby would join it and record audio once the first Flys storage was full. Special Officer Hawkins was pleased as he sat in his office reading over the drone''s functionality. He had already given the orders to the pilots to start their surveince of the town. Additionally, the Sargent and the other soldiers he had sent out on recon were also called back. They hadn''t any sess finding her anyway. Three Osprey Drones were assigned to be checking over the town from far above the clouds. Blue Jay Drones stayed high over the buildings to avoid suspicious onlookers. While he decided to keep the Fly''s here at base. It was tooplicated to keep track of the hundreds of Fly Drones that he had at his disposal. So, he was relying on the other Drone types to spot areas and people of interest to mark and then send the Fly Drones to track and monitor them. Even though this was all he could do at the moment, he still wanted to get even with that woman. She had be his first blight on his mission''s reports and this insult couldn''t be overlooked. He would rather be out there searching for her personally. However, he knew better than to act that foolishly. "I don''t know who you are, Queen. Or where you came from. But one thing is for sure, I will find you and capture you." Hawkins said out loud to himself. "Second Lieutenant!" He shouted towards the door of his office. A few secondster Second Lieutenant Caswell opened the door. He then stepped inside and stood in attention. "Yes Sir?" "Get two scouting team forces ready to deploy." Hawkins said putting down the drone information papers onto his desk and then stood up. "As soon as the Queen has been spotted, I want them to be on standby ready to take her into custody. As the Commander ordered they need to capture her alive. So they''re authorized to carry tranquilizer guns and ammo in addition to their normal weaponry." "It will be done sir." Caswell replied. "Good, now dismissed." Hawkins said giving a quick salute. The Second Lieutenant saluted back and quickly left the office to inform the troops. Hawkins was about to sit back down at his desk when a though reminded him of something. When he fought the woman before, his shot had clearly missed due to his impatience. He needed to get back into shooting practice. Ever since he had been promoted, he hadn''t done as many shooting practices as he used too. Opening a tall locker that stood in the corner of the office, he pulled aser handgun and aser standard issue rifle, the ZKZM-7000. Looking over them briefly he put the handgun into his empty holster strapped to his thigh and slung the rifles strap over his shoulder. Then he left his office and headed for the outdoor shooting range located behind the base. The shooting range was in an unused section near the back of the canyon. There were dozens of sheet metal targets painted with red circles, scattered among and on the canyon''s tan walls. Some were no more than ten paces away, while some were hundreds of meters away. A few even had been ced onto the top of the canyons edge, to simte shooting at enemies in tall buildings. He took off theser rifle and ced it onto a table that was already set up for practice. Under it was stored a small amount ofser gun batteries. He looked about the range to be sure it was clear of personnel. Seeing no one, he still called out for safety purposes, "The range is now hot! Starting shooting exercises." His voice echoed back off the canyon walls quite clearly. When no one replied, he felt confident he could practice uninterrupted. He started off with theser handgun. He loosened the holsters restraints and hovered his hand over the guns grip. Taking a firm ready stance, it was time to shoot. Looking at a target ten meters away he focused intently on its center. Then in a swift sleek motion he drew the gun up, grasped it with both hands and fired three bursts at the target. "Pa-ting! Zzipz!" The sound of theser bullet striking metal and high-pitched reflection echoed through the air and canyon walls. But by seeing the new ckened marks on the target proved that his uracy was spot on. All three marks were near dead center. He repeated the exercises several more time on the target and two others further away. He never missed any of the targets and the groupings were all very tight. Satisfied with the results he moved on to the rifle. The rifles optics were special. They could be switched rapidly from iron sights, to a two times zoom and then to a four times zoom. This allowed the gun to be ready to shoot at any target at any decent range, all by just flicking the lock on the sight and rotating the sight to the required zoom. Hawkins selected his first target. It was twenty meters straight ahead, in the center of the canyon nestled in a scraggly bush. First, he lowered the power of the shots to not prate the sheet metal, but only to leave a mark and then he set the optics to four times zoom. He shouldered the rifle holding it tightly under his right armpit and firmly to his shoulder. His feet were spread out evenly under him with his right foot back some for stability. Then cing his cheek against the stock, he peered into the optics at the target. His crosshairs quickly rested on the targets center. The target was so clear that every scratch was visible. He slowed his breathing to lower his heart rate. This was so that its beating wouldn''t cause him to miss by even the slightest bit. His finger rested gently on the smooth trigger. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he held his breath the fired. "Pa-ting!" The single shot smacked dead center on the target. Adjusting himself for another shot he fired again several more times in close session. Every shot was ovepping the first mark perfectly. Then he switched to two times zoom and repeated the process at the same target. The results were exactly the same. Lastly, he switched to iron sights and this way was much more difficult. After firing, though he didn''t miss, the shoots had spread out only two centimeters apart. "Ha-ha! I still got it." Hawkins said aloud to himself. "You got luckyst time, Queen. But I don''t make the same mistake twice. Ever!" Chapter 26: Power Switch Chapter 26: Power Switch Lisa woke up with a start! She red up at the unfamiliar ceiling for several seconds before finally remembering that she had moved into her new base. Sitting up on the two old couch''s, Lisa stretched stiff andzily. The room was a bit chilly, but at least it felt good to have had a full night''s rest. Even at Joan''s house she couldn''t sleep-in long because Richard got up every morning before the sun had even risen. He had to tend to the garden or collect firewood and just him moving around the house was enough to keep Lisa awake. This was one of the downsides of being perpetually alert as a former soldier. Getting up and ready for the day, Lisa started off with two carrots for breakfast. Not an ideal breakfast, but it was far tastier than nothing. Besides there was not much food left in her possession, even her MREs were starting to run out. She also had no idea when her next real meal mighte along. Finishing her meager meal and deciding that leaving the coffin in her ''room'' would be alright for the time being, it was time to start working. Her first task, before checking to see if she could get this old dam running again, was to stock up on more food and water. The water wasn''t all that hard to get. The river had bulged into theck on the topside of the dam, which was remarkably high and only a short walk down a rocky slope to reach. Eventually she would add a well wheel pully to make water collection even simpler or perhaps get the pump station working. Food would be a bit trickier to get. She could go to buy food from the market, but this option had two problems. One, was that her funds wouldn''tst long, as she had no current ie. Two, if someone were to follow her back to the dam, they might figure out her n and cause her trouble. It would be best to learn more about the area and its people before venturing to and from town. Another option was to grow her own food. This also wasn''t currently possible. She didn''t have any seeds, time or decent knowledge of farming. So, her only real and favorite option was to go hunting. Lisa decided to cross the dam and go into the woonds growing by thekeside and between the far off mountain. There she intended to set up snares for squirrels and rabbits. Small game was much easier to gather than bears or deer. She knew how to set up many snares from her military survival training and had asionally used simr traps to catch humans during wartime. Other than her weapons, she had taken from her coffin several strong thin wires before heading off towards the dam''s road. Now that she wasn''t focused on fighting, likest time on the dam, she could really take in the scenery. The road itself was in surprisingly great condition and its dark ck asphalt was perfectly smooth with no visible cracks. On either side of the road she could see that the guard walls were chest high. The only sign of any aging was where two areas of the concrete walls met and, in that space, arge tuff of weeds grew. It seemed that the original engineers knew their craft and built the dam well. Looking over the chest high wall on her right, she could see the town spread out on both sides of the river. The dam was built really high up in the mountain cliffsidepared to the town on the ins below. The western side of town she had explored some, clearly was therger part of town. Judging from the gray smoke that rose from scattered fires all around on both sides of the river split town, proved it indeed was more popted than the eastern side. Whereas the on the east side, despite theck of popce, it looked like it was at one point an area of industrial power. Tall andplex looking factory''s,rge warehouses and office buildings dominated much of the area. Only from the middle of that part of town by the river and to the area closest to the ruined highway bridge, had smoke rising, showing that people lived there. Then leaning over the edge, Lisa took a quick look at the dam wall itself. She took her time scanning the wall from top to the swirling waters below. Thankfully, she saw no cracks or damaged areas across its entirety. Only five huge water pipes, out of twenty, could be seen spewing muddy water into the river. She was so high up she couldn''t hear the water sshing at all. She hoped that the other fifteen pipes were just closed off and not clogged. Fixing clogged dam pipes was not going to be easy or cheap. Turning away Lisa looked towards the other side of the dam, it was beautiful. Theke, the dam had created, was nestled in between the craggy towering canyon. On either side was a steep but short cliff, with tan and gray rocks scattered at the water''s edge. Above these cliffs was a sea of evergreen trees and pors. Looking at this striking sight a hawk glided across thekes surface in silent glory, adding to the silent serenity. The wind was gently blowing her hair as the newly risen sun warmed her skin. Lisa smiled happily enjoying the pleasant morning. She took her time crossing the dam taking in the new days beauty. Soon she reached the cool shadows of the forest and stopped to take out her material to build the snares. Starting to set up her snares, Lisa choose to ce them in specific ces. The snare is a simple way to catch food in both design and function. Simply find a path cutting through the tall grass made by rabbits or a branch leaning against a tree. Then make and tie a small loose loop on one end of the wire, no bigger than a fingers width. Then thread the other end of the wire through the loop to form a slip knot. Take the slip knot and ce it ten centimeters above the ground or five centimeters above the branch. Finally, secure the loose end to a nearby tree or stake. Now leave the snare there till dark or the next morning. The animal will enter the trap and it will tighten down onto some part of the animal and prevent it from escaping until one was toe get it. Lisa set up a dozen of these snares before heading back to the dam''s powerhouse building. By the time she got back it was nearly noon, and the sunshine was warm as it reflected off the asphalt road. Rekindlingst night''s fire, she boiled and ate some corn on the cob. Then it was time for her to get back to business. How to get the dam running. Using what little battery power theptop still had, she studied the blueprints to the power lines leaving the nt and electrical lines that traveled the entire dam itself. When theptops power reached ten percent remaining only then did she finally close theptop. Fortunately, she had a rtively great memory and knew exactly what and where to look for her objectives. Her first goal was to ensure that all of the power lines, exiting the Powerhouse towards the town, were all disconnected. If anyone else knew that electricity was running again, they would immediately try to take over the hydroelectric dam. She could not let this happen, otherwise her goal to make some money would be destroyed. Fighting off anyone that could threaten her goals would not be an issue, but if no one were left to sell electricity to than that would be just as bad. Checking the lines was actually much easier than one might think. It is very clear to see the power lines suspended on poles leading to each side of the river. There were four lines going in opposite directions from the Powerhouse and each line was an Ultra high voltage (UHV) long transmission line. A transmission line having a length more than 250 km is considered as a long transmission line. These UHV lines are capable of sending electrical power to nearly an entire state, a fact that excited Lisa immensely. If she did manage to spread her influence into other towns, it would take no time for her to rake in so much cash! But for now, she had to sever these lines temporarily. Luckily, she didn''t have to cut them, but rather uncouple them from the transformers inside the Powerhouse. Normally it would take several workers with the power tools to do this, but Lisa had her military grade cybeic prosthetic strength, that was more than enough to uncouple the lines. The nuts on the bolt holding the lines in ce wererge enough that she could pinch and twist them off with brute strength alone! The next step was to go to the control room and flip on the switches to the transformer number one and to generator number one. Even though there wasn''t any power yet, she had to do this so they that would activate after she manually started the turbines inside the dam. To start the turbines two things needed to be done. The first was to make sure that water from theke was able to travel down through the intake pipe and spin the turbines underneath the generators. This led to the second issue. Lisa had to go into the dark tunnel the manually turn the valve open to allow water into the pipes. After seeing the darkness and cold of the tunnel the day before, Lisa was not looking forwarded to going in there. It wasn''t that she was scared but going into such ces alone was always unsettling to anyone. Humankind always fears that which is hidden in the depths of darkness. Lisa soon got together materials to make two torches to light her way through the tunnel. She found old rags and mmable liquids in the storage rooms on the first floor to aplish making the torches. these along with her sword and just for good measure, her handgun, in case she returned to find someone in her base. Soon she was ready to go. Standing in front of the two big metal doors leading to the tunnel of the dam, she took a big breath for no real reason to rx. Then removing the chain and dropping it at her feet, she pushed open one of the heavy doors. Yet again damp cool air rushed rapidly out from the dark maw of the tunnel. The sounds of metal on concrete screeched annoyingly together. Taking a match from her pocket she lit the first torch and it immediately started to burn brightly. The fire light lit up an area of twenty meters or so ahead as she walked towards the first set of maic generators. Luckily, the closest generators were not far from the entrance. Her shoes scrapped softly on the concrete floor as Lisa walked while checking the walls for where she remembered where the switch was. She quickly spotted the big, red and round manual switch on the wall behind the first generator. Before she turned it on, she inspected the generator itself. Eyeing it carefully she determined that there was no signs of major rust, cracks or warped parts. This was surprisingly great news, considering how long the dam had likely been dormant. Satisfied Lisa turned to the round wall switch. She set her torch down on the floor next to her and it dimmed slightly, but everything near her was quite visible. Gripping the switch tightly she rotated it. It groaned in protest loudly and she could hear the mechanisms inside the intake pipe raising to let the water back in the pipe. The gurgling of water was audible as it flowed down rapidly before making contact with the turbines under the generator. A dull thud echoed slightly from below as the turbines started to forcibly spin the shaft leading to the generator, which in turn creaked as it started up. The process was slow, and it took nearly five minutes before the generator started to make a repetitive humming noise. Hearing this Lisa got excited. Now for the moment of truth, could it power the dam''s lights and provide her the chance to earn wealth? Thinking about this Lisa picked up the torch from the floor and hurried over towards the breaker on the opposite side of the tunnel. The breaker had on the outside of it a big lever that was currently lowered. All she needed to do was lift it and see if electricity indeed was being generated. Lisa reached out towards the leaver, when an unusual slight sound came from further down the tunnel. "Pat, pat, pat, pat!" It was the sound of bare footstepsing her way in the darkness! She was not alone down here! Chapter 27: The Thing Chapter 27: The Thing The hair on the back Lisa''s neck stood up on end! "This is too freaky! Who or what is still down here in this locked dam tunnel?" Lisa thought a bit panicked. It wasn''t long before Lisa''s questions would be answered too. The ominous footsteps were still slowly plodding closer from the threatening darkness. "Pat, pat, pat!" Lisa instinctively reached for her sword hidden in her jacket with her free hand. The torchlight flickered slowly, and the electric hum of the generator added to the intensity of this moment. The sounds of the footsteps were unbearably close now, when suddenly they stopped. Then she saw something tall appear from the darkness! At the far edge of the firelight something imposing, slim and grey was standing there looking at her. It was definitely taller than her, stood on two arching hind legs and its arms appeared to be too longpared to the rest of its skinny looking body. She couldn''t make out its face in the dim light. However, it looked like it could see her just fine. Lisa quickly flicked out her dull ckened sword ready to face the tall creepy ''thing'' standing before her. Though she was ready to fight, her instincts told her to run! But she couldn''t move, no, she dared not move. She was a soldier, soldiers do not run away, they fight! "Who are you?" Lisa growled towards the creature. The creature flinched awkwardly hearing her voice so suddenly in the silence of the tunnel. It swayed from side to side looking at Lisa, seemingly trying to get a better look at her. Like some wild animal sizing up its prey before pouncing. Then it started to circle to the right of Lisa, edging around the rim of the flickering torchlight. Now that it was moving parallel to her, Lisa could better make out the shape of its head. The creepy head was shaped like an American Football, hairless, long and elongated. It appeared not to have any eyes at all, but a thick line crossed its face showing where its mouth might be; it looked like it could be huge. The Thing walked on awkwardly its hind legs with long strides and they would bend backwards, rather than forwards like a human''s leg did. It appeared to coil it arms and long skinny fingers close to its chest as it walked, like some dejected servant. Its ufortably long razor like nails glinted faintly and the faint clink of its foot ws could be heard on the concrete floor. Keeping her back to the tunnel wall, Lisa gently tossed the torch to the floor in front of her and in between them. The creature seemed startled by the torch light suddenlying closer towards it and took a step back. Apparently, it hadn''t been ustomed to fire before. The creature looked up from the torch and back to Lisa. Then it let out a screaming warbled noise, revealing its humongous mouth. Rows of small, serrated teeth appeared to glint menacingly in the fire light. The screech echoed violently in the tunnel, which made Lisa whence slightly, but she dared not remove her hands from her weapon. The creature then opened its arms wide like a crab would in an attempt to intimidate Lisa and it aggressively stepped forward once into the light. Its reach looked like it could nearly be three meters, nearly as long as her own de! As it was now edging closer, Lisa could see its smooth grey skin, which looked repulsively dry and leathery. The sharp ws on its hands and feet appeared to be very capable of ripping Lisa into pieces. A very terrifying sight to behold and defiantly not something anyone would ever want toe across a lone in a dark tunnel. Lisa responded to the creature boldness by giving her own shout to show she wasn''t afraid. Then she too took a forceful step forward at this Thing, while menacingly aiming the tip of her sword at the creature. Seeing her actions, the creature hesitated and cocked its head to one side. It didn''t expect that the small human standing boldly before it to actually act aggressive. That moment of hesitation was all Lisa needed. Swinging her sword outwardly with a blur of motion at the creature, Lisa caught it off guard and struck its left arm leaving a nasty wound. The creature screeched and reeled backwards in both anger and pain as ckish blood oozed from its forearm. Lisa swung again at the creatures'' body, but it was too fast, and it jumped back into the darkness. All she could hear was the rustle of its wed feet moving on the concrete in the darkness. asionally a low angry growling noise came out from the pitch ckness beyond the torch light. Lisa warily stepped backwards until her back touched the dams wall. Keeping her sword ready, she scanned the darkness for any signs of attack. The only signs of the creature were its fresh ck blood sttered on the floor. Muttering encouraging to herself, Lisa prepared for whatever might happen next. "It might be big and scary, but it can be hurt. I can beat it!" The creature let out another screech and it suddenly flung itself at her from Lisa''s left! Its greyish body had instantly appeared from the darkness and all Lisa could do was barely perform a rolling dodge. The creature''s nails shed viciously into the wall and floor leaving deep gashes. The creature let out a warbling scream that sounded angry as it realized it had missed her. Lisa quickly jumped up from her rolling dodge and stabbed upwardly at the creature. Her sword found its mark and buried deep into the right thigh of the creature. Again, nasty ck blood sprayed out from the nightmarish Thing. The wounded creature screeched exposing its rows of teeth andshed out at Lisa. The long arms of the creature were like whips and moved far faster than Lisa anticipated. The Thing''s arm struck Lisa''s shoulder knocking her sideways into the darkness! She rolled twice but stopped herself and raised her sword back up to defend herself. The creature, however, didn''t immediately chase after her. Instead it seemed like it lost sight of her. Apparently, it too couldn''t see that well in the dark. Lisa noticed this and walked quietly to the right, opposite of where she had been knocked towards. However, unlike its vision the creature seemed to have excellent hearing. It immediately turned towards where Lisa was walking and dug its ws deeply into the concrete floor and then jumped towards where Lisa was moving while hidden in the darkness. Lisa saw the attacking and jumped backwards. The creature missed and collided into the second generator heavily. Lisa also collided noisily with the metal railing surrounding the first generator, which knocked her off bnce. She was at a disadvantage, the creature knew her location from the sounds she made, but she couldn''t. She needed to even the odds! Quickly Lisa ran back towards the area lit by the torch. A sudden whooshing sound swept over her head and reflexively she ducked. The creatures dagger length ws had barely missed her head by a hairs breadth! She got back into the torchlight and turned back ready to fight. The creature continued to prowl in the darkness and asionally it growled angrily. Every time it did Lisa turned nervously in that sounds direction. Fortunately, she had wounded the creature and it now was acting more cautious. "I need to think of something." Lisa thought aloud in a hushed voice. Then a thought popped into her head. What if she flipped the breaker switch on? The lights might work in here and she could see the monster better; at least it couldn''t hide anymore. But then she couldn''t as well. "Ah, at least we''ll be evenly matched." Lisa thought almost tossing caution to the wind. Reaching backwards, while keeping her focus on the darkness around her, Lisa fumbled for the breaker switch. Just as she found and gripped it to pull down, another thought urred to her. "What if there were more of these things here in the tunnel? Would the light alert and attract them to me?" She hesitated at these thoughts. The creature in the dark growled loudly again, but much closer. Lisa reactivity turned towards the direction of the sound, but it didn''t attack. Taking a quick nce at the pool of ck blood on the floor, from where she stabbed it earlier, she knew it surely was being careful now. It was waiting for Lisa to make a mistake. "Ah, screw it!" Lisa yelled and threw the breaker up to start up the power. The generator hummed louder now and the soft sound electric lights turning on sounded out above her. Slowly a majority of the overhead lights began to glow, illuminating the tunnel with a dull yellowish glow. The creature noticed the sudden change and let out an annoyed shriek. Lisa could see it clearer now. It was standing on top of the second generator and was looking upwards at the brightening lights above in confusion. Now was her chance! Lisa charged at the creature sword at the ready, closing the distance in no time. With a slight grunt she leapt up at the creature and prepared to stab at the creature''s body. Just as she was about to skewers the Thing, it saw her and raised its arms in defense. Lisa''s sword stabbed through its right arm and into its shoulder, pinning them together. The creature roared in pain and slipped off the back of the generator. Lisa lost grip of her sword as it did and jumped away from the creature. She reached quickly for the gun in her other jacket pocket. Originally, she didn''t want to use it in case she might damage the dam''s structures or instruments. Now, however, she had no choice. Holding the gun at the ready with both hands, she slowly rounded the second generator. The creature was wing and flopping around trying to free the sword from its body. It saw Lisa pointing the gun at it and opened its mouth letting out a loud warbling scream. It then tried sitting up to attack her, but it was toote. Lisa pulled the trigger rapidly. The first shot ripped off the creature''s bottom jaw, sttering ck blood and teeth everywhere. The next two shotsnded in the creature''s chest, knocking it down to the ground. The creature writhed on the ground in its death throws trying to make sense of what was happening to it. Lisa calmly stood over the dying creature and ced a heavy foot on its chest. Then she aimed at the creature''s head and pulled the trigger once, ending the fight for good. She let out a sigh of relief. The scary fight was over. Never before had she heard of or encountered such a monstrous creature. Gripping her sword hilt, she removed the de from the creature''s shoulder. ck blood leaked everywhere from the creature and its foul smell quickly filled the tunnel. Staying alert, Lisa listened carefully for any other creatures that might be here in the tunnel. Now that the lights were on, she could see the rest of the long curving tunnel passage. The tunnel had a slight curve in its design, so she couldn''t see to the opposite end of it. There were multiple small sectional rooms with generators and power regtors in them all along the way, so there were plenty of hiding ces for other creatures. However, after several minutes of silence Lisa determined that the area was clear for now. Quickly she turned back to the exit and hurried away from the tunnel at a light jog. Reaching the two metal doors she turned back to take another look, just to be sure she wasn''t followed. Luckily, she saw nothing. Then she quickly shut the door and tied the chain tightly back into ce. Then giving another sigh of relief, Lisa clicked the lock tightly to the chain. Now she was safe! "I have to let the others know about this creature!" Lisa said to herself while retreating up the stairs to her room. The night wasing, and she did not want to risk traveling at night if more of those things were out there. After calming down some, she decided to set up some sound traps by the doors and on the stairs leading to her room. The traps were nothing but some cans and string, but they would be sufficient for now. That night Lisa could hardly sleep, and after long hours of anticipation the sun finally rose. Chapter 28: Hole Chapter 28: Hole Lisa got up to leave at the break of dawn. Having not slept well all night, she felt terrible. Not to mention she hadn''t even been able to wash herself off yet from the fight with that Thing. Specks of foul ck blood were still on her shoes, pants and sword handle. Going through her extra clothes in the coffin, Lisa picked out a wrinkled, but fresh, red T-shirt and jeans. Then grabbing some soap, Lisa decided to go down to the river and wash before going to speak with the others. Opening the door to her office room carefully, Lisa looked about just to be sure there wasn''t any more of those creatures around. She was nearly in full soldier mode now and every bit of her being was on high alert. Even though her noise traps didn''t go off, it never hurt to be extra cautious. Especially with something as scary and unknown as that Thing. Yet again everything was in order and there were no signs of any monsters creeping about. Still the whole time she walked down towards the river; Lisa clutched her folded sword hilt tightly. The sun hadn''t risen very high yet and only the tips of the distant mountains glowed in its glory. The cid river, held back by the dam, was as smooth as ss and a light fog floated over the water''s surface uninterrupted by theck of any breeze. Slowly the sunshine on the mountains dripped from the peaks down into the forests clinging on steep cliffs and slopes. A total contrast tost night''s turmoil. Seeing this beautiful scenery calmed Lisa''s nerves greatly. Now that she was standing by the water''s edge and seeing that no one was around, she started to undress. That is when she noticed she had a problem. When she went to take off her shirt, her shoulder wouldn''t lift up high enough. Apparently, the spot where the creature had hit her had been moderately damaged. She didn''t feel any pain because the area damaged was just below where her prosthetic arm met with her real arm. Ack of pain was one of the perks of not being fully human. The only ces she could actually feel anything was her fingertips and palms, but it more of a sense than feeling as the technology wasnt fully mastered yet. "Well, this is just great." Lisa grumbled aloud while taking off her shirt. Gently touching the damaged area, Lisa pried up the metal armor ting with her hand strength alone and exposed the intricate wiring inside. After a few moments she determined that there was only minor damage and that her limited mobility was only due to the bent tting. Doing as best as she could with her other hand to straighten the bent te back to normal, she managed to fix the issue temporarily. Now that that mobility problem was basically fixed, she could finish bathing. The water was very chilly, and she didn''t dare stay in there for long at all. Lisa only stayed in long enough to wash her hair and soak herself once before she started to shiver. She quickly got dressed and headed back to her makeshift base to get her leather jacket back on to try and warm up. After getting her jacket, Lisa rekindled the fire pit out in the parking lot. Lisa soon warmed up nicely as she cooked a few of thest carrots Mary and Joan had given to her. Finally, after eating, was she ready to leave. The walk back to her friends cul-de-sac was a quiet and nearly uneventful one. The old stores and rusting buildings lining the streets stood solemn and rotting away, giving a lonely air to the already deste area. If she hadn''t known that there was a whole group of people still living not far away in this town, she might have thought this was a ghost town. As she looked at these empty buildings Lisa wondered, "What treasures and secrets do you buildings hold? If only I could search you all, I could probably make some decent money off your hidden contents." The street turned a sharp corner and she finally spotted someone else from the town. Walking closer to her destination, she soon started to see more and more people going about their daily tasks to scrape a living together or just to survive. Some tended to yard gardens, others carried materials towards the market area or river, while others seemed only to sit around their homes with nothing else to do. The town had very little to offer in the terms of a job. It was undoubtedly thest stop for many of the river traveling merchants, as there wasnt much to trade for here to begin with. The locals could barely farm enough to feed themselves much less trade. As far as she knew only the hunters could make decent money trading meat, furs and hides. However, for the others as a member in the Mad Dogs they would at least provide food and something for the locals to do. That was one possible reason that the townspeople still tolerated them. Finally, Lisa made it back to the better kept cul-de-sac of the former police officers. The first to see her arrive was Benny. He was sitting on his porch drinking something from a coffee mug. Seeing her approach, he waved cheerfully, and she returned the gesture. "Hey Benny." Lisa called out. "How are you doing?" "Well enough, I suppose." Benny replied as he got up from his chair to meet her in the road. "Where are the others? I have something urgent to talk about." Lisa said as they met in the middle of the road. "Well" Benny said scratching his chin in thought. "Mary, Joan and Hanna went to buy food not too long ago. I think both Richard and John are back there in the garden together." He said while pointing towards the area behind Lisa. "Ok thanks. You might want to hear this too, so let us go get them." Lisa said turning towards the area where he had pointed. Benny didn''t say anything, but quickly followed Lisa; curious as to what she had to say. They soon found the two men chopping vigorously, with some machetes, at arge cluster of rag weed and thorns overgrowing the far side of their garden. Seeing Benny and Lisaing their way, the two men paused to catch their breath. Even though it was still morning it appeared to Lisa that they had been working for quite some time. "Hey, you''re back." Richard said giving a small wave. "Didn''t expect to see you back so soon." "Neither did I." Lisa replied. John noticed that she sounded a bit different. "Is everything ok with the dam? Did you run into a problem?" He asked putting down his tool and wiping his hands together. "Yes, I ran into a major issue." Lisa replied, then she leaned in closer to the three men and spoke in a low tone. "Do you guys know of any giant creatures living around these parts?" Lisa went on to exin what had happened in the tunnel. How she got the power back on, the fight with that Thing, and asked if they knew of such a creature after describing it as best as she could. The three men were incredibly surprised hearing her adventurous story and didnt know what to say. In the end it was John that was the first to speak. "Well, I think we need to see this creature first. I might have an idea as to what it is." He said picking back up his machete. "We need to be careful though. I don''t know if I am imagining the right creature, but if I am, then we all need to be armed." The other two men and Lisa nodded in agreement. The three men quickly got their weapons ready and Richard left a note to the women saying where they were going. After half an hour they all were back at the dam''s Powerhouse. When they entered the men eyed the clutter stacked near the entrances but didn''t bother asking about it. Hearing a faint quiet buzzing noise Benny couldn''t help but ask, "I know you said you got the power on. But could you show us?" Lisa hadn''t even thought of testing out the lights or turning on the control room yet. The whole purpose being there in the first ce was to even see if the electricity still could work in the building. She had just been too preupied with worrying about the creature. After Benny pointed this issue out, she felt silly for being so preupied with thinking about the monster. "Sure, I can give it a try. I know it works in the tunnel, but it might be dangerous in there. So, we should just do it in here." Lisa said with a nod towards the control room. The three men followed her curiously up to the second floor to the control room. Out from her pants pocket she took out two keys that were used to start up the control center. She held out one of the keys to them and pointed at one of the switches. "Can one of you turn the switch with me? It won''t start without both switches being activated at once." Sure. Richard answered. Richard then took the key and the two of them turned the switches on in unison. At first nothing happened. Then the sound ofputer fans in the room starting to whirr and theputers beeped as they turned on. Dials and gages frantically adjusted themselves, portraying that there indeed was electrical powering from the dam. Benny gave a cheer and the other two couldn''t help but smile. The thought of having power back into their lives was now seeming more like a reality. "Well I''m d that worked!" Lisa eximed with a gleam in her grey eyes. Giving a thankful sigh Lisa continued. "I was worried the wires might have been damaged and that I''d have to rece them." Slowly she walked about the room overlooking the now active controls, dials and shing buttons. the three men followed curiously behind. "So far everything looks in order." She spotted the dial for Generator 1 and saw that it was running at normal levels and everything was nominal. The rest of the dials for the other generators were t. It looked like each one had to be manually turned on. This was a concern, especially since she didn''t have the password to the control roomputers, yet. "So, are you guys sure about going into the tunnel?" Lisa finally asked turning to them. "If there are more Things in there, I don''t want to have you all risk your lives doing this." "I think we can handle it." Benny said with a shrug. The other two were not so confident looking. "If there are more and we can''t defend ourselves, then I''m afraid it''s going to be a lost cause." John said tly. Lisa expected this, so she wasn''t angry or worried. She kind of had the same idea. If they couldn''t beat any more of those creatures, then she might as well try to find another way to earn money. Fighting off hoards of mythical monsters was not something she intended to do. "That fine." Lisa said. "Let''s make sure we are ready and then go into the tunnel quietly. The power should be on in there still, so we won''t need torches." "Sounds good, lets go!" Benny said enthusiastically. The four soon stood at the two big metal doors. With guns and machetes at the ready, Lisa pushed open the heavy door. The metal scrapped noisily on the concrete as she did. Stepping inside cautiously, they scanned the area for any movement. Fortunately, they saw nothing. They came to the area where the creature was and found its lifeless body was still there. Even though the creatures marred bodyy contorted in its own coagted ck bloody puddle, it still looked dangerous. The three men were shocked seeing the creature for real now. "Just as I thought!" John said with a twinge of fear. "This is a Twisted. Come on everyone we need to make sure the area is safe!" He turned to go further into the tunnel before Lisa could ask any questions. So, she decided to follow for now. They went from room to room in the tunnel, carefully checking for any signs of life. Thankfully, they found none. Soon they reached the far end of the tunnel only to see two doors like the ones that they had entered in from. Only this time a massive bolder had knocked a huge hole into one of the gates. This had to be how the creature got in here. John sounded exasperated as he was looking at the gaping hole. "Well this could be an issue!" Chapter 29: Creating Disorder Chapter 29: Creating Disorder The leader of the ck Rats, Garret Trellis, sat at the head of a long table. His hands were sped methodically in front of his face as he surveyed the nervous gangsters sitting at the table with him as well. Things had gone from bad, to worse for them and Garret was not one to let failure go unchecked. First, they had to flee their main base at the Marriott Hotel during the riot. Leaving half of their equipment, resources and arge amount of money behind. When they tried to escape on their party boat the rioters followed them for the whole time they traveled downstream. When they reached the southern end of the town, they had to fight off dozens of rioters just to dock the boat and make it to their hidden backup base. Then by the time they reached their safe house did they learn of even worse news. Half of the gang had been captured, killed or was still missing. At least five hundred of their ck Rats forces had sumbed to death or prion. The rioters had also gone crazy and started hunting down everyone in search of the gangsters scattered around town. Not only had the gang members suffered, but a lot of their contacts, suppliers and buyers as well were not sparred. They were passed multiple times on the river by merchants fleeing from the eastern docks on barges or private speedboats, probably never to return. "We can''t let them get away with this!" Garret yelled mming his fist onto the table. The impact of his massive bulk nearly broke the table. "We need to remind them who really runs this town. The Damn is ours and ours alone to rule!" Several of the gangsters, his remaining lieutenants, nodded in agreement. Then one of them called out, "So what''s the n, Boss?" "The n is to crush them." Garret immediately replied. "First, get some guys to find out who''s behind the riot and who''s running the ce now. I want to know how many we are up against, where they are, and what they are doing." Then he pointed at one of his lieutenants, "Zane, you get your guys to do this. I think, out of most of these guys, you still have the most men left." Zane stood up. "Alright Boss. You got it. Plus, the area we managed over wasn''t all that popted, so we can move a lot more freely because we aren''t as recognizable." Garret nodded in approval. "Erin." He said while turning to another lieutenant. "You and your crew are to get an inventory of what weapons and ammo we got. Once we figure out the situation, we need to hit them hard and fast. Our food will notst us long, especially without any merchants willing to trade to us." "Got it." Erin said getting up to leave. "Marco, you and Terry go with your guys to make sure no one around here tells about our location. We can''t repel any attack like before just yet. Do whatever you can to keep the locals quiet, but make sure you are discreet. We don''t want to raise any suspicion among the locals and have those rioters find us out. Also, keep an eye out for straggles, we need every man we can find." Garretmanded and the two men nodded and got up to also leave hastily. Garret then turned to thest two lieutenants at the table next to him. His top lieutenants were Diana, the only female lieutenant he had, and Adam, his righthand man. "This is where you twoe in. Get whoever is left around here and have them start fortifying the building and the perimeter. Also, I want a tunnel dug from here to the dock. Just in case we need to run or use it to get behind them if they attack." "Understood Boss." Adam said. Diana just sighed reluctantly and nodded. "I can''t wait until we figure out who was behind this. I will personally execute that idiot!" Garret growled. Several days had passed since Garret had issues out the orders to his lieutenants. The safe house had beenpletely renovated into a proper second base. The old building had been reinforced with an extrayer on the walls, heavy doors now reced the old ones, all the windows were boarded up, and the rooms inside were packed full of supplies. The fence around the perimeter had beenpletely reced with sheet metal, debris and tangled masses of old cars. It would be easy to defend the safe house now. Anyone caught trying to climb over such obstacles or take them down would be easy targets to the gangsters. The residents had been dealt with by Marco and Terry''s crews and the area was under heavy supervision, no one could leave without being seen by the gang. Erin''s crew determined that they were good on food rations for several weeks if need be. Also, they were close to the river, so water wasn''t an issue either. They had managed to make contact with a few traders and merchants traveling up the river, that they normally dealt with, and informed them of their new location. They kept the situation under raps and convince the merchants that going beyond them wasnt worth the trouble. Very few merchants would now bother traveling to the north eastern part of the town, thus possibly making the situation harder for the rioters to get supplies. Zane hade back sooner than anticipated with his report. He discovered that the rioters had organized into a militia called the "East River Militia. Not only forming a militia, but they had organized a form of a government under the leadership of a man named Nathan Dees. The people of this group were not too hard to find, as they had green arm bands to distinguish themselves from regr citizens. Simply catching one of them and interrogating him was all Zane needed to find all this out. "Nathan Dees? Never heard of the prick." Garret said with augh. "I think we can make quick work of them after all." Zane nodded. "I agree. Most of the militia people are just going house to house and looting the empty ones. They won''t be able to react fast enough if we attacked their headquarters. The only problem for now would be the guy leading the armed forces, Gillian Taws." "Gillian" Garret said aloud thinking. "I remember him. He was a Match Fighter that worked for the old boss." "I think he was too." Zane said in agreement. "Him and three other small time Match Fighters are among the fighting force of this Militia." "Four nobody fighters and a rag tag crew of locals won''t be enough to stop us." Gillian said grinning. "Adam, get the gang ready, we are going to attack! Seems like we wasted our efforts getting this ce fortified." Adam was standing nearby and immediately headed towards where many of the gangsters werezing about near the river. When sober, Adam was quite a reliable second inmand. "Are we going to attack their headquarters?" Zane asked. "Naw, that would be too easy. Garret answered waving a hand dismissively overhead. We need to take out every member of the East River Militia. Just like stomping out a fire: get the sparks stomped out now and the fire won''t ever spread. We need to show the people that we won''t let anyone who opposes us can get away with it!" "Sounds good to me." Zane replied. Then he thought of something. "But won''t attacking just the members make them aware of other attacks and make it harder for us to fight?" "It might. But only if we attack in one spot all at once." Garret replied giving a crafty smile. "We need to know where they are looting at specifically and where the other members are likely to be. Once we know their location and patrols, we''ll split up and attack them all at once at every location simultaneously. They probably aren''t very organized at all and won''t be able tomunicate with each other. If we can weaken them now, the better for uster." Zane nodded. "Makes since." Then Garret continued his exnations as they started to walk towards where Adam was getting everyone ready. "If they are still anything like when they attacked the hotel, then we most definitely will have the advantage. We have guns, ammo and more experienced fighters. Those weak citizens won''t be able to put up a fight with knives and bats alone. As for the Match Fighter''s" Garret flexed his arms and they bulged in a show a strength. "I''ll take care of them." After an hour of getting all the gangsters together and armed, Adam did a head count. There were nearly six hundred ck Rats gang members left and in fighting condition. They used to have nearly a thousand three hundred, but they had to make do with who they had. These numbers were likely more than enough to handle the ragtag militia. Over half were armed with some kind of firearm and all were equipped with some type of forged de or other handheld weapon. Garret was now standing on the base safe house''s porch overlooking therge force in front of him. There were so many people packed into the courtyard that there was almost no room to stand. He raised his hand to quiet down the murmuring gangsters. Garret cleared his throat and shouted confidently. "ck Rats! Let me make this simple. You ready to fight!?" "Yeah!" The gangsters cheered back. "You ready to kill?" Garret continued yelling. "Yeah!" They all cheered back. "You ready to show those stupid idiots who the real rulers of ''The Damn'' are?" Garret yelled. "Yeah!" The gangsters replied even louder than before. "Who''s in charge?" Garret asked loudly. "We are!" The gang chanted back. "Then let''s show them already!" Garret yelled raising his own rifle and fist into the air. The enthralled gangsters cheered and shouted, raising their weapons or fists into the air. Pressing his way through the mass of gangsters, Garret lead the way towards the north of town. As the mass group of the ck Rats followed close behind him, the very street seemed to vibrate as they marched. Adam, Diana, Zane, Terry, Marco and Erin all closely followed next to Garret. As they walked, he started to exin the n in further detail. Garret had to speak loudly enough that he could be hear over the excitable force following them. "Since they are going house to house in small groups Terry, Marco and Erin. You three go and take out these groups. They won''t be expecting an attack, so kill as many of them as you can. I don''t want any militia members alive." "Zane. Your crew is going to standby and look for any militia reinforcements or stragglers in the streets nearby their base. Adam and Diana, you and your guys areing with me to deal with Nathan Dees and the Match Fighters at their base. Sound good?" Garret asked looking expectantly at everyone. They all then voiced their agreement and instantly scattered among the gangsters to inform them of the orders. The local residents quickly deserted the roads and alleys upon seeing so many gangstersing their way. No one, however, tried to flee and head north to warn the East River Militia. The newly formed Militia forces were going to be attackedpletely unawares. Chapter 30: Street Fight Chapter 30: Street Fight Second Lieutenant Caswell politely knocked on the door frame to Special Officer Hawkins'' office. "Sir?" Hawkins looked up from a pile of reports scattered on his desk. "Yes, go ahead." "We have a situation brewing in the eastern part of the town of Maple Valley, or as the locals call it, The Damn." Caswell reported whileing into the office. "Our Fly Drones monitoring the East River Militia and the ck Rats have picked up irregrities from their normal movements." "Go on." Hawkins replied as he sat back in his office chair and folded his arms across his chest. Getting any kind of news out here in this lonely outpost was worth putting mundane work aside. Caswell cleared his throat and continued, "The ck Rats, in mass, have started to march on towards the militia''s main area of control. It looks like there is going to be a fight between them soon." "Good. Keep an eye on the fight. If the Queen is among them, we can finally start tracking her movements. Have any of the other locations under surveince had any luck yet?" Hawkins asked. "No sir. Nothing of any significance. The previous skirmish between the two gangs, Skull and Mad Dogs, has reached a stalemate. No signs of the woman being near there. As for the Mad Dogs and Skulls headquarters, there have been no signs of her either." Caswell reported, then he cleared his throat and continued. "It''s my spection that she is eitherying low in the unpopted parts of town for now or that it was a random encounter with her. It''s possible she''s not even in the town anymore." "Not possible." The Special Officer said waving his hand dismissively. "The radar would have picked up any signals from Hover Craft or other air transport vehicles. Additionally, the drones watching the river and roads would have noticed any odd moments by now. I still think that the Mad Dogs tried to double cross us and hired the Queen to do it. However, even I doubt this theory. Someone like her type wouldn''t stoop so low to work under a gang boss." "I agree Sir." Caswell replied giving a nod. "Any additional orders or continue as we are?" "Maintain current surveince but deploy more Fly Drones to monitor the west side of town. The forest would be an easy ce to disappear into if she knew we were looking for her." Hawkins replied reaching for the report he was reading before. "Understood Sir." Caswell said giving a salute. He was about to leave when Hawkins stopped him. "Oh, one more thing, Second Lieutenant." Hawkins said. "Keep me updated on the battle with the militia. This post gets so boring being in the middle of nowhere." "I will keep you up to date on the fight. May I also say that I agree, Sir. This area that we monitor is ratherx." Caswell said sounding much less formal than he usually did around the Special Officer. "Excellent, dismissed." Hawkins said ignoring thement and turning back to the reports on the desk. The conflict between the East River Militia and the ck Rats may have seemed not all that significant to the AFR soldiers, but to them it was a very intensive battle. Garret Trellis and his six lieutenants were halfway to their main destination, the ERM base, when they split up to attack their secondary objectives. Terry, Marco and Erin along with everyone under theirmand, were eager to hurry up and attack the surveying militia. Many of the gangs friends had been killed by the ERM and were itching for revenge. Terry spat on the roadside with disgust. "Those freaking Militia goons are going to pay for what they did to my men. I lost nearly a dozen good men after we left the hotel." "Same with me." Erin replied while he was double checking that his handgun was loaded and ready. "I had some close good friends get wasted by them." "I''m going to make them suffer so much. They won''t ever forget my name after what I n to do to them for killing Ken!" Marco chimed in. Of the three men, Marco was the angriest. Ken was his best friend growing up, and they had joined the gang many years ago. They were always together until the rioters chased them down as they were trying to flee south to the safe house. Ken tripped over something in the road when they were being chased, and the rioters beat him to death before Marco could save him. Even if he was a gangster and did some bad stuff in the past, dying in that manner was rather cruel. The three lieutenants were heading up the main road towards the residential areas closest to the industrial area of the town. If the information was correct, there should be arge number of militia troops looting the area. One of the gangsters caught an unfortunate local that didn''t escape from their sight on the road in time. They quickly got him to tell where any militia members were in the area. He told the gangsters that there were five groups of militia personnel doing surveys of the area and looting any building that was unupied or not owned by someone. He then told them that each group was around twenty or so people each. Hearing this, the three lieutenants decided to split up and confront the closest groups individually. They were confident that they could easily beat them as each lieutenant was leading over fifty gangsters apiece. After they split up, Erin and his crew were the first to find the militia. They were indeed doing as the local said. They were going down each side of the street checking every building for upants. However, they were not carrying any loot and appeared to be on guard. Seeing this, Erin decided to y it safe first and do some reconnaissance. The gangsters now were just hiding in several houses up the road from the militia. "Hey, you." Erin called to one of his men. The man came over and Erin continued. "Go ahead and walk casually in the middle of the road past them. I want you to check out what weapons they got, how many there actually are and if there are others further up the road." "Got it, boss." The man saidplying quickly. "You only need to go two blocks past them. Once you do,e back here to report. Bute back from the next street over, we don''t want them getting suspicious." Erin added. The man nodded and headed off. "Now we wait." Erin said to the rest of the gang. "Looks like it will be awhile before they get any closer to us. So, make sure your weapons are ready. I don''t want to see anyone holding clean weapons once were done with them!" The rest of the gangsters chuckled enthusiastically. They were ready to fight long beforeing here. Fortunately for them they didnt need to wait long; after half an hour, the man had returned. "Boss there are only twenty-five guys ahead and I didn''t see their weapons. However, I didn''t see any reinforcements either." The man quickly reported. "Great job. Well, you heard him." Erin said to the gang. "Let''s crush them." Erin turned to head right down the road confidently towards the militia. The eager gangsters following close behind, each gangster being sure that their weapons remined hidden. ... Terry found himself in a simr situation as Erin. However, he didn''t have the patience to wait for them to know the whole situation. As soon as he saw that the militia were in two groups on opposite sides of the road, he had an idea. "Here''s the n guys." Terry said motioning for everyone toe closer to him. They were standing in an empty sandy lot only four houses from the militia. "We are going to climb over these fences in the backyards and get into the house that they are going to get to next. Once they go inside, we are going to ambush them and take them out. Once we do, the others across the street will be easy pickings." The men nodded in silent agreement. It was simple and straightforward enough for them to understand. "Alright, let''s go!" Terry said turning towards the fence. He easily hopped over the low metal chain link fence and jogged across the yard to the next fence. The rest of the gang quickly followed close behind. If anyone living in those houses saw fifty men running in their backyards, they were sure to stay quiet. Nothing was going to stop the gangsters now. Once they reached the indicated house, Terry took a quick peek around the edge of the house''s wall at the militia. While he did this, the rest of the gang quietly busted open the back door of the house and filed inside. Terry was pleased to see that the militia appeared to be rapping up things at the next house and would soon be on their way over to them. Terry smiled and thought to himself, "Oh ya. It''s alling together." Marco didn''t have any patience at all, like the other two did. As soon as he found the militia, he cocked his shotgun and turned towards his men. "Let''s make them wish they never messed with us!" He shouted. The men cheered and readied their weapons. "Let''s go then." Marco said turning to walk right down the middle of the street towards the unsuspecting militia members. Marco walked right up to the first Militia member, who was guarding the outside of one of the houses. The man was about to tell Marco to stoping his way, when Marco casually lifted his gun. He took aim and fired a single powerful round into the unfortunate man''s chest. The sound of the sudden gunfire alerted the militia inside. They rushed towards the front door to see what happed. Everyone arrived only to find nearly fifty ck Rat gangsters charging at them all at once. Gunshots sted, men screamed, and chaos filled the once quite street. At first the militia were takenpletely by surprise by the gangsters sudden upfront assault. The militia could only manage to barricade themselves into the houses and hold off the sudden attackers. Then something unexpected happened to the Marco and his gangsters, the militia opened fire with their own guns! The gangsters were caught unprepared and exposed in the empty streets. With the militia personnel on both sides of the street the gangsters were caught in the crossfire and received heavy casualties. Immediately, Marco realized the danger they all were in and shouted themand to retreat and go back down the road to the next homes. Erins forces faced a simr situation as Marco. The militia saw the suspicious group of mening towards them and took up defensive positions. The ERM called out for them to halt, but Erin and his men in unison puled out their guns and the two sides broke out into a hail of gunfire. Being in the open street, Erin took a grazing bullet and several of the gangsters were shot down. The militia were in better positions and forced the gang to find cover. Only Terry''s group was lucky in their attack. The militia, as anticipated, came into the house and called out to see if there were any residents. The ck Rats had hidden in the back of the house waiting for Terry to give the signal. As soon as much of the militia hade inside, did he finally give the order. The entrance of the house became an instant blood bath as the gangsters opened fire with a barrage of bullets. Only the militia lookout outside was able to flee to hispanions on the other side of the street. The gangsters started to give chase but were immediately forced to run back inside when the militia returned fire. Terry ducked behind the wall of the house in the living room. Then he yelled out in confusion to no one in particr, "How is it possible that they have guns?" Chapter 31: Advantages Chapter 31: Advantages n Stockholm was in a predicament. The unending series of attacks from the Mad Dogs gang hadsted all day. Thankfully, night had now fallen and forced the two sides to pause the assault. His men were exhausted and battered. Even he himself had a few scrapes and bruises from the attacks. At least fifteen of his men were no longer able to fight. He had to make the decision to eithere up with new n or retreat. Retreat was never an option to n and he hardly ever considered even thinking about it. He nearly always found a way to win, no matter what. n looked around the crumbling room they had picked to camp the night in. Three fires were lit, and everyone was crowded around them to stay warm in the chilly night air. The faces of the men were all different. Some looked tired, others scared, and yet most of them were like himself, eager for the fight to restart. The Skull really was a bunch of battle addicted whack jobs and thats what made it great. Yet things wouldnt end well for them if the battle went on like this. He knew he had to do something he hated doing if victory would be assured. Swallowing his pride, n started looking at the men that appeared to be scared and then found a suitable person, he called him over. "I need you to do something for me." n said to the scared looking man. Giving a hesitant nod the man listened. He looked to be much younger than most of those in his troops. Maybe eighteen or so. "I need you to run back to our territory to find Bone Dust, Stitches, or Steel Fist." n said while giving the names some thought. "Once you find one or all of them, tell them toe here to help fight. Theres a battle going on and I know they get bored just as I do. They will likelye without a second thought. If one doesn''t agree toe, then just go find the next guy." "Understood Bone yer." The young man said appearing relieved. "Good. Now one more thing." n quickly said. "Yes?" The young man said uncertainly. "You have to this all this tonight and get them back here by morning." n spoke with some intensity and with the firelight dancing on his skull painted face, he looked even more serious than normal. "We probably won''tst very long tomorrow, if the fighting goes on like today." This part he said quietly, so that the rest of the men in the room would not hear him and be disheartened. "I will go as fast as I can, boss. I won''t let you down." The young gangster said forcing a confident simile. The ck and white paint of the skull painted on his face crinkled as he did, giving the impression that an actual skull was smiling. n nodded in approval. This young man was no coward, simply scared, with ack of battle experience. He could handle himself better in future battles. n could tell. The young man quickly left the fire lit room and dissolved into the night. n stood up with an air of importance and several of the men took note and looked at him expectantly. n cleared his throat loudly before speaking and he broke out into a huge confident smile, "Tomorrow we will fight, and we will win!" He had everyone''s attention now. "We cannot let them continue to attack us like this. So, we are going to change things up some. After we get some sleep, we are going to change locations before the sun rises. However, I need three of you to stay here and keep the fires going." "I''ll stay." One of the injured men said raising his uninjured hand. "I can''t fight, but I can still move enough to keep the fire going." Two other men voiced their agreement as well. They too were injured, but able. "Good. I am proud to see such valiant warriors. Skull is lucky to have you on our side." n said smiling at them. He truly was proud to see that his men had such vigor in them. "Keep the fires lit, nice and bright. They are clearly visible to the Mad Dogs and we need them to think we spent the whole night here." The three injured men nodded understandably. Then he continued speaking while overlooking the others. "As for the rest of us we are going to go forward to the next block. We will split into three groups. Just like we did in the ambush yesterday. We will only be in the middle street. They will attack down this street for sure and that''s because of these fires." n gestured to the three fires in the room. "They will think we are still here and attack to flush us out. But we will be ready!" n said clinching his fist and shaking it excitedly. The men in the room cheered with excitement. The Skull gang never feared a fight. This was the source of their strength and it clearly made up for their low numbers. The night passed slowly as n stayed up waiting for the right time to wake his men to get ready to move. He stared in the direction of his enemies and could feel that someone was looking back at him from the dark void of night. He smiled hungrily. Fights were always the best! Hugo looked out into the pitch ck of the night at three rays of light sparking like jewels in the distance. He felt confident. The battle had been a bit difficult at first but by the end of the day he could tell the Skull gang was weakening. If the fighting had started sooner, he was sure they would have broken through their defense and crushed them. However, that would have to wait until morning. The night had been silent as the Mad Dog gang slept. The buildings on this block were in much better condition than the ones where the Skull had set up their camp. So, Hugo and the gangsters had a much better rest that night. Or so it would have been until one of the sentries alerted Hugo. Hugo sat up from the couch he was sleeping on groggily and grumpily inquired, "What is it? "Sir, the reinforcements are here." The sentry reported from the door to Hugos room. "Already?" Hugo said getting up quickly. "I knew he was dying for revenge, but I didn''t expect him to be this eager." Hugo walked out into the street to see Darius and his men waiting for him. Darius and his forces wore all ck clothing. If it weren''t for the fact that Darius had bleached his hair white, his dark skin mixed with the clothing would have made him invisible in the dark. The rest of his men wore ck face masks to conceal themselves. They looked almost like ninjas; they were just missing the swords. Rather they were armed with all kinds of oddity handheld weaponry. Darius went up to Hugo immediately and spoke urgently. "Are you sure the Bone yer is here?" "Yes, he is." Hugo said taking a step back. Darius was a very brash man and didn''t seem to understand the since of respecting ones personal space. "Where? Let''s get him now!" Darius said looking fervently around. "Take it easy man." Hugo said holding up his hands. "You will have your chance in the morning. Now is not the time." "But the Bone yer is here! I can''t let him get away with what he did to me any longer!" Darius shouted. "I know. I know. But you can''t make the same mistake you didst time. I have a n and if you follow it you are sure to get your revenge." Hugo said calmly. Darius was a bit of a loose cannon, but he was still useful and a capable fighter. Darius rubbed a hand soothingly across his stomach. A look of anguish stered on his face was very visible even at night. The scar of his defeat from the Bone yer was still fresh in his mind and body. "Fine." Darius growled. "I''ll follow your n, if it''s actually any good." He eyed Hugo carefully looking for some kind of response. Hugo sighed and decided to exin the n to Darius in its entirety. Several minutester Darius seemingly satisfied and gripped out a reply, "That will work. As soon as he shows himself it will be hisst." "Good to hear it." Hugo nodded. "The Boss will be happy to know that these stupid Skulls will end up losing a great fighter and their territorial gains in this single fight." "Like I care what the Boss wants." Darius said with a snort. "I just want him dead!" The next morning Darius and Hugo readied their forces at first light. They set themselves up in the same formation as the day before. Only this time, Darius and his men were in the center. To the Skull gangsters they probably wouldn''t notice that there were different men in the center, but they would see that the Mad Dogs numbers had increased. However, by then it would be toote. The sun had just started to light up the world and the streets grew ever brighter. It would be mere moments before the sun finally did rise and shine on the ruined downtown around them. Hugo waved to Darius from the right street signaling that it was time to attack. Giving a huge shout, Darius and his men thundered down the road ready to crush the Skulls and Bone yer. Their objective was the building with the three fires still burning inside. That was where the Skull was. They hadn''te out yet, but they had seen people still moving past the fires. Meaning that they were probably still not ready for the early battle. Just as Hugo had told Darius, the Skull were tired from the previous battles the day before. They were weak now. Darius smiled excitedly knowing now that revenge for his humiliation was growing near. They reached the intersection of the first block and got halfway through when suddenly they were ambushed! From all four corner buildings the Skull forces came rushing out at them weapons brandished, while others pelted them with rocks from roof tops, adding to the confusion. The Mad Dogs gangsters under Darius were hardly affected by the attack. They were seasoned warriors and quickly put up a defense in the center of the road. They were doing well, but Darius was furious! The Bone yer was nowhere to be seen! Darius thought angrily while surveying the fight from the center of his forces. "Hugo must have lied to me!" He was about to join in the fight to burn off his anger, when suddenly several of his men behind him wailed in pain. He spun around to see a dozen of Skull gangsters that had appeared right in the middle of them and had stabbed several of his men in the back. Standing tall andughing wickedly was n the Bone yer! "Bone yer!!" Darius yelled madly. His eyes glowed with hate as he charged headlong at his foe. n heard his nickname and turned just in time to turn and lock weapons with his attacker. He looked into the angry brown eyes of the ck man attacking him. Then heughed in his face. "Ah, its you. I thought you would have died from ourst meeting. You seem well, Hack Saw!" n said pushing back hard against Darius weapon. "I''m going to kill you!" Darius yelled hoarsely at n while also pushing back; refusing to give an inch to the hulking figure before him. "Just try!" n said pushing away from Darius to create some space. The two ignored the others around them and they circled each other looking for an opening. The fight amongst the two gangs was even for the moment and whoever won this fight would determine the oue of the battle. Chapter 32: Filling the Gap Chapter 32: Filling the Gap Benny was looking over the damaged doors and rocks in bewilderment. "How are we going to fix this mess?" The hole in the top of the left metal door had beenpletely dented inwards by at least three meters. Smaller rocks had been flung inside the tunnel and as well as also blocking up most of the hole. "I''m not sure." John replied sound just as unsure. "But at least we know where the Twisted creature came in from." "It''s good that it was by itself when it came in." Lisa said eyeing the hole. "I don''t think I could have handled the fight as well has I did if there was more than one." "It''s strange though." John said rubbing his chin. "Twisted like that type usually travel in packs. But this one was alone. Could it have gotten lost or stranded?" "Not sure, perhaps we need to go outside these doors to get a better understanding of what happened." Richard suggested. "Are you kidding?" Benny replied shaking his head. "There''s probably more of them hiding out there. If I recall, it''s a mountain forest on this side of the dam. We have no reason to go up there." Lisa gave augh. "I was just over there yesterday setting up rabbit snares and I didn''t see anything like a Twisted, as you call it. Is that really what it''s called?" "You mean you don''t know about the Twisted?" Benny said sounding surprised. "Where have you been all your life? Under a rock?" "You could say that." Lisa said giving a shrug. Being asleep for two hundred years surely has its draw backs when ites to knowledge of the current world affairs. "I think it will be fine for us to cross over the dam. Besides, I nearly forgot to check on the traps I set up. I got to eat somehow." "I''m still unsure about the risks for doing this, but lets go back for now and double check the dam''s rooms again, just to be sure that there really isnt any more Twisted inside." John said and the others agreed. They all turned to go back to the other entrance seeing that they really couldn''t do anything else in the tunnel. The rooms they had checked were mostly empty. After double checking the rooms, they once again found no signs of any other creature. After a while Lisa just had to ask. "So, what is a Twisted anyway? And where did theye from?" John cleared his throat to exin first. "Well from what I know is that Twisted are not naturally found in this world. There were all kinds of a mutated beasts, like the one you killed, that have been created through mutations due to radiation in the Nuclear Wastnds that are found all over the world. They have many shapes and features that are all crazy in appearance. In many cases the Twisted creatures look just like a child''s drawing of monsters and hardly resemble what they once were. While others still resemble and retained some features of the animals they once were." Then Benny chimed in. "The Twisted you fought probably would have been born as a coyote or wolf. Not too many other Twisted creatures look like that and are carnivorous. Though most Twisted only eat meat anyway." "You mean that even herbivores could be Twisted?" Lisa asked not hiding her interest one bit. She had only heard people vaguely mention the Twisted in Salt Lake City and other areas of the country, but never thought it as anything important. "Yes. Many creatures that had been living in the Nuclear Wastnds had undergone mutations and after years of breeding they had taken on unimaginable appearancespared to what their species once was." Benny replied enthusiastically. "I used to study them as my minor course, back in the day, when I was going to college. Twisted Sociology, I think that is what it was called back then. Not sure if it''s still being called that now." He scratched his head giving it some thought. "Any way." Richard said before Benny could ramble on. "What were getting at us the Twisted are still very much unknown and very dangerous." "Ah, were back at the creatures corpse. Let me take a quick look at it." Benny said approaching the Twisted body. With his foot he gingerly flipped over one of its hind paws. "Yep, definitely a type of canine. You can see it''s paw pads still resemble a wolfs and the ws, though longer, are still the same width as one." Benny said giving a thoughtful nod. "Benny, we can''t stay here all day. It''s still not safe. We need to plug the up that hole." Richard said putting his big hand on Benny''s shoulder. Benny sighed heavily. "It''s times like these I wish I''d not been a police officer. The mutant creatures are so much interesting." Reluctantly he got up and followed the other three back out the tunnel. When they came out, Lisa closed and locked the big metal doors just in case a creature happened to go in while they were gone. They, however, were getting hungry now. The sun had already past its zenith and lunchtime was well over. "I think we should see if any of my snares caught some food. We can cook them up while we investigate the other side of the tunnel." Lisa suggested. "Sounds good to me." John said. Then he looked at the humming transformer nearby in the room. "I still can''t believe you actually got this dam running." "Me either." Lisa said with a grin. "I can see so many possible opportunities now that I can provide power to the town. I just need to help Hana out first, then things will really get going." "I hope so." John replied. "Mary has been telling me every day she''s been dying to have air conditioning and heating back on again. I do to. We were so spoiled to have such a luxury that we took it for granted." "I promise I''ll do what I can." Lisa said encouragingly. When everyone crossed the dam, the three men marveled at the view. Apparently, they had not seen the town from this angle before. The sun was sparkling brightly off the river as boats drifted almost motionless across its murky surface. The grey and ckened areas of the town were very visible, distinguishing the areas affected from bombings of the past. They entered the forest after only looking at this scene for only a moment. Lisa quickly checked her snares while the men warily kept a look out for dangers. Lisa found two squirrels and a small rabbit in her snares. Just enough for all four of them to split among themselves and feel satisfied afterwards. After resetting the traps, they headed for the entrance on the opposite side of the dam. The maintenance road leading down towards the entrance, from the main road, had be very overgrown with weeds. However, the weeds were only waist high and not very thickly grown, so they still had an easy and clear path to follow. Just as they arrived at the entrance area it was clear as to what had happened. Arge rockslide had torn arge portion off the steep mountain slope and crashed into the doors below. If they hadn''t followed the old maintenance path, they might have walked right past the tunnel entrancepletely. Looking at the dirt and green leaves of the nts mixed in with the rockslide debris, it was clear that the event had happened maybe only a day or two ago. Most of the nts leaves were still green. This was good news to them. Despite the damage to the doors, this meant that the Twisted had only just identally found the hole. "Well, I think that I can still block off the hole." Lisa said overlooking the piles of boulders and rock. "Here. Can you cook these while I see what I can do?" Lisa said holding out the dead animals towards the men. They gave her a puzzled look as Richard took them and asked. "Don''t you want us to help you?" "You are and have been." Lisa replied taking off her jacket. Then she chuckled aloud and said, "You''re helping me by keeping a look out and by cooking. You can leave the rest to me. These rocks look much too heavy for you old guys!" The men felt awkward hearing the thin looking woman telling them that she would be doing the heavy lifting while they cooked. But it couldn''t be helped, they knew she was far stronger than she appeared. Lisa walked over to arge boulder, nearly half her height, and she gripped it low to the ground and lifted. The boulder rocked slowly then tumbled down the rockslide towards the hole. The men shook their heads quite bbergasted upon seeing her monstrous strength in action. She made it look far too easy. After an hour of work the smell of cooking meat filled the air. Lisa had nearly blocked up the hole with the boulders and smaller rocks. Only once did she have a close call while working, when moving a knee-high rock. When she yanked it up it caused the rocks above to suddenly shift and started a smaller rockslide. Fortunately, she avoided it easily and no harm was done in the end. "The food is ready." Benny called taking the meat off the of the fire to cool off some. Richard and John quickly hurried over from where they were keeping lookout for Twisted and got ready to eat. "Be there in one second." Lisa called back. She hurriedly put thest rock onto the top of the hole. Then she dragged over several branches to further cover up her work. Overlooking the plugged-up entrance, she felt satisfied with the oue and then quickly hurried over to the fire. Lisa may of have robotic parts, but her stomach was definitely not one of them. The smell of the freshly cook meat was making her very hungry. After all, meat in general was her favorite food. As they ate, John started up a conversation. "So, what is your next n? Are you going to start running power to the town right away?" Lisa swallowed a juicy bite of rabbit thigh and replied. "Nope. I need to first get some workers employed under my control. Then once I get them, I need to make sure that the dam will continue functioning properly and the power lines are all connected into a proper powerwork. Then I will need to charge the people somehow for the electricity. After all, I''m a businesswoman. Chapter 33: Meeting a Mad Dog Chapter 33: Meeting a Mad Dog Jackson and Jerry were chilling in a bar, not far from the gangs headquarters. A river merchant had just delivered a fresh batch of beer and the gang was taking full advantage of it. However, they were the only two there not having a good time. "Boss, what are we going to do about the Queen?" Jerry asked rubbing the rim of his mug in absent thought. "After all, she killed our guys like they were nothing." "Keep your voice down, idiot!" Jackson scolded in an urgent hushed voice. He looked carefully around the room, but no one seemed interested in them. "We can''t let anyone know we made contact with her. She has killed lots of our own other than those two useless Fighters. They might question our loyalty or worse." "I know that." Jerry replied timidly. "It''s just that, she going to being with us to the tournament. Won''t people question us then?" "You don''t need to worry about that. All you need to do is your job and let me do the thinking. Got it?" Jackson replied hotly. Jerry gave a nod, but he still seemed worried. "So, tomorrow when I bring her, what if somebody stops me and asks about her?" "Just tell them she''s here to speak with me about business or something." Jackson said as he agitatedly swirled the dark beer in his cup. "Also, don''t let her speak to anyone. We need to know what she''s up to and why she wants to meet with Boss Martinez." "Ok. I''ll try, but I can''t possibly stop her on my own. She''s way stronger than me." Jerryined. Jackson gave a shrug and answered, "Just tell her, when you go to the Ragged gon, that it''s important to keep quiet to avoid issues with other gangsters. She seems reasonable enough to listen to that request." Jerry slouched forward glumly in his chair while staring at the table in front him before speaking. "I better get there early. I don''t want to bete and have her mad." Before Jackson could reply, Jerry had a sudden mood change and had already jumped up from his seat and was dashing out of the bar. Jackson snorted seeing this. "Jerry, you are one of the biggest cowards I have ever met." After Lisa and the others had finished dealing with the hole, they reset Lisa''s snares before heading back across the dam. Benny wanted to observe the creature and take sketches of it before he had to leave. He already had a small note pad and pen ready to use that was carefully tucked into his pants back pocket. Definitely an old-fashioned idea, but perfect for a ce with no power. Lisa and John decided it would be alright, the Twisted was dead anyway. Richard even offered to remove the body for her once Benny was finished, so naturally Lisa agreed. She wanted nothing to do with the hideous and bloodied Twisted. Even though she had been on the battlefield and seen death and gore before, seeing the unnatural corps was not something she wanted to keep seeing. After again opening the metal door to let them in, John asked her some questions. "So now that the dam is generating electricity, is everything functioning properly?" "Well, I feel kind of stupid for saying this, but I hadn''t even checked the control room at all since that Thing attacked me." Lisa replied scratching the back of her head embarrassed. "Lets go check." John followed her up the stairs to the control room. He raised his eyebrows in surprise seeing the busted down door to the room but didn''t say anything. He already could guess that Lisa was the cause from the footprint pounded into the door. Lisa went up to the mainputer screen and started looking for anything helpful. Lisa had only nced over the blueprints and hadn''t really read too much about how the dam actually functioned ording to the control room''sputer systems. The battery of theptop just didn''t seem to want tost long enough for her to do so. "Hey John?" Lisa said turning to face him. "Can you start looking around for a charger cord for a standardptop? I need to recharge mine if I''m ever going to understand these systems." "Sure." John nodded. He wiped a thickyer of dust with his finger off a nearby monitor and peered at it momentarily. Shaking his head, he spoke aloud, "I don''t have a clue what I''m looking at anyway." Lisa hurried up to her room on the third floor to retrieve theptop. Meanwhile, John was opening dusty cabs and looking in boxes all around the control room. After a few moments he got lucky! He found a cord inside of a cobweb covered box that had a head capable of connecting to an olderptop. He had just pulled it out from the box when Lisa returned. "Oh, good. You found one." Lisa said seeing it anding over. John handed her the cord and when she got it, she felt worried. "This cord feels so dry rotted." "I hope it works, but I''ll look for another just in case." John said going back to searching. Lisa walked over to the wall where an outlet was while at the same time starting to unwind the cord. She grimaced as the cords rubber covering cracked and ked as she moved it. The areas of the cord that were bent crumbled, exposing the multicolored wires inside. Carefully, she plugged it into the wall then to theptop. When she did there was a tiny beep. Looking at the corner of theptops screen, Lisa sighed feeling relieved seeing the battery indicator showed it was charging. The outlet also didn''t explode or smoke fromck of use. Gingerly Lisa felt the length of the cord, checking for anywhere that it might be overheating. Finding it waspletely cool, she determined the cord would hold up for now, but it was going to be a must to rece it with one less damaged. Lisa then called to John who was rummaging through an old cab, "John, this cord will be fine." "Good. ''Achoo''!" John said giving a sneeze. "This dust is getting to me anyway." Lisa opened up the control room features files on theptop and quickly read through the basics. After a half hour she understood enough to assess the situation. Getting up she went over to an auxiliaryputer and opened an icon on the touch screen. Several electronic dials appeared, and they werebeled with titles like: Electricity Output, Electronic Stability, Electricity Production, etc. John had been in the meantime wandering around the building but had now returned and was looking over Lisa''s shoulder with some interest. Lisa tapped on the touch screen and lowered the ''Electrical Output and Production'' to the minimum settings. Then she clicked on another button at the bottom of the screen that said, ''Run Diagnosis''. A loading bar with a timer popped up. It said, "No inte ess, time tillpetition: thirty hours." "So why did you do that?" John asked. "Well I don''t want the dam to overwork itself and be damaged." Lisa replied squinting disapprovingly at the counter. "This ce is clearly old and probably needs some massive repairs. I want to run this test to see exactly where needs the most attention. Then I can try to do what i can or find someone to buy parts from to fix any issues I find." "I see, that makes since." John said nodding. "Hey guys!" Someone called out from below. Lisa and John looked out of a window to see that Richard and Benny were back from the tunnel. Richard was hulling the stiff creature out of the building and into the parking lot. The blood was fortunately already coagted enough that there were no bloody streak marks left on the floor. With nothing left to do in the control room, Lisa and John came back down to meet them. "I got some exciting stuff from that creature. The Twisted really are such fascinating specimens! Sometimes I wished I''d studied them more rather than to have be a cop." Benny said again with a sigh. "Well I''m d you at least enjoyed yourself." Lisa said giving a small smile. "Same here." John said patting the older mans shoulder. "Anyway, it seems like we are done here. I hope everything keeps running smoothly while we''re gone." "Thanks for your help guys." Lisa said shaking John and Benny''s hands before they followed Richard out of the door. "Goodbye to you too, Richard." She called out waving. Richard stopped pulling the creature for a moment to look back at her. "I''ll toss it behind the fence. The wind shouldn''t blow from that direction, so it won''t stink." "Thank you again." Lisa said as Richard went back to pulling the dead animal away. After the trio had gone, Lisa went back to the control room to study more of theptops contents. She ended up stayed in the room for so long that before she knew it, night had already fallen. The lights in the control room were bright enough for her to keep reading. However, going to bed every night at dark had be a habit to her and she could hardly keep her eyes open. She closed theptop and left it on the dusty desk she had been reading on. Lisa did, however, take one more look at the Diagnostics to check on the timer. It said that it now had been lowered to twenty hours. An annoyingly long time. "I guess I''ll find out about it tomorrow, after I meet up with the Mad Dogs." Lisa said to herself. She then made sure all the lights were off in the building. Don''t want anyone poking around seeing the light shining in the night. Giving a yawn, she headed off to bed. The next morning, Lisa arrived early to the Ragged gon. She had her coffin on, metal knuckled gloves and her weapons at the ready. Just to be safe. The gangsters might have set an ambush for her. Upon going inside Lisa wasn''t all to surprised to find that the room was mostly empty. Only a few drunken patrons sat at the bar and one lone guy sitting at a booth. It was Jerry. Apparently, he too had also gotten there very early. Lisa headed directly over to him. He watched her nervously as she did. His eyes darted all around like he was looking for a way out. "Well, you are here early." Lisa spoke calmly to him. "I guess we both wanted to make sure everything panned out properly." "Yep, I sure did." Jerry said giving a nervousugh. "Are you ready to go?" "Sure. Lead the way." Lisa replied gesturing with her hand for him to go first. Once on the road, they headed north towards the Political Sector. As they walked Lisa noticed that this area appeared to be in far better condition than the rest of the town. The buildings managed to stay in good condition. The streets had less trash and abandoned cars on it. The only obvious simrity was the people all looked just as hungry and worn out as anyone else in town. After a half hour they arrived at a five-meter-tall scrap metal wall that epassed arge area. Lisa couldn''t see how far it actually went, but it could have been several blocks. It looked very out of cepared to the towns buildings and gave her a new perspective to how powerful the Mad Dogs might be. At the base of the wall was a small, barred gate. Several gangsters werezing around guarding the entrance. Seeing the two approaching one of them called to them. "Hey Jerry. Who is the chick with you? Don''t tell me she''s your girl! What trick did you pull to snag her? I know it''s not your looks." The others snickered at this, but Jerry seemed used to this kind of treatment and ignored thements. "Oh no. She has a meeting with Jackson. So, can you let us through?" "Jackson huh?" The gangster replied. "Fine, you can go in." As they stepped into the enclosure, Lisa was interested by the various things she saw. The interior looked nothing like she had anticipated. Chapter 34: Arena Chapter 34: Arena Everything was perfectly neat and orderly! The inside of the green rusted walls looked like she had walked into some resort or private neighborhood. Not at all what she had expected to see from a gangs headquarters. Lisa expected to see a dirty set of rundown buildings, with hookers, beer, and cigar products everywhere. However, it was a total opposite experience. The three main buildings that she could see were the National Bank, a multifloored office building and arge open-air warehouse. All three were freshly painted and had no signs of disrepair. The road had been dug up and reced with white stone blocks that wereid out in a decorative nted pattern. In the middle of the road, in front of the three main buildings, was a fully functioning ck marble water fountain. The watering out of the fountains animal themed art work disy was crystal clear. nted around the fountain and white brick pathway were neatly trimmed hedges and gorgeous vibrant flowers arrayed in pleasing patters. The grassy areas, pathways between buildings, and outdoor rest areas werepletely trash free. Walking further inside Lisa felt as if she wasn''t in some long-forgotten town anymore, but rather, in a small modern downtown park. As they walked closer Lisa could see that the buildings had electricity and lights were running. "How is that possible?" Lisa thought to herself. She should have been the only one to have ess to electricity. Yet from the looks of things here, she needed to reevaluate her approach for dealing with this gang. Originally, she intended to dazzle them with the chance to have electricity once again, but they already had it. So, its appeal had already dropped and her ns dashed. Putting aside these thoughts for now, Lisa went back to surveying her surroundings. One thing she noticed right away was that the gangsters themselves looked the same as she''d expected them too. They wore loose and gang rted attire, with the logo of the dog snarling. As well as shy jewelry, sunsses and they proudly disyed their weapons on their person. Most of them were also heavily tattooed and seemed rather well offpared to the gangsters she had seen outside thepound. "Somethings never seem to change, even after hundreds of years." Lisa thought to herself looking at a group of gangstersughing on the banks steps. "Though there does seem to be some sort of hierarchy and the gangsters outside the wall are definitely lower ranked. Perhaps I could use that?" Her thoughts were interrupted as Jerry turned and headed towards therge warehouse and Lisa eagerly followed close behind. The warehouse walls stretched high into the air and Lisa estimated that it had to be nearly one hundred meters high. It almost seemed unreasonable to call this building a warehouse, except that it was written as such on the wall outside: Warehouse Arena. There were lots of richly dressed peopleing from and going into the building, with many hired carriers in tow. Once inside, she immediately understood why there were carriers, inside was some kind of modern style market area. Several dozen people were buying and selling products of all types. The disy areas were organized, clean and oddly not cluttered with objects to sell. Yet there were so many options avable, from paper to electronic devices, or unique vegetables to high quality beef, and even guns to raw materials were being sold. Powered revolving holo-kiosks were everywhere disying products and images of people rted to fights or businesses. There was even an out of town merchant iming on a loudspeaker that he could sell an electric sports car to someone in the town. The buyers appeared to be just as extravagant. They looked nothing like the poor townspeople living in The Damn. The people here were well dressed, washed and shaven. Almost everyone had on what could be considered thetest fashion trends. Looking down at her faded jeans, thin shoes and simple shirt, Lisa feltpletely poor and she hated that feeling. "Where did all these peoplee from?" Lisa asked Jerry pushing her self-loathing thoughts aside. Jerry was nervously leading the way, like he was ready to break out into a run at any second, but he managed to give a calm reply. "They are mostly from out of town mayors, tycoons, merchants or investors. I have no clue why they are interested in this particr ce. My boss, Jackson, can exin that much better than I can. We are getting closer now." Lisa continued to follow Jerry around the main area of the market area to avoid the crowd. Though seeing only glimpses of what was being offered, she wanted to explore more, but that was for another time. Reaching the far side of the room Jerry started down a wide marble floored hallway. Lisa even noticed that this hallway was lit up by electricity. It seemed that with every step she had greatly underestimated the Mad Dog gang power. Nearly every idea she had originally thought of to take over the gang and coax the men to follow her, now seemed utterly stupid. The low-level gangsters she had dealt with outside of the walls seemed to her now to have been a front. "I better keep my guard up." Lisa though to herself. "There''s no telling what else I''ll find here." The Arena took up well over half of the entire warehouse. In fact, Lisa had seemed to have greatly underestimated the sheer size of this building too. The so called ''market area'' seemed more like a lobby for a hotel if you are to beparing sizes. Around the stage the polished ck tile flooring was also a surprising feature that seemed out of cepared to the dingy town. "Jackson oversees a lot of the financial issues for the gang, especially for the Arena." Jerry started to exin as they entered this long downward sloping hallway leading into the Arena. As they entered the ground level of the Arena a huge number of red seated stands could be seen towering above the stage at its center. The stage was a round cage like structure, with a chain link metal fence surrounding the whole thing. It''s arena like concrete floor was tan in color, but areas were sttered with bits of red. Seeing this, Lisa asked Jerry about it, as they headed for the far side of the stage. "Oh, the Arena is where our Match Fighterspete with each other or outsidepetition. Like the patrons and fans that we passed before are considered outsidepetition." Jerry said pointing a thumb over his shoulder. "So, the red on the floor is from all the fighting?" Lisa asked though the answer was obvious. "Yes. A lot of the fighters end up unfortunately fighting to the death." Jerry replied shaking his head. "Hmm, I see." Lisa said while thinking. "Do the normal match rules still apply here?" "As far as I know, yes. The rules are well known and often strictly upheld." Jerry replied turning down another much smaller hallway. This hallway was different than the other one from before. There were multiple doors leading under the stands. The first few door had beenbeled as waiting rooms or lockers. Likely for those prepping for uing fights. Then they came to the end of the hall where there were four gangsters with guns standing guard. They snapped into defense mode as the two approached them. There were clearly well trained and experienced. They only rxed slightly seeing that Jerry was one of their own. They, however, eyed Lisa warily. "Is she the one meeting Jackson?" One of guards asked Jerry. He was a dark-skinned man with a bald head and sunsses on. He looked like a standard bodyguard celebrity''s used. "Yes, this is Queen." Jerry said giving a nod. The guard gave a grunt of approval and opened the door for them. Lisa and Jerry then stepped inside and two of the guards followed them in as well. They took position on either side of the door and continued to watch Lisa carefully. Coming inside Lisa found that it was a very spacious and meticulously organized office room. On the right of the room was arge window overlooking what appeared to be a residential area next to the river. Judging from the people milling about outside those buildings, it was for the gangsters to live in. There had to be hundreds of Mad Dog gangsters, judging from the number of apartments alone. Lisa didn''t have time to look at this though. A posh male voice drew her attention back to the back of the room. "Ah, nice to see you again, Queen." The voice belonged to Jackson. He was dressed just as neatly and professionally as before. However, this time he wore a matching white suite and pants. "So, let us get right to business. You want to fight my Boss, Martinez. Why?" Jackson asked with a stern tone. Lisa couldn''te outright and say it was to avenge Hanna''s parents murders, though she wanted too. She would immediately be attacked by the armed guards. Additionally, now that she knew the gang had electricity, they more than likely had cameras in ce and would be alerted if she attacked. "Two reasons." Lisa replied casually. "The first is simple, I want money. What better way to earn it than to fight with the boss of the Mad Dogs? Secondly, because your boss is supposed to be the strongest and I am dying to fight someone worth my skills." Saying this Lisa let out a big vicious looking grin. It was the soldiering out of her. Jackson shifted ufortably in his seat upon hearing this. "I see. Though it is possible for you to fight him, you must prove yourself in the Arena first. As for making money, if you got money to bet, then you havee to the right ce. Bet on any of the Matches or even yourself and hope for the best." "Is that why there are so many rich types out in that market area?" Lisa asked. "Because of the fights?" "Yes and no. Here in this town thew is, how should I say, not very well enforced here." Jackson said thoughtfully. "Things that are illegal in the civilized world are easy to find in ces like here and we are the best for hundreds of miles. Even better than Moab City if I do say so myself." Lisa was excited upon hearing this. Easy money and a shot to help Hanna. If the Match Fighters were anything like those she had fought before in town this would be a cake walk. "However, the Fighters here are nothingpared to the ones we take outside theplex." Jackson replied almost seeming like he could read her mind. "Those that fight outside are trying to prove that they are strong enough topete here. I definitely think you qualify from what I have seen." "That''s great to hear." Lisa said indifferently. "It makes no difference who you put me up against. I''ll still win." "Ha ha, that''s good to know." Jackson replied. Then he gave a serious look and leaned forward onto the desk in front of him. "How about a quick fight in the Arena then?" Lisa raised an eyebrow, "Now? Don''t you want an audience to make something off this fight?" "Oh, that''s not an issue. We have a PA (public address) System set up all throughout theplex. All we need to do is announce that there is going to be a fight, and everyone will show. The Arena makes enough from bets, so we don''t bother with tickets. It''s a firste first serve environment" Jackson said as he stood up and walked out from behind the desk. He then headed to a door on the left side of the room and halfway opened it. "If you are ready, go on back to the Arena and prep for the fight. I''ll go notify your opponent." Lisa was unprepared for the sudden chance to be in a fight, but she didn''t show it as she spoke. "Alright, I guess I can do one fight." She suddenly then had an idea. "However, how about a bet?" "Let''s hear it." Jackson said still with his hand on the doorknob. Lisa''s excited soldier grin reappeared as she spoke, "If I can beat anyone and everyone you put me up against, you are going to have to work for me!" Chapter 35: Match Fight Arena (1) Chapter 35: Match Fight Arena (1) Jackson waspletely bbergasted at Lisa''s statement. "What? Work for you? I am a Mad Dog gangster and I listen to no one, but Martinez." Even Jerry''s jaw had dropped nearly to the floor upon hearing her absurd statement. "I understand that." Lisa replied giving him an unbothered shrug. "What I am trying to get at is that I understand that you deal with a lot of the financing for the gang. I need that experience to help me with, how to say this, a business proposal." Jackson gave a quick nce at Jerry. Jerry nervously took a step back and motioned that he had no idea what Lisa was going on about. Jackson sighed visibly, then he closed the door and turned to face Lisa. His mind was racing as he tried to understand this woman before him. Most Match Fighters were dumb brutes that only enjoyed fighting and violence. This was clearly not going to be the case with this young woman. He had seen her fight before. She was good, too good. He would have to see her fight a few more times to understand her weak points and exploit them with better Fighters. However, her bet had thrown him off guard. Work for her? What could this nobody have to offer me? "What work are you talking about? I do have financial work history, but I doubt you have anything worth my time." Jackson said tly. "Power." Lisa replied. "I can give you and the towns people power." Jackson scoffed and turned away from Lisa. He already had a strong position in the gang; this random woman wouldn''t possibly have anything to offer him. "Get real! I don''t have the time to waste talking about something so imaginary. The only powerful one here is Martinez. I think I have indulged you enough." "For now." Lisa said giving a shrug. From the way he had phrased his reply it seemed he misunderstood her, but the opportunity she had was botched. He wasn''t going to listen to her. Yet she couldnt resist giving onest remark at him, "Also, you better bet on me or you are going to lose." Jackson shook his head dismissively as he opened the door and quickly left the room. It seemed she wasn''t going to get through to him today. Taking over a gang wasn''t going to be easygoing. Though she expected as much, it would have been nice to find opportunity to negotiate. "Ah, Miss Queen?" Jerry finally stammered, breaking the silence that followed Jacksons leave from the room. "If you''re still going to perform in the fight, we should get going." Lisa turned to look coldly at the little thin man. Jerry reacted by stepped sheepishly towards the door. The look she had right now seemed to be looking right through him, like he wasn''t even worth her time. As a cowardly man, he could tell when someone dangerous wasn''t in a good mood. "Yes, I do." Lisa said calmly, though her stern grey eyes betrayed her. "Lead the way." Jerry nodded vigorously and turned to leave the office. Lisa was about to follow when the bald guard stuck out a hand to stop her. She red at him, but he showed no sign of fear. "I''ll be keeping an eye on you, Miss Queen." The guard grunted while tapping a finger on his gun slung over his shoulder. "Closely." He then lowered his hand to let her by. Lisa smirked at him and walked past him airily. Threats like that were so typical of men thinking they are tough, just because they have a weapon doesn''t make it true. Leaving them behind, Jerry lead the way back down the hallway to a door leading into a locker room. "You can leave whatever you are not using in the fight here. Don''t worry, we have no interest in stealing your personal possessions." Jerry added reassuringly. Then he hurriedly left the room leaving Lisa to think. "Well, that could have gone better." Lisa sighed to herself. Lisa''s sudden idea didn''t pan out as she had intended. The n was to convince a top member of the gang to side with her. Jackson was the only one she knew and figured that he would be the greedy type, based on his clothing choice. Of course, this didn''t have to work the first time she asked. If need be, she would need to prove that she was worth being a leader to him. However, Jackson appeared to be totally loyal to Martinez. He didn''t even seem all that interested in her poor choice of wording. Sure, power could have been understood as power over others. Even though she meant electrical power, she had botched that chance. "It would have been nice to get him to help me get that dam running right. But geez, I suck with exnations on the fly." Lisained to herself. Lisa then put down her coffin carefully and leaned it behind a locker. This way if someone looked inside the room from the door, it would appear empty. She also took off her leather jacket and hung it inside a nearby locker. She did, however, keep her Yankees hat on and tucked her copsing sword into the back pocket of her jeans. The swords handle housed the entirety of the de and the handles total length was nearly thirty centimeters. So, it fit easily in the pocket without being an inconvenience to her movements. It was really hard for anyone to imagine that in that small sword handle was a de reaching up to three meters! Leaving the locker room, Lisa headed straight for the Arena. Jerry was unwillingly waiting at the end of the hallway for her. Motioning her to follow him with one hand, he led her to an area roped off from the stands nearby. There were two benches here and they sat down separately. "So, what now?" Lisa asked Jerry, while looking around therge room. "We just need to wait for the crowds to fill into the stands. While you were in the locker room the announcement for the fight was announced. It shouldn''t be long now." Jerry answered then he pointed towards the first hallway they had intoe from. "See, they have already started to arrive." Sure enough, there were already thirty or so people filling into the stands to get a good spot. It seemed that these fights were quite popr. Especially if it caused people to put everything on hold ande here so immediately for an unscheduled fight. It seemed entertainment was rather scarce here in town or that the rich were battle thirsty. When Jackson closed the door to his office, leaving Lisa behind, he walked agitatedly down the small hallway that was leading further into the arena. "How could she presume that I would possibly consider working for her? She is far too cocky. I need to knock her down a peg. Then she''ll understand that I should be the boss not her." Jackson grumbled as he walked towards a wide green doorway. Some words on a gold tebeled the room as the: Work Out Room. Jackson gave a heavy knock before he entered. Upon entering he was immediately hit with the foul smell of body odor. He grimaced and entered anyway. The work out room was a huge, well lit, square shaped room. Dozens of different kinds of equipment, weights and training devices were packed into this space and appeared to have been used frequently. Though at the moment there was only a few bulky men inside. He went up to the closest andrgest man present. "Hey, Owen I need to talk to you." Jackson called out to the man. The man was doing a bench press workout and was sweating profusely. Then Jackson noticed that the bar was bending under the pressure of the weights he had on it. How much weight it took to bend a solid metal bar, he had no clue. Owen lifted the bar onest time to lock it into ce on the weight rack and giving a heavy sigh, he sat up. His spotter handed him a towel and he mopped his bearded face while replying to Jackson. "Yo, boss man! What do you want?" "You up for a fight? I have a new contender that needs to be broken. I was considering Dan to fight her, but she pissed me off. I want you to crush her." Jackson replied angrily. "She?" Owen mused. "A woman Match Fighter? Not too many of those around here. What''s her name?" "She goes by Queen. I don''t know her real name. She''s from out of town, but I have seen her fight once. She''s the real deal." Jackson replied sounding a bit annoyed. "So, you want me to kill her or just make her submit?" Owen asked getting up from the bench. When he did, Owen stood a full head higher than Jackson. His shirtless bulky body glistened with sweat as he dabbed the towel on himself. "I won''t make her first technical fight be to the death, unless she wants it that way. So, no weapons for this fight." Jackson said. "Fine by me. Close and personal, I like it." Owen replied giving a big grin. "When''s the fight?" "Now if you are interested." Jackson answered tly. "Alright then. I''m already warmed up anyway. Let''s go!" Owen said brushing eagerly past Jackson. Jackson patted at his clothes in an attempt to while off any potential sweat. These were some expensive clothes. "Ladies and gentlemen! Wee the Warehouse Arena!" A deep voiced announcer boomed into the microphone. The now halfway full arena burst into cheers and pped in anticipation. There were still more peopleing in, despite that the event was already starting. "We have a special fight for you tonight." The announcer continued. "We have some fresh meat to introduce to you this very evening. Our first new female Match Fighter toe here in thest year, will be giving us a show of feminine power. With a current record of no official wins or losses, she is here to give us her debut. Give it up for the Queen!" "That''s your cue to go to the stage." Jerry hissed at Lisa while giving her a hand motion to hurry. Lisa got up from her seat and a spotlight suddenly turned on, illuminating her presence. The crowd gave an enthusiastic cheer seeing her. Then the announcer continued to speak as Lisa confidently approached. "And now for her opponent! You know this man to be a hulking monster in the ring. The crusher of bones and limbs. I present to you, Owen Wales!" The crowd cheered even louder now. Apparently, Owen was quite popr. A light on the far side of the stage illuminated a man so huge, Lisa could see his head over the floor of the stage. "With a record of neen official wins and three loses, Owen is sure to give us a show this afternoon! But let''s not count out the new contender Queen. She looks as capable as ever." The announcer droned on and Lisa ignored the rest. Coming up onto the stage, Owen mmed open the fence gate and entered with his arms spread out wide showing off his massive arms and chest. The onlooking crowd responded to this showboating with cheers of excitement. Lisa rolled her eyes seeing his antics whileing towards the stage. Then giving a small bend she leapt up off the ground, over the stage fence andnded gracefully onto the stage. The height of the fence was at least five meters high! The crowd was momentarily stunned seeing her near impossible feat, but quickly irrupted with murmurs of surprises and cheer. Lisa walked right up to Owen and they started to stair each other down. She only stood as tall as his corbone, even though she herself was taller than two meters, but her show of ack of fear enthralled the crowd even more. The referee overseeing the fight had to force his way in between them. "Alright now, I am going to need you two to go to your corners for inspection. This is a no weapons fight this go around." The referee spoke loudly over the crowds noises. "That''s not a problem. I only had one on me." Lisa said pulling the folded sword from her jeans pocket while turning to her corner. She then stuck it through the fence and Jerry came up to take it. The referee did his inspection of the fighters, then once satisfied. he stated the rules over a microphone for the audience. "This is a one on one only fight, with no weapons involved. The fight will end by either knockout, by my say so, or death. Any bets must be ced now or written before hand, understood?" The two fighters nodded but didn''t give any indications of cing any bets. They then took up a fighting stance. A few secondster the bell rung. The fight had begun! Chapter 36: Match Fight Arena (2) Chapter 36: Match Fight Arena (2) "Sir!" Second Lieutenant Caswell, Special Officer Hawkins''s assistant, came bursting into his office. "Report." Hawkins replied looking up from his work. "Sir, one of our Fly Drones that was sent to monitor the Mad Dogs Arena, picked up some vocal cues that we had queued to alert us for. The drone discovered that one of the contenders is being called Queen." Caswell reported. "Excellent! Is the drones operator following up on this? Do we have a visual?" Hawkins replied jumping up from his seat and he brushed past Caswell, who followed close behind him. "Yes Sir. Intelligence Operator (IO) Gill is in position now. His drone''s feed is ying on the main screen as we speak." Caswell said motioning to the big monitor at the front of the control room. Hawkins looked up to see an aerial view of the Arena from the inside. Apparently, the Fly Drone was perched onto an overhanging light''s fixture. If Hawkins didn''t know any better, he would have assumed this was some boxing match being shown on live television. Standing in the arena with the referee, was a hulking man with a huge brown beard and yellow athletic shorts. His hands were tapped over with medical tap, as well as his feet and ankles. This man gave off such a proud and powerful aroura, even Hawkins could tell he was an experienced Fighter. His opponent, however, was their target Lisa Cunningham or Queen, as they only knew of her for the moment. Lisa still had on her sun-kissed jeans and only her faded ck skintight armor covered her torso and arms just above her biceps. She had left her Yankees hat on the bench next to Jerry, as well her metal studded gloves since they qualified as weapons. Her jet-ck hair shimmered brightly in the spotlight as it swayed back and forth in a long ponytail. "Where''s the audio?" Hawkins replied urgently. "The buildings materials had started causing some interference when the drone entered the building. We are working on it now." Caswell replied. He took a look at one of the technicians, who was furiously typing at a tablet. The technician nced up and nodded to Caswell signaling that he was still trying and went back to work. In the meantime, the AFR Soldiers got to watch the whole fight unfold on screen. "DING!" The bell rang sharply signaling the round had started. Lisa didn''t rush in for the attack, the man before her didn''t feel as weak as the other men she had fought from before. Rather she took up her Ap Kubi stance and waited for Owen to advance. Owen saw this as a sign of her being too timid to make the first move. He had seen many new Fighters in their first Match appear nervous and usually hold back. Giving a broad smile he flexed his burly arms while advancing towards the smalldy. He raised his arms up near his face to guard loosely and bounced on the fronts of his feet. His orthodox boxing stance was well polished and trained. "I''ll test her out first." Owen thought to himself while advancing steadily. "Maybe I''ll see why Jackson speaks somewhat highly of this ''Queen''." He closed the distance of the stage quickly taking control of the center. The Queen, however, calmly stood her ground. She never budged from her Ap Kubi stance, yet the whole time red at him with cold silvery grey eyes. These were not the eyes of a novice. Owen noticed it right away and reflexively tightened his guard. The two momentarily held their ground each looking for an opening. It was Owen who finally made the first attack. Queens hands were opened and raised to match her stance,pletely prepared to take him on. Owen jabbed at the right of her head with dangerous precision. Flicking her hand outward in response, Queen deflected the strike causing it to miss her head by mere centimeters. With her other open palm, she pressed forward, aiming at his chest. The strikended and the force of the Queens attack forced him backwards. Owen stumbled backwards a few steps, but he remained upright. He let out a deep breath, then startedughing. "That was quite the strike. It was good that I decided to take you on seriously after all." Owen said regaining his bouncing boxing stance. The Queen patiently remained in her Ap Kubi stance. Giving a smile on her soft pail face she replied, "Well, it seems I might have a decent opponent after all. I didn''t expect you to be quite this sturdy." "You''re wee, I guess." Owen said as he closed their distances once again with a small step. "Try to keep up!" He let out a fury of jabs and punches at the Queen. She held her ground at first, deflecting and dodging her head from his attack. She seemingly was starting to get to focused on defense and unable to counterattack. Suddenly, Owen sent an upper cut aimed at her chin. Seeing that she couldn''t deflect it, Lisa thrusted her forearm into its path causing the strike tond heavily. The sound of flesh on flesh being struck, reverberated into the audience. The crowd oohed in unison hearing the smacking sound. Queen was ultimately forced to step back for the first time. Her movements created some space between them and seeing it, Owen immediately followed up aiming a kick at her right side. Queen ducked back, avoiding the strike and Owens foot whiffed harmlessly by. "That was some block you just did." Owen said rubbing his right fist. "Is your arm made of metal?" Queen didn''t react to his prompt. Instead she switched stances and pressed for the attack. She moved like an arrow, straight and fast aiming right at his head. Owen threw up his hands to defend his face from the sudden attack. Queens fist crashed right into his right forearm, just as his did to her arm before. Owens own arm smacked into his face as she knocked it back and exposed him. Immediately she countered with a side kick aimed at his head. She almost had to jump up to reach his head with her own foot. This height advantage gave Owen just enough time to react. Arcing back, her foot grazed by his nose as it passed over him with blinding speed. The arcing motion nearly knocked him onto his back. Yet he caught himself and used his hands to spring him backwards into a flip. The motion created space between them once again as Queennded from the kick and took her Ap Kubi stance again. Breathing heavily Owen raised his guard once again. His arm throbbed from where she had hit him. A red fist sized bruise was starting to form. The impact might have fractured his bones if he hadn''t had so much muscle covering them. "You''re good." Owen panted. Sweat had now started to drip heavily off his face and body. "Thanks." Queen replied. Her breathing was still calm and only a lite sheen of sweat could be seen on her brow. The crowd cheered loudly, and the stands were filled with excitement. The new opponent was making her debut one to remember. It was extremely rare that a high-ranking Match Fighter would be so hard pressed by apletely unknown new opponent. Jackson was sitting up in the box seats, eagerly watching the event unfold before him. His arms were crossed over his chest and his left leg couldn''t stop bouncing nervously. Things were not looking good, just like with his fighters from the first time he encountered Lisa. "What is he doing?" Jackson spoke aloud to no one. "Sure, she''s fast, but I know you are better than this, Owen." As if Owen could here Jackson''sint, he suddenly changed his fighting stance. It had been a loose footed boxers stance, but now he crouched low. His arms spread out to half his reach to hover just above the stage floor. This stance suddenly reminded Queen of something recently familiar. The Twisted creature she had fought with in the tunnel. It had taken the same simr stance as Owen. Either Owen had seen a Twisted before or the Twisted had some level of intelligence; or it was just pure coincidence. Queen had to know. Changing her ns, she decided to not try and identally kill him, but this made no difference to her attack ns. Owen charged at her swinging his open right hand at her with a shing motion. The attack speed and visible power forced her to jump to the side. She avoided it, only to be suddenly struck on her opposite side by his other arm. She had fallen for his trap! Owen grasped her arm just above the elbow. Instantly he smashed her body onto the stage floor, like an angry childs doll. The impact of her body crashing into the ground sent a burst of dust flying up in the air over her. The crowd let out of murmur of pain seeing and hearing the crunchy impact. Suddenly, from the dust cloud, there was movement. Owen jumped up and backwards just as the Queen''s leg came flying out of the puff of dust, sweeping at his own legs. The crowd cheered at what they saw. The Queen had managed to avoid sustaining injuries! When she was suddenly pushed down, Queen extended her free arm at the ground and caught herself. Her hand had been open when shended, and the impact cause her legs to stir up the dust. Everything happened so fast nearly no one could have seen her reaction properly. Owen was momentarily stunned. He hadn''t anticipated her to have been able to stop his attack. Let alone take little damage and then even counter with her own attack. He snapped quickly out of it and charged at her again, trying to stop her before she could fully recover and get up. However, the Queen was too fast. As soon as she had kicked out at him, she had used that momentum to jump back up. Only to see himing at her again with the same low attack as before. Jumping backwards this time, Queen avoided his swipes as they barraged her viciously. The announcer was shouting excitedly trying his best to keep up with thementary. The crowd cheered loudly sending the air of the warehouse arena into a buzz of energy. However, despite all the noise, neither of the two fighters on the stage could hear them. It was only a muffled background noise to them. All their focus was on each other. Queen had dodged every swing he had thrown at her and was now getting backed up into the fence. Caught in a precarious spot, the Queen tried escaping to the left along the face line. But Owen wouldn''t let up his assault. His massive muscr arms struck out at her like pythons. Every motion was aimed to take her down. Jumping back still, the Queen arrived at the area of the stage closest to Jerrys seat. She seemed to have been trapped there as Owen blocked her from moving further around the fence line in either direction. She couldn''t escape now and had to change tactics. She appeared to brace for impact as Owen closed in on her with both arms swooping at her from both sides, aiming at her center. It looked like he was going to try grabbing and squeeze her to death! All his focus was on grabbing her and he wasn''t seeing her going at him for a counter strike. He was going to put his full effort into taking her down right then and now. Yet something odd happened to Owen when he tried this hug like attack. When he grabbed at her, she was gone! Vanished without a trace! Chapter 37: Match Fight Arena (3) Chapter 37: Match Fight Arena (3) Owen was dumbfounded. The Queen was supposed to be cornered against the stages fence. Where could she have gone? Everyone, but Owen, knew what had happened. Yet even they were stunned. Backed into the fence, Queen had nowhere to go. But up! Reaching up above her, Queen had grasped the chain link fence and yanked herself up, lifting her legs towards her chest and above her head. This caused her to immediately leave Owens sight and dodge him entirely. In that moment, she also saw Owens exposed backside. Thrusting her feet downwards, Queen squashed Owen into the ground! She stood triumphantly on top of his back, digging her heels into him. Seeing the sudden turn of events, the crowd lost it! Queen had turned the tables with quite an unexpected counterattack. No one had seen this kind of attack being used to break out of being cornered and certainly not by a rookie woman either. It looked like Owens face had been smashed through and into the stage pavement. Owen suddenly stirred and gave a powerful push up, knocking her off of him by brute force alone. She wasunched off him like a rock from a catapult. Queennded in the center of the stage and turned to face him, all the while she calmly retook her Ap Kubi stance. "Well, I''d hoped that would have worked. It seems I underestimated him." Queen quickly thought. Owen roared angrily as he spun around to face her. His arm and back muscles strained greatly in a show of his anger. As he turned around to face the Queen, darkly colored blood sttered in torrents across his chin, chest and the floor. His nose was smashed t nearly beyond recognition. Grabbing it gingerly, Owen checked the damage with one hand. Pulling his hand away he yelled at Queen, pointing a bloody finger at her. "Alright, no more Mr. Nice guy. You are going to die!" Owen was raging now and retook his boxers stance. Only this time it appeared different. No longer did he hold his head forward, guarded closely with his hands, but rather he held them out towards the Queen. Unfazed Queen gave a cool smirk. "I think it''s time to rap this up already. It''s been fun, but youre not good enough for me in the end." Owen spat blood off of his lips and advanced while jabbing at her, trying to force her to give up an opening. Queen deflected the jabs effortlessly with her open Ap Kubi palms, all the while keeping her grey eyes focused on his center. His attacks now were nothing, just a rage filled tantrum and all to predictable. All she was doing now was grinding him down and wasting his energy. Eventually he would leave a tired opening for her to strike once again. Shuffling half steps backwards, Queen gave up ground to her attacker and let him take the center stage. Owen kept up his attacks while maintaining a safe distance, so she couldn''t use her counter attacks. Queen had just left the center of the stage when Owen made his next move. Giving a slightly longer right-handed jab, Queen was forced to lean back slightly, rather than deflecting it. Owen followed up seeing her movements change, with a swift right kick aimed at her side. The strike caught the Queen unprepared and his leg struck her right onto her rib cage. Owen could feel that the impact was a solid hit. He had inflicted damage on her for sure. He went to retract his leg to follow up another attack. But his leg didn''t budge. The Queen gave a smile, seemingly unfazed, at Owen. She had grabbed his leg and jammed his ankle under her armpit with a standing leg lock. Owen struggle to maintain his bnce and he spread his arms out to keep from falling over. Blood dripped thickly from his face as he tried to make sense of what happened. "Her liver should have been damaged from my kick! How is she able to hold up?" Owen thought frantically. He was still trying to pull free from her grasp as he tried to not fall over, still bncing on one leg. Queen was indeed feeling the pain from the impact of Owens kick. However, she was waiting for this moment. His guard was open and vulnerable now. She gave a heavy tug on his leg, pulling him towards her. Just as she did, Queen lunged forward and struck out at his head with her right hand. Owen raised his hands up to block, but it was toote. Queens hand passed right through his arms andnded squarely onto his jaw. Stars burst into his vision as he reeled back. His bulky, muscr body flopped heavily onto the floor. Dazed he was unable to react as Queen pounced on top of his chest. She was able to make a full mount and started pounding at his face. His arms were sprawling in random directions, he was unable to defend himself. Blood sttered in every direction every time she raised her fists up from his face. Suddenly, the body of the referee came flying in between them! "It''s over! Match over!" The referee yelled blocking Queen from attacking and waving his other ck gloved hand back and forth in the air. The Match Fight was over, with Queen being the clear the victor! The crowds cheering reverberated heavily in the arena and whistles pierced the air. Queen leapt up grinning and spreading her arms wide, taking in the audiences enthusiasm for her victory. She did so almost in a way that mimicked her failed opponent at the start of the match. The announcer dered her the winner over the microphone to the enthralled audience. Queen didnt waste a second and excitedly exited the ring to headed towards Jerry, who was unsure whether to be enthusiastic or afraid in this situation. "Come along Jerry." Lisa said still grinning and grabbing her things from the bench. "We must not keep Jackson waiting. We have much to talk about." Medics came rushing on stage to check on Owen, who was still gasping for air while sprawled out on his back. Blood spilled out of his nose and forehead, forming arge red smear on the stage flooring. He was conscious, but his eyes stared up at the lighting above him emptily. Jackson pounded his fist angrily onto the arm of his chair. Getting up he stormed out of his box seating and stomped down the hallway. The sounds of the crowd faded slowly as he headed down towards ground level. "That fool, Owen. How could he have lost to that insufferable woman!" Jackson grumbled to himself. "She will not get the best of me. That I will make sure of." He rounded the corner at the end of the hall and traveled with huffy stomps in the direction of his office. As he came closer there were several people blocking his way. He seethed within himself as soon as he saw who they were. It was another Mad Dogs Lieutenant, Xander Moran. Xander oversaw security of the gangs conve and welfare of the visitors or upants living with in. He also loved to annoy Jackson about anything he possibly could and point out every fault Jackson ever hadmitted. Needless to say, they were more like enemies than actual allies. Xander''s deep voice scratched gently as he spoke. "Well, well. If it isn''t Jackson. My dearest friend." His grating voice was actually rather attractive sounding, if anyone didn''t already know his true nature beforehand. To those that knew him, they knew everything he spoke was likelyced with venomous intent. "How unfortunate that another of your Fighters has lost. Even to some random Fighter that even I had never heard of until just recently. I just came to see how you were holding up. That and if you knew of her before this fight." There were six guards that all had on matching red and ck arm bands with the Mad Dogs symbol of a snarling wolf on them. They were known as Xander''s own personal escorts. Each was respectfully equal to a top-notch Match Fighter in terms ofbat ability. "I''m fine, Xander. Now if you''ll excuse me, I need to be meeting up with this woman." Jackson said pressing aside one of the guards that was in his way. "So, you did know about her and didn''t inform me of a potential threat to the safety of our base? Oh, very well, I''ll let it go this once. After all if anything more happens, all the me will be easy to me on you" Xander replied eyeing his guard. The guard didn''t make a fuss of Jacksons brashness and let Jackson do as he pleased. "I see you are busy. We will talkter. It''s just that I hope you aren''t making any rash decisions that might negatively affect our bosses image." Jackson rolled his eyes, then turned to face Xander. "It was a fair fight, and this minor upset is nothing. In fact, it will likely give some spark to the Arena''s audience." He spoke as coolly as possible. "I see." Xander said running his hand through his pale blonde hair. "Well, I let you be. However, if that Queen causes any disruption, I''ll be the one to take care of her." Xander said turning to go. Jackson also turned to leave, grumbling as he went. "One day I''ll finally shut up that annoying mouth of yours." Jackson reached the green door to the Weightlifting Room. Turning the knob, he pushed open the door holding his breath slightly as he did. He never enjoyed the overwhelming smell of sweat, not even when he himself trained. As soon as he came inside, he started yelling. "Rickshaw, get over here!" Jackson called for the master trainer of all the gangs Match Fighters. "Coming boss." Rickshaw calleding from the other end of the room. Rickshaw would religiously watch every fight that took ce on the arena and had likely juste from the stands. He used to be a great Match Fighter years ago, but age had caught up to him. "Let me guess, you want to know why Owen lost. Simple, Queen was better." He said raising his hands in a shrug. "She''s a nobody. How could she best him?" Jackson replied hotly. Rickshaw gave a thoughtful reply while rubbing at his grey beard. "The world is vast and full of many people we have yet to meet. Besides from what I saw this Queen is no stranger to violence or fighting. Her eyes never showed any flicker of uncertainty. She has been well trained beforeing here and she has discipline, that is for a fact." "Can anyone of our guys beat her?" Jackson asked. "Hmm, I need to see her fight again. I sensed she had more to show us." Rickshaw replied wagging a finger in the air. "However, Owen was not our best. Not by a long shot." He gestured to several fighters pictures posted on the wall behind them. "No one is unbeatable. She is bound to slip up and we will be able to see." "Good. Now for the next issue. I can''t have Jerry be her handler. I need him for other work. I don''t want her to have anyone capable either." Jackson said as he turned to walk back towards the hallway. Rickshaw followed next to him giving his reply. "I think I have just the girl. She is willing to work, but her character is just too, how should I say this, soft? Getting any conversation out of her is just too taxing for me." "She''ll be fine as long as she''s notpetent. I don''t intend to keep Queen around with us for long. She just irritated me too much earlier." Jackson said shaking his head. Rickshaw nodded but decided to let the reason why he hated her left alone. It wasn''t his ce to make those decisions. "I''ll let her know and send her to your office shortly." Jackson nodded approvingly, opened the hallway door with an annoyed swoosh and headed to his office. Special Officer Hawkins turned away from the screen and started issuing orders. "Caswell, get a copy of the fight and any audio we were able to get and send it to the Commander. I always want someone to keep a Fly Drone on the Queen. I need to know what''s she is up to, where she is going to and with who. If she is our target, our jobs are going to get busy now!" "Yes Sir!" Everyone in the Command Center chanted enthusiastically. Hawkins turned back to look at a still image of the Queen on screen. He then spoke softly while giving a grin. "I found you!" Chapter 38: Sadie Chapter 38: Sadie "Sadie!" Rickshaw called out from his office that was attached to the Weightlifting room. This adjacent office-like-room was split into a set of cubicles. This was where many of the Match Fighters handlers and managers worked for the gang and the Match Fighter Association. Also known as MFA Branch #392. A quiet female voice stammered shrilly from the back of the room. "Y-Yes, boss Rickshaw?" "Get in my office. You are finally getting a Fighter." Rickshaw said gruffly turning to go back into his own ss walled office. The entire room immediately went dead quiet. Sadie, a small woman sitting in the secluded back of the room, got up from her chair and with her head down, headed towards the office. She didnt even nce around at anyone as she walked. The small woman could feel every oppressive eye on her. "Seriously?" Someone whispered as Sadie walked nervously through the office room, zig-zagging the cubicles. "I bet Rickshaw is just joking." Another voice whispered. Sadie never had any fighter before, even though she had worked with the gang far longer than most others here. She was a klutz. Always screwing something up that seemed simple to everyone else. No one ever gave her any important jobs, ever. Sadie was just as surprised as everyone else. She too even doubted Rickshaws words. No one would have picked her to be their manager. "I bet he''s actually going to fire me." Sadie thought glumly. She opened the ss door to Rickshaws office. He was sitting in his chair with his arms crossed on his chest. In the middle of his desk was arge orange envelope. He gestured towards a seat opposite of him and Sadie sat down nervously rubbing at her own wrists. "Sadie, Sadie. You finally got a job." Rickshaw said shaking his head in mock disbelief. "Let me make this one thing clear. Jackson himself is the one giving you this job, not me." Sadie was ecstatic! This wasn''t a joke after all! She quickly hid her excitement by covering her mouth with one hand and nodding while remaining quiet as Rickshaw continued. "You are being paired with a new Fighter. She goes by Queen and had just beat Owen Wales just an hour ago." Rickshaw said tapping the desk with a finger. "Take this envelope and get over to Jackson''s office. He and Queen should be having some kind of talk in there. You might want to hurry." Sadie quickly leaned forward in her seat and carefully picked up the envelope, while timidly eyeing Rickshaw, just to be sure it wasn''t a trick. He made no such indication, and she opened the envelope. Lifting the pages inside she nced at the title, "Match Fighter Association Regtion and Rulings". The next paper was a nearly nk Fighter Form. At the top was only the nickname slot that had been filled in with: Queen. "S-sir, there isn''t hardly any information on her? Is this correct?" Sadie asked looking at him, while also pushing up her thick ck rimmed sses at the same time. "That''s because she is aplete outsider. She''s not a Mad Dog member or affiliated with anyone associated within the MFA." Rickshaw said giving a shrug. "That''s also the main reason you got the position. You are not working with anyone else here. This will allow you to stay off thepound with her and monitor any fights she might be in. Additionally, this way we can also keep her up to date on any fights." Sadie was almost disappointed upon hearing this. Basically, he was saying that she had a job, but was getting kicked out of thepound at the same time. Thinking quickly, she tried to motivate herself. "Come on Sadie. This is your shot. You can show them that you can do the job right!" Then speaking to Rickshaw, she gave a nervous smile. "T-thank you, boss! I won''t let you down." "Whatever." Rickshaw said waving his hand dismissively. "Shouldn''t you be hurrying towards Jackson''s office right now?" Sadie nervously pushed the paper back into the envelope, before getting up from her seat and then quickly turned to leave the office. She went to push the door open and then, ''Thunk''! She smacked right into the ss door! Rickshaw yelled at her annoyedly. "For gods sake Sadie! The door opens inwardly. You have gone through it a thousand times!" "S-sorry!" Sadie muttered quietly feeling quite embarrassed. She then opened the ss door properly to leave the room and immediately headed for the hallway exit. She didn''t even look around the room at her co-workers. If they had seen her blunder, they were surely snickering at her. One of the other workers came into Rickshaws office after Sadie left and poked his head inside. "Did she really get a Match Fighter?" "Yep, and God help the poor fighter she''s with now." Rickshaw said rubbing his temples. Lisa and Jerry once again arrived outside of Jackson''s office under the strict gaze of the guards. She had collected all of her things and thoughts, this time ready for a proper conversation. She needed the gangs support to get her ns in motion. Entering the office, they found that Jackson was already waiting for them. He didn''t look happy as he stood behind his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, but rather more unconcerned at the moment. "Ah, finally here." Jackson said as Lisa walked into the center of the room. "Congrattions on your lucky win." "There wasn''t any luck involved. My skills are legit." Lisa replied giving a broad smile. "Now about my bet. What''s your answer?" "No. I didn''t agree to it, so I won''t ept it." Jackson replied immediately. "Come on. You can''t break the rules." Lisa said as her smile faded, and her expression grew serious. "Like I care. If neither partymitted to the bet than its null." Jackson said giving a shrug. "What I will do is give you your own handler or manager if you will. A manager will help keep track of who your opponents are for any uing fights or tournaments. Additionally, they will keep you in contact with the Match Fighters Association and gang in case you are needed for something. A Match Fighter is more than just a fighter you know. They do other work for us by solving disputes between gangs or its own members. Not to mention dealing with the many other Match Fighters that are all over the world." "Basically, he''s giving me a leash." Lisa though to herself. "He wants to keep tabs on me and what my intentions are." There was a sudden small knock at the side door that led to the small hallway. "That must be her." Jackson said uncrossing his arms. "Come in." He called out towards the side door. Slowly the door opened, and a small brown headed woman peeked inside. "S-sorry. I hope I''m not interrupting?" "Your fine. Come in." Jackson said tly. The woman quickly tiptoed into the room, closing the door gently behind her. She stood off to the side, hiding half her face behind arge orange envelope. Her doe brown eyes darted back and forth like ping pong balls inside of her ck sss rims, looking from Jackson to Lisa nervously. "This is Sadie, she has been working with us for a long while now." Jackson said gesturing to the woman. "She is going to work as your manager. Please rely on her for any questions that you might have." Lisa gave a friendly wave to the small woman. Sadie gave a slight bowing nod, but quickly ducked nervously further behind her envelope. "She''s huge!" Thought Sadie looking at the Queen standing before her. "Why does she have a giant coffin on her back? She is so pretty too! How did this woman beat Owen?" A plethora of questions and observations kepting to her mind, but she kept them to herself as the other two continued speaking with each other. Lisa turned back to look at Jackson. "I really don''t think it will be necessary to have a handler. I just want to fight Martinez." She spoke to him without hesitation dering her intention. "Is this woman insane!" Sadie nearly let out a gasp hearing this. "He''s the Boss of the whole Mad Dog gang and the strongest of everyone here." Sadie looked at Lisa but failed to see any trace of fear or that it was a joke. Lisa was seriously considering fighting Martinez. "Again, no. You don''t even have a record worth mentioning to him. Let alone propose a fight. Sadie will exin why to you in more detail." Jackson replied with an annoyed and dismissive tone. "Just get out of my sight and don''te back here unless you have another fight, or I call you. Guards, escort her out of the Arena, now!" The two guards watching over the meeting walked up to either side of Lisa. Their presence didn''t bother her on bit. However, it looked like she would have to try again some other time. At least now she had an opening to speak with the gang and an excuse to enter thepound if need be. Lisa sighed. "Fine, I get it. I will go. Just remember this Jackson, I will get what I want. Always have and will continue too." She turned airily to go, and the two guards followed closely behind. Her ck hair swaying proudly behind her as she did. Jackson sat down in his chair watching them go, clearly displeased, until the door closed behind them. "That Queen is so infuriating. She better watch herself or someone might put a bullet in that smart mouth of hers." Jackson said aloud to no one in particr. He got up to leave and turned to see that Sadie was still in the room with him. "What are you doing here? Get out and go with your Fighter!" Jackson yelled pointing at the main door. Sadie nearly dropped her envelope hearing Jackson''s yelling. She hadn''t been paying any attention to what was going on around her. She was lost in her own world of though. "S-sorry Sir! My mistake, I''m going now!" Sadie said scurrying after Lisa. "Again, excuse me!" She said dashing from the room. The door mmed loudly behind her and Jackson heard her muffled apology once again. "What an odd woman. No wonder she hadn''t gotten a job till now. She''s a train wreck." Jackson grumbled as he left the office. Sadie struggled to catch up to the two guards and Lisa that were further down the hall, as they had a head start. Lisa was taking such long strides, that it took two steps for Sadie to match her. It wasn''t until she arrived outside of the Warehouse Arena entrance that she finally caught up. Here the guards left the two alone and headed back inside. Sadie was panting slightly, and she had to bend over to rest her hands on her knees. She nced up to see that Lisa was staring down right at her. Sadie gulped visibly. "So, you''re my handler?" Lisa asked giving a questionable tone. "I-I am. I hope we can work well together, Miss Queen." Sadie said in a quiet nervous voice. She stood up straight and brushed back her loose brown bangs and her single braid rested on her right shoulder. "Well then Sadie, let''s get going then." Lisa said turning towards the gate she had entered from earlier. "Also, don''t call me Queen, unless wee back here. Just call me Lisa." "Ok, Miss Lisa." Sadie said giving a nod. "Seriously, just Lisa will do." Lisa said while talking over her shoulder. Sadie could only nod in reply. The air of authoritying from Lisa was just so overpowering. Apletely different kind of woman than she herself was. Following Lisa out of the gate back into the deste town, Sadie had forgotten the terrible state the town had been in. She had been working in the conve for several years. Rarely did she even leave the Arena area. She worried that things were going to quite different from now on. Chapter 39: Pinned Down Chapter 39: Pinned Down Marco yelled urgently for his men to find cover. Nearly ten of his men were already lying dead on the exposed street, in growing pools of blood. Several others had been injured and were crawling towards any kind of nearby cover. The militia forces had far better coverage than they did and were picking the gangsters off easily. Marco was constantly yelling out orders to his men. "Get down! Shoot at the windows. That''s where they are!" The gangsters finally returned fire, shooting from behind rusted cars and trees growing in the yards of the next-door homes. The two sides exchanged rounds for several minutes, but neither side made any further progress. Marco looked desperately around trying to think of a solution to get the fight back in their favor. "You five!" Marco shouted to a group guys behind a car in front of Marco''s position. "Get around to the back of that house and nk them!" He while waving towards the home on their left. Then he turned to eight others that were nearby with him hidden amongst some pors and short evergreens. "Keep shooting at anything that moves at those windows. Don''t let them notice the nkers!" The men nodded and one of them randomly shot at a top floor window. From inside there was a yell and a few shots were shot back in retaliation. Bullets ricocheted through the branches and leaves but managed to hit no one. Then all the gangsters retorted in unison as they fired back at the same window. Using the cover fire, Marco then moved from the trees to a car nearby. "Marco!" One of his men called from behind the wall of the house on his right. "We have half our ammo left. What''s the n?" Marco thought for a moment. A random stray bullet pinged off the hood of the car he was hiding behind. He flinched involuntarily and hastily dished out orders. "Take those guys with you and circle around the right of the house. We need to push them out of that house ahead! They can''t possibly have that much ammunition either." Marco hollered shrinking lower to duck behind the car even further as another shot hit nearby him. The man nodded and turned away with the others to carry out the order. There were now only twenty or so gangsters fighting in the street and trees. From the number of times the militia shot back, Marco guessed that there were not that many of them to begin with. There was still plenty of opportunity to win this fight. There were a few cars between the gangsters and the houses the militia were in and Marco knew they had to push. Once they had the militia''s full attention on the street could the two groups than nk the houses and finish this fight. He jumped up and shot a slug round at the lower windows on the right house. The faded blue window cover blew up into hundreds of wooden splinters. "Advance to the next cars!" Marco shouted dashing out from behind his cars cover. The rest of the men with him followed Marco''s lead and yelling ran forward. A militia member popped into a window and shot his rifle at them. The man next to Marco suddenly had his chest burst into a fountain of red and copsed. Sliding to safety behind the next car Marco''s heart was pounding in his chest. "That was too close!" Marco thought. The mans handgun, a pistol, had skidded close to him and Marco snatched it up. ncing at the houses from the corner of the car hood, he spotted a militia member leaning by the window frames inside. Taking aim with his newly collected pistol, with one hand, he pulled off three shots and the militia target was hit and knocked back out of sight. "Where are those nkers at?" Marco wondered aloud. Just then amotion came from the other side of the house on their left. Men shouted and a few shots were fired. Then silence. A gangster carefully appeared at a window and waved at Marco. Seeing him, Marco waved back. The waving gangster took cover as a bullet whizzed at him from across the street. Then the gangster stuck his middle finger out into the window in reply to the shot. Marco knew seeing that the house had been secured, now only the militia in the right side''s house were all that remained. Suddenly, from the back of that same building, came the sounds of ss shattering. The militia were trying to escape out of the house! "They are trying to run!" Marco shouted. "Get after them. We can''t let them live and warn the others!" The men in the street and left house shouted and charged at the building. A single militia member popped out of the front door in an attempt to hold them off while his allies fled and started shooting at the charging gangsters with a rifle. He wounded one but was instantly shot by another gangster and copsed screaming. The gang continued on nking the left house and upon rounding the backyard spotted three militia members running into the next house. They re-opened fire and gave chase. Seeing this, Marco ordered some men to clear the right house and then joined in with the right nkers to deal with thest three militia. Rather than fighting back the three men tried to keep running out of the house and get away. However, their luck had run out. They were running away empty handed, seeing this the gangsters charged after them unafraid. It wasn''t long until thest of the militia men were caught. Marco was smiling like a mad man as he approached the three militia men being pinned down by the gangsters. He held up his handgun to the first mans head. Revenge never felt so sweet. "Pow!" Erin''s men had fared slightly better than Marco''s. When the militia started shooting only three of his men were hit. The rest immediately took cover, they were more used to dealing with danger. Getting over his initial surprise, Erin quickly came up with a new n. "You ten, keep shooting at that red house. You other ten shoot at that yellow house. The rest of you need to spread out and surround the houses in two lines." Erin said pointing at the indicated men. "Keep close to cover and shoot at them before you move. That way they can''t shoot back." His men obediently followed out his instructions and the twenty men started shooting at the two houses from the street, drawing most of the militias gunfire onto them. This allowed the rest of the gangsters to easily surround the two houses. Erin had gone around to the back of the yellow house and motioning to one of his men toe over, he had another idea. "Turn around so I can open your backpack." Erin said to the man. The man turned around and Erin fumbled quickly around inside the backpack. He pulled out two bottles of alcohol and two rags. Next, he took from his back pocket a lighter. Then tying the rags to the bottles necks, he then lit them on fire. Erin yelled. "Get ready to shoot!" He jumped out from behind his cover and chucked the two ming bottles at the house in quick session. The first bottle hit the side of the building setting the siding and a dead bush on fire. The second bottle smashed through a sliding ss door and burst into mes inside the house. Smoke soon filled the yellow building and billowed into the air outside. Then one by one the militia members started stumbling and coughing out of the burning building on all sides. The gangsters showed no mercy. Every one of them was quickly shot and killed on sight. After a few moments no one else came out of the burning building. It seemed that all the militia members in the yellow house were now dead. After confiscating the dead''s weapons and ammo, Erin motioned for everyone to move on towards the red house on the other side of the road. The militia members in the red house saw what had happened to their allies and started to desperately escape from the back of the house. The gangsters in the backyard tried to engage, but the militia were far more desperate. They overpowered the gangsters, broke through the defenses and jumped the chain link fence. They then quickly scrambled through the yard beyond and towards the next street over. Erin counted five men that had managed to avoid being taken. "Hold on guys! We won this fight." He called out before his men tried to give chase. "Let them go. We can follow them to wherever their base is at. There we will kill the rest of them with the Boss!" The gangsters cheered excitedly. Things could not have gone any better. Terry and his men quickly returned their own fire from windows and doorways at the opposite house. It was clear that they had dealt a massive blow to the militia members. They were likely halfway wiped out at this point. The surprise attack had been sessful. Unlike his fellow lieutenants, Terry was far more cautious. "Keep up the shooting." Terry shouted. He pointed his gun out the nearest window to him and started shooting. His assault rifle let out a stream of heavy bullets at the bottom floor of the house across the street. ck holes riddled the house once his magazine was emptied. The rest of his men took turns sting away at the house as well. The amount of gunfire from the gangsters hadpletely overwhelmed the militia members and they were unable to return fire. After a minute of this Terry called for a ceasefire. Then calling out towards the battered house, he gave the militia an offer. "Hey, Militia members! I am giving you this one chance to surrender. Toss your weapons out front into the street. Thene out with your hands up!" Terry''s voice seemed quietpared to the numerous sts from before. There was a short pause of silence from the house across the street. It seemed like the militia might have already been killed, until a handgun was suddenly tossed out the front door. It was followed by a few other weapons and they bounced out into the street. Slowly seven militia members came out of the building with their hand up. The walked slowly into the front yard, nervously eyeing the gangsters. "Go get them boys." Terry said motioning with the tip of his rifle. The gangsters marched outside and surrounded the seven scared men. Terry walked up to one of the men and butted him hard in the gut with the butt of his gun. The man doubled over and dropped to one knee. "Kill the others." Terry said loudly. A dozen shots rang out, killing the other surrendered men. Then stooping to one knee, Terry put a hand on the mans shoulder. "Now tell me. Which way is it to your base?" Terry asked speaking calmly. The man fought for breath but managed to speak. "P-please let me go. I surrendered; you shouldn''t kill me!" "I will let you go. But only if you tell me the answer to my question." Terry said giving the man a reassuring nod. The man quickly blurted out in fear for his life. "Go a mile down the road and take a left at the big red brick factory. You can''t miss it! It''s a huge warehouse building." "Hmm, thank you very much." Terry said standing up. Then he pointed his rifle at the unfortunate man. "Now you can go and leave with your friends." Then Terry pulled the trigger. Unlike the other lieutenants, Terry was also the vilest. Garret Trellis and his two lieutenants, Adam and Diana, marched boldly down the road towards where the East River Militia (ERM) base was at. They oddly hadn''t yet encountered any resistance from militia forces. They had only scared off random citizens that were in the road or businesses along their route. They soon came to an area with severalrge warehouses and factories. There was arge parking lot in front of the main warehouse and so was a huge blockade. The blockade was a series of old rusted cars, stacked two cars high, lined up midway through the parking lot. The line stretched all the way around the building and was guarded by numerous ERM forces. Standing at the only gap in the blockade was a huge man with graying hair. He stood there with his army crossed boldly across his chest. It was Gillian Taws. "We meet again, Garret." Gillian called out once the gangsters had gotten close enough. "Yes, we have." Garret replied coldly. "I will kill you this time." Chapter 40: Score to Settle Chapter 40: Score to Settle "Now, now, don''t be hasty." Gillian said speaking calmly while raising an open hand. "You and your forces are not in a favorable position." When he raised his hand, it signaled to the rest of the East River Militia members hiding behind the wall of cars and they popped into view, aiming their own weapons threateningly. There were well over a hundred militia fighters all armed with a myriad of various weapons. Dozens of militia fighters had been armed with the guns they confiscated from the ck Rats original base. While the remaining members wielded long metal spears, made from twisted rebar, and various other dangerous handheld barbaric looking weapons. Garret stopped his advance, as did the gangsters with him. The ck Rats had them out numbered almost three to one, but Garret was no fool. The militia had taken cover behind this "wall" and would easily hold off an attacking force. Garret nced around the surrounding area and noticed that the parking lot and areas that they hade from, werepletely exposed. There wasn''t even a dead bush to squat behind. Garret was visually angry as he spoke to Gillian. "So, what are you suggesting? The move is yours to make, traitor." "I didn''t want to do this, but I don''t want to start a blood bath. I see you have two of your lieutenants with you." Said Gillian while pointing at Adam and Diana. "I have two Match Fighters as well. So how about we have a three on three duel? The losers leave and the victors do what they want. No weapons though. This has to be hand to hand." Garret thought over his chances. He could refuse and have everyone charge the walls defenses. However, the losses would undoubtedly be too high. He knew Gillian was an excellent martial artist and would be an even matchup with his own skills. Adam and Diana were also exemry fighters. The only thing that concerned him were the other two Fighters, their skill was unknown. "Aright, I ept." Garret said slowly. There was no time to hold back. If he acted weak and hesitated now the gangsters would probably lose faith in him and reiming his control of the town was going to be even harder. "Very well." Gillian said giving a smile. He motioned for the two fighters hidden behind the car wall toe forward. Two men, twins to be exact, came lumbering into view. They wore identical outfits:bat boots, overalls and tan undershirts. They nearly resembled Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum! However, they clearly seemed far smarter and more capable than them. They were not overly muscr though, just very thick, and tall country boy types. The two opposing sides formed two cheering semicircles, encircling an area for the six contenders to spar. The two sides remained warry of the other and their weapons never turned away for fear it was a trick. Yet no one made any move that could cause trouble, though insults flew often between the two sides. Meanwhile the six fighters prepped for the fight amid the noisy crowd. Gillian had tied medical tape around his fists and made a head band as well. The other two twins just loosened their shoulders and limbered up, eyeing the gangsters confidently. The three gangsters prepared totally different than their opponents. Garret and Adam took off their shirts and flexed trying to build up some adrenaline. Diana was casually chewing some gum while tying her gray-blue dyed hair back out of the way and just patiently waited for the fight to start. As no one was officiating the fight, they didn''t start right away. It wasn''t until each sides leader both gave a nod of agreement, did the two sides square up. The crowd cheered for their own side and continued to hurl insults at the others. Garret was the first to make a move. He charged right at Gillian and took a big right swing at his head. Gillian neatly dodged and tried to counter swing, but Garret was to nimble and was already moving out of range. While those two fought, the other four readied themselves and advanced carefully. The two big twins looked slow, but every time Adam or Diana got close, they would try to grab them with unnervingly quick speed. Edging around the twins, Diana tried to get behind them while Adam kept their attention on him by switching jabs between the two. All the while avoiding their chunky handed strikes. One of them tried grabbing Adam and managed to get his hand. Adam yanked hard trying to break free, but only managed to make the man stumble forward. Diana saw her chance in that moment. Leaping onto the one holding Adam, she immediately wrapped him up into a head lock. The man let go of Adam and tried pulling at Diana''s arms to free his neck. He grunted while doing so, struggling for air. His face was turning red and sweat beaded all over his head. However, despite Diana''szy appearance she was far more dangerous in reality. While Adam had been momentarily stopped by the first twin, the other twin had gotten really close. Just as Adam was let go of, the second twin punched at Adam,nding a hard blow to his ribs. Adam nearly had the wind knocked out of him and he staggered to the side. Adam, in turn, re-engaged the other twin before he could help his brother with removing Diana. The second twin followed up with several quicker punches aiming for Adams head. Bobbing and weaving Adam held his arms up to his face and avoided the bulk of the damage. It was all Adam could do as the second twin kept up a fearsome assault and let Diana keep attacking the first twin. Garret and Gillian had wrestled each other to the ground at this point. Each trying to get on top of the other and pin them down. Their arms and legs were tangled together, like wires in a box. In this struggle, Garret had ripped apart Gillian''s shirt and it nowy elsewhere. They rolled over and over on the concrete parking lot, scraping and scratching their elbows and knees. Their blood and sweat dripped all over each other making it very difficult to grip onto their shirtless bodies. It was Gillian that eventually managed to get the advantage. He got his left arm free and started pounding onto Garret''s exposed head. Garret thrashed violently and pushed off Gillian''s body with his legs and scrapped painfully across the ground, sliding on his own side to get away. Garret got up first and tried to pounce on top of Gillian to continue their grappling. While still on his back, Gillian kicked out and up at Garret, catching him squarely in the stomach. Garret let out a moan and stumbled back clutching his middle. Diana wasn''t able to take down the first twin as quickly as she had intended. The twin managed to get a grip around her wrists and with difficulty, peeled her off him. She managed to wriggle free of his grasp and freed her arm. He gasped in air violently and he copsed to one knee tired from the ordeal. She went to kick him in the head, but he exhaustedly threw up his arm and absorbed the blow. Switching from his head to side, she repeatedly bashed him hard in the side with the side of her foot. Adam wasn''t doing as well as the other two gangsters. The second twin''s attacks rained down on him and each was as heavy as thest. A side swipe knocked his guard away and in that brief moment the second twin struck him hard, right in the temple. The blow stunned Adam and he copsed back heavily onto the pavement with a dazed expression. Seeing this, the twin didn''t hesitate and followed up his attack by smashing at Adams exposed head repeatedly. Adam waspletely defenseless and was soon rendered unconscious in seconds. The second twin got up off Adam and took a moment to catch his breath and look at the other two fights going on. His brother appeared to be in the most danger. So, he slowly lumbered towards Diana to help his brother who was still being kicked on the ground andying in a fetal position. Gillian scrambled up from the ground and proceeded to attack Garret, who was still clutching at his kicked stomach. Throwing a heavy left hook at Garret, Gillian managed tond a decent blow. Garret sucked in abored breath and reactively threw his own counter punch but missed. Emboldened by his sessful attacks, Gillian pounded away at Garret. Garret was overwhelmed by the ferocious swings from Gillian and tumbled backwards to the ground. Now their previous positions had beenpletely reversed! He tried covering his face with his arms and swaying back and forth to avoid the attacks, as Gillian easily mounted on top of him. The second twin, once close to Diana, raised both hands up, clenched, and went to pound at Diana from behind. Swinging downward at her, he intended to hit her in the back of head. Yet, somehow, Diana managed to sense him just in time and sidestepped out of the way. The twin''s attack smashed into the ground and actually sent spider web cracks throughout the pavement. Inwardly she shuddered and stopped moving, feeling the wind of his swing brushing so closely behind her was too close forfort. If that attack hadnded, she might have been killed! The first twin, angry from being choked and kicked, used that moment to reach out and grab her ankle. Once he did, he jumped up while yanking her up off her feet and hoisted her upside down into the air. She dangled angrily trying to punch him and break free. It was of no use, the second twin swung at her, this time punching her like he would a sandbag. His blowsnded on her stomach, chest, back and head. She couldn''t absorb them all and was quickly beaten into defeat. Seeing the fight from her was gone, the first twin dropped her, like a child would with a useless doll, and stepped onto her head triumphantly. Gillian had paused his attacks, for just a moment, hearing the mood from the crowd change upon Diana''s lose and it gave Garret an opening. He jabbed upward catching Gillian in the chin. The strike knocked Gillian up and off himself. As he scrabbled up, Garret took a nce at his lieutenantsying broken on the ground, he realized the fight was finished. "H-hold up!" Garret called out holding out his hands to Gillian and the twins that were quicklying his way. "This fight is yours. We lose!" The three East River Militia representing Fighters stopped advancing hearing this. The ck Rats had grown silent, while the ERM members cheered even louder. Gillian spoke up wiping at a speck of blooding from his lip. "So, you''re actually admitting you''ve lost. Ha, ha, finally you have known defeat!" "I am not beaten!" Garret retorted. "But I cannot fight three of you at once." He started backing up towards his fallen fellow fighters. "We wille back and next time you won''t be as lucky!" Garret picked up both his allies and tucked each of them under his arms. Then the rest of the ck Rats quickly followed Garret as he retreated, back the way they hade from through town. The ERM threw insults and rocks at them as they did. The fight had been won, but the battle had only just begun. Chapter 41: Manager Chapter 41: Manager Lisa and Sadie walked down two blocks in silence before Lisa turned around. "So, your name is Sadie, right?" Lisa asked looking down at the small woman. Sadie raised the envelope up to her mouth and with a nervous expression nodded yes. She brushed back her gentle brown hair, which was tied in a long single braid, back behind her thick rimmed ck sses, before speaking nervously. "My name is Sadie ke. I have been working with the Match Fighter Association at the Mad Dogs Warehouse Arena for four years now. But before that I interned at Phoenix MFA Arena for two years and that was when I was still doing my studies at the University of Arizona." She then tentatively raised her hand in an offer to shake Lisa''s. Lisa looked at her hand for a brief second while thinking. "Well, this is interesting. I didn''t expect that this town, out here in the middle of practically nowhere, would actually have some decent people. I thought Jackson would have given me one of his goons to keep tabs on me. But this woman seems like she''s actually legit." Lisa grasped Sadie''s hand warmly and gave a sincere smile. "Wonderful to meet you. You can call me Lisa, at least only when we aren''t around anyone else." "Ok, I will." Sadie answered sounding a bit relieved. Once again thinking fast, Lisa talked to herself, "I''ll y along for now. Just until I find out what her intentions are going to be. Timid or not, she could be a threat." "So, I am guessing there are some things we need to discuss?" Lisa continued speaking aloud. Then pointing at the envelope in Sadie''s hands, she said, "I assume that that might have to do with this envelopes contents?" "O-oh. Yes, it does. Well mostly. Do you want to talk about the MFA here or somewhere else?" Sadie asked as her voice faded off while looking around at the dingy empty street. "Here probably wouldn''t be very appropriate." Lisa said also looking around at the empty rundown street. "Let''s go to a bar nearby. We can talk much morefortably once we are sitting down. Also, I am so very thirsty! All that fighting and talking has just made my mouth as dry as the desert." She then smacked her lips together, as if proving her point. Sadie nodded. "That''s fine with me. Um, you''re going to have to lead the way. I don''t know my way around this town all too well." Lisa turned to lead the way and they started to chat as they walked. "What do you mean you don''t know the way around town? Didn''t you say that you had been here for four years?" Lisa inquired. "Well, yes." Sadie said a bit apprehensive. "I dide here through town when I first arrived, but it was in an armored truck convoy. So, I only saw it through the window. I spent the rest of my time in the Mad Dogs conve working with my boss, Rickshaw, in the MFA headquarters there. Believe it or not, but this is thergest MFA headquarters from Moab City to Salt Lake City." Sadie had been looking around at the tattered and worn shops and building lining the streets while she spoke with Lisa. She quite possibly starred a bit too long at the ragged and dirty people trudging by them. They started giving her their own sneers and looks of distain. "I knew this town wasn''t in all that good of a condition, but I never expected it to be this, depressing. I guess that is one way to put it?" Sadie said quietly to Lisa. "Yes, most of the country is just like this town. If you are saying this now, then I can assume Phenix is doing very well?" Lisa replied. "Oh yes. Despite the heat, Phoenix is such a lovely and beautiful ce to live. I grew up there from birth." Sadie said giving a smile as she thought of home. "I see." Lisa replied. Just then they arrived their destination, The Ragged gon. When Lisa pushed open the two front doors, she noticed right away that the bar had been nearly fully repaired. The only sign of her fight, with the two other Match Fighters, was that the areas where the floors had been damaged had been reced with brand new looking wood flooring. Even the destroyed tables and chairs looked fairly new. For a decaying town with little infrastructure they sure did fix this bar quickly. "So, should we sit in a booth or a table?" Sadie asked looking around the room with some excitement. It was pretty clear to Lisa now, that Sadie probably didn''t go to such ces very much. Also, from the nerdy attitude and her timid antics, Sadie seemed like the type that kept to herself a lot. "A booth is good." Lisa replied while heading for a booth near the front of the bar. It wasn''t as crowded there, so they would be able to talk about possible sensitive topics. They sat down and a waitress came over to them. "What can I get for you?" She asked sounding slightly board. "Any light beer you have and make it arge, please." Lisa replied right away. "Uh, just water for me, thank you." Sadie said. "I don''t do so well with alcohol." The waitress left and Lisa sped her hands together and set them onto the table. "So, let''s get right to business. What is the Match Fighter Association? Why do I need a manager? And what conditions am I being forced to follow, if I doply?" Sadie shifted slightly nervous in her seat before replying. "Well the Match Fighter Association, or MFA, started up in 2156. The tworgest and longest running Mixed Martial Arts groups at the time, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ONE Championship, merged to create what the MFA is today. Theybined their own unique styles and rules, as well as creating a new unique matching system. However, they didn''t just stop there. They expanded their influence too even the political realm." Just then the waitress returned with their drinks. "Here you two are. Just let me know if you want to order anything else." "Thankyou." Lisa replied. Then she motioned for Sadie to continue. Sadie took a sip of the water. "Eh, the water out her in town isn''t cold at all." "Yes, it is hard to keep anything cold without electricity." Lisa said nodding and picking up her beer mug. "Well anyhow, back to your questions." Sadie replied. "The MFA started to solve local and asionally State affected issues. Though at the time, all of these were done in illegal underground fights. The two opposing sides would bet their own policy''s and votes on these match''s. Eventually they were found out and it went to trial. However, the betting battles eventually won the right to continue and be legal. All this had taken ce during the rapid decline of the USA''s Democratic Republic government. Then war broke out between several Asian countries verse the USA and its subsequent allies. Since the MFA was a part of both countries, and after all the bombings had settled, it was through the MFA fights that many of these issues were eventually resolved between the two sides." "Hmm, that''s actually pretty interesting. Please go on." Lisa said draining thest drop of her beer. She waved to the waitress for another. Sadie cleared her throat and continued. She seemed to enjoy exining her knowledge of the organizations history. "As time went on to where we are today, there are three distinct levels in the MFA. First, is the one you are being ranked in. The Shadow League or MFASL. The Shadow League isprised of basically all the new and lowest ranking members of the MFA. They are also the most numerous, as they are practically in every midsized torge town on every continent. The other two leagues are the Mountain League and the Sun League. The Mountain League fights are nearly always televised and happen in arenas by those fighters that have outstanding records. The Sun League is the best of the best. They typically fight for political people or the ultra-wealthy. Many see them as the gods that determine how the world will be run, but that''s just some peoples silly opinions." "Now for your second question. You need a manger for several reasons. To keep track on your fighting record is one reason. Unlike traditional matches, MFA fights rarely take ce on a predetermined time or ce. So, a manager from the MFA needs to be with each Match Fighter in order to send the results to the MFA data base. To move up into the Mountain League you not only need to win a lot but beat people worthy of causing your promotion. That is entirely determined by the MFA higher ups. I don''t know all the specifics at the moment, but I will soon." Sadie said this while patting the envelope on the table between them. "So, I will be your manager. I report to Rickshaw, who reports to his boss in Salt Lake City. I''m sure the chain ofmand keeps going up, but that''s as far as I have been allowed to know so far. Also, mangers can oversee numerous Match Fighters at a time and have been known to have up to twenty fighters to keep track of." Sadie took a breath and then said slowly. "As of now you are my first and only Match Fighter under my supervision. So that said, you have my full attention, always. I won''t interfere with your personal life or affairs. So, feel free to use the Association to benefit your intentions if you do desire. There really aren''t that many things I could possibly forbid you to do." "Youre just now bing a rookie manager?" Lisa said raising an eyebrow. "Didn''t they give you any responsibility in the four years you''ve been here?" "Well, yes but really no." Sadie replied blushing slightly. "I handled a lot of the headquarters paperwork and organizing things. But I was never granted any official managerial spots." "I see. What about these conditions I need to follow?" Lisa asked. "Ah, those would be listed in this envelope. In here are the Match Fighter Regtion and Rulings." Sadie opened the envelope. She reached in and started to pull out the stack of papers to present them. However, the thick stack of papers was not stapled or pinned together. So, when she pulled them out of the envelope fully, her fingers slipped! Sending papers flying all over the table and floor! One of the waitresses was walking by at just at that unfortunate moment. She stepped on the loose papers and slipped. The tray of drinks and food she was carrying flew out of her grasp and sttered all over five men drinking at a table behind the twodies. The men yelled out in surprise. They turned to see the cause of the problem and seeing Sadie''s shocked face and papers scattered everywhere, they knew who the culprit was. They got up and surrounded the twodys booth. "Look what you did, you clumsy wench." One man said gesturing to his stained shirt. "You''re going to have to pay us for new clothing." Another man snarled. "Ya, or else youre going to regret disrespecting us like this." A third manined while rubbing on his pants with a towel. "S-sorry it was an ident! I didn''t mean for this to happen." Sadie said flustered. "Sorry isn''t going to cut it. Now pay up!" The first man spoke. "I-I don''t have enough money at the moment!" Sadie replied nervously. "Oh, that won''t be a problem." One of the men said taking a step towards her. "I think we cane up with a solution." As he said this, he picked up her braided hair and ran his fingers through it. Sadie shuddered as she understood what he meant. "That enough!" Lisa said angrily seeing this. "It was an ident! She owes you nothing." "Oh, what are you going to do about it?" The second man replied. "You going to join her in helping apologize?" Lisa snorted angrily. "No, I''m going to do this!" Thest thing the man saw was a sh of light as a fist came smashing into his jaw. Chapter 42: Roommate Chapter 42: Roommate It was over in a matter of seconds. The five slightly drunk men didn''t even stand a chance. Everyone in the bar was startled at the suddenmotion and turned about only to find every single one of the men t on their backs. "That ought to teach you some manners." Lisa said standing above the five menying on the floor. The first guy she punched was out cold. While the other four were nursing their jaws or guts and struggling to sit up. A chair had also been crushed by one of the men as he fell. "Hey, Queen!" Someone yelled from the back of the room. It was the bartender. "Quit starting fights in the bar and breaking everything each time youe in here. Take your business outside! Next time youre paying for all the damages twice over." "Sorry!" Lisa said apologetically. "I just can''t control myself every time there are idiots messing around me." She looked down at the men by her feet. "Get out of my sight. I don''t want to hear anything like what you said around me ever. Got it?" The four conscious men nodded vigorously and scrambled to get up. They dragged their unconscious friend out the door and disappeared into a building further up the street. "S-sorry Lisa! I caused you trouble." Sadie pouted as she quickly tried to collect the spilled document papers. "It''s alright. idents happen." Lisa replied dipping down to help clean up. Then mumbling aloud, she said, "You would think after a few hundred years men would be more civilized." "What did you say?" Sadie asked sounding confused. Then inwardly she though, Did she say, a few hundred years? "It was nothing." Lisa replied nonchntly. Sadie shook her head to clear her thoughts and they both continued cleaning up. The scattered document was soon collected and reorganized. They sat back down at their booth to continue their conversation. The rooms atmosphere in the meantime had returned to normal now and Lisa was the first to speak. "So, where were we? Something about the restrictions and conditions listed in the Match Fighter Regtion and Rulings." Lisa said while adjusting her ponytail in her Yankees hat to fit morefortably. "Ah, I think so." Sadie said sounding a bit calmer now as she scanned through the document. "Let''s see... Restrictions and conditions" "Ah, there it is." Sadie said pulling a sheet out of the document. "Conditions that are of any major importance are these. A Match Fighter must participate in one match per month. Failure to do so, including due to injury, will result in an immediate rank decrease or if at the lowest rank possible, expulsion. However, a Fighter can, rather than drop in rank, count a missed month as a permanent loss recorded on their record. Each additional week missed will count as another loss." "Hmm, harsh but fair. I guess." Lisa said aloud whileprehending what Sadie had said. Sadie continued. "Next, all contenders must adhere to the basic rules listed on page 19-30. Do you need me to read those to you?" "I might know them. I heard about them from a merchant named Frank Sellers." Lisa replied. She then reiterated the four broad rules Frank had told her. Sadie nodded slowly as she listened to Lisa''s exnation of the more basic rules. "Good, that man seemed to have given you a proper set of the rules. There are a few others, but they aren''t much different than those four. The more advanced set of rules are for political match''s or military affairs. So, we can ignore them for now." "Alright. What about the conditions for advancement to the next level?" Lisa asked. "Well, as I said before, you are ranked as a Shadow League contender. In each League there are twenty tiers in it. To move from tier twenty, the lowest, up to tier one. You need to have ten consecutive wins in a single tier to advance; or have a total of twenty wins, if you had incurred a loss, to advance." Sadie said tracing the lines with her finger as she read. "Geez! That sounds like it''s extremely hard to advance at all. How do Fighters even have the time to do all this fighting?!" Lisa said shaking her head. She took another sip of her beer as Sadie gave an answer. "Well, as you know, you can fight more than one Fighter at a time and if you beat each individual Fighter it will count as an individual win. Also, as long as you are in the same League as your opponent it doesn''t matter what tier you are in. A tier one can fight a tier twenty. If the tier one was to win it counts as a single win. However, if the lower tier beats a higher tier then it will count as two wins." Sadie paused and looked up at Lisa. Lisa was staring at her with nk,zy grey eyes and almost looked ready to fall asleep. "Is this making sense to you?" Sadie asked. "At the moment, yes." Lisa replied giving a nod and blinking twice. Good. Sadie answered before giving a stern expression. For any of these fights you participate in, I must be present. Otherwise it will not count. Even if another official MFA manager is present, I cannot count a win for you by hearsay or through video evidence either. Understood? Lisa shrugged her shoulders, That is perfectly reasonable. Though inwardly Lisa thought it still sounded like the Mad Dogs were using this ruling as a leash to keep tabs on her. Yet tossing those thoughts aside, Lisa asked, What about if they are in different Leagues?" "These kinds of fights are normally forbidden for obvious reasons." Sadie replied without even consulting the document. "If it were to happen only tier five to tier one of a lower League can challenge a higher tier and be considered able topete. The same win or loss ratio will be applied to those fights. However, these fights nearly never happen." "How about a League advancement? How does that happen?" Lisa asked seeming satisfied with Sadie''s reply. "Let me see" Sadie said scanning the next page. "It will be officiated by an MFA qualified official. So, someone like my boss, Rickshaw, or another higher-ranking manager. We too follow the League system, based solely on our highest-ranking Fighters capacity and number of people we manage currently. Also, only tier one Fighters are allowed to fight against each other for it to count as an advancing match." "I see. That sounds fair. It would be dumb if someone could fight a tier twenty to advance." Lisa said. "Now what about restrictions? There sounds like there could be a lot." "Actually, there are not as many as you would think. Nor are they tooplex." Sadie said pushing her ck sses up her nose, and while flipping through the document looking for the right page. Once she found it, Sadie continued. "It says here that, basically, a Fighter cannot kill the referee, officiate, or official presiding over an official Match. Additionally, managers, ranked military and political personal are also not to be killed by Fighters or through any bets made in a Match. Unless both sides have agreed that they will equally face the same punishments as their Fighter. Those types of bets will have to be over seen by an even higher ranking official or military member. Another restriction to take note of is that there are no limits to the number of match''s a Fighter can participate in, in any given month." Sadie stopped reading and took arge sip of water and grimaced once she finished. "Well, all that is good to know." Lisa said looking at thest bit of beer at the bottom of her mug. She swished it slowly around before tossing it into her mouth. "What about money? With all these fights and tiers we must go through, there has to bepensation." "Well there is pay, but not exactly money every time. Only the Sun League and Mountain League tier five and up get an actual paid sry directly from the Association. Everyone else makes money through betting on Match''s or by betting goods or contracts. There are no limits on the amount of such bets either. However..." Sadie started to speak quietly and leaned forward. Lisa leaned forward as well a bit interested. "The bets are not always legal. Lots of illegal goods and products are traded through the MFA fights. I even hear that some politicians stillmonly bet their votes on policy andws too." "That''s all I needed to know." Lisa said grinning as she leaned back in her seat. "Money is a very important objective of mine to get." "Well I hope I exined everything well enough. I feel like I got a bit too excited exining all of the rules and stuff. Im just excited to finally have a Fighter to work with!" Sadie said shyly. Unless you have more to ask, I think we covered enough information. She then started to regather and organize the document to put it back in the envelope. "You did seem excited, but that''s not anything to feel bad about. It made joining the MFA sound like it was worth joining after all. The exnations you gave were sufficient." Lisa replied sincerely. She then waved to the waitress and asked for a check. When the waitress left to tally up what they owed Lisa had another question to ask. "So, since youre going to be my manager and you need to be with me so much, how are we going to meet up for a Match? Just meet here or something?" Lisa asked Sadie. Sadie lowered her gaze from Lisa, and she could feel her face flush. "Well that''s going to be a bit embarrassing to exin. I technically was told I had to stay with you. Since youre not with the Mad Dogs gang or any other group, I need to physically stay with you in case a fight happens and needs recording or if someone at the Arena wants to challenge you." "Seriously?" Lisa said a bit taken back. "Can''t you just stay at the Arena, in your current residence?" Lisa wasn''t willing to take her to the hydroelectric dam just yet. She still wasn''t totally sure if Sadie wasn''t a spy from Jackson to keep tabs on her. Besides, she might leak information about the electricity to the town. If anyone found out, there could be a riot at the dam and things might get messy. "I don''t think they will let me." Sadie replied still a bit embarrassed. Letting out a big sigh she continued, "You see, I''m not exactly well liked there. Everyone sees me as a giant mess up. I can''t do hardly anything right, like with these papers earlier. I mess up everything." Lisa sighed inwardly and looked carefully at the small woman sitting across from her. Sadie looked rather pathetic. It wouldn''t be easy to fake that look on her face. Lisa really didn''t have any kind of excuse she could give her to turn her away either. "Fine. You cane with me. However, there will be some rules you have to follow. Otherwise things between us will not work out." Lisa said giving in. "Sorry. I will try to follow them." Sadie said as her brown eyes brightened. "What are they?" "Well first, we need to go back to thepound and get your things." Lisa said looking out the window. The sun was just reaching the peak of the mountain. They only had slightly more than an hour before dark. "I will exin my conditions along the way." "Sounds good to me." Sadie replied giving a small smile. The waitress came back and handed Lisa the tab. Her heart sank as she saw that the bar owner had also added the price of the ruined chair. Grudgingly Lisa payed for her tab as it was her fault. Putting on her coffin, Lisa and Sadie then headed for the door. Lisa was leading the way and went through the door first. Suddenly from behind she heard a small shriek! Turning around quickly she saw the cause, just as it was happening. Sadie''s foot had caught on a floorboard that wasn''t level with the rest. Her arms flew up as she fell forward and thennded t on to her stomach. Just like a character in a cartoon. Her envelope skittered along the ground and stopped when it hit the back of Lisa''s boot. Lisa sighed inwardly to herself. "Now I am starting to see why Jackson sent you." Chapter 43: Hate Chapter 43: Hate "Did we get all the data we needed from the fight?" Special Officer Hawkins called out to everyone working in the headquarters. "Yes Sir." Second Lieutenant Caswell said. "We got everything from her facial features and voice recognition. We also got good data on her fighting skills. In my opinion I think she actually is a Queen type soldier. Though she hid it well, there were still moments where her technique was simr to what we have on file." "Excellent work everyone." Hawkins said to everyone in the room. Then he turned to the Fly Drones Intelligence Operator (IO), Gill, who was still monitoring the Queen. "Corporal, keep that Drone on her location at all times. We need to figure out what her goals are here in this area." IO Corporal Gill saluted while one hand still remained on the controls to keep the Drone positioned on the hallway wall, just outside of Jackson''s office. Keeping control of the drone was not as easy as one might think. Auto pilot and auto-tracking capabilities were designed into all the military drones, however, inside an unmapped building every movement needed to be manually preformed. If he wasn''t careful, Gill could crash the drone or cause it to be discovered. Getting a recement from Astra Aeronautical Industry (AAI) or home base was not going to be cheap or easy, so caution was paramount. The Queen was just about to enter the office and when the guards opened the door for her, Gill flew right on in undetected just moments before the door whooshed closed. The Drone was still having trouble transmitting sound and the conversation between Jackson and Queen was very broken up. Hawkins and Caswell stood right behind the Corporal watching everything unfold on the drones holo-disy screen. Hawkins already knew who Jackson was, but hadn''t picked him as a traitor to his boss. From what he was able to hear, his spection was correct, and Jackson was still loyal. It was then Sadie appeared that his concerns grew. "Hey, who''s she?" Hawkins asked pointing at her on screen. "Someone try to get an ID on her." "Sir, I ran a facial matching program and she''s a Match Fighter Association manager. She''s been assigned to this region." One of the soldiers called out from two desks away. "The MFA? Why on earth would a Queen type soldier be joining such a group in this area?" Hawkins thought aloud. "Perhaps she is trying to get in contact with someone in the Association?" Caswell suggested. "Perhaps a supporter to the cyborg soldiers cause? Queen here could be acting as a contact for them." "Perhaps." Hawkins said tapping his chin. Then speaking loud enough for all present to here, he said, "Anyhow, get this information to the Commander and continue monitoring her location and anyone she contacts. Understood?" "Understood, sir!" Everyone chanted in reply. n and Darius''s eyes were locked in on each other, neither man wavering. Nothing going on around them could possibly distract them from their inevitable fight. Men from both sides screamed vicious war cry''s, weapons shed violently, and blood was spilled onto the cracked pavement. The once quiet city street was now dotted with wounded and dying body''s as the fight shifted closer towards the direction of the Skulls main camp. n and Darius were now left alone on this death strewn street. "Are you ready to have another hole in your gut?" n smirked while brandishing his weapon, a firefighters tactical hammer. It was a meter long in length, with a 3-kilogram hammer head, a crowbar pry on its end, and a thick sharp hook sprouting from behind the hammer head. A useful tool for a firefighter, but a nasty weapon in n, the Bone yer''s, skillful hands. Darius sneered back at n. "You got lucky that time. I won''t ever turn my back to you again!" Darius raised up one of his own weapon''s as he spoke. It was a divers harpoon. A very unique weapon to be found in the dry deserts southern region below Salt Lake City. Like birds of prey the two eyed each other, looking for any opening or weaknesses. They were apparently evenly matched. Simultaneously they lunged out at each other, weapons swinging with every intention of killing. The sh of metal on metal rang out loudly over the noise of the nearby fading gang battle. Breaking apart, the two stabbed and shed at each other, yet neither of them couldnd a blow. Agilely they kept enough distance from one another to dodge the attacks, all the while dishing out their own. The sounds of their furious foot work, scrapping on the pavement, sounded like a woodworker sanding. Adding all the more proof to the skills they both possessed. They battled tirelessly for nearly five minutes. Both were sweating heavily now, despite the cool weather and breathing heavily, though neither we close to being tired. Then unable to make any progress, n switched up his attacks. He abruptly came in close to Darius and grabbed his shirt with his free hand. Then n swung Darius sideways at an awkward angle. Darius staggered slightly off bnce and was regaining his bnce when his leg hit a body lying on the road. Darius tumbled backwards onto the ground and n was immediately bearing down on top of him. Holding his hammer high above him with both hands, n sent it crashing down aiming Darius''s head. At thest possible second Darius flicked his head to one side and the hammers head buried deep into the pavement. Then instinctively Darius kicked up at n''s middle, catching him in the ribs. n let go of his weapon and stepped back, slightly winded. With an athletic disy, Darius jumped up off from his back and took a stab at n. The harpoon nearly skewered n, but he pushed out his hand just in time to deflect it! The harpoon cut a deep gash into n''s side. Blood immediately rushed down his side and soaked into his jeans. Darius tried his attack again, this time swinging at the defenseless n. n jumped back while attempting to hold a hand over the wound. He then turned to run towards the ongoing battle behind them in the street. "Get back here coward!" Darius yelled giving chase. An adrenaline-fueled smile was stered on his face. His revenge was so close now. One year ago, Darius and some others were on border patrol along the river area. They were making sure that there were no Skull members trying to steal cargo from merchants that they were trading with. The situation was rather rxed and there were no signs of danger. Then casually walking down the roads center came a huge Skull gangster. He was by himself and had nonchntly draped his weapon over one shoulder. The gangster was n, though at the time the two didn''t know each other. Darius pointed his harpoon at this unwee gangster. "Stop right there, Skull scum." At the sound of his call, the other Mad Dogs with him also approached with weapons ready. "Oh, my bad." n said holding up one hand defensively. "It seems that I have turned the wrong way. Who are you guys?" "I am Darius, a Second Lieutenant of the Mad Dogs. I see your face paint, youre a Skull member." Darius said gruffly. "Go away now or suffer the consequences." "Oh, don''t worry, I''ll leave." n said taking another step forward. "It''s just that I need that cargo on the boat behind you. You see it, came to the wrong dock. I am here to get it back." "Not on your life. Skull freak!" One of the men with Darius shouted and charged at n. n seemed to have been anticipating this and a wide grin crinkled the skull painted on his face. He took his weapon off his shoulder and quickly swung it behind him. Then giving one massive strike sent the hammer flying into the charging mans chest. The sound of his sternum cracking was like the sound of a bag of chips getting stepped on. The force of the impact sent the man tumbling past Darius. Darius was shocked upon seeing the sudden turn of events. He turned around and knelt to see if the man was alive. That was his mistake. n leapt foreword and used the t crowbar end to stab Darius right through the back and out his stomach. Darius gasped stunned by the indescribable feeling of the metal weapon prating him. n yanked the weapon out of him to defend from the other remaining gangsters attacks. Thest thing Darius could recall was rolling over to see the rest of hispanions dying at n hand. Blood pooled around the wound in his own gut as n looked down at the dying man. n sighed. "That''s what you get for turning your back on the Bone yer." He said while stepped over Darius''s body. That''s when Darius cked out. Yet he had survived and now he had the advantage! Darius''s ever-growing hate had helped him ovee his death and had brought him here to kill this Bone yer. n had mingled into the fight, outpacing Dariuss pursuit. A few Mad Dogs had tried attacking n, only to be countered by n''s raw power and speed. He managed to grab a chunk of rebar from some rubble. He turned to see Darius knocking aside one of his own men as he pursued him. n let out a roar and started viciously swinging at Darius with the rebar. The ferocity of the attack cause Darius to retreat backwards through the fight. Seeing the two leaders fighting in such a vigorous manner and that n was seemingly now wining, fueled the men on the Skulls side. Their leader wasn''t finished yet and so neither were they! Darius was pushed back out into the street center and pressed back past were n''s hammer was still stuck in the pavement. n kicked Darius in the shin and then chucked the rebar at his head. Darius swerved awkwardly to avoid the attack as he was hopping backwards in pain on one foot. Just at that moment, n effortlessly was able to wrench his hammer out of the pavement. Now they were evenly matched once again. Seeing the massive battle taking ce in the center street, Hugo knew this was the decisive fight. He waved at his other men waiting in the left street, signaling that they were to attack. He then yelled out to the men nearby with him. "Now is the time to show these Skulls how brainless their attack was. Charge!" The tworge forces converged on the ongoing battle. The Skulls forces were hopelessly outnumbered now, three to one. They struggled to regroup and retreat back towards the building that they used for camp. The Skull forces were now almost half gone. n seeing this development and growing plight was forced to break away from Darius and he tried to escape with his men. Yet Darius wasn''t about to let him go that easily! Every step n took back was met with a heavy-handed strike from Darius''s harpoon. Things were bad. Really bad. It seemed that the Skull forces were done for. Then from down one of the streets came a distance mor of voices yelling. n spared a nce in the sounds direction. He let out a holler of excitement. "Hold on boys, help is on the way! This fight is just getting good now! For the Skull!" Chapter 44: Draw Chapter 44: Draw "For the Skull!" The Skull gangsters shouted back in reply to ns rally cry. The Skull gangsters had by now retreated into their former campsite and could now funnel the attacking Mad Dogs into one spot. The copsed portion of the wall was the only entrance to the camp on this side of the street. So, they were able to fend off the huge numbers of the Mad Dogs gangsters by forcing the fight between this gap. All they needed to do was hold on until help could arrive. n was at the front of the hole fighting alongside with several of his men, while fending off Darius and a dozen other Mad Dogs. Everyone else that had made it inside were gasping for breath and recovering their strength. Every time a Skull defending the gap was injured or appeared to be weakening, they would fall back inside, and another would gantly take his ce. n, however, was an exception. If he left the front Darius would inevitably break through the tiring defensive line. So even though wounded and slowly losing his strength, he had to battle on. The Skull gangsters battled on with fire in their eyes on either side of n. It seemed that no matter how many Mad Dogs they hit or wounded, could ever stop them. They just kepting. From the right side of the street the barbaric yells grew louder. The Mad Dogs were ready and waiting for these new attackers. They had split their forces in two at Hugo''smand and had formed a defensive line in the street. Meanwhile, the remainder kept attacking n''s forces. The footsteps pounding on the road from the newly arriving Skull forces were felt by all, and feeling it, n felt a surge of hope. Stealing a nce, n saw what happened next. Men and weapons rang out as the new Skull reinforcements collided violently with therge Mad Dogs defending force. The result was like an ocean wave crashing on a jetty. At first the initial impact of the charging Skull gangsters forced the defensive line back several steps. At the center of it all, it seemed as if the attackers had broken through. However, the sheer numbers of the Mad Dogs quickly forced the Skull reinforcements toe to a halt. A gridlock battle now ensued as the Mad Dogs fought now on two fronts. Grabbing a jabbing spear and flinging it and owner away, n was able to catch a quick nce at the one leading the reinforcements. It was Steel Fist. His outrageously tall body appeared to be wading into the people swarming near him. In his hand he carried the most insane handheld weapon anyone could imagine, a huge club made out of the top of a curved streetlight pole! Nearly all the downtown streets were lined with such polls and if the one he held broke; Steel Fist would simply uproot another to rece it. The monster of a man was practically unstoppable. No one was ever able to block such an oundish attack. The Mad Dogs tried keeping their distance as best as they could, but a few unlucky souls had already been crushed. Laughing with bloodlust in his eyes, Steel Fist was able to clear out a path towards n''s campsite for his own men to move in. He used the light pole to easily push away Mad Dog gangsters like a scythe would cut wheat. The newly arrived Skull forces were able to provide temporary relief to their exhausted allies. "Quickly, get all the wounded out of here and cover their retreat to our base!" n yelled to Steel Fist as he locked weapons with Darius once again. "Don''t think that you can escape me, Bone yer!" Darius yelled into n''s face. Though the situation had now changed for the worse, he was not about to throw in the towel just yet. "You are starting to get on my nerves." n growled turning his attention back on his opponent. "Ha-ha, keep talking tough! You''ll soon be rotting on the sidewalks soon enough!" Darius said applying double the amount of pressure to his harpoon. At this point most of n''s men had already started to escape from the building and were jogging slowly away from the battle. Some however, didn''t retreat but stayed to continue fighting. Steel Fists forces were norger than n''s had been at the beginning of the battle. The fifty or so new fighters couldn''t hold off the Mad Dogs for long in this wide city street. n knew he had to change the flow of this battle. He could hear Hugo calling out orders to focus on the new arrivals, and it was now or never. The only thing he could think of was to separate Darius from the rest of his men and settle the score. He leaned back slightly from the pressure Darius was putting on him. Then giving a sharp twist, he used Darius''s momentum to cause him to fall forward. Darius stumbled past him through the gap and into the building. n called out once more to his men that had stayed to fight. "Join up with Steel Fist and fight there. I''ll be back soon!" The men heeded hismand and started to move in that direction. The attacks from the Mad Dogs were exceedingly difficult to defend from, making any movement risky. The battle, once again, shifted away from n and Darius''s position in the building. n quickly turned to follow Darius. Darius had just gotten his footing and was already waiting for him in the middle of the room, harpoon in hand. Looking past n, Darius noted that the battle was moving away. "Well now, Bone yer, it''s just you and me now. Time to end this." At these words he reached behind his back and grabbed the handle of a weapon sheathed under his belt. The weapon contributed to his name, Hacksaw. The hacksaws de had been modified to where the de was now five times the original width of a normal de. Something like this could rip through flesh and bone easily and must not be underestimated. n smiled gripping the handle of his tactical hammer. "There it is. Finally, you''re taking this fight more seriously. I was wondering if you still could make me excited!" Darius sneered and jabbed out with his harpoon. The weapon glinted in the noon light that spilled into the room. Like a silver bullet, the light shot into n''s eyes for just a brief second. The suddenness of the light made him hesitate and step back. If he hadn''t, the harpoon would have torn off his left arm entirely! The sharp edge of the harpoon de neatly carved off a chunk of n''s shoulder muscle. n let out a yell of anger and pain. Hearing it, Darius grinned and let out augh. He then shed viciously with his hacksaw in a furry of strikes. n raised his hammer in an attempt to block the saws de. The de pinged and sparks flew in every direction with each repeated hit. n was forced to retreat backwards to the far end of the room. He was cornered now and couldn''t keep his footing while taking the heavy-handed blows. His ankle rolled awkwardly on some broken flooring and he lowered his hammer for a brief moment. Seeing it, Darius went tond a decisive blow with his harpoon aimed for n''s head! Yet n was far from finished! Using the hooked end of his hammer, he somehow caught the blow as he desperately tried to regain his footing. Darius then shed at n middle with the hacksaw, attempting to gut him. n, however had recovered and neatly stepped to the side causing the attack to cut only air. n then twisted his hammer to the left and struck the back of Darius''s hand. Which sent the hacksaw ttering across the floor and out of reach. Darius snarled and swiped again at n, swinging out with the harpoon. Unfortunately, the harpoon he was stuck into the nearby wall, throwing off the attack. All that resulted from his actions was wooden splinters being tossed all around as the harpoon waspletely stopped. At this chance to create some distance, n stepped back and into the entrance of the stairwell going to the second floor. "That''s the spirit!" n retorted. He ced a hand on his wounded shoulder. Then looked at the deep red blood covering his hand. "Now we are even. I wounded you, you wounded me back. Now we can let the real fight start!" "Shut up!" Darius yelled. He then yanked angrily at his harpoon, fully freeing it from the wall and sending dust and splinters flying everywhere. Taking some heavy breaths, Darius dashed backwards and scooped up his hacksaw. Twirling around he faced n, who was waiting at the foot of the stairs. Darius then charged at n, jabbing at him again full of furry. "Just die!" n merely stepped up the stairs avoiding the strike. The confined space of the staircase limited the attacks of both men. Darius attacked solely with his hacksaw and n could only block with therge hammer. They battled heatedly up the confined stairs, causing no real damage to each other. Only upon reaching the top was n able to suddenly turn the tide of the fight. As he had reached the top first, n was able to attack properly in the open space of the room. He first made a heavy blow, swinging downward at Darius''s head with the hook end of the tactical hammer. Darius raised the harpoon up just in time and caught the blow. He was then nearly dropped to one knee upon absorbing the impact. Jerking backwards, n snagged the hook onto the harpoons handle and pulled hard. The action almost tore the weapon from Darius''s hand. Yet he stubbornly held on and was instead sent stumbling into the room. n didn''t give him a chance to recover. Swinging sideways with a wide golf swing like arc, n''s hammer smashed into Darius''s shoulder. The impact crushed his bone, like a twig getting stepped on by a bull. The impact also sent Darius''s body rolling across the rotting hardwood flooring, beforeing to a stop. He had stopped right in front of arge window overlooking the road below. Darius let out a moaning gasp and red angrily upwards at n, though has was unable to get up from the pain. "It''s been fun." n said resting the hammer on his good shoulder. "But I can''t y around too long. My men are going to get to far away." The sound of the battle was now getting much further away now. n could tell that the Skull were sessfully retreating back to their territory. From his vantage point, n could see that his sides numbers had increased. Apparently, a third Skull force had thankfully joined up in the fight. Darius struggled to push himself up with his good arm. The other was smashed so badly, it looked like only the skin was holding it together. Darius gritted his teeth while speaking, "It''s not over yet!" "Ah, yes, it is." n correcteding even closer. Darius shakily stood up to face him head on. Despite his crushed arm, Darius had managed to still grip the hacksaw and with the other he held the harpoon. He desperately stabbed upwards at n to skewer him. However, n was to close now and simply deflected the weak attack with his hammer aside. Then n nted his foot into Darius''s chest, kicking him backwards. Darius went flying out of the window, shattering what remaining ss there was and went tumbling to the ground! Fortunately, a car was parked below, and hended on the cab, bounced hard and copsed to the ground. n stood in the broken window and looked at the crumpled body below. He started tough. "Ha-ha, revenge? Kill me? You are going to have to try much better than that!" n stepped off the window ledge and jumped to the ground. Landing lightly on the sidewalk, n tossed his hammer onto his good shoulder and started walking towards the receding battle. Just as he did, he heard a weak cough. ncing behind him, n saw Darius was turning his head to speak at him while still lying on the concrete. "Youre still alive?" n said indifferently. He took a few steps towards Darius''s destroyed body. Then n knelt to hear what Darius was attempting to say. Darius spoke weakly as small trickle of blood wasing from the corner of his mouth as he spoke. "At least I nearly killed you" n started tough again as he stood up to leave again. "No, not at all. I didn''t even need to use my Inducement! If you live, you better fight me so well that you force me to use my Inducement. Otherwise, you can just die quietly now." With saying that he left, leaving Darius to bleed out. Alone. Chapter 45: Struggle Chapter 45: Struggle Hanna couldn''t stand staying in the house for one more second. Sure, the Weathers couple were taking very good care of her, but she had yet to get over the feeling of anger and sadness of her parents death. The gaping hole in her soul seemed to be sinking endlessly and it was as if reaching the bottom would never happen. She probably never would. Her father and mother''s killers were still out there. Alive,ughing, without a care in the world. Clutching her fist over this hole over her heart, Hanna grimaced. "Why should they get away with it?!" Hanna seethed to herself. "It''s just not fair!" She had been washing some dishes, as a chore, while she was thinking about those men. Their faces, their voices, everything about them; had now been engraved into her memory. Aunt Lisa had told her that she was weak and too small to be a fighter. Hanna knew Lisa wasn''t wrong, but it made her feel unsatisfied. There had to be something she could do! "What good is gathering intelligence if I can''t do anything with it?" She thought glumly. "Hanna dear?" Mrs. Mary Weathers called from the next room. "Are you nearly done yet?" "Almost!" Hanna called back. She then grudgingly focused her attention back at the task before her. After a few minutes all the dishes were washed, dried and put away. Draping the drying towel over the door handle to the oven, she turned on her heels to leave the kitchen. Stepping absentmindedly into the hallway, she nearly bumped into Mr. John. "Oops, sorry!" Hanna squeaked abruptly. "Careful now." John chided patting her on the head. "Where are you rushing off too?" He asked sidestepping Hanna and continuing towards the living room. "Nowhere. I just finished the dishes." Hanna said sounding slightly bored. She followed after John and her footsteps were silently muffled, by her purple shin high socks, on the wood floor. Entering the homely living room Hanna than asked, "What are you going to do? Are you already done with the garden work?" "Richard and I did enough for the moment. I swear the weeds grow faster than we can pull them." John replied with a huff as he sat down on the couch and then gave an exhausted sigh. Hanna leaned against themp stand with one hand and the other on her hip, as she listened to John talk. "As for where I am going next. Well, that''s a secret." John leaned over to the small table and picked up the case that held his pistol. It had a number lock on it. He fiddled with it and got the rightbination in seconds. Unbeknownst to him, Hanna was watching the whole time. Though she didn''t entirely understand what Aunt Lisa meant by gathering intelligence, but she knew well enough that it had to be about learning things she didn''t know about before. This was one such thing. Thebination that John used. If she learned enough about the gangsters, like where they were, then she needed a weapon. They couldn''t get away with what they had done! Though what she intended to do with a gun, she herself didnt know either. "Awe, can''t you tell me?" Hanna said after seeing thebination. She needed to pretend she wasn''t watching him. "Sorry, I shouldn''t. Mary wouldn''t want you to worry about such things. Just go outside and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. I had seen a lot of the neighborhood kids ying by the stream. Why don''t you go there? I bet they miss you." John said tucking the pistol away in the back of his pants. He adjusted the guns holster and naturally covered it with his shirt. "Ok." Hanna replied giving a nod. "I have had been away for a while." "That a girl." John said getting up from the couch. John and Hanna then headed together for the front door and get on their shoes. John was the first to finish and opened the door. Only to find that Joan was just nowing back home with dinner supplies. Mary had already left the house to help her carry some of it not long ago. The twodies were still on the road headed for Joan''s kitchen garage when John called to them. "Mary, Joan. I''m headed off to do some errands. I might bete for dinner, so save me some." He called out while walking outside and onto the sidewalk. "Ok honey." Mary called back and she adjusted the bag she had in her arms. "Be safe out there!" "I will." John said and he headed off down toward the main road. Hanna, at that moment, closed the door behind her and headed over to join the twodies. She then nicely asked, Mrs. Mary, can I go y with the other kids by the stream? Mr. John said I could." "Why sure. That''s a great idea. Just make sure when the sun gets to the mountain top youe straight home." Mary said giving a cheery smile. "I know. Thanks." Hanna said as she turned to leave going towards the direction of the stream, soon speeding up into a jog. The twodies watched her go. Mary the spoke while shaking her head in outward though, "I am so d that she''s finally getting more active. Ever since Lisa brought her back, all she has done isy around all depressed. I hope she''s coping properly from her parents death. "I hope so too." Joan replied. "God, how I miss them. I still cannot believe that they were killed by the gangsters like that!" "The whole world has gone to ruins. Nothing ever is peaceful anymore." Mary said despairingly while giving a heavy sad sigh. "Whelp, these veggies won''t cook themselves. Let''s get cooking." Joan said continuing towards her garage. Mary nodded and followed after her. She gave onest concerned nce at Hanna, just before she disappeared around the back of Benny''s house. Then murmuring to herself, Mary said, "I hope you keep staying innocent and grow up like your parents wished." Hanna was now running along the back of the houses in the neighborhood. Behind her was her own street, on her left was a long wooden fence of the backs of all the other house and on her right was a deep ditch. The ditch was well overgrown with tall raggedy weeds and young budding saplings. There was a thin, muddy trail of water at its center poking out asionally from the overbearing leaves. All the ditches in this neighborhood flowed into onerge stream, that eventually dumped into the river. Part way down thatrge steam was where she was headed. Hanna ran along a well walked gravely path, that had no grass growing on it. Mainly because many people used this route as a shortcut to the rest of the neighborhood. Once she got to the end of the ditch and fence, the path took a left towards the market area of the town. However, Hanna ran right towards the creek and the path thinned out considerably. On the far side of the creek was another neighborhood. If she had continued to follow this path left, Hanna would havee to a road that bridges over the creek, which connected to a neighboring neighborhood. Hanna carefully walked down the sandy rock slope into the ditch and once reaching the bottom, she jumped across. Her left foot didn''t quite make it across the dirty water of the ditch and sshed some muddled water on her pants leg. She didn''t pay it any attention and continued on. It would soon dry off anyway. Ahead, after going across two more smaller ditches, was where the neighborhood kids congregated. Over time the local children had built up a makeshift base on either side of this ditch. They used logs, t rocks, mud and fence parts that had been washed up around this area as the materials to make this base. The boys were ultimately the ones who mainly yed in these bases. ying pretend battles and fighting hordes of aliens attacking the world or other such fantasies. Whereas the girls mainly hung out under arge oak tree growing right next to the stream. There was also a massive por tree trunk that had washed ashore after a storm and they would rx there under the oaks shade as they watched the boys and others y. This wasn''t all they did though, they had their own ways to have fun. One of the older girls had discovered an old book exining how to y the game, Marbles. As there wasn''t much else to do, the games poprity rose very quickly among the girls. Instead of actual marbles the girls substituted rounded rocks and metal nuts to y. The boys thought it boring and usually left them alone whenever they yed. However, that didn''t bother the girls one bit. Just as Hanna had expected, when she arrived a dozen boys were throwing sticks and things at each other. Howling withughter. Three younger tomboyish girls were also mixed in with them and enjoying the banter. As for the rest of the girls, they were all gathered in one big circle around the area where the marble arena had been made. They were cheering and chattering lively. It seemed that the game was at a good point. It was one of Hanna''s close friends that spotted her arrival first. "Hanna!" ir yelled excitedly and jumped up from the big por log. Several of the other girls turned away from the game to see her. "You''re finally back. Where have you been?" Hanna slowed her run once she reached the oak trees shade and walked towards ir. "It''s a long story." Hanna answered breathing heavily from running. The two hugged and a few other girls excitedly came over. "We have time. Tell us!" Another girl with bouncy brown curls saiding in close to give Hanna a hardy squeeze. Her name was Rachel. Hanna sighed and started to tell her heartfelt story. There were several times she and some of the girls, started to cry hearing the horrid tail. By the end of Hanna''s story not a single girl was ying marbles anymore. They were all shocked hearing what Hanna had gone through. News like this was very umon in this small town. "Those horrible jerks!" ir yelled as she wiped away some tears. "I hope they die in a ditch somewhere! Your mom was always so nice to me every time I came over." "Me too." A bright blond girl named Jillian said pipping in. Several other girls chimed in voicing their opinions and encouragements to Hanna. It wasn''t long before the boys ying nearby noticed themotion. "What are y''all talking about? Bet it''s something stupid." A chubby boy with freckles called out. His name was Chase. Everyone though he was annoying, but never told him outright. "We are talking about how dumb and cruel the gangsters are." Rachel called back. This caught some of the others attention. They stopped ying and came over to join the girls under the oak trees shade. Then one of the taller boys, Derrick, replied first. "Hey, my older brother did some work for them. He told me some stuff about them." Hanna perked up hearing this. Suppressing her emotions, she asked, "What kind of stuff?" Derrick sat down on the scraggly grass and started to talk. "My brother said that he helped carry supplies from the docks to a big metal walled of area in the north of town. They didn''t let him in, but he saw through the gate. He said there was a bunch of nice stuff inside." "Oh, what kind of stuff?" Chase butted in. The conversation drifted on, but Hanna wasn''t paying attention. She was only considering the news she just heard. The gang was living in the north, in a walled off area. Everything else Derrick was saying was just his brothers own spection and wasn''t all that helpful for her. Several other boys and girls gave their opinions and wild tails about the gang. Then interrupting whoever was speaking, Hanna blurted out. "Hey, who wants to go see this wall? What if your brother was making it up?" "My brothers not lying!" Derrick retorted. "Fine, prove it! Let all go together to take a look at the gangsters hideout!" Hanna announced causing everyone to look at her in surprise. Chapter 46: Friends Chapter 46: Friends "Hanna are you crazy?" ir said putting a hand on Hanna''s shoulder. "They killed your parents and tried to kill you! Now you want to go to their hideout?!" Several others voiced their agreement with ir. It sounded like Hanna had a death wish. Hanna herself knew it was probably a bad idea, but that wasn''t enough to stop her. "I know it''s crazy, but I have to do this." Hanna retorted. Then she spoke with a bit of anger in her voice. "They should not be allowed to get away with what they did. What if they want to do the same to you or your parents? We have to spy on them to warn the grownups!" "Hanna''s right." Chad replied. "Justst week they stole some food right out of my grandmas hands." Rachel joined in. "My older sister works at a bar and she says that the gangsters are always harassing her. They are all around jerks!" "I guess it wouldn''t hurt to just take a look" Derrick said nodding in thought. "My brother did say they were mean dudes." "I guess it''s settled then." Hanna said getting up from the tree trunk. "Let''s go check out their base!" Several other of the children present voiced their enthusiasm and got up to follow Hanna. A few of the younger girls didn''t seem quite as willing and slinked away to go back to ying marbles. The younger boys, however, could hardly control their excitement and ran around hooting and hollering, like uncontroble idiots that little boys often be. Hanna was quite taken back by the overreaction of the neighborhood kids. She didn''t exactly expect nearly everyone might want to go. Being one of the eldest of the children, ir was not going to just let this slide. She was the voice of reason for these unruly kids. Putting both hands above her, she shouted, "Hold on you guys!" A few of the children nced at her and stopped what they were doing. They knew better than to ignore ir when she got mad. There were several times ir had gotten them into trouble with their parents for doing dangerous stuff. Though ir was a bit authoritative, they did respect her. "We all can''t go. Even if we did, we should not go." ir said with a serious expression. She nced around at everyone and continued, "The gangsters are dangerous! Who knows what they might do to us if we get caught?" "ir, youre such a party pooper." Sid said giving a smirk. He was an eleven-year-old ginger haired kid and was always arguing with ir in one form or another. "If they want to go, let them. You are not the boss of us." "ir is partly right though." Derrick said putting a hand on Sid''s head. "You little kids should stay here." "Awe,e on." Sid and all of the younger kids cried out in unison. "We wanna go!" "Even if you could, it''s a long way across town." Derrick continued. "You all would get to tired out before we made it there." His remarks didn''t soothe over the kids though and they continued to protest. Derrick ended up having to deal with a flood of questions and arguments for the newly formed child mob. While Derrick was trying to convince them, ir pulled Hanna aside. "What has gotten into you?" ir said looking Hanna in her dull green eyes. "I know your mad and rightly so, but you can''t go off after those guys. You''re too little to fight them!" "I know I''m little." Hanna mumbled. "But I cannot just let them get away from me either. ir, they killed my parents! If there is something that I can do against them, I need to find out what that is." The look in Hanna''s eyes was like nothing ir had seen in the little girl before. Hanna, her childhood friend, had changed. A cold, unsettling feeling crept into ir''s heart. However, Hanna was her friend, and she couldn''t just ignore her. "F-fine. We can go and only just ''look'' at their base." ir finally caved in after giving a second to think. "But we will only look. If you or the others try to go in or there is danger, I am going to drag you all away myself!" Hanna gave a smile and victoriously gave a calm reply, "Don''t worry ir. Everything is going to be fine." Derrick somehow convinced most of the kids to stay here. He told them that while the big kids were gone, they would be in charge of the y area and could make their own rules. The offer seemed to do the trick and the little kids scampered off to start some new bazar game. In the end there were only twelve of the older kids that wanted to go. Hanna, ir, Rachel, Jillian, and another girl named Tilly were all the girls that wanted to go. Derrick and Chase were the first of the boys to volunteer to go. Then with nearly no persuasion the five oldest boys also agreed to go. They wanted to check out the Mad Dogs base and finally now had an excuse. Though they disliked what the gang did to Hanna, they still thought them cool. Their names were Bill, Henry, Sorra, Malik and Fred. It wasn''t long before this rag tag group was already leaving the kids base and headed into the town. Lisa and Sadie were headed back towards the Mad Dogs base after leaving the Ragged gon. Sadie was pouting the whole way back. She feltpletely embarrassed and crestfallen. "All I did was make a fool of myself." Sadie moaned to herself. "I am such a screw up! I bet Lisa feels like I am going to be some kind of burden to her now." "So, Sadie?" Lisa said interrupting Sadie''s thoughts. "What are you going to bring back to my ce? I really don''t have that much room and it''s not all that nice orfortable." "I was just thinking about just my cloths and essentials." Sadie answered giving a shrug. "Why? Is there anything I need to bring specifically?" "Well, for starters, you won''t have a ce to sleep. You got a bed I could carry or something?" Lisa asked. "Carry my bed?" Sadie said a bit surprised. She looked at Lisa questionably, but Lisa appearedpletely serious. "I know you are strong, but is that really necessary?" "Unless you want to sleep on some metal floor, then yes." Lisa replied. "I mean if you want to carry my whole bed you could. But I don''t think I am aloud to take my bed away from thepound." Sadie said still sounding a bit confused by what Lisa was telling her. "Don''t you live in a house or a hotel?" "No. That''s also one of the conditions you''ll need to follow. Lisa replied with a strict tone. You can''t tell anyone where my ce is. Too anyone, ever." "That''s fine. I promise." Sadie replied quickly. She needn''t give Lisa anymore reason to dislike her. At this time, they arrived back at the gate to the gangspound. Sadie pulled out from under her burgundy colored shirt cor an ID card. The gangsters nced at it and opened the door. They eyed Lisa skeptically, but didn''t say anything as she followed Sadie inside. Even though Lisa had juste and gone from the gate, it wasn''t like they trusted her just yet. Upon reaching halfway to the three main buildings, Sadie had exined to Lisa that they would split up here and meet upter. Sadie mentioned that she didn''t have that much to pack up and the residential area was off limits to outsiders anyway. They decided to meet up outside the Arena''s entrance in two hours. At first Lisa, walked around the nice garden and fountain area wondering how and why the gang built this. But she couldn''t think of anything think usible. Though she suspected that the gang wanted the area to look presentable to thoseing in from the outside. Seeing that there wasn''t much anything else for her to do, Lisa headed right for the sketchy modern market inside the Warehouse''s entrance. She had been far too curious about it the moment sheid eyes on it. The prospects of possibly making money here drove her to explore. Once inside she first just surveyed the people. Just like before, they all seemed entirely out of ce. They were all way to well-dressed to be in this half dead town in the middle of seemingly nowhere. The rich were definitely their own kind of breed and it seemed dressing like an entric person was a requirement. Many of the patrons and buyers were waring ballroom masks to hide their identity, making it look like she was at some party rather than a market. "These guys have to be doing something illegal." Lisa thought to herself. "These types wouldn''t be here otherwise." Walking slowly through the market, she looked at the items on disy either on tables or in blue holographic disys. Like before most items were simple trade materials, but as she looked closer, Lisa realized something odd about the items for sale. The items were far too few in quantity. For example, paper; there would only be a stack of nk paper on a merchants table. If someone bought the stack the merchant would take the paper off the table, then hand the buyer an extremely thin tablet like device. The devise was a razor thin technological marvel. She had seen one person almost roll the tablet into aplete cone and yet it still functioned! How it was so flexible and thin, Lisa had yet to find out. Taking a sly peek at the paper buyers device, Lisa saw that the transaction price was astronomical! The in stack of paper on the table was sold for nearly two million dors! Taking a harder look, while still trying to not appear suspicious, Lisa skimmed the words of the deal on disy. As it turned out, the paper was ultimately symbolic. The buyer had in reality just bought a paper mill factory! Looking around the crowded room, Lisa realized that all the items here actually represented entirepanies or industries. Normally to purchase such things you would have to go through huge legal steps, conditions, contracts and even government permits to buy them. But here, just with a few electronic signatures and money transferpletions, it was done in minutes. This was a ck Market Hub for illegal business purchasing. This was the kind of ce she needed to find. Being a wanted woman, dealing in the legal market was out of the question. Lisa was excited about her new discovery and wanted to learn more, when she was suddenly approached by two men in matching ck uniforms. "Excuse me miss." One of them said. "Are you here under any circumstance to buy these items? Do you have an invitation?" "Umm, well not exactly." Lisa replied slowly. "I was just looking around. I am actually a Match Fighter, Queen. You might have heard about my fight earlier today?" The two nced at each other. "Come with us please." The other said motioning towards the back of the market. "This will only take a moment of your time." Not wanting to cause trouble just yet, nor did she have any reason to, Lisa started towards the indicated area nked by the two uniformed men. As they walked, Lisa noticed for the first time that there was arge ss walled off area with a dozen or so people working inside. They were all sitting around starring at hundreds of security camera footage. Four more men were monitoring the others and walking slowly around carrying radios; only stopping asionally to speak on the radio. Lisa and the two guards walked past the ss security zone and came up to a man that looked like he was some important figure, based on his well-dressed apparel. There were security guards on either side of him as he, himself, was watching the security cameras on his own TV. He was flipping through the different channels and didn''t look up from it when Lisa was brought over. "Sir, this woman iming to be a Match Fighter named Queen, was spying on our customers." One of security guards announced. "Queen?" The man murmured while looking up. "Oh, Queen. You lot can stand down. I can vouch her validity." The man spoke with a soft scratchy voice, but it had an attractive tone. Eyeing the well-dressed man carefully Lisa thought to herself, "Who is this guy? How can he vouch for me? I''ve never even seen this guy." "Sorry about this, but its standard procedure. We can''t have anyone messing with the customers. My name is Xander Moran and I am head of security around here." Xander said while leaning back in his seat. "It''s a pleasure." Lisa said giving a nod. "Why, may I ask are you vouching for me? We have never met." "Oh, you beat Owen, one of Jackson''s pets. Anyone that can mess up his ns is a friend of mine." Xander said rubbing a hand through his pail blond hair and giving a smile, the kind that most women would find quite dashing. Xander was not all that bad looking by any standard. There was something about that smile that that threw Lisa off though. It was like a smile she had seen dozens of times before on the battlefield. When making deals with terrorist groups or militia forces, they would give this same smile and then either betray your trustter on or try to kill you once your back was turned. Either way she had already formted a natural distrust of Xander from simply that smile alone. "Do you mind if we discuss something?" Xander continued. "I think you will find it quite interesting." Chapter 47: Hole in the Wall Chapter 47: Hole in the Wall "What do you have in mind?" Lisa asked. "I watched your fight earlier. You have rather decent skills and with some time I think you will be an excellent Match Fighter." Xander said standing up out of his seat. "I want to offer you a job. Working for me as a Match Fighter and Ill pay you well. I can pair you with opponents that will be easy wins, guaranteed." Lisa shed a smile. "A lucrative offer. Yet, I must decline. It''s nothing personal, but I have a policy where I work for no one. Tried it before, and it didn''t work out to well in the end." "That''s a shame." Xander said with a look of disappointment. "In that case, I would watch your step around here. Without any friends on your side it could spell trouble." Lisa cocked her head to one side. "Was that an attempt to threaten me?" Lisa asked inquisitively. "Oh, not at all." Xander said shaking his head. "Consider it a friendly tip." He then cleared his throat. "Now for the real reason you are here. Please refrain from looking at other costumers business. If word got out that we would allow someone to spy in the ''market'', it would harm our reputation. Do you understand?" "Perfectly." Lisa said with a nod. "I have no intention of disturbing things around here. In fact, I might consider making some purchases myself in the near future." "That''s good to hear. Well now that''s out of the way, you are free to go." Xander said and then he gave a nod to the guard that brought her here. "Please escort her back." "Yes boss." The security guard replied. Then Lisa and the guard turned to leave. As they walked away through the ssed-in security zone, Lisa could feel his gaze following her every move. Her suspicions about his character were now being solidified and he might be dangerous after all. After they had gotten out of hearing range, Xander called over one of the supervisors surveying the monitors. "ce that woman on the Caution List. She might be a problem." "Understood." The supervisor answered lifting up a rodlike handheld device. Then he pulled it apart into two handheld parts connected by a thin metal frame, which was no thinner than measuring tape. As he did this, a holo-projected screen suddenly appeared between the two handheld parts. The man did exactly as he was told. Selecting Lisa''s image from the security footage, he listed her as a Cautionary Personnel. "Queen, huh?" Xander mumbled to himself while sitting back into his chair. "I have my suspicion that you''re more than what meets the eye." Sadie didn''t take all that long to pack her things. Growing up her parents were Minimalists types. They prided themselves by living a lifestyle with as few personal possessions as possible and never squandering their money with trivial objects. The habits of her parents rubbed off on her and she didn''t mind it at all. By the time she was done packing, Sadie could fit all her clothing into one rolling suitcase and arge box containing her work materials. She was just leaving her old room, located in the apartments behind the Warehouse Arena, when someone unexpectedly came up to her. It was her next-door neighbor, Nicky. Sadie rolled her eyes and turned to face her. Nicky had been constantly messing with her ever since she was transferred here. Nicky had been stationed here two years longer than Sadie had been. Also, Nicky had be one of the best Managers since her dbut, further adding to Nickys haughty attitude. "Hey there Sadie." Nicky said with a smirk. "I hear you finally got a Fighter to manage. Congrattions." Then she paused and tapped her bright pink lips as if in thought. Then she gave a mockingugh. "Oh wait, your assignment is going to be off base. It''s almost as if youre getting kicked out of here. Ha-ha!" "Well, I got to start somewhere." Sadie mumbled, but Nicky heard her. "You''re a few yearste to be getting started, silly. The rest of uspetent Managers all got someone to handle right way. By the way, I looked up your school records and you barely managed to pass the course. Scoring the lowest score possible to graduate." Nicky said before breaking out into another fit ofughter. Sadie shook her head and brushed past Nicky while lugging her things. However, Nicky wasn''t done yet. Turning around to watch Sadie head for the end of the building, she continued taunting. "I bet your Fighter will see how bad you really are at your job and leave. Make sure to rmend me, ok?" Feeling upset, Sadie couldn''t help retorting. "She will do no such thing. In fact, I know she can beat anyone you manage!" Sadie then tried to leave and round the corner of the residential build. Yet her clumsiness struck again! The front edge of the box she was carrying caught the corner of the building and nearly was knocked out of her hands. Stumbling backwards awkwardly, she fumbled around trying to keep from dropping the box. Nicky busted outughing again. "Watch your step!" Sadie, once under control of the box, hurried awaypletely flustered. A tear formed in her eye, but she brushed it away. "I''ll show you that I can do my job right. Just you wait!" Sadie said resolutely to herself and hurried off to find Lisa. Hanna and the rest of her neighborhood friends were excitedly heading down the streets towards the gangsterspound. Derrick was leading the way, while the rest we''re following close behind chatting. "So, if this ''wall'' is real, what exactly are we going to do to get over it?" Rachel asked. "It is real!" Derrick called back. "We are just going to find a way to peek inside." Hanna replied ignoring Derricks remark. "That''s it?" Rachel said frowning. Just a peek? "Yep." Hanna said giving a nod. "What, did you think we were going to try and get in? Even if we could then what?" "I don''t know." Rachel said giving a shrug. "This was all your idea." "Awe, I wanted to get in there and spy on them." Chaseined. "Well we sort of are, dummy." Jillian said indignantly while tossing her curly blond hair over her shoulder. "Like Hanna told us, we''re are going to see what they are up to. If they are up to no good, which they are, then we need to tell our parents." "Exactly!" Tilly pipped in. She was like a second shadow for Jillian. Everywhere Jillian went, whatever she did, even what she thought, was copied by Tilly. "I got this Tilly." Jillian said proudly holding up a hand. "Oh, sorry." Tilly said taking a step back. "I wonder what kinds of stuff they got inside?" Sorra said thoughtfully. "I bet the area is full of cool weapons or maybe even some military robots!" Fred said excitedly from the back of the group. "I think it will look something like the Vikings book I foundst month." Henry said. "They got to have all kinds of animal bones and torches everywhere. The leaders are all covered in fur outfits and got women on leashes." "Ew! What kind of lewd book was that? There''s no way that that''s happening in our town." ir said making a disgusted face. "Come on Henry, you are smart, don''t make up something so silly." "It''s just my hypothesis" Henry said giving a shrug. "If anything, the gangsters probably look just like the ones we see in town. They hardly dress any better than us." ir continued. Then Malik spoke up. "My dad works on a transport barge and he has told me that he''s delivered some really bazar and fancy cargo to the gangsters." "Ooh, like what? Tell us!" Chase said jumping alongside Malik. Everyone else listened in curiously as they walked on. "Well, stuff like rare foods, electronics and sr panels." Malik replied in a hushed tone, as if to keep this all a secret from eavesdroppers. "Sr panels?" Hanna wondered aloud. "What could they need those for?" Then a thought struck her. "What if the gangsters have electricity!" "There''s no way." Bill, the biggest of the children, scoffed. He rarely spoke, but whenever he did the others paid attention. It was just the feeling he put out that caused him to receive natural respect. "Why not?" Hanna questioned. "If they had electricity, then people in town would see the lights at night." Bill replied. "Maybe that''s why they have this big wall then?" Derrick suggested turning around and stopping in the middle of the road to face them. Then pointing up ahead he grinned. "There it is! The Mad Dogs wall. Told you it was real." Sure enough, there indeed was a five-meter-tall wall erected at the end of the road. Its rusting metal sides, peeling paint, and sharp edges appeared quite threatening. The children stopped and hesitated, unsure where to go from here. It was Hanna that took the initiative and stepped towards the imposing structure. "Come on guys. It''s just a wall." The group started to follow her, but ir was feeling very unsure about going onward. "What if we get seen snooping around the wall? The gangsters might try to catch us. Who knows what they might do to us!" ir said sounding nervous. The other girls, besides Hanan, nodded in silent agreement. "Rx, that''s where wee in." Sorra said patting his chest. "We will keep a look out for anyone that might be a gang member." "But what if we do get caught?" Jillian asked. "Well, I guess we run?" Sorra said scratching at his scraggly ck hair. "It won''te to that though." Malik said. "We will be careful." "If you say so." Jillian replied. The group of children reached the base of the wall. Looking either way they couldn''t see the end of it or where a hole might be. "Let''s go to the right." Hanna suggested. The others didn''t disagree, and they quietly headed along the wall. As they went along it, they scanned the wall for any hole big enough to look through. Unfortunately, even though the wall had gaps in it they were unable to see anything inside. The wall appeared to have multiple weldedyers or bepacted together somehow. They continued, following the walls edge without much sess. There were sometimes that the buildings outside the wall were really close and they had to squeeze between them, making their journey not at all pleasant. After a while they started to get agitated. "This is boring." Chaseined. "Ya, we can''t find any openings. I guess we better go back. Right guys?" ir said taking a step away to show she wanted to leave. "We barely checked anything so far." Hanna said continuing to move further down the wall. "Let''s keep looking." Derrick looked up towards the mountain to check the time. "Well the sun is still pretty high up. We have time to keep looking, I guess." "Fine." ir sighed giving into their persistence. After ten more minutes of walking behind a strip mall they arrived at another road leading towards the wall. Here they found a gate guarded by the gangsters. Seeing them the children stopped and immediately hid. "Crap! The gangsters are here! We need to leave." ir said grabbing Chase and Rachel''s arms to pull them away. "ir it''s fine!" Hanna called out softly. "They aren''ting after us. Look, they are just sitting around the entrance." "But what if they suspect us?" ir said still holding onto Rachel. Chase however had already wriggled free of her grasp. "They won''t." Hanna said confidently. "Let''s just go up the road and cross over to check that side." Henry chimed in. "I agree. They don''t look like they are really worried about others being near the wall. Look." He said while pointing at two regrly dressed men leaning up against the wall casually talking. "Well that settles it. We keep going." Hanna replied turning to cross the road. The rest followed her lead, though ir grudgingly followed only to not be left alone. As they continued to crossover, they all were keeping a close eye on the gangsters. Nothing happened and invigorated by their sess, they restarted searching again for a hole. Yet only momentster they found the wall to be as boring as before. "Nothing here either." Chase said with a moan. He went to kick at a sheet of metal leaning against the wall. "Bong! Crash!" The sudden ttering noise made everyone jump. Everyone fervently nced around expecting people toe rushing to investigate, but no one ended uping. "Chase be careful! You trying to get us caught?!" ir chided angrily. Ignoring her, Chase pointed at the wall. "Look there''s a hole behind here!" "Really? Let me see." Hanna said brushing him aside. Sure enough, there was a hole a meter high and half a meter wide. It was justrge enough that they all could crawl through. The hole went out towards the left and Hanna could see a leafy bush growing on the other side. "Follow me. We can spy through here!" Hanna said dropping to her knees and started crawling into the hole. "Hanna,e back!" ir called out, but it was toote. Chase and Derrick were following right behind her. The others waited anxiously outside the hole. The remaining boys kept a lookout, while the girls peeked in at the three crawling inside. The three soon disappeared into the bush and out of sight. Momentster, Derrick reappeared grinning. "Quick, you all got to see this! It''s amazing!" Derrick said motioning for them all to hurry. "There''s room for all of us." His face was so full of excitement that everyone couldn''t help their curiosity and went into the hole. Momentster all of them were in the leafy bush. What they saw shocked them all. They never knew such a ce existed in their own town. Chapter 48: Findings Chapter 48: Findings The kids were facing the side of a massive building, bigger than any that were around their homes. In between the bush they were hidden in and the tan brick wall was a wide white bricked walkway. The walkway was lined with beautiful mountain flowers and neatly trimmed hedges. The children, having grown up in the dingy rundown town and constantly surrounded by a filthy environment, thought that they had entered into the backyard a castle from a story book. "This is not what we were expecting!" Sorra was the first to speak. "Shhhh! Not so loud!" ir hissed nervously looking around them. "No one is around here." Chase said poking his head out of the top of the bush. "Get back in here!" This time it was Derrick that pulled him back. "Look at the wall straight ahead." Chase lifted a branch up to look at the tan wall. There, halfway up, was a security camera slowly rotating to survey the grounds below. At that moment its gaze had passed right over their bush. "Oops, that was close." Chase said lowering the branch. "My bad." "Be more careful next time. You nearly got us caught!" ir said in hushed tones. "Alright we got to see inside. Now let''s go!" ir turned to go, but no one followed. They all were looking at Hanna, who had her hand raised to get their attention and the other was cupped to her ear. "Do you all hear that?" Hanna whispered. The children listened intently. There was a faint sound of people cheering and it sounded like it wasing from the big building. Hanna''s curiosity was beyond peaked and the temptation was too great. They had already gone this far, why not go even further? "Let''s go see what is going on inside!" Hanna said looking at the others with an excited gleam in her eyes. "I thought we were going to just look. ir is right, it''s too dangerous to go further." Rachel replied shaking her head. "It will only take a few minutes." Hanna persuaded. Then she pointed at a smaller building right up next to the bigger building. "See that dumpster? We can get on it, then climb onto the roof of that small building. From there we can probably peak in through that long window wrapping around the building to see what''s inside." "No." ir said tlying up next to her. "What about that camera? It''s going to spot us and then we are all in trouble." She put a hand on Hanna''s shoulder. "We got this far. Let''s go home." "My home is gone, ir." Hanna said sternly. "They took everything. I have to know what''s really going on!" ir bit her lip, unsure what to say at that moment. She cared for Hanna; she was her friend. If this would help her out, then she should help her. But it was too dangerous for kids like them to be doing stuff like this. Safety should be their priority, but the angry burning look in Hanna''s eyes was calling out for the total opposite. "We need to stay safe, Hanna." ir said quietly after a few second. "Be quick. I am going to stay here and keep watch." Hanna smiled. "Thank you." "So, I guess I''ll stay here too." Jillian said sitting down on the ground. Tilly did likewise. Looking at the others Derrick spoke. "I guess the rest of us areing with you Hanna. As soon as that camera starts to turn away from that building, let''s run for it. Before we run though, lets look both ways first and go one at a time. This way if we get found out we can hide separately in those hedges or dumpster." Everyone nodded in agreement, as it was a good n. Hanna slowly peaked out from the bush to go first. There was no one to the right, just an empty walkway that snaked away around the back of the massive building. To her left was arge fountain area. There were lots of people there, but no one was paying any attention towards this area. They were also almost fifty meters away, so as long as they stayed low the trimmed bushes would hide them easily. The camera had now started to rotate away, and Hanna made a break for it. She dashed forwards, while bending low and made it to the first row of shrubs. Then looking both ways she jumped up and ran to the dumpster. Sliding behind it, she was able to avoid being spotted by the camera when it rotated back. The camera was much slower than the children expected, and the n was looking rather doable now. Seeing her sess, the others followed her route. After a few moments they all were across and not a single rm was sounded. "I don''t think that the camera will see us up there." Hanna said to the others. "I have been watching it and the small buildings roof is too high up." "I hope so." Henry said catching his breath, as he was thest to cross over. As soon as the camera had turned away again, they all came out of cover and scrambled onto the dumpster and mored as softly as they could onto the metal roof. Luckily, they found that there was ayer of decorative bricks that stuck out from the rest of the wall. They were able to stand on these bricks and get an easy view through the window. They were all able to fit as well, the window was several dozen meters long as it stretched across most of the tan brick wall. Looking inside they ended up being even more shocked than before! The huge building was filled with a stadium full of cheering people. At its center was a well-lit stage with two men fighting in the center. They were carrying fearsome weapons and fighting each other with great ferocity. The children had never seen anything like this before and at first, they were speechless. "What is this?" Malik asked with his mouth agape. "This looks awesome!" "Dude! Those guys are huge!" Chase said pressing his face to the ss. "Why are there so many people?" Rachel asked. "I have never seen this many in one ce before. There''s probably not even this many people in town!" However, Hanna was not as impressed by what they had found. "This has nothing to do with the dams blueprints!" Hanna thought discouragingly to herself. "Why did they kill my parents for something like that?!" At that moment, the fight was decided. One of the men crashed to the ground apparently badly wounded. The children were so far away, that they could only see a puddle of reding from around the man. The crowd inside cheered so loudly that the window they were looking through started to shake from the noise. The sight of blood made Hanna start to feel sick. She was about to look away when someone caught her attention. It was a woman. She was tall, fit, and armed with a slender sword. "Aunt Lisa?!" Hanna shouted. The others turned to look at Hanna a bit confused. "Aunt Lisa?" Rachel said. "Isn''t she thedy that saved you?" "She is!" Hanna said sounding bewildered. "Why is she here at the gangsters base? Not to mention getting onto the stage to fight!" At that moment Lisa had climbed onto the stage and another man wasing into it to face her. Lisa had been looking around at what was being sold in the ''market'' and chatted with a few of the sellers. The sellers were all from out of town and told her that many sellers frequented this ''market''. If she couldn''t afford something, then all she had to do was wait for their return. Nearly everything being sold by them was apany or industry that was far away in some other city. They ranged from bakeries to metalworks factories, or from technology research to farming industrial products. Lisa wished she had more time to learn more, but Sadie had just entered the building. Sadie was headed right for Lisa. A look of displeasure was spread all across her face and Lisa knew her fun in the market was over. "What''s wrong Sadie?" Lisa called to her. "Feeling bad about leaving?" "No. The exact opposite to be precise." Sadie remarked. "You see, there''s this coworker of mine Sadie went on to exin what Nicky had been saying to her. After hearing what had happened, Lisa felt mildly angry. Being a bully for no good reason just rubbed her the wrong way. "The nerve of some people." Lisa muttered. "Let''s show her up." "How?" Sadie asked. "Simple, go get me in a Match right now. We can go to my ce after I''m done." Lisa said giving a confident smile. "Now? But I don''t know if anyone is up for having a fight out of the blue." Sadie replied a bit perplexed. "Oh, that won''t be an issue." Lisa said turning to go towards the entrance to the Arena. The sounds of a Match currently going on inside was quite audible. "I just need to make someone mad. I don''t care who. You just make sure the Match will count as a legit fight." Sadie hurried to keep up with Lisa, as she was still carrying her luggage. "I can do that. How will that show up Nicky?" "It will show her that even though she said all of that trash talk to you, you can still get me into a fight and could care less of what she thinks." Lisa said while looking at a group of tough looking men. "Are any of those guys Match Fighters?" "L-Let me check." Sadie said stopping to put down the box she was holding. Then opening the box she pulled out a small tabloid like devise. It looked just like the one the security guard had in his hands, Lisa thought upon seeing it. Sadie opened it and a holo-projection screen appeared between the two sides of the tabloid. Then pointing it at the men''s faces, Sadie surveyed each man''s face individually. By doing this, the tabloid had started a facial recognition app and a profile page soon appeared. Lisa looked curiously over Sadie''s shoulder, this was a new device to her and seemed very convenient. "That short hairy guy is the lowest ranked Fighter." Sadie said pointing at the screen. There was a Match Fighter profile of a man with a mullet haircut. "You could try fighting him, I guess?" "Alright." Lisa said. Then she started walking confidently towards him. "Hey! Hairy guy! Ya, you." Lisa yelled out. The man appeared somewhat annoyed and turned to face her. "What do you want?" "My Manager says youre a pushover and would make an easy win. Let''s fight!" Lisa said stilling right up to him. "Unless you''re to chicken!" She got right up into his face while saying all this. "Who do you think you are? Get out of my face!" The mullet guy said sounding angry. He then went to push her backwards. Lisa grabbed his wrist. "Make me!" She said twisting his arm way. "You know what? Ya, I''ll fight you, you psycho chick. You got a death wish or something? Tell me the terms, we can settle this now on stage!" The guy said puffing out his chest and getting up in her face. "No terms, weapons are allowed and it''s one on one. Nice and simple. Hope you don''t die on me to quick." Lisa said airily turning to go into the Arena''s hallway. "We will see about that, you crazy freak!" The hairy guy shouted back while stomping after her. "How did she do that?" Sadie wondered to herself as she gathered her things and hurried to catch up. The hairy man''s Manager was following right next to her. "What''s going on now?" The male Manager asked Sadie. "They, uh, got into a fight and now they want to make it official!" Sadie stammered in reply. "I can exin the details inside." The previous match had just ended and now the two new Fighters headed onto stage. The announcer was just finishing hismentary on the previous fight when he suddenly saw Lisa and the mullet man climbing up onto stage. At the same time Sadie and the male manager had alsoe up to him to exin the situation. Momentster things were getting underway. The voice of the Announcer boomed out over the hubbub of the receding crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen! We have a surprise second match! Stay in your seats, it''s starting now!" The intrigued crowd quickly returned to see what was going on. Lisa was getting ready to fight with a few stretches, while the hairy mullet man was fuming on the other side of the ring. All the while, Lisa waspletely unaware that Hanna and her friends were watching from the window above. Chapter 49: Eyeing Sides Chapter 49: Eyeing Sides Nathan Dees was excited. He had been watching the three on three fight unfold from behind the safety of the car wall. When the ck Rats started their retreat, he probably cheered louder than anyone else present. His n had worked. Hopping over the cars in front of him, Nathan was the first to congratte Gillian. "I knew I put my trust in the right man. Well done!" Nathan said throwing an arm over Gillian''s shoulder. Gillian was still breathing heavily from the fight, but still managed to sound triumphant. "The pleasure is all mine. I am just d that these old fists still have some punch left in them." "Well if you hadn''t asked the twins to join us then the bluff might not have worked so splendidly!" Nathan said enthusiastically. Looking their way, he shouted, "Congrattions to you two as well. You did great!" The twins both gave a thumbs up and Gillian continued speaking. "Perhaps." Gillian replied mopping at his brow with a cloth. "We shouldn''t let our guard down. There were a lot of ck Rats members out there. This n won''t be enough to stop all of them." "I understand." Nathan replied calming down some. "You''re right, I better let everyone know that we better stay at the ready." Nathan turned towards the cheering crowd and shouted for their attention. "Everyone! Everyone, we need to stay vignt. The ck Rats may have had a defeat, but the battle is not over!" The crowd quieted some and Nathan was able to continue. "Everyone needs to return to their posts and continue to monitor the situation. Once we know more about the situation then we can act ordingly. But let''s not forget this feeling of this victory!" Nathan said raising his fist into the air. The East River Militia personnel cheered again. They then slowly scattered off to carry out their duties. Nathan too had to return back to the headquarters in the warehouse. Being a leader from the rear was didnt feel like his style. He just had to be there, on the front lines, to see what was really going on. On his way to the warehouse Henry nagan, the East River Militia Vice Leader, came out to meet him. "Well done on the sess of your n." Mr. nagan said with a smile. "I hope the rest of this situation ys out just as well." "As do I." Nathan replied enthusiastically. "I feel like we have the potential to actually pull off this take over. We justck the know-how." "I agree. We definitely have the patriotic advantage. Replied Mr. nagan, then he gestured to the scattering crowd. Many of the residents here in our town have been longing for the chance to free their homes. But as things are, they still are only armed civilians." "Has there been any news if those out doing the town survey have returned?" Nathan asked as the two entered inside the warehouse together. "Not yet." Mr. nagan sighed shaking his bald head. The two soon arrived back in the main room that the leaders of the ERM used for meetings. Several of the main council members were already present. Looking around, Nathan determined that there were enough present to start the meeting. "We don''t have all that much time, so let''s get this started." Nathan said taking his seat at the head of the table. "We need to discuss our next move. ording to the spy''s we sent out before that fight, the numbers of the ck Rats that came here was not their full force. There should be many more out there. As of this moment our survey teams are scattered around, and we need to get them back here immediately." Gillian had also juste in from getting patched up and heard thatst part. He waved over one of the men under hismand and told him to send word of the recall. When the man left, Gillian looked at Nathan and gave a nod. Nathan nodded back and then continued. "Once they get back, I suggest that we send out a force to nk the gang from this area." Nathan stood up and pointed at a printed map of the town that wasid on the table. The area he indicated was a residential zone with mainly apartmentplexes. The buildings would be able to hide a midsized force easily, as there were numerous court yards to stage the counterattack from. "If the gang attacks at us like before, we will have our counter forces sweep behind and force them to fight on two fronts. An older gentleman that has been helping me sense the riot, pointed this fact out to me just this morning." Nathan finished and sat back down. Gillian was the first to speak. "A good idea, however, if the nking attackers are not able to deal enough pressure on the gangsters, then I am afraid that they will end up getting cut off from us. Their numbers alone will be enough to overwhelm us." Several others in the meeting murmured their agreement with Gillian''s observations. Yet no one had any alternative option to solve this problem. After a moment Mr. nagan was the next to speak. "If it were me, I would do the same, but with three forces. Our main force would be here with us. The second would be at the apartments like Mr. Dees rmended and a third here." He said while cing a finger on the map. "The industrial factory here can hide enough troops for a possible secondary counter force." "That area is considered private property." Joshua Zimmerman head of the Judiciarymittee interrupted. "I know we are in a form of war, but if we don''t maintain order, who will?" "I understand the issue." Said Mr. nagan. "However, I know the owner of this particr building. He''s actually here defending with us. If we ask him, he is sure to help without a second thought. Besides without electricity that building has no other practical use." "Sounds good." Nathan said. "After the meeting go ahead and ask him." "Very well." Mr. nagan replied. Mr. Zimmerman also nodded his approval. Gillian spoke up again. "The issue still remains that if the gangsters aren''t all that well organized, then the chances of both sides bing overwhelmed is minimal. As long as we attack them hard enough and take out their leadership, they will scatter." Everyone nodded approvingly. They were not soldiers or tacticians, just regr civilians. War was practically a foreign concept to them. Yet this was the best they could do. "How are we on supplies and weaponry?" Nathan asked looking towards Gillian and Nelly Havens, the Head of Records. "Handheld weapons are in no short supply. We have enough tost any battle as long as its no more than a day. What is concerning is theck ofrger firearms that we have. Only less than half of our forces have any kind of guns. Additionally, the survey groups have most of them now." Gillian replied giving some thought. "Ammunition is not an issue at this time. There is plenty to go around. The Marriot Hotel had several rooms stocked with ammunition." Miss Havens was shuffling through several papers while Gillian had been speaking and appeared to have found what she had been looking for. "Ah, yes. We currently have enough food and water tost us one week if need be. Any longer or doing harsh rationing would be very problematic." "So, we need to beat them in less than a week." Mr. nagan said sping his hands together into a fist over his mouth in thought. "It shouldn''tst that long. If we can cut the head off the rat the rest will wriggle and die. Killing or capturing Garret, the gangs leader, is the best thing to do now." Everyone knew he was right. If they wanted the towns problems to end soon the gangs leader must be ended. "Are you kidding me!?" Garret yelled as he threw a wooden chair at the wall. The chair shattered into pieces above the heads of his two lieutenants, Adam and Diana. The two flinched involuntarily. "How did you two loose to those two freaks!" "S-sorry boss. We didn''t think they were that good and didnt fight seriously as we could have." Adam stammered. "Sorry is not going to cut it. Next time youe across those two you better note back until they are dead! You hear me!" Garret yelled hoarsely. Adam didn''t say anything but nodded vigorously. "Same goes for you, Diana." Garret said turning towards the tired looking woman. "You got it boss." Diana replied. Her eyes narrowed as she spoke. "Next time I''ll be fighting with my weapons and they will not be able to get close to me. They will suffer at my hand for sure." "They better." Garret said and he sat down heavily onto a white stic chair. The gang was congregating in and around several dozen houses only three blocks from the ERM front line. They had scavenged all the resistances in the immediate area for food and supplies. There wasn''t much and they only had enough for two days at most. There then came a heavy knock at the door and then one of the gang members stepped inside. "Hey boss, the others are back. They are on the porch." Garret grunted angrily and stood up. "They better have some good news." Garret headed out onto the porch where Erin, Marco, Terry and Zane were all waiting. The sun was now starting to set behind the mountain. The main battle would have to happen tomorrow. Seeing the bossing out of the house they all turned his way. "Good news boss." Marco spoke first. "We all found a bunch of militia members out doing stuff and we wiped them out. Took a bunch of their guns to." The three lieutenants ryed the fights they were in and how everything had turned out. By the end Garret was smiling with approval. They had carried out their part with in Garrets expectations. "What about you, Zane? I know you were not just standing around waiting to help out." Garret asked. "That''s right." Zane said giving a slow nod. "We interrogated lots of people while we were waiting. They all were saying the same things. The militia is being led by a guy named Nathan Dees. As far as we know there are only the militia men at their main base. They are ready to fight us and are well armed. Though we still seem to outnumber them substantially." "Huh, well something good after all." Garret said shaking his head. Adam and Diana had followed Garret to the porch where everyone was to listen. "Well now that we are all here, here''s what my new n is." He then cleared his throat and hopped onto the porch railing to sit and getfortable. "Since they lost a good amount of men, they will definitely be on guard. They may have that wall of cars around the ce, but didn''t you all notice it?" He asked looking at Adam and Diana. The two shook their heads ''no'' and Garret continued. "They had absolutely no other cover. To get from that warehouse building to the car wall, they will have to cover several dozen meters just to get between the two. I want as many rifles as we can on surrounding rooftops toy cover fire. If we keep them pinned down long enough for our main force to reach and cross over the wall, they won''t be able to fight back for long. Then we can get over the wall first and overwhelm them withoutrger forces all before they could ever hope to stop us." Chapter 50: Second Try Chapter 50: Second Try The sun was nearly set when the remnants of the groups of surveying militia members finally returned. The news that they had brought back greatly worried the ERM leaders. Of the hundred personnel that went out that day, only forty-three remained. The three that managed to escape the initial attacks from the ck Rats reported that they had been out gunned and outnumbered. They were unsure how they had been located so easily and surrounded so quickly. They, at the time, had been surveying an area that was out of the anticipated direction that the gang would have been expected toe from. This situation also puzzled Nathan. Why had the gang attacked these outlying surveyors and not shown up in mass with Garret? Surely if they all showed up together Garret wouldnt have agreed to have the duel with Gillian. After dismissing the three from giving their report for a well-earned rest, the ERM leaders discussed how to proceed. Things were had now be quite grave and the room that the meeting took ce in felt tense. If they didnt figure out some way to get an advantage over the ck Rats, they were going to lose simply due to ack of manpower. "It seems that the gangsters are still quite resourceful." Mr. nagan said breaking the rooms silence. "They managed to find our weak point rather quickly. It seems that even our mole couldn''t anticipate this." "That''s correct." Gillian said reluctantly. "The moles ount of the attacks came after the ck Rats leader, Garret, had already left from here." "All this shouldn''t affect our ns, right?" Nathan asked hopefully. Gillian scratched his chin thoughtfully before giving his reply. "I don''t think it will. The preparations we have made for the three-pronged attack will work even if we are more shorthanded. As long as neither of the groups breaks apart or get wiped out that is." "That''s good. I am confident in our forces drive to rid their town of the gangsters." Nathan replied with a nod. Then he turned to speak to a man sitting at the far end of the table. The small blond man was thin and rather nerdy in appearance. However, the sunken look and posture he possessed gave an air of depression. Yet this depressing man had something important to offer the ERM. Something that could be a surefire way ensure their victory. "Mr. Yates, are your projects finished for the battle?" Nathan asked. Mr. Yates stirred in his seat as he grudgingly sat up. He took off his round sses and wiped a hand across his heavily receding hair line. In an exhausted sounding voice, he mumbled out his reply. "Yes, all the groundwork is done. I stayed up most of thest three nights to get them running. All I need is a few adjustments to make and they will run smoothly. It would be nice to have someone capable to help me with theputer issues, but I''ll manage it." "Excellent." Nathan said pping his hands together. "We appreciate all your hard work to get this done." Mr. nagan said with sincerity. "Your thanks isn''t necessary." Mr. Yates said holding up a hand. "I would have done it anyway. They took my wife and child from me. It''s overdue that they pay!" "I agree full heartedly." Gillian said reassuringly. "That is why I volunteered to help you." "Thank you." Mr. Yates said in a quiet tone. "Your help with the live tests has been useful." "Well then." Nathan said after clearing his throat. "Tomorrow is the day. They will likely attack at first light. Best we get some rest. Meeting adjured." It was just as Nathan had predicted. After his defeat, Garret couldn''t sleep all night. He waited angrily throughout the night for the first faint signs of daylight to start approaching. When he finally saw the ck lines of the surrounding buildings outside bing visible, he immediately woke up the entire ck Rat camp himself. "Get up! It''s time to show those pathetic ingrates who we really are!" Garret yelled out in the dark. Then giving a series of other numerous insults, he stomped from room to room and building to building to wake everyone. In no more than half an hour the gang was mostly awake and ready to go. The nearly six hundred gangsters all were armed with weapons of their own making and well over half had firearms. Several hand carts carried enough ammunition tost the gang for a long while. It was quite the impressive disy that the gang had mustered. Having such arge force in this small town alone was a testament to the ck Rats superiority of the easters side of town. Garret paced back and forth, anxiously waiting for everything to get ready. Once his men were ready, his voice boomed out in the dim, but brightening, light. "We now march on the fools that stand in our way. Those that dared appose us will die today! We have spent years taking out our rival gangs. This town belongs to us! We earned it." The crowd stirred being fueled by Garrets speech. Garret was right, they had survived so many fights, battles and loses before to get where they are now. How could they just let it all be taken from them? Though many were born in this town, being rejected by family members, growing up as orphans, or struggling to feed themselves; being in the ck Rats had been their saving grace. The ERM was threatening their livelihood and they were not going to just give in. "We shall refuse to just roll over and let these upstarts just take what they want! They will die by our hand for this insult. We will prevail!" Garret said, his voice bellowing out to stir the sleepy morning into a growing frenzy. The gangsters cheered, pounded their feet on the ground and banged their weapons together. This was truly a barbaric scenario that was normally only seen in movies and was now being disyed in its anarchic fashion. If not for the modern weapons, this would have appearedpletely so. "Now let''s move out!" Garret said turning quickly down the road. Raising his rifle high, Garret marched proudly onwards to start the battle. His lieutenants followed right in his heels. Immediately behind them, the hoard of six hundred men swarmed forward. Looking from side to side at all his men, Garret nodded satisfied at what he saw. There was no way that locals would be able to beat such a force. "You all know your jobs. Get into position fast and as soon as my signal is given, give them hell. Don''t hold back!" Garret barked to the lieutenants. "Yes boss!" All the lieutenants chanted in unison. The gangsters traveled straight down the road, in in view, at the ERM base. In no time at all an rm was sounded from the base. Even in the still dim morning Garret could see their enemies through gaps scrambling into their ces behind the car wall. However, they were moving too slowly and in pitifully few numbers. One block away from the parking lot, that was dividing the ERM base from the other buildings, was when the gangsters started to split up. Garret stayed in the middle with two hundred of the gangsters. Terry and Erin moved to the buildings on the left with around one hundred and twenty men. Marco and Adam went to right with another hundred and twenty men. Diana was at the rear with one hundred men and tworge objects covered under tarps. Zane was tasked with the remaining sixty men to ascend to open roof tops or balconies toy down sniper and suppression gunfire. The n was simple. Attack at once from three locations simultaneously. All the while Zane and his men would prevent anyone from being able to shoot at the charging gangsters. The charging front line members would be carrying metal car doors to minimize the bullets damage. Though meager as it was, it was better than nothing. Once one of the attacking forces had breached the defensive line than would Diana join in. The two sides soon were in their ces, though the ERM didn''t look ready yet. From the faint noisesing from behind the car wall, it sounded that they were still mobilizing. However, these sounds ended abruptly, and tension filled the open parking lot. Neither side moved, not even the wind dared stir this moment. "Charge!!!" Garret sounded out the signal, like lightning in the night. The gangsters surged forward yelling, weapons at the ready. Gun shots rang out from both sides. The open parking lot was soon turned into a blood bath. Men screamed when shot and writhed on the ground, while others were silenced forever. Though the car doors the gang carried did little to stop bullets, it provided enough cover for them to reach the car wall. Metal weapons pounded on the car walls as some tried breaking their way in. Others climbed on top of it, only to find guns and spear points in their faces by the ERM defenders. The battle was quickly progressing. It was clear that the East River Militia had the advantage thanks to the car wall, but theck in men to defend such a broad area was bing very apparent. There were still many ERM forces crossing the open ground to reach the wall. A few areas of the wall had soon been breached and handheld weaponsbat was well underway. Garret mounted the top of a car and lifted his rifle and plinked away at the enemy below. Several men crumpled to their knees after he finished unloading his first magazine into them. He then reached for another clip. "Zip!" A bullet flew right through Garret''s right ear! The sudden brush with death caused him to jump back and down into cover, behind the car wall. Breathing heavily, he surveyed the battle, all the while mping a hand over his bleeding ear. The center and right nks were doing well. Many of his men had engaged in closebat and were clearly pushing the ERM back. Turning to look in Diana''s direction, Garret then waved vigorously over head at her. She spotted his wave and waved back. Turning around she issued outmands to attack. The men readied themselves and two men yanked away the blue tarps covering the hidden objects. By doing so they revealed that there were tworge forklifts equipped with metal tes for the drivers protection. After the two gangsters entered the forklifts, they, in unison, charged ahead with the rest of the gang following close behind. The forklift''s forks were raised up at mid height and aimed to collide with the car wall. With a cringe worthy ruckus, the forklifts smashed into the wall and the forks buried deeply into thepacted metal, but they didn''t stop moving. The drivers kept advancing with everything the forklifts had to offer. ck smoke rose off the wheels as they struggled against thepact cars weight. The metal car wall relented and screeched with protest as the wall was pushed back across the parking lot. The forklifts had now created a break in the defensive line, allowing the gangsters to charge right on in. The defending ERM forces were rapidly losing ground now and being pushed back. This was it; the militia was clearly doomed. It was clear now that the out manned militia force was going to fall. The ck Rats were going to take back their territory and resume control. Suddenly, two bright red irs shot up into the cloudless morning sky. Before the gangsters could wonder what the irs were for there came from behind, in two different directions, the sounds of yelling. Charging at the gangsters was the Militia reinforcements! Momentarily shocked and bewildered the gangsters froze. Garret turned about and opened fire at the chargingteers. He wasnt the least bit intimidated by the sudden turn of events. "Don''t just stand there!" He yelled hoarsely. "Attack!!" Snapping out of their stupor, the gangsters resumed the attack. Though they were nearly evenly numbered now, the gangsters were still in possession of superior weapons and ammo. Not to mention Zane''s forces were wreaking havoc from above at the backs of the new ERM arrivals. Zane and his men were unable to shoot properly at the start of the fight due to the poor lighting, but now they were utilizing their height advantage to the fullest. Just as things were once again starting to seem more in favor of the gangsters, the militia''s base doors opened with a heavy, jolting bang! The two huge warehouse doors slowly scrapped heavily on the ground and two yellow caution lights revolved on either side of the entrance. Between them was the dark interior of the warehouse and the doors ck maw appeared ominous. Upon seeing it, Garret felt a sudden tingle of worry. Something was going on and it was going to be bad. "Burrrrr, clunk! Burrrr, clunk!" The sound of heavy electronic objects moving from within the dark warehouse sounded out noisily. Suddenly a huge lumbering mass immerged. Three Minion ss Mineral Mover Mechs (MCM3) were now marching out onto the battlefield! Chapter 51: Smashed Chapter 51: Smashed "What in the world!?" Garret shouted in surprise. "How do they have those machines working?" The three Minion ss Mineral Mover Mechs (MCM3) came marching out of the warehouse in single file, shocking all that saw them. Their new dull yellow and ck paint shinned brightly in the early morning light. Each Mech was over five meters tall and almost twice as wide. Their heavy metallic footsteps vibrated the battlefield pavement and caused the gangsters to waver unexpectedly. These Mechs slowly turned towards each of the directions that the gangsters leaders were attacking from. Now that they were facing the gangsters, the sounds of the heat exhaustion fans whirred steadily faster at this point. It then suddenly dawned on Garret, the Mechs were going to attack! Though they had no weapons, and were not built to carry any, each Mover Mech was equipped with a wide and tall bucket loader. These Mechs had been designed to moverge amounts of rock, rubble, or soils in all kinds of terrain that traditional tires or treads could not. Construction was their function but plowing over people was not all that farfetched. "Are they nning to attempt to run us over?" Garret thought in a panic. The center Mech suddenly sounded out a low rumbling horn. At its call, every Militia member started to immediately retreat. Abandoning the front lines of the battle and leaving the car wall defenses, they retreated back behind the Mover Mechs, all the while under fire from Zane''s forces. Several foolhardy gangsters also tried to give chase, only to be quickly repelled by a hail of bullets from the ERM forces that were already undercover behind the mechs. The gangsters retreated behind the car wall. Then those still with guns took aim at the Mechs pilot housing. The sounds of the Mechs fans grew increasingly loud now as their engines menacingly warmed up. The militia''s wounded soon disappeared inside the warehouse, while the battle able members formed up behind the huge Mechs. Whenever the gangsters shot at the Mechs they found that they were unable to hit the pilot housings. The pilot''s housings apparently were modified with thick metal tes that reced nearly all the ss, leaving only small slits for the pilots to see. The gangsters were not urate enough to shoot through these slits either. "This is bad!" Garret thought looking around him. There was nowhere else to hide. The buildings were too far away to escape towards. Even if they did make it to the buildings those monstrous MCM3s would just demolish the houses and everything inside. Their only hope was to outrun the MCM3s and disappear into the town. He then realized something horrible. There were only three unblocked roads leading to this location. Three roads, three Mechs. It was a trap! The Mechs fans were whistling loudly now. A second horn sounded and simultaneously all three Mechs lurched forward. Every step they took filled the wavering gangster with increasing fear. "Burrrr, clunk! Burr, clunk! Bur, Clunk! Clunk, Clunk!" The legs of the Mechs sped up drastically and took rapid strides reaching, in just seconds, speeds near 40kph as they charged at the gangsters. The gravel on the parking lot bounced violently with every thundering step the Mechs took. "Run!!!" Garret screamed as he himself turned to flee. At first the gangsters scattered across the open parking lot. Some ran for the houses, others to the three unblocked roads, and a daring few tried to jump past the Mechs direct line of attack. This was no longer a fight between the two forces. The gangs superiority in the battle for the town was over. It now was a bid for survival. Moments before the MCM3s were sent out of the warehouse, Mr. Yates was climbing up adder to get in his Mech. The sounds of the battle outside were greatly muffled by the buildings walls, but still it only served to fuel his anticipation. When he was halfway up thedder, someone called up to him. "Mr. Yates! I know you want revenge, but please remember we need to win. Please refrain from attacking too soon." The voice called up to him. Mr. Yates looked down to see Nathan standing at the foot of thedder. "I understand." Mr. Yates called back. "You have my word." "Good, and again, thank you. You probably saved many lives by getting these Mechs working." Nathan replied. Mr. Yates nodded resolutely and resumed climbing. Nathan watched him ascend and thought to himself. "I hope he doesn''t lose himself any further. When we first met years ago, he was such a kindhearted man. Nowadays he seems so far away." Then turning away Nathan headed over to where Gillian and the fourth Match Fighter, Dilly, were waiting. Dilly was nothing like how his cute name sounded. Dilly was more like a monster than a man. He stood exactly two point one meters tall and appeared to be even taller with his bigbat boots on. His long ck hair rested on his broad muscr shoulders in ck sweeping waves that made a horses mane pale inparison. Everything from his looks to expression seemed to mimic a stone golem, even his voice was impossibly deep. "Are you two ready?" Nathan called out to them. Gillian smiled and replied. "As we ever will be. I still can''t understand how these Mech''s controls really work, but I understand the basics. So, no need to worry. What about you big guy?" Gillian asked looking up at the huge man next to him. Dilly didn''t speak, he merely nced down at Gillian and gave a deep grunt. "I''ll take that as a yes." Gillian replied. "That''s good." Nathan saiding up to them. "I wish you guys well and be safe." Dilly gave a heavy nod and turned to leave. His heavy booted footsteps echoed clearly on the concrete floor. The two watched him go, hair waving behind him. "Are you sure he can pilot that Mech?" Nathan asked softly. "Absolutely." Gillian replied quickly. "Yesterday, when Mr. Yates had us do some test runs, he learned all the controls andmands nearly immediately. He even read the entire manualst night. I just don''t think he actually needs the Mech. He''s just as powerful and nearly as big!" Nathan chuckled. "You are probably not wrong about that. He is a very remarkable man." "Well, I better get up into my Mech." Gillian said patting Nathan''s shoulder. Turning around, Gillian climbed up thedder and plopped into the cockpit. He looked down once more and Nathan waved back. Flicking a switch, the door let out some air and closed downward and then gave a slight squeak as it sealed up. A series of multicolored lights illuminated the control panel and monitor at its center. Pressing several of them, the heat exhaust fans on the back of the MCM3 slowly whirred to life. Being electric, the sounds of the running engine was practically nonexistent and only the movements of the Mech were audible. Then in each hand Gillian grabbed two of the three leavers that controlled the MCM3s movement. The two leavers in his hands controlled the legs, while the third raised and lowered the bucket loader arm. To move forward or back or to make a turn, he just needed to pull on the leavers in the intended direction, the Mech would react ordingly. This was one of the most basic of designs of any currently manufactured Mech, though he didn''t yet know it. Looking through the thin strip of ssyered in the metal tes, he was able to see two hundred degrees around. However, directly below was exceedingly difficult to see. He had to stand awkwardly in the cockpit to do so. Seeing that Nathan was standing by the button which opened the warehouse doors, he knew it was time to go. Pushing forward with the leavers his Mech took a slow heavy step forward. Reaching down at the control panel he pressed themunications button. "Dilly, Mr. Yates, are you ready to proceed?" "Yes." Dilly''s low voice replied. "All systems nominal and ready. Lead the way Gillian." Mr. Yates replied. "Very good. Mr. Yates if you see your target you may attack in that direction. Once you do, I know I don''t need to say this but, don''t hold back." Gillian said. "Understood." Mr. Yates replied quickly. Gillian then grasped the third leaver and pressed down. The loading bucket started to lower down towards the ground. He stopped it less than a meter above the ground. This was the signal for Nathan to open the warehouse doors. The doors slowly parted, revealing the chaotic battle taking ce outside. Striding slowly forward in the Mech, Gillian saw that the ERM forces were not fairing to well. "I wish I could have been out there sooner! So many lives have been lost on our side." Gillian said to himself out loud. After reaching a ce outside where the other MCM3s could get by him, Gillian stopped his Mech. Then smashing a big red button at the control panels center, the low rumble of the horn sounded. To his relief, he saw everyone start retreating behind them to safety. Scanning the grounds below he spied his target dead center of him, Garret. As soon as the doors opened Mr. Yates was intently scanning the ground for the man responsible for killing his wife and unborn child. He had never seen the man personally. He only knew a description from those that were at the scene. That was all he needed though. One year ago, Mr. Yates was out working at his job hauling scrap metal to the docks to sell to merchants. His wife worked as a bar maid at a dreary looking bar. She hated the job. Alwaysining everyday about how everyone mistreated her there. Yates had promised her that eventually he would earn enough that she could quit working there and live at home. He was nearly done for the day when another bar maid that worked with his wife, came running up to him. Out of breath she managed to say one word. "Hurry!" Knowing exactly what she meant, he felt his throat tighten. It wasn''t all that umon that a bar maid would befall some horrid encounter with dangerous costumers. Dropping everything, he dashed towards the bar hoping his fears were not needed. Busting into through the entrance to the bar, he realized he arrived toote! The bar owner already had her body covered under a sheet, upon seeing it Yates froze. The owner came up to him and quietly spoke. "I am so sorry. It happened so fast, no one could save her." Copsing to his knees next to the sheet, he reached out a shaking hand and gently pulled back at it. Maybe it was a mistake, and this was someone else''s wife and his was still alive. As soon as he saw that it indeed was his wife''s lifeless pail face that was revealed, he couldn''t control himself. He wailed in anguish and a flood of tears ruptured down his cheeks. No one, not even the bars patrons, disturbed him. An hourter he, though still sobbing, he asked the bar owner what happened. The bar owner had been waiting patiently and already had the story prepared. Several ck Rats gangsters, that had nevere here before, arrived already drunk. They ordered several drinks and were very disruptive to the locals. They messed around for a time before announcing they were leaving. It was his wife''s table to wait on and so she brought over their check. Theyughed at her and tried to leave without paying. She tried standing in their way and insisted that they pay. The leader of the group took one look at her. Pulled out arge de and stabbed her through the heart! No one could have expected all of that to happen as fast as it did. There was no warning, reason or trigger, just cold-blooded murder. "Mr. Yates, I deeply regret this oue. I should have been the one to deal with such obviously dangerous customers. If I can do anything to help just tell me!" The bar owner offered sincerely. Mr. Yates didn''t respond, he just sat there rubbing a hand across her small bulging belly where his lost child was. There was no longer any expression on his tear-stained face. Without a word Yates just picked up his wife and silently left. It was only dayster he returned to get her killers description. Now was the day he would have his revenge! His eyes drifted towards the left side of the battle. There, standing on top of the car wall waving towards the gangsters to retreat, stood the man responsible! It was Adam, the second inmand of the ck Rats. The description he had been given, was spot on. Mr. Yates could feel his blood boiling over and very muscle of his body was uncontrobly tense. Yates was gripping the leavers so hard that his knuckles turned red. Smashing themunication button he yelled at Gillian. "I see him!! Let''s attack now!!" Hearing this, Gillian knew Mr. Yates wouldn''t wait much longer. The engines were nearly ready now anyway. Gillian once again sounded the MCM3s horn to attack. Hearing the horn, Mr. Yates''s vision turned red. Beingpletely blinded by rage and blood lust. All he could see was the terrified face of Adam as he charged his Mech forward at full speeds. Covering the distance between them in seconds, Mr. Yates raised the right foot of his Mech as high as it could go. Frozen in shock below, Adam was rooted to the spot. Everything happens so unexpectedly, n forgot to run. The MCM3s foot came crashing down. Adams body sttered, like a wine grape, under the intense strength of the Mech. Justice had been served! "I did it, Jane! I did it for you!" Mr. Yates sobbed. Chapter 52: Wondering Chapter 52: Wondering Lisa really didn''t have much motivation for this fight. She had no problem with the hairy looking man before her on the stage. However, Sadie needed some help. She may not have ever met Nicky, but from Sadie''s expressions and description Nicky, she didn''t seem all too nice. "Might as well get a win in at the same time." Lisa thought to herself. The Announcer started his exnation of the rulings as the two Fighters eyed the other and as Lisa had mentioned it was going to be a one on one, with no limits on weapon choice. So far both the MFA and Sadie seemed to be doing everything within Lisa''s expectations. Perhaps joining this Association might have been a smart move. Sadie took her ce behind Lisa on the east side of the stage. Watching Lisa warming up on stage, she couldn''t help but worry. "Is Lisa going to be alright?" She thought to herself. "I know she beat Owen, but I didn''t see how she won or any of her skills. So, if she gets into trouble, I might not be able to help coach her out of it." Sadie then went to ce the box of her things on the bench next to her. However, upon cing the box down it was off center and flopped to the ground. Sadie moaned, feeling embarrassed and scrambled to pick it up. Fortunately, no one in the stands was watching her. "In the west corner is ndres, the Skinner!" The Announcer started. "With a total record of seven wins two loses, this man is still working his way up in the tier twenty of the Shadow League. Let''s hear it for the contender!" The crowd voiced their support. There were even some fans that started chanting his nickname. "Skinner, Skinner, Skinner!" Sadie felt all the more nervous hearing that the crowd already had a favorite. This whole experience of being the manager of a Fighter that was actually in a real fighting stage was new to her. It was nothing like her schooling or practice Match''s. She anxiously looked up at Lisa and immediately her worry started to melt. Lisa waspletelyposed. She was casually taking off her leather jacket and Yankees hat. Underneath she revealed her skintight suit to the ogling crowd. Turning, she tossed them over the fence at her coffin, that was next to Sadie''s bench. Looking at Sadie, Lisa gave a quick smile and confidently turned to face her opponent. "In the eastern corner, is our newest edition to the Shadow League. You have seen her first victim just this morning. If not, you may see her now make another!" The Announcer said over the crowd. "With one win and zero losses in Tier Twenty, I give to you, Queen!" The crowd cheered and one fan whistled sharply. Lisa turned and gave a quick wave to the whole Arena. She then took a deep breath, "Now to take on my queenly fighting persona. Pfft, that sounded so dumb." The referee at this moment waved the two toe to the center stage. As they approached, neither took their eyes off the other. Any sign of weakness would surely give confidence to the other and no fighter ever wants to be seen as weak. "Are you two set? Weapons ready and bets in ce?" The Referee asked eyeing them both. "Yes." The two Fighters answered in unison. "Good. The fight ends when either one of you is no longer able to continue or I end it. No exceptions. Understand?" The Referee said while cing a hand on the two Fighters chests to back them up. "Let''s just end this! I''m getting tired of looking at her face." The Skinner growled taking a step back. He then unsheathed his weapon of choice, arge ck steel cleaver. The de shinned brightly in the stage light. Apparently, it was well cared for and looked razor sharp. Queen sneered hearing his remark. "I have no real quarrel with you. So, I''ll end this quickly and you won''t suffer." The Skinner just made an angry face and spat on the floor with disgust. The referee then called for the start of the match. The bell let out a sharp, ''Ding'', and the match began. Moving cautiously forward the Skinner approached Queen head on. His stance was spread wide and low, ready to attack or dodge. His cleaver was raised in front of himself, ready to deal with any attack or to make his own. Queen, however, made no such movements. Unlike most of the fights she had been in before, she had her sword now. Giving a casual flick of her wrist, the sword slid out to take only half its full form. The long slender ckened des unique reveling appearance awed the crowd. The Skinner was too taken by surprise. He hadn''t expected such a weapon to appear, especially not one that could unfold itself. Giving a cool smile Queen walked towards him, with her sword de held up in front of her. The Skinner shook his head as if to refocus himself and charged the remaining distance. They were now only two meters apart and Queen hadn''t made any move to strike. The Skinner saw this and raised his cleaver up for an attack. It was all Queen needed. In a quick half step motion, Queen shed downward at the charging man far quicker than he could ever react too. The soft sound of metal on flesh swished out as the strike fell. A spray of blood shot out of the fearsome crescent shaped wound that had appeared across his hairy chest. A look of shock appeared on the Skinners face as he looked down dumbly at his chest. Then without missing a beat, the Queen grabbed him by the shirt cor and pulled him forward. In the same instance she thrust out her knee. Skinners head and her knee collided to make a dull metallic thud! The Skinner immediately lost consciousness and flopped motionless onto the stage floor. It was over as soon as it begun. The dumbfounded crowd suddenly broke out into a fit of excitement. Fighters rarely ever finished a Match so quickly. Not to mention in such a shy fashion. Sadie let out a squeak of excitement! "She actually did it! Sadie though gleefully to herself. Getting such a fast win is sure to let Nicky know I am serious. I don''t even know why I was worried before. Lisa has true skills!" Lisa turned towards the cheering crowd to let out another wave, while the referee checked on the Skinner. Then her eyes fell on Sadie, who immediately waved at her excitedly. Lisa smiled back and gave her a thumbs up. "The Match has been decided!" The Announcer called out over the inte. "For her second win in a row is Queen!" "Queen, Queen, Queen!" The crowd chanted. Lisa waved once more then nimbly hopped off the fenced in stage and came over to Sadie. "Now that that''s over with, let''s go home." Lisa said grabbing the strap to her coffin. Sadie nodded happily and grabbed her things. The two then hurried towards the exit before anyone could bother them with questions. They had just gotten outside the Arena and crossed by the illegal marketce, when someone stepped into their way. It was Nicky. "Well, well Sadie. It looks like you actually managed to pull off something decent." Nicky said while eyeing Lisa. "Your Queen here seems like she''s got some skills. Though I think my Fighters are still superior, Skinner was a small fry." Lisa let out augh. Slightly surprising Sadie and Nicky. "I have no idea how good they might be, but they all will end up at my feet." "Bold words." Nicky replied unfazed. "We will see how things go. You''re far too low ranked to be a bother to them." Suddenly someone off to their left let out a shout. "Hey! What are you kids doing there?" "Kids? I hadnt seen any children here in thepound." Lisa though curiously. She turned to look out the doors going outside to see two gangster guards running around the corner of the Warehouse Arena. "One second. I want to see what going on." Lisa said holding up a hand at Nicky. Nicky gave an awkward offended look and nced at Sadie. She merely shrugged back in reply. Leaving the twodies, and jogging over to the buildings corner, Lisa followed after the guards. Rounding the corner, she saw the two guards dashing after a group of scruffy looking kids. They were jumping off the top of a small building and racing towards a bush with some other girls in it, waving at them to hurry. Then something caught her attention. One of the girls looked just like Hanna! Hanna and the others were watching Lisa''s fight intently. "Is your Aunt Lisa going to be alright?" Rachel asked concerned. "Of course. She''s really strong!" Hanna quickly replied. However, she herself was not confident in her own words. Sure, Lisa had protected her against all those gangsters at once before. Yet they were just regr goons. This man looked far stronger and dangerouspared to those drunken men before. Hanna couldn''t help but feel worried for her. She gripped the windowsill tightly in anticipation. Then the Announcers voice could be hearding through the window and the children listened carefully to every word he said. They had never seen such an event before and were not nning on missing a second of it. "The Skinner! Oh, that''s a tough name." Chase said jumping some. "Careful, don''t jump so hard." Malik said nudging him with an elbow. "I can feel the window shake when you jump." "Its hard enough standing on these bricks, so stop squirming so much." Sorra added. "Sorry." Chase muttered. Then the announcer then got to Lisa''s part. When the Announcer said her name, he drug out the name and it made it sound really cool to them. "Queen! That''s just perfect for a girl battle name!" Rachel said gleefully. "Isn''t it?" She asked looking at Hanna. "Yes, it is." Hanna said nodding, but she never turned away from the stage. Thinking to herself, "She never called herself Queen around me before. Who exactly is she?" Then they all heard the bell ring. The two moved towards each other and all the kids held their breath. Suddenly, Queens de shed in a stunning silver arc and the man stopped. They saw the Queen grab the Skinner and m him into her knee. All the boys let out a collective noise of awe! "Ohhh, snap! Did you guys see that!" Derrick said with pleasant surprise. "Your Aunt is a beast Hanna! Look the referee is calling the fight over!" Sorra said tapping enthusiastically on the ss, forgetting what he had just said to Chase. Hanna let out a breath and rxed. "I knew she would have been alright." She thought to herself. Then turning away from the window, she spoke to the others. "Alright we got to see what was in there. Let''s head back before we get caught." "That was too cool." Chase said and he hurried turned to jump off the brick ledge and onto the roof below. He then went to jump off the roof and onto the dumpster below; but he had forgotten that they needed to be quiet. Himnding on the metal top of the dumpster lids let out a huge ''Bang''! Two guards that were standing around by the corner of the Warehouse and heard the noise. Turning the corner, they saw the cause and shouted at the children. Seeing they were caught the children panicked and ran for the bush. Dashing across the white pathway and hedge rows, they tried to escape. The gangsters now giving chase were getting too close when they started to disappear into the bush. Henry was thest to get in. "Hurry! Hurry! They are almost here!" He shouted pushing on Chase''s back. "I can''t, the girls upfront are too slow!" Chase called back. Turning to look back Henry saw they were already here and getting into the bush! He shoved at Chase hard and started to squeeze into the hole in the wall. The gangsters jumped all the way into the bush just as Henry scrambled in the walls hole. "They got away!" The children crawling away could hear the gangsters shouting. "Get someone to go around and find them!" The children started to alle out of the hole one by one, when suddenly something heavynded on the roof of the building above! "Crash!" Bits of rubble flew everywhere, and dust cascaded down onto them. In horror they saw that the cause of the crash was actually someone rising up from the dust. The persons eyes glowed seemingly silver-grey through the dust and was ring right at them! Chapter 53: Busted Chapter 53: Busted "Where do you think you''re going?!" The person up above them yelled. "Run for it!" Derrick shouted and the kids started running as fast as they could. They all turned and tried to run back the way they hade from earlier. There was an audible thump, as something heavynded on the ground behind them. Then the sound of heavy footsteps quickly approached them. Stealing a nce, Hanna turned to see a hand reaching right at her! "Ahhh!" Hanna screamed as the hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt. The boys turned back at the sound of her scream, only to see that Hanna was being hoisted off the ground by the assant. Hanna kicked and struggled to break free, but it was no use! "What were you doing in there, Hanna?" The person said. It was a woman''s voice and Hanna knew it. "A-Aunt Lisa?" Hanna ventured breathlessly. "Yes, it''s me." Lisa said putting her down. "Don''t scare me like that!" Hanna shouted, but felt relieved knowing they were safe. The boys were preparing to attack the person but stopped once they realized everything was alright. As they quickly recognized thedy from the arena. Though how she was here was a mystery to them. "It''s Aunt Lisa?!" Fred gasped in surprise. "How did you find us and get over that wall? Were you not just inside?" Bill askedpletely confused. Once again, the children heeded what the biggest of them said. They voiced out a flurry of questions at Lisa. Lisa chuckled and held up her hands to quell the noisy children. "One at a time please." They steadily quieted some and Hanna finally got a chance to speak. "Why were you in there fighting?! Aren''t you trying to find my parents killers?" The mood suddenly turned more somber. Lisa''s yful expression rxed, and she let out a sigh. "I am and will continue to do so, Hanna. It''s taken me a lot longer than I realized. You saw how big that building was, but there are even more buildings full of gangsters on the other side. There are also far more people than I realized, and my original n once again changed. I''ll exin the rest to you I detailter, but first I need go back to get Sadie." "Who is Sadie?" Hanna asked, though she still had her doubts. "A friend." Then Lisa answered turning to the others. "You all better head for the closest wall exit. One of you asked how I got over the wall. Just watch me." Lisa had a faint smile on her face as she turned towards the building behind her. Its roof was two and a half meters high, only half the height of the gangsters wall. Giving a slight crouch, Lisa gave an effortless jump. To the awe of all the children watching, Lisanded atop the buildings roof, then immediately turned, and jumped over the wall! The children burst into excitement. "Woah! What just happened?" Fred yelled. "How could she do that? That''s not humanly possible!" Jillian eximed. "She was carrying all that stuff on her back too!" Henry noted. Bill just stood there with his mouth agape, looking towards the area Lisa had disappeared over. The rest all chatted excitedly in total amazement. They now had even more questions to ask her now. Then Hanna recalled what Lisa said. "Hurry guys lets get over to the exit!" The children agreed and headed quickly off. Lisa hadnded on the other side of the wall with ease. To her right were the unconscious bodies of the two guards from before. Luckily, she had noted that this spot was in a blind zone from the cameras scattered around the building. Looking around she saw that no one had yet noticed what had happened back here. "Good." Lisa thought to herself. "I don''t want to deal with Xander at the moment." The two men, however, were not dead. She hade up behind them and knocked them out before they could alert anyone. So, in order to cover things up she went over to the wall to create a solution. Finding an area that looked loose, she ripped off arge metal bar and a sheet of rusted roofing. She ced the bar on the back of the two men''s heads and then wedged the roofing metal over the hole. Unless someone tugged hard at the roofing, the hole would remainpletely covered. The men would wake up confused and find nothing, but the metal bar that supposedly fell on their heads. They probably would be too embarrassed to report this incident, so leaving them alone would be fine. Satisfied that everything was in order, Lisa headed back to Sadie and Nicky. They probably were not getting along at the moment. As she rounded the corner, sure enough, they were yelling at each other. It seemed that her victory over the Skinner had given Sadie some new found spunk. "You''ll see. We will be better than anybody you put up against us!" Sadie yelled pointing a finger at Nicky. Then noticing Lisa returning, she turned away with a huff. "Come on Queen. It''s time we leave!" Without saying a word Lisa looked at Nicky for a moment. Nicky stared coldly back, arms crossed, and a smirk was stered on her face. Lisa rolled her eyes and followed after the angry Sadie. Catching up to Sadie, Lisa she couldn''t help but chuckle. "I take it you two were not having a nice chat?" Lisa ventured. "No. I don''t want to talk about it either." Sadie huffed. "Alright." Lisa said not wanting to prod any further. "By the way, when we get outside, there''s going to be a bunch of kids looking for us." "What? Kids. Why?" Sadie asked surprised. Immediately her mood changed. "It''splicated, but technically I am trying to keep an eye on one of the girls, Hanna. You''ll meet her soon." Then Lisa quickened her pace. "Come on, let hurry and meet them before they get into more trouble." A bit confused Sadie didn''t reply. Rather, the two quickly headed for the exit. Taking a nce over her shoulder Lisa could see the sun was just receding behind the mountain. It wasn''t long till dark. "Better hurry and get these kids out of here and back home to their parents." Lisa thought to herself. They were let out by the those guarding the entrance without any trouble. It seemed that her gamble had paid off and those guards were indeed to embarrassed to report the incident. They were standing back at their post with crestfallen appearances. Leaving thepound behind, they walked a few buildings down the road when Hanna and the rest of the children appeared bying out of an alley passage. "There you are." Lisa called to the children. They apparently been running this whole time and needed a moment to catch their breath. Several of the copsed onto the curb side, panting and tired from the run. "We finally found you." Derrick said puffing heavily. Lisa chuckled. "Sorry to cut this short, but we need to keep moving towards home. It will be night soon and your parents will worry. We can talk on the way." "Umm, who are they, exactly?" Sadie asked peeking out from behind Lisa''s coffin. "Well, this one here is Hanna." Lisa said putting a hand on Hanna''s muddy red hair. "Hanna, this is Sadie." "Nice to meet you Hanna." Sadie said reaching a hand down towards the little girl. Hanna was sitting on the ground trying to catch her breath. "H-hello." Hanna replied quietly and took Sadie''s hand. Sadie then pulled her up on her feet. "So, tell me, who are your friends?" Lisa asked looking the rest of the children over. Hanna pointed each one out by name and Lisa greeted each one warmly. They all politely said hello, except for Chase. He had other things on his mind. "Are you an alien or something?!" Chase rudely interrupted everyone. "No, I am not an alien. I''m human just like the rest of you." Lisa chided. She expected this kind of reaction. "Chase! Be more respectful to your elders." ir said smacking him on the back of his head. "Are you calling me old?" Lisa said giving the tall blond girl a sideways look. "No! I didn''t mean that. S-sorry Miss Lisa." ir replied quickly. Lisa broke out into a smile. "Ha-ha, it''s alright I am only messing with you." The rest of the children started to bombard Lisa with further questions andments. Seeing that they wouldn''t be getting anywhere at this rate, Lisa waved them on to follow her. Lisa tried to answer as many questions as she could as they walked. Lisa and the rest soon got ahead of Hanna and Sadie who were walking at the back of the group. Hanna was still thinking everything over. About what Lisa was doing in the gangsters ce and why she might have been fighting. Then she recalled what Lisa told her, ''collecting intelligence is the best thing to learn''. Right next to her was a good source of intel, Sadie. "Um, Miss Sadie." Hanna ventured. "How long have you known Lisa?" Sadie was lugging her suitcase, which luckily had wheels. Yet it kept getting caught on cracks in the old road and was making the trip rather annoying. However, despite that, she replied back to Hanna. "Only since this morning. But considering every that''s happened it feels like a week." "Really?" Hanna said sounding slightly surprised. "Why are you two together?" "Well it''s due to my new job. I am going to be Lisa''s Match Fighter Manager. To be her manager, I have to be with her to record the fights she ends up getting into." Sadie replied. "Why does she want to be a Fighter?" Hanna asked genuinely curious. "Well" Sadie said thinking back. "I actually never asked. I assumed it was for the same reason as many others, for money and fame. But it doesn''t seem like that''s the real reason." Sadie said looking at Lisa talking with the other children. "There seems to be more to her than we might know." Hanna was watching Lisa as well. "I agree." She replied. In fact, she even wondered why Lisa was so adamant in helping her. There wasn''t anything that appeared to be in it for her. She was just some random girl Aunt Lisa came across. They had gone several blocks and had just arrived at the Market area of the town. Many of the shops had been folded up and put away for the night. Many vendors were loading up carts and bags of their wares, all in preparation to take them home for safe keeping. They were nearly through the area, when a familiar voice called out to them. "Hey there. What are you doing out here?" Everyone looked to see that it was Johning towards them from a side street. "I was justing from your ce and didn''t see you there. So, I was just on my way home." John saiding out onto the road to join Lisa and the kids. When he dide out, he noticed Hanna and Sadie, whom were further back and just catching up. "Hanna, what are you doing out here?" John asked eyeing Sadie suspiciously. Sadie had a nervous expression seeing his strong gaze and nced at Lisa. Lisa gave a nod, signaling it was alright. "We were out ying." Hanna quickly replied. She needed to say something before the others ratted her out to John that they were messing around the gangsters. "We just happened to run into Lisa and her friend, Sadie." "H-hello, I am Sadie ke, I am Lisa''s new manager." Sadie replied, still somewhat nervous and extended her hand to John. John still looked at her suspiciously but took her hand and firmly shook it anyway. "Pleasure to meet you." Chapter 54: Explanations Chapter 54: Exnations Lisa, Sadie, John and the children all decided to go back home together. The sun was nearly set, leaving an orange yellow glow silhouetting behind the darkening mountains. The light breeze that had been blowing all day had now tapered down to nearly nothing. The temperature had also slowly dropped, and the dry air was oddly chilly. They soon, however, arrived at a major intersection which lead to the surrounding neighborhoods. Here the children all said their goodbyes and split up to go to their homes. ir was thest to leave. "Bye Hanna. I''ll see you tomorrow. Leaning forward she then whispered to Hanna to keep John from overhearing her. Please try to be more careful! I don''t want to find out that you got into more trouble like today. My heart is still pounding." "I''ll try. See you soon." Hanna said giving a small wave. ir turned to start running home and waved back. She effortlessly jumped over a fallen stoplight pole that had fallen over into the road, before slowly disappearing from sight. "Seems like you have a good friend." Lisa said giving a smile while looking down at Hanna. Hanna gave a sheepish smile and nodded watching ir go. "Will they be alright going home alone?" Sadie asked a bit concerned as they watched ir disappear around a fence corner. "They don''t look to be old enough to be out wandering the streets unsupervised." "No need to worry." John said turning to go. "This area of town is very rxed and safe. As I have been doing regr patrols of the area nearly every day, I know most of the residents living around here." "Is that why you were going to my ce?" Lisa asked. "Just going on patrol?" John nodded. "Yes, for the most part. But ever since I saw that Twisted, I have been feeling quite uneasy. They never travel alone and that is what worries me the most. Where are the rest of the pack?" "What''s a Twisted?" Hanna asked curiously. "A Twisted is a very scary creature." John said looking over his shoulder at the little girl. "They are mutated creatures that had been affected by the Wastnd Zones radiation. They look nothing like dogs or deer, but more like something from a nightmare." Hanna shuddered. "I don''t like the sound of that. My dreamstely have been scary enough." Hearing this, Lisa felt her heart quake. The loss of Hanna''s parents was clearly still etched deep in Hanna''s thoughts. She needed to avenge them and help heal the wounded child''s heart. "Don''t worry Hanna. I beat a Twisted a few days ago, they are not all that tough." "Easy for you to say." John said shaking his head. "I doubt I could have gotten out of that situation so easily." "You mean there was one here? In the town!" Sadie said with a look of worry stered on her face. "I had only seen pictures of those horrible creatures on the news when I lived in Phoenix." "Oh, so you are not from around here." John said raising an eyebrow. "No. I just moved here four years ago. I only just started being a Match Fighter Manager for Lisa just this morning. She''s my first one." Sadie said with a twinge if pride in her voice. "Interesting. I wouldn''t have expected someone to move to such a remote location just for the MFA jobs." John said. "It''s not all that odd." Sadie said with a shrug. "I just happened to be a bit unlucky and got assigned to a remote town. However, it could have been worse. I could have been sent to a war front location, now that would suck!" The four had just arrived at this moment on the driveway to John and Mary''s home. The sunlight was nearly gone now and the firelight from inside the garage beckoned to them warmly toe out of the cold. The smell of soup being cooked wafted temptingly out to them and it made Hanna''s stomach rumble. "Sounds like someone is hungry." John said patting Hanna''s head fondly. "You better hurry on in and see if it''s ready." Hanna nodded and hurried inside. Then John turned to the twodies. "So, can you stay for dinner or do you need to get back?" "I think we can stay for dinner." Lisa said happily. She had just realized that she didn''t have any food back at the dam. She hadn''t even checked her snares yet either. "It''s not a very long walk back. Besides, I need to exin some things to Hanna before she gets the wrong idea." ... That night everyone had a good time and wonderful soup to eat. With the addition of Sadie, they now had much more to talk about and everyone had some stories to tell. They all ended up talking farter into the night than Lisa had expected. Though the dry airing in through the open garage door was chilly, the fire kept them all warm and cozy. It wasn''t until Lisa noticed that Hanna was yawning and could barely keep her eyes open, that she knew she needed to wrap things up. "Hanna, let''s talk some before you go to bed. It''s gettingte and we all need our rest." Lisa said getting up from the group and held onto Hanna''s little hand. The two left the noisy garage and went to sit in the living room. "So, Hanna, you want to know what I was doing in the gangsterspound, right?" Lisa asked. "Yes." Hanna said trying to wake up some. "You promised me that you would help get revenge for my parents. All I saw you do was fight another person. He wasn''t there when they were" Hanna started to choke up and Lisa pulled her closer to herself. "It''s ok." Lisa said in a whisper. "I know it''s been hard, but it''s all part of my n. I needed to get into the gang without raising suspicion and it just so happened to work out that joining the Match Fighter Association was the way to do it. You see, I still have not found the men responsible. What I do know is that the man in the yellow shirt is the leader of the gang and in order to fight him I need to get him into the ring by getting his attention. That''s where youe in." Hanna looked up at Lisa with a tear in her eye. "How?" "I need you to identify everyone that was in that room and you just helped me figure out how. They all know what you look like, but thanks to you and your friends finding that hole in the wall, you can watch everyone inside through the window. Or perhaps some other way that I can think of. Leaving you exposed outside might not be the best choice." Lisa said giving a smile. "All I did was what you told me, find intelligence. I just wanted to see what was inside." Hanna replied. "Well it was dangerous. You need to be more careful. Luckily, things worked out." Lisa said with a sigh. "When the timees, I''ll tell you more about the n. But until then, please stay away from there. It''s more dangerous than you realize." "Ok." Hanna said before giving a big yawn. "I''ll stay away." Lisa chuckled. "Good girl, now go to bed. I''ll see you some time soon." Hanna sleepily got up to go for the dark stairwell and headed for her bedroom. After she left, Lisa got up to let Sadie know it was time to go. Then she realized that there was not much at her ce for Sadie to sleep on. Sadie also appeared to havent brought anything to sleep on either. "She is not going to like sharing my two couches. It''s going to be a rugged night." Lisa thought to herself. Some time ago, out to the north east of the town on the empty Interstate 70, an elderly couple was driving an old electric powered pickup truck. They had been traveling for quite some time after leaving Grand Junction City and the vehicle had be quite dirty. It''s blue paint was sttered with insects andyered in a thin dusting of dust. The sun was getting low now. The bright orange glow to the west illuminated the Rocky Mountains looming far ahead. Though they were on the interstate, they couldn''t risk driving very fast. Years of road maintenance neglect had done its toll on the road. Potholes and washed out sections of the road were everywhere, and sandy dirt had piled up over time coveringrge swaths of it. Tracks from other vehicles were often the only things that let them know that they were still on the right path. The elderly woman was driving slowly while her husband took a nap in the back seat. He would be driving for them that night and needed to be prepared. She saw a sign up ahead and carefully steered around arge set of potholes in the road to get a better look at it. Rolling down the smudged passenger window, she pulled up to the sign to read it. "Twenty Kilometers to Highway 191." "Three hundred and Twenty Kilometers to Salt Lake City." The olddy sighed and then spoke in a cracked voice. "Honey! Your turn to drive. My old eyes can''t stand looking at this bleak scenery." The old man stirred in the back seat. "It''s still daylight. Keep driving." He then rolled over to face away from the light peering in through the front window. "Ah, quit yourining and switch with me." She grumbled and turned around to spank his leg. "Stop hitting me!" The old man said swatting at her hand. "I''ll stop when you get up here and switch." The olddy continued her attack. The old man sat up muttering. "Fine, lets switch." He grumpily opened the back door of the truck and the olddy got out as well. The old man shuffled around the front of the truck and leaned backwards with an arching motion to stretch his achy back. His wife brushed past him to climb into the back seat. He was about to get in himself to start driving when he heard something. There was a long warbling howl faintlying from the north. It sounded nearby, but out here on the open ins of Utah sound could travel from quite a far off. He turned to look in that direction and he was worried by what he saw. He then called to his wife. "Dear. Did you not see that earlier while driving?" She poked her head out from the trucks backdoor. "See what?" The old man raised a wrinkled finger in the direction of where the noise came from. She looked that way and her eyes widened. "No, I didn''t. Honey are we going to be in trouble?" She asked sounding worried. "Maybe. That dust rising from the north and that sound we hear; it could only mean one thing. There''s a Twisted Hoarding this way." The old man said in a stern voice. "We might have to go south somewhere to wait for them to pass. If they smell us, we are doomed." "Let me look at the map." She called out while ducking back inside. The old man quickly got into the drivers seat and buckled up. Leaning forward the olddy held up a tabloid with a map on its disy. Pointing at an area to the south, she started to speak while he put the truck into drive. "There is not all that much if we keep going west, and north is the same way. If we go down highway 191 South, we can try and wait them out in Moab. They should have protection there." She said before leaning back into her seat. "Sounds good to me." The old man said not taking his eyes off the dangerous road. Little did they know that the hoard was going south as well. The Twisted were going to cause trouble for many people in the days toe. Chapter 55: Run to the River Chapter 55: Run to the River Zane watched horrified as everything fell into utter chaos below. Adam was crushed, everyone was running everywhere, Garret ordered a retreat, and the other lieutenants were fleeing. This battle was over. "What are we going to do?" One of his men called out over the sounds of gunshots. "Keep targeting the militia behind the Mechs. We need to help our men escape." Zane said lifting his own rifle and took aim at a militia man. Pulling the trigger, he watched the man crumple to the parking lot. "This is not good." Zane muttered. He looked at the three MCM3s wreaking havoc below. The one that crushed Adam was still staying in ce. The militia following it had stopped at the car wall, allowing the gangsters to escape further. For some odd reason, the Mech showed no signs of damage. So, the reason for its sudden stop was unclear to Zane, but this was the only good thing to be seen. The center Mech was advancing right into the middle of the running gangsters, following on the heels of Garret. He was trying to escape back down the street. Diana had taken one of the forklifts and was driving it away as fast as she could make it go. She didn''t even try to give anyone else a chance to hop on either. Her quick thinking soon left everyone else far behind. The third Mech seemed like the more dangerous of the three Mechs. The street it was attacking the gangsters was smaller and had many shops along the way. From his vantage point, Zane could see gangsters were attempting to hide inside the shops. However, their attempts were futile. The aggressive Mech would stomp and crush the buildings with its bucket loader. From the wreckage it left in its wake no one could have survived. "Screw it all!" Zane yelled to the men with him. Looking around desperately he issued out orders. "We can escape on the roof tops for a few blocks. Keep fighting every chance you get, so Garret and the others can escape. Once we get to a spot where we can''t travel on the rooftops any longer head for the next street to the left. The Mech on that side seems to have stopped. Now move!" The men quickly heeded the order and once each man finished shooting a clip from their gun they started to retreat. Moving quickly across the rooftops was difficult. The slick slopes, sharp drops between buildings, loose shingles and rotting materials slowed them down substantially. Every man had at least one or two close calls. Zane kept nced down below at his forces retreating in the street. Every now and then some of his men would fire from the rooftops and slow the chasing militia members. However, the center Mech kept right on advancing. Gangsters would fling themselves in every direction to avoid being stepped on or ttened by the bucket loader. Unfortunately, many gangsters were unlucky. Many of the bodies were left in a bloody path trailing behind the Mech. The Mech left bloody footprints behind, do the sheer quantity of blood in the streets. It had been many years since the town witnessed such a scene. Zane shuddered in fear seeing the horrible scene below. At this rate they would soon end up trapped down there in that hell hole. If they tried to stay up on the roof the Mech would simply tear down the entire block and send them spiraling to their deaths. They had to run! Garret felt as if his heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest! The Mech''s terrifying assault wasing ever closer. No matter how fast he ran, no matter where he hid, the Mech was aiming to kill him! "What the h*** is going on!" He yelled out to no one. Jumping over a fallen trash can he took a quick look over his shoulder. Just at that moment one of his men tripped and fell heavily on to the cracked pavement. He rolled over to scream just as the Mech''s foot came crashing down on to him! Just before the man was squashed Garret looked away, but the juicy crunch sound was unavoidable. Fear gripped his heart. He no longer cared for the men escaping around him. It was his life that mattered, not theirs! "I cannot die! I cannot die!" He chanted to himself while breaking out into a sprint. He spun around and fired thest of his bullets at his attackers, then chucked the useless gun at them. Turning to keep running, every fiber of his body aches and trembled. "Where to go now!" Garret screamed in his head. His eyes darted around the street ahead looking for any sign of hope and escape. Ahead was an intersection where a bus had overturned in its center. To the right was a car pileup, while the left side was clear. Dashing to the left he heard another methodical banging sounding from directly behind him. Turning he looked down the right side of the intersection. There was a second Mech charging his way! That meant everyone that ran down the left street had to have been killed already! Immediately panicking, he nearly lost all reason and dashed blindly down the road. Zane and his men had reached the end of the rooftops that they could run across. Below on the left was an intersection and behind them only a few meters away was the Mech chasing Garret. Then came a repetitive booming to their right. To their bewilderment, it was the second Mech thumping towards them. "Get down!" Zane yelled. The men dropped t onto the roof to avoid being seen by the Mechs pilot. However, it was toote! The second Mech picked up speed and plowed into the side of the building they were on. Its bucket loader carved out a huge gash in the building. Zane and his men did their best not to fall off the sloping rooftop and onto the road below. Then backing up a step the Mech recharged, aiming for the buildings corner. The second impact was even more catastrophic, and the old building couldn''t take it any longer. With a series of dry cracks and moans the building swayed once before tumbling into the intersection. Everyone screamed as the building fell. Thest thing Zane could remember was the look a terror on the mans face in front of him, just before hitting the ground. Everything went ck at impact! "Can you hear me Dilly?" Gillian called out on his Mechs radio frequency. "Have you already finished off everything on your side that quick?" He was peering through his Mechs armor tes at the dust plum from the building Dilly had just toppled. "Yes." Dilly replied promptly. "It was too simple in this MCM3." The dust cleared some and the two Mech pilots could see each other. Dilly continued. "I took out the gunners on the roof just now. I''ll wait here just to make sure none survived." "Rodger that." Gillian called back over the radio. "I am going to swing left at the next road and see what''s been keeping Mr. Yates held up. Thest of the gangsters I was chasing went that way too." "Ok." Dilly droned back. Gripping the controls once again Gillian started to move the Mech on its rampage. Inside the cockpit was mostly quiet, other than the whirring of the heat exhaust fans and shing of gears. Looking down below Gillian couldn''t help but feel discussed. "This is just awful." He spoke aloud to himself. "I can''t believe this is what the Council agreed to do to these gangsters. I may have killed before, but even this makes me sick." Turning down the intersection he spotted thest of his targets at the far end of the street. It was clear that they were exhausted and that this game of cat and mouse would soon end. "Mr. Yates,e in Mr. Yates." Gillian called over the radio for the dozenth time. The only reply was more static. "What are you doing? You said you saw the man you wanted to kill. Now what''s the matter." Gillian asked again, but no reply. Giving a sigh he pressed his Mech on to move faster. The constant high pitch ringing was all Zane could hear when he came too. He was lying t on his stomach covered in dust and debris. How he had survived was unclear. He struggled to sit up but found that there was a wooden beam across his back. He wiggled his toes and found they still worked and the pain he felt was not life threatening. He was about to continue to escape when he heard someone yell. Looking up through the thick dust, he saw one of his men had also escaped. The man was standing up with a dazed expression and looking up behind Zane. The man had yelled out seeing the huge Mech looming over them. He turned to run away, but that sealed his fate. With any angry sounding whir of mechanics, the Mech chased after the unfortunate man. Zane could only watch in horror as the man was hunted down by the MCM3. Yet this was his chance! The Mech was facing the other way. Struggling again, Zane lifted himself up and out from under the beam. Looking quickly around it appeared that no one else was left alive. Dust was still everywhere, and the buildings wreckage was covering the streets. He had no clue where to go next. That''s when something shinny caught his eye. Straight ahead was the Colorado River, sparking in the sun light. Then an idea came to him. Mechs cannot swim! That was it, hisst ray of hope. If he could make it to the river, he could swim away and the Mech would bepletely useless to chase him. The current would then carry him back to their base and maybe then he could be safe. Stumbling forward he skittered through the debris. Eyeing the Mech warily he moved as fast as he could. The Mech started to turn back to face the fallen building and Zane screamed inwardly for it not to see him. He just made it out of the wreckage when the Mech had fully turned around. Zane didn''t look back, not once. He looked straight ahead at the river beckoning to him offering hope. It was now two blocks away and the Mech hadn''t noticed his escape. Suddenly, the sounds of the Mech heat exhaust fans pierced the air. His heart was in his throat now. He was seen! Without looking backwards Zane tried to run, but the beam had left both his legs numb and achy. Giving an awkward shambling run he quickened his pace best he could. Only one block to go. "Boom!" Came the heavy stomping sound of the MCM3 moving towards him. "Boom! Boom!" It sounded ever closer! Breathing heavily, he screamed out, trying to go faster. "Boom, boom, boom!" He was just meters away from the water! "Whoosh, BOOM!" The Mechs bucket scoop missed him by mere centimeters! He even felt the wind on his neck as it missed him. Zane''s foot nted on the end of the roads curbside, just at the rivers edge. Jumping out at the river as far as he could he plummeted into the churning brown water below. He had escaped! Chapter 56: Orders Chapter 56: Orders Special Officer Hawkins sat impatiently, while tapping a pen on his desk. The footage from Queens fight had been analyzed and sent off to be reviewed by the Commander. That was two days ago. Last time it took mere minutes for a reply. "Caswell!" He called out impatiently. Momentster his lieutenant, Mark Caswell, came into the office. "Any updates from Headquarters?" "No sir." Caswell replied standing in attention. "Things are nominal on themunication receivers." "Guess it can''t be helped." Hawkins replied with a sigh. "Do we still have eyes on the target?" "Yes, we do." Caswell replied taking out his tabloid that was in his uniforms chest pocket. Tapping on a few icons, a list of live Drone footage appeared on its disy. He selected the Top Priority video and it opened up to show footage from a Fly Drone 7. Everything he did was sent wirelessly to a TV on the wall of the office to be viewed. The Drone was currently perched outside of arge metal building. Hawkins recognized it right away. "Is that the dams Powerhouse building?" Caswell nodded. "Yes, it is. We have three Fly Drones monitoring the building from the outside." He quickly switched between the three drones showing the angles being covered. "From what we have gathered she hadn''t done much to or in the building. Whenever she had left the vicinity, we track her via Blue Jay Drone." "Very good then." Hawkins replied. "What of the rest of town? It really doesn''t matter at the moment, but it never hurts to know of the situation of the area of operations." Caswell cleared his throat and selected another icon of an Osprey Drone. Its footage showed it was circling far above the eastern portion of the town. There were several areas where smoke was rising from different locations. They started from the center north of town and they worked their way towards the river. "What''s going on with all those fires? Has the fight between the local gangs and the militia gotten worse?" Hawkins asked. "It would appear so. There were some developments that were surprising to us, but their threat to us has not changed. The militia had acquired three Minion ss Mineral Mover Mechs from the Mech Creations Factory just north of the so called ''Base'' of the ERM. The MMC3s main design has not changed, and they are equipped no weaponry on them. So, in all essence a low threat." Caswell tapped on the tabloids screen and the feed zoomed in on a Mech that was stopped outside of the ERM base. It''s ck and yellow striped paint was very noticeable on camera. "As you see here this is one of the mechs." Hawkins nodded, then asked. "Where did they get the power to run these machines?" "We can safely assume that they found the battery''s in the factories storage. They likely have no way to power them further as of now." Caswell replied promptly. "As for the fires, well, they are the results of the battles oue. The gangsters had been met with a total defeat. The ERM are burning the bodies, that''s what the smoke is from." "So, the MCM3s were the deciding factor of that battle. Pity, I didn''t get to see that disorganized mob, that call themselves gangsters, fight and loose." Hawkins replied with a chuckle. "It is unfortunate that you were preupied. I felt that the situation was not worth interrupting your meeting." Caswell replied. "You were right." Hawkins said waving a hand dismissively. "What about the other instance between the other two gangs?" "That skirmish was far less dramatic." Caswell replied switching to another Osprey Drones footage. "The Skull were eventually beaten back, and the Mad Dogs regained control of the area. However, they lost a higher amount of manpower than we estimated. The Skull are much more skilled than we first thought. Yet from our analysis their threat level is also very low." "No follow up attacks or new movements from either side?" Hawkins asked watching the rey footage. "No sir. Each side just bolstered their defenses and broke out into another stalemate." Caswell replied putting the footage at four times the speed. "So, everything in town has gone back to the dull lull from before." Hawkins replied with a huff and sat back heavily into his seat. "Something better happen soon to get this area more exciting soon. Otherwise, I might" Suddenly Corporal Gill knocked on the door and entered, interrupting Hawkins. "Sir, we have a new report from our long-range scout forces." "Go ahead." Special Officer Hawkins replied, his attention was renewed herring this. The scouts rarely reported anything. Sometimes he thought they were just sleeping out there rather than doing any scouting for the military. "The scouts have sighted a Twisted Hoarding from the mountains range to the north. They report that the hoard has crossed over Interstate 70 and are continuing to travel southward. Though they have yet to go in a straight direction, so where they will end up is still unknown." Corporal Gill said finishing his report. "Well done." Hawkins replied. "Tell the scouts to continue watching their movements. If they get close to here, we may need to either move out and evacuate or fight them off. I want them to also get a count on the actual size of this Hoard." "Understood." Corporal Gill replied giving a salute and then left the room. "What if they head towards the other towns beyond us? Should we prevent them from attacking the towns?" Caswell asked turn to look at the Special Officer. "No." Hawkins replied shaking his head slowly. "The towns safety is not our objective. We only monitor this area. Besides, we don''t have the resources to deal with such adversaries and I won''t put our forces in danger to protect people not under the American Fascist Regimes control." "Understood sir." Caswell replied giving a salute. "If that is all, I shall be going now." "You are dismissed." Hawkins said saluting back. Caswell turned to leave. He was about to close the door when he suddenly stopped, turned around and came back in. "Sir, the Commander is calling!" "Finally!" Hawkins shouted while quickly jumping out of his seat and headed out to the control room. Caswell was leading the way and called down to the soldiers below. "Get the Commander on screen. All nonessential personnel are to leave now!" The room quickly buzzed to life and several people left. Then the image of the old Commander appeared on screen. The old military man had his usual grumpy face, so it was hard to tell what the situation might entail. "Special Officer Hawkins." The Commander boomed. "Excellent work on locating the target in question." "Thank you, Sir!" Hawkins replied standing in ridged attention. The rest of the soldiers presents did likewise. "For this next report I am going to give you will allow you and everyone in your control room an increase in special security clearance. The new task force that your base will now be tied into is known as: Operation Chess." The Commander announced. "There will be new assignments tied into joining Operation Chess and as such will be considered your topmost priority. Only by my authority or your new Commanding Officer can those orders be overruled." The disy of the Commander on screen suddenly shifted into two panels and a second middle aged man in simr ck, yellow trimmed military dress appeared next to the Commander. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Ardith Laghari. He is the head of Operation Chess and in charge of all things rted to the Kings and Queens Soldiers. You are now under his authority and influence. I will now be leaving him to exin what you all are to do next. Farewell." The Commander said giving a salute. Then his image disappeared leaving just the Lieutenant Colonel. Hawkins quickly studied the appearance of Lieutenant Colonel Ardith Laghari. He was a tall man with dark hair and very tanned skin. On his chin was a very noticeable scar, yet it didn''t hurt his good looks. This meant that this Lieutenant Colonel was not the type that was promoted from simply sitting behind a desk but had likely been in actual warfare. So far Operation Chess seemed like it was more important than he understood. "Special Officer Daniel Hawkins." The Lieutenant Colonel said with great authority. "I have read up on your profile. You have a rather impressive number of missionspleted with rather timely results. I hope you and your men can continue to do so with future assignments. These assignments are going to be much harder than anything you hade across before." Hawkins tightened his form and spoke confidently. "Understood Sir. We willplete any task you give us. All for the pride of American Fascist Regime!" Everyone else in the control room gave a simultaneous shout and clicked into ridged attention like their Special Officer. The Lieutenant Colonel surveyed the room carefully. "Excellent. Now for your first bit of intelligence, be sure that this is only recorded on a ''quick delete'' video. We can''t let this information leak unnecessarily." Lieutenant Colonel Laghari said with a serious expression. Hawkins turned to look at the Corporal and gave him a nod. The soldier nodded back and sat back into his seat and started typing away at theputer. Secondster the Corporal turned to the Special Officer and gave a thumbs up. "Everything is set." Hawkins replied looking up at the Lieutenant Colonel. "Good. Now the woman you found and are currently tracking is indeed a Queen type cyborg soldier from the Cyborg Studies Program. She is Master Sargent Lisa Cunningham, Number 24 of the 33rd Cyborg Navy Seal Unit." Then in an even more serious expression he went on. "In terms of physical and tactical ability she is top notch. She is not to be underestimated. Additionally, we only have her reported statistics from before her cybeic upgrades done by the Titanium Technology Corporation, or TTC. Those records were supposed to have been destroyed when the three dozen cyborgs of the Cyborg Studies Program revolted against our forces. However, this issue is still unclear." Then the screen changed from the Lieutenant Colonel Laghari to a photo of another man. The other man was a thinly structured blond man with all his limbs reced with unpainted cybeic parts. "This is your second target near your facility, First Lieutenant Zac Evans, Number 56 of the 32nd Navy Seals Cyborg Unit. You are to locate his location immediately and report it without engaging or alerting him. From there I will determine your next move." Lieutenant Colonel Laghari said sternly. "He wasst seen in Moab City and his existence takes priority over Master Sargent Lisa Cunningham. Do not underestimate him either. More information will be provided once you and your core team members are in route to Moab City. I wish you luck." The Screen went dark and Special Officer Hawkins let out a deep breath and smiled. "Finally, it seems we are not going to be bored again for quite some time!" Chapter 57: Rabbit Chapter 57: Rabbit It ended up being a sleepless and rough night for Lisa and Sadie. They had to share the two cramped couches in the cold office room. It was especially ufortable since they didn''t know each other all too well yet. That morning the two woke up feeling groggy. They went down to the river above the dam to wash up. Sadie had brought shampoo and was nice enough to share. Lisa could tell that her ck hair was getting so oily that she felt it was putting a crows feathers sheen to shame. "Sorry that my ce isn''t all that put together and ufortable." Lisa said while sinking deeper into the river water. "I only just moved in here a few days ago. All I have is what you have seen." "It''s alright we can fix that overtime." Sadie replied sitting on a half-submerged rock washing herself off as quickly as she could. "This river water is freezing cold!" She shivered and dunked herself fully under the water once. She immediately popped back up gasping for air and started wadding through the water back to shore. "Way t-to c-cold!" Lisa chuckled watching her go. "You will get used to it. At least until I get the hot water working. Then again this whole ce needs a lot of work done to it. Sadie was too busy drying off with a towel to hear her. She quickly got dressed and sat on the brown grassy bank to try and warm up as Lisa finished up. Looking around, she couldn''t help but sit in awe of the beautiful scenery. The dam madeke rippled gently in the early morning breeze as it danced swirling patterns on its tea-colored surface. The gentle sea of green evergreens and pors stood tall and noble on either side of the dark river. Above was the clear azure sky signaling that today was going to be a beautiful day. The suns warmth on her wet skin was most refreshing and being added with the beautiful scenery almost madest nights difort melt away. Looking down at Lisa, Sadie couldn''t help but wonder why she was here? This tall, beautiful woman washing in theke was dangerous, yet kind, but most of all mysterious. She remembered that when she first met her in Jackson''s office that Lisa had said that she wanted to fight the Mad Dogs boss, Martinez. Why? "So, uh, Lisa?" Sadie asked a bit hesitantly. "We should probably work on getting your Match Fighter Form paperwork filled out. I need to submit a copy to the Association as soon as I can." "That''s fine." Lisa replied looking back at Sadie while scrubbing the shampoo deeper into her coal ck hair. Her soft pale skin made her ck hair and grey eyes all the more pretty. "Can you fill that out as we go get breakfast?" "Sure, that shouldn''t be an issue. Where are we going to eat?" Sadie asked while crossing her foot over the other. Lisa gave a casual reply while turning to look away and pointing with a sudsy hand at the forest on the far side of the river. "Over there." "Uh, is there a restaurant or something over there?" Sadie asked a bit confused. As far as she could tell everything in that direction was just wilderness. Lisa chuckled and ducked under the frigid water. She scrubbed furiously at her scalp trying to rid herself of all the gunk and sweat in her hair. "Honestly, how could I let myself go like this?" Lisa thought while underwater. "It''s just been a few weeks since myst real bath in Salt Lake City. I need to take care of myself better." Popping out of the water she flicked her head backwards sending a cascade of water off her head. The water droplets dazzled in the morning light as they flew away in an arc. Brushing water out of her eyes she turned to leave theke. She looked up to see Sadie watching her intently. "What is it?" Lisa asked her. "N-nothing!" Sadie squeaked and quickly looked away. "Don''t mind me." "Whatever." Lisa sighed as she climbed onto a rock to get out of the water. "Toss me my towel, please." "Sure." Sadie said fumbling at the pile of clothing next to her. She then handed Lisa the towel and went back to looking the other way. The view this way was just as surreal. The dam overlooking the sleepy gray town had its own charms and splendor. Sadie could hardly believe that all this was outside the gangsterspound. Why she had spent all her time working in there, even she didn''t know why. "We are getting some food on the other side. Hopefully, I caught something." Lisa said while changing into dry clothes. Sadie turned back to look at Lisa and saw a nasty scar running across her back. However, she decided not to say anything for the moment and asked aloud, "Caught? What do you mean?" "You''ll see in a little bit. Come on and let hurry before the morning is over. My stomach is rumbling." Lisa said as she started for the dam road. Hurrying to catch up, Sadie stuffed all their old clothes and bath things into a blue backpack she had on. It wasn''t long until they entered the forest. The nights cool air was still nestled into the trees and it felt rather chilly, even if there was no breeze. "Try to be as quiet as you can." Lisa whispered to Sadie. Unsure as to why Sadie only nodded and continued to follow Lisa. They headed along the old, crumbling road for a few meters before Lisa stopped next to arge pine. Looking over Lisa''s shoulder Sadie saw that she was fiddling with a long wire tied in a loop. "Is that a snare?" Sadie asked in a hushed voice. "Yes. Let''s check to others." Lisa said adjusting the snare some. They went next into an area with tall, thigh high grass. Sadie was following closely behind Lisa as they cut through it and her only though was whether or not they might get ticks walking through here. Suddenly, Lisa stopped and motioned for Sadie toe closer. Sadie came up next to Lisa and pushed back a bunch of grass in her way. Sitting motionless, nearly invisible as it blended in with the brown grass, was arge rabbit. Its ears wereid back t against its body and its fathomless ck eyes stared unblinkingly up at them. Its little pink nose twitched rapidly as did its sides while breathing. "How cute!" Sadie whispered. The rabbit must have heard her because it suddenly jumped away from them. Yet it didn''t get far. One of its hind legs went ridged, stopping its movements and Sadie could see that something thin was wrapped around the leg. "Oh, is that your snare?" Sadie said covering her mouth with one hand. "It looks like it got stuck in it. The poor thing." Lisa sighed and started to go closer to the fluffy creature. "It was supposed to get caught in the snare. That''s why I put it there." Suddenly, Sadie recalled what Lisa had said earlier. "You don''t mean that the rabbit is our" she couldn''t finish her sentence but gulped worriedly. "Of course, its going to be our breakfast. What else did you expect?" Lisa said with a faint smile on her lips. She grabbed the wire that was attached to the rabbits leg and the rabbit freaked out. It struggled to get away, tugging at the wire as it tried to jump away, but Lisa casually pulled it closer to herself. Then she grabbed it behind the ears, and the rabbit kicked at her a few times, but its effort was of no use. At this moment Sadie couldn''t see the rabbit in Lisa''s hands, because she was facing away from Sadie. She saw Lisa reach at the rabbit with her free hand to, presumably, hold it by its head. Lisa then made a quick jerking motion with both hands before turning around. The rabbit now sat motionless in her hands; eyes closed. "Alright, let''s go check the other snares." Lisa said walking past Sadie who had just realized why the rabbit was still. "Did you just kill it?!" Sadie asked with a shocked expression. "Ya, if you want breakfast and maybe lunchter, you can''t eat it alive." Lisa replied rather frankly. "Here, you can hold onto it. Just in case there are others in the next snares." Lisa held out the limp rabbit to Sadie. Unsure what to do, Sadie reached out and gently grabbed the rabbit. Its soft fluffy fur felt pleasing to the touch. She could even feel the warmth still radiating from the rabbit. "I-I had eaten rabbit stew before, but never like this." Sadie whispered following slowly after Lisa. She couldn''t look away from the small dead creature in her hands. "Well, you are in for a treat. The fresher the catch the better the taste!" Lisa whispered in reply while pushing back a bush limb and the twodies got back on the old road. They checked the remaining snares Lisa had set up, but they were all empty. Lisa reset a few of them and moved some others to newer locations. After about an hour the two arrived back at the Powerhouse building. In a few minutes Lisa got a fire going from the ashes left in the parking lots firepit. Then she got out the pot from the room upstairs and put it over the fire to hang on a stand she had built from old frame parts. Filling up the pot with river water using a bucket she waited for the water to boil. Sadie was still cuddling the rabbit in her hands when Lisa asked for it. Grudgingly Sadie handed over the stiffening rabbit. Lisa took it and ced it onto a t broad wooden board. She then started to skin it with her long knife. Sadie sat and watched curiously next Lisa. Sadie has never skinned an animal before, so this was fascinating to watch. Lisa carefully first cut at the skin and fur on the middle of the rabbits back. Then reaching inside that cut she pulled apart the rabbits skin revealing the shiny red and white meat inside. The motion itself was rather quick and simple. Though slightly unnerved, Sadie was interested in this type of wild outdoors cooking. Once the skin was removed from the body and legs, she twisted the head a few times decapitating it. Then she took the knife and removed its feet from just below the knee joint with one concise chop. Next, sheid it on its back and taking the knife again, she cut the area around the white cotton tail to removed it. Then pressing the knife into the area just below the rib cage, she sliced carefully down towards the cut at the tail. As she made this cut the grey and red intestines and liver appeared. Reaching into the rabbit Lisa scooped out the intestines with her hand. To Sadie it looked rather disgusting to touch but she held off voicing herments. cing them aside, Lisa spoke. "We can use thoseter to try and catch catfish in the river." Sadie, who was covering her mouth with both hands, nodded silently, and continued to watch wide eyed. Next, Lisa cut apart the rib cage revealing the heart and lungs. Again, she cleanly scooped them out and ced them with the intestines. There was a small amount of deep red blood pooling in the cavity left behind where the heart was. So, Lisa took the rest of the water left in the bucket and rinsed as much blood away as she could. Once that was done it was time to harvest the meat. Taking the knife, she lifted the front leg of the rabbit, exposing the shoulder de. Putting the knife under the shoulder de she skillfully sliced off the legs without hitting any bone or tearing the meat. Then for the back legs she cut the meat down to the bone and then popped the hip joint dislocating it. Lastly, she stuck the de under the dislocation and finished the cut. The final step was to cut the back meat off the rabbit. Holding the knife at an angle Lisa cut at the top of the hip bone and sliced towards the area below the rib cage. Then she cut horizontally along the spine and carved out the back meat on each side of the spine separately. This cut was to separate the rabbit backstraps from the bones and still keep as much meat as possible. Lastly, she tossed the harvested meat into the now boiling water. Mary and Joan were kind enough to give the twodies some more vegetables the night before. So, Lisa ended up diced them and tossed them in with the meat. After a while, the smell of the stew made the twodies mouths water. It smelled so good! Once the stew was done, the two ate their fill of the tasty meal. The rabbit meat very tender and was practically dripping off the bone. "That was very interesting to watch." Sadie said sipping at the broth. "Next time I want to try it, that is if you kill the creature. I couldn''t do that part on my own." "That''s fine. I would be d to teach you." Lisa replied giving a smile. Then she recalled something. "Sadie weren''t you going to start filling out the Fighter Form?" "Oh no! I totally forgot." Sadie said reaching for her blue backpack that had the papers in it. Lisa chuckled seeing this and thought to herself. "She''s such a scatter brain." Chapter 58: Maintenance (1) Chapter 58: Maintenance (1) After they had eaten and washed everything they had used, Sadie started to ask Lisa various questions on the list. She did so while following Lisa as they went to the maintenance building nearby. Sadie asked questions like Lisas real name, any organization affiliation, blood type, body specs., and other standard things you would find on a medical form. Lisa answered some of the questions, but others she intentionally asked to be left nk. She couldn''t let all of her secrets be spilled. Sadie did ask one question that Lisa had been wondering herself. The question was as follows: [This question may remain confidential: Does the Fighter have any Augmentations, Inducements, or Alterations done on or in their body?] "What do those three things pertain to exactly?" Lisa asked. She had never encountered a question as odd as this, at least not while in the future. "Well, these are different legal techniques that a fighter might use to better themselves in a Match Fight." Sadie started to exin as Lisa opened the door to the maintenance shop. Once inside Sadie opened the envelope with the rules to find the right papers to exin better. "Other than natural skill, training techniques and non-projectile rted weapons, a fighter can also use these to give them an edge. These techniques are generally divided into three broad categories." Sadie cleared her throat and squinted at the papers in the dim light of the shop. "Augmentations: This type has several different variations, for example, medical procedures that have added implementations into the body. These include bone infrastructure or bone support imnts. As well as joint and ligament recements with advanced fibers that increase their overall productivity, stress reduction, and longevity. Depending on the size and extent of the number of Augmentations added to the body, can cause the user to have abnormally shaped features; though with few drawbacks. These however are awfully expensive to preform and mainly the old and wealthy consider having Augmentations." "That sounds like it would take a while to heal up from all the surgeries. Also, wouldn''t it mess up your appearance and make you look all bulky or misshapen, defeating the purpose of having them?" Lisa asked looking over some tools in arge two-meter-long metal tool crate. "It very well can. I had seen a man once, that called himself ''The Rhino'' and he looked like his body was twice in size with body armor under his skin. He visited the University for promotion of his brand. I think at the time he was in the Sun League. Theres more here, but it would take an hour for me to read about the different types and what they are used for." Sadie said skimming through the paper. "Here is the next type." Sadie replied hovering her finger on the paper. "Alteration: These changes to the body include cybeics, prosthetics, and gic alterations. The first two are the oldest types and very self-exnatory, so I won''t exin them to deeply. Unless you need me too?" "No, those are easy to understand. What about the gic alterations?" Lisa said as she wrote down a list of items in the room. Multitasking was not at all hard for her to do and she easily could work and listen to Sadie at the same time. "Alright then. The gic alterations are where someone, either a fetus or child that has not yet reached puberty, are injected with gene enhancing codes. They are either directly put in the nucleus of the individual or transmitted through bacterial transference. The information here doesn''t exin the scientific details much further. Though I do find this remarkably interesting myself and I wish I studied this in school as my minor." Sadie replied rescanning the paper. "I am guessing it was some Arian group that was trying to create the ultimate human, and this was the result, right?" Lisa scoffed. "Yes and no. It was originally used to treat gically transferable or hereditary diseases. It was remarkably sessful inpletely irradiating HIV from humans, only fifty years ago." Sadie said with a tone of excitement. "HIV is gone?!" Lisa said looking up at Sadie with surprise. "Yes of course. Didn''t you pay attention in school?" Sadie replied looking at her questionably. "Kind of" Lisa replied halfheartedly. She really couldn''t say to Sadie that back two hundred odd years ago in high school that she learned how to not contract it. Doctors then could only dream of eradicating such a disease. "Any way, what about thest part?" "Of course, the Inducements. The Inducements are the strangest of the three groups and the mostmon. Still on the verge of mad science, despite beingmonly used, these imnts or injection-able solutions are able to give the user enhanced instincts, physical strength maxing out their muscles power, iparable speeds, reaction time and other bodily functions to work highly efficiently. Though there are other things that these Inducements can do in the human body, they have not yet been fully described. Results vary from different users as well." Sadie said finishing that page of exnations. "Now that sounds cool. Are there any side effects from using them?" Lisa asked. By now she had her arms full of tools and ancient looking paper manuals. The two started for the door to exit the shop. "Of course. Lots of these Inducements are still illegal and in the experimental stages. Some are addictive, cancer causing, harmful to bodily function and even brain activity. However, the pay offs for a good Inducement serum can out way the potential side effects." Sadie said flipping through the rest of the document. "Very interesting. It would be good to know more about these advantages in Fighters before I fight them." Lisa said as she motioned with her head for Sadie to open the door. Sadie put the document back in the envelope and opened the door to the outside. "Yes, it would." Sadie replied nodding. "So next time it might be a good idea for me to research the Fighters before you challenge them. I don''t want you fighting someone that would be too much for you to handle." "Alright, if you must. But I think I can handle myself in the ring, especially if everyone is as weak as the guys I fought already." Lisa said with a chuckle. "Oh, and you can put on the Form a ''yes but leave the type nk. I don''t want to give my secrets way to easily." "Alright that will be fine." Sadie sighed. "Could you at least tell me?" "Hmmm, no. I''ll make it a surprise." Lisa replied while crossing the parking lot. "Fine." Sadie said sounding disappointed. "So, what exactly are you doing with all these tools? Are you going to fixing up the building?" "Not exactly." Lisa replied stepping back inside the Powerhouse building. She put the tools and manuals down on the concrete floor near the entrance to the tunnel. "I am going to do some checking up on the reasons for why I live here." "I don''t get it." Sadie said gently stuffing the envelope back into her backpack. "Just give me a second. I''ll show you." Lisa replied selecting a few tools from the pile and a manualbeled ''Generator Disassembly''. "Follow me." Sadie followed Lisa curiously down the ramp towards the two big metal doors leading to the dams tunnel. Lisa fiddled with the lock and chain briefly before removing it. Then Lisa pushed open the door and it groaned and scratched at the floor grudgingly. The cool air inside came rushing out and tossed back the twodies hair at the same time. "Where are we going?" Sadie asked nervously looking down the dreary hallway. "Just going inside the dam. I want to check up on my new project to see what kind of repairs or broken parts need attention." Lisa replied nonchntly. "Don''t worry. It should be safe now." "What do you mean, safe now?" Sadie asked following closely behind Lisa. "Eh, I had an issue with a Twisted down herest time. Don''t worry I have plugged up the hole and nothings been in here since." Lisa replied. Though she spoke confidently she still had a hand ready to grab her sword. Just in case. "So, the Twisted you mentioned before was in here?" Sadie said looking around quickly. All she saw was the tan walls and metal pipes. "Yep." Lisa replied. "Killed it right up ahead in fact." The two walked further inside. Their footsteps on the smooth concrete floor echoed in the quiet hallway. Soon they arrived at the first generator. It was humming smoothly and quietly. The sounds of water turning the turbines far below was slightly audible. "I actually got this baby to turn on and start making electricity by sheer luck!" Lisa said with excitement. Then Lisa pointed up at the ceiling. "Didn''t you notice the lights?" "Now that you mention it, you do have electricity running in here!" Sadie saiding to the realization. "I guess being in thepound made me not notice." "This is the reason I am staying here. To work on getting this hydroelectric dam working again. Once I do, I can get power running to the rest of town and get everything back to normal." Lisa said putting down the items she was carrying onto an old table near the generator. It was between the first and second generators. "The whole reason I am going to do this is a simple one. Sure, helping everyone is good, but I need to benefit as well. That benefit is for me to make money. Lots of money!" Lisa said smiling. "The reason I went to Jackson was to get him and some men to work for me. I can''t do this all on my own." "You mean you tried to get Jackson, a lieutenant for the Mad Dogs, to work for you! Are you crazy?" Sadie replied in shock. "Ha-ha, maybe I am. But if I hadnt, I wouldn''t have be a Match Fighter. If this whole electricity thing doesn''t pan out, then I can always do the fighting to make money. From what I have seen I could score big beating all those weak male fighters!" Lisa replied pompously. She flipped open the manual to the part about removing the top if a generator to inspect it. "Sure, you can make a lot of money that way." Sadie replied though she was still amazed by what Lisa had nned on doing with the gang. Lisa found the right diagrams and read them over carefully. She couldn''t afford to mess things up at the moment. After a few moments she figured out the first steps. Then going over to the second generator she carried tworge wrenches. The three-meter-wide lid covering the generator had a series ofrge nuts and bolts going around the rim of the lid. They apparently had rusted a little, but the waterproof paint had done a good job up to this point. So, the rust wasn''t out of control yet. Lisa then went to work loosening all these nuts. Sadie watched curiously nearby. She was starting to get the impression that Lisa was able to do anything, from skinning animals and fixing machines, to making deals and winning fights. Was there nothing this woman could not do? "So, once you get the power on, how are you going to get it to the rest of town?" Sadie asked curiously. "Well, I''ll hire workers to rebuild the electrical lines and run them to buildings that I choose first. Those buildings I n on buying or working out deals with the owners. This way once the power is on, everyone will need to use it. Meaning they will need to buy all kinds of stuff. If I own that stuff or what makes it, I can sell the electricity and the stuff. Making double if not triple the money!" Lisa replied enthusiastically. Her grey eyes sparkled brightly as she proimed her true intentions, "I am going to build my own Marketing Empire!" Chapter 59: Maintenance (2) Chapter 59: Maintenance (2) "Marketing Empire?" Sadie said looking at Lisa with a funny expression. "I have never heard of such a thing." "I know it sounds funny." Lisa replied with a grunt. The rusted nut she was trying to loosen was being stubborn. If it weren''t for her cybeic arms, she couldn''t have been able to do work like this, at least not without powered equipment. "But the concept isn''t unheard of." Lisa continued to exin while working. "For example, Disney, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Amazon, Comcast, ICBC, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, and ExxonMobil just to name a few. All of thesepanies had made Billions if not Trillions of dors since their creation. I want to get a chance to earn money just like they did. Though with the way the world is now, this is all I can think of doing to reach my goal for the moment." "That''s an interesting dream, I guess?" Sadie replied unsure of what to say. "Why did you want to make a marketing empire? Didn''t you have other ideas about your future?" "Sort of, but not really." Lisa said giving a shrug. She then moved on to the next set ofrge rusty looking nuts. "When I was a kid, I wanted to be a gymnast in the Olympics, but that dream didn''tst long." "Howe? You seem like you have the skills, even now." Sadie asked. "War." Lisa replied tly. "My family was forced to move several times. The bombings kept us always on the move. So, I wasn''t able to train properly anywhere. By the time I turned sixteen I had already decided that would I join the military. For obvious reasons, my family was very much against me joining. However, I don''t think I made the wrong choice in the end. Though there are things I regret" Lisa trailed off. Sadie could tell that Lisa likely had gone through something traumatic, recalling the scar on Lisas back, and decided not to press any further. "So, if you joined the military, why do you now want to make marketing empire?" She asked edging the issue. As if unfazed, Lisa quickly went back to work. "Well, I wanted to get in the military as an officer, they get better pay. So, I went to college early and tried to learn Engineering. It turns out my mathematics skill arecking, but I did well in the mechanics aspects." Lisa said wiping at her brow leaving a brown rust streak behind. "I switched over to a Marketing major and then also to a different online university. I finished all my high school and college courses at the same time and then joined the military as an Officer. Even though I switched majors and universities, I still crammed in as much as I could. I finished it all in about two and a half years." "Under three years?!" Sadie said with surprise. "How did you manage to stay focused like that? I could hardly keep up with my own schooling and sses." "I did some in-ss studies for high school and everything else with was on online sses. Between you and me, copy and paste works simply great if you site your sources correctly. To be honest, I only passed because I read the projects required aspects and did the bare minimum of what my teachers wanted." Lisa said shaking her head and giving a wolfish grin. "Still, that''s just way to fast." Sadie remarked. "Any way, after that I joined the military at eighteen and fought for longer than what feels like an eternity. I rose in rank and became a part of a Special Forces Unit, of course I cant tell you those specifics. Lisa said giving a sly wink. After I left the military, I tried my luck out at being a traveling merchant and thats how, after a long story made short, I ended up here; in this old dam, working on building my fortune." Lisa said giving an exaggerated mock smile. "At least you''re trying. Most people wouldn''t have even considered doing this. Especially not me." Sadie replied. At that moment Lisa finished loosening thest nut to the top of the generator. She put therge tools aside and started to unplug all the wires and cords connected to it. Pointing at the wires Lisa exined. "This part right here. This is called the Busbar. It carries all the electricity up to the Transformers up above." Sadie nodded and silently watched Lisa work. She did, however, see that the Busbar tube ran up into the wall and disappeared upwards into an evenrger tube that ran towards the powerhouse. She assumed that thoserge ugly green cylinders on the bottom floor of the building were the Transformers Lisa was referring too. Next, Lisa was going to remove the heavy metal lid. She was definitely not going to try and lift this lid with her own strength, there was too much risk that she might break the lid or hurt herself. Fortunately, hanging above the generators was a horizontal Overhead Crane that was ced there exactly for this asion. Lisa tried to turn it on, but the control panel only let out a drawn-out beep. Meaning that there was an error in its system, and she had to fix it first. Fortunately, she had brought the manual for the cranes operation as well. Scanning through the manual and observing the operating panel, Lisa found that some wires had be corroded. She turned off the breaker before working, so that she wouldn''t get electrocuted. After rewiring and splicing the corroded wires, the crane started to function once again. The Overhead Crane would travel along a track attached to the ceiling, of which traveled the full length of the dams tunnel. This way it could reach all the generators, as was nned in the original design. Lisa lowered the two hooks that hung from each end of the crane and secured them to the two thick steel shackles on the lid. Pressing the lift button on the control panel, the lid slowly started to rise, exposing the generatorsponents inside. Then Lisa moved the crane further down the tunnel so that the lid would not be hanging directly above them while she worked. Sadie marveled at theplex appearance of the generators interior parts. "How do you know that you can actually work on this thing?" "I did a two-week summer internment at apany that worked on generator repairs." Lisa replied making sure that the cranes load was indeed safely in ce. "I got to help out with cleaning a smaller version of this generator while I was there. Like I said before, I am really good at the mechanics aspects and I remember this stuff fairly well." Then she got a faraway look on her face as she continued. "Kind of got the knack for this kind of stuff from my dad. He was a mechanic formercial airnes and had lots of books rted to mechanics in the house. I read a lot of them as a kid and I guess that skill runs in my family." "I see." Sadie replied looking at the circr metal devices inside. "So, what are all these parts? I haven''t a clue as to what these are." "Well, I''ll exin while I look them over." Lisa said picking up the manual for the generator. She also picked up another smaller wrench to use as well. Then pointing at the outer most portion of the generator, Lisa started to exin what they were looking at. "So, this rusty red outer part is the actual generator that converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy. This happens when the Rotor, this green one, spins around against this blue part called the Stator." Lisa then pointed at the various parts with the wrench, working her way further towards the center of the mechanism. "The Stator are these blue rows of small stationary airfoils attached to the casing of an axial-flow turbine, positioned between the rotors." Then she pointed down below the Rotor and Stator. "That white casing is what covers the shaft, and that shaft goes way down to where the turbine is. So, since this is obviously a dam, the turbine is moved by water as it falls down a gravity fed pipe and hits the turbine. Water turns the Turbine, Turbine spins the Shaft, which turns the Rotor and then rubs on the Stator to create electricity for the Generator to collect. Pretty simple set up, right?" "I think so?" Sadie said squinting at all the colorful parts. All this mechanics talk was making her head spin. However, she didn''t want to seem dumb, so she asked, "Is that all there is to making electricity? I figured it would be harder to make." "Well, there is more to it, but those are just the basic parts that you will need. The rest of the parts just support and assist the main parts, so that they function properly." Lisa exined. She had just started loosening the bolts on the generators outer parts to remove it. "I need to take this off to check for broken parts, rust, and copper corrosion. I''ll also need to do this with all the rest of the parts individually, so this might take me a while." Lisa said pausing to look up at Sadie. "So, what do you need me to do?" Sadie asked. She was feeling kind of useless watching Lisa do all the work. "Well, let''s see." Lisa said pausing from her work. "I know, we are going to get thirsty while we work, but we don''t have anything to drink. So, can you go back outside and put water into the pot and boil it for over three minutes?" "Sure, I can do that." Sadie nodded. "Sweet. Then once you get back, I need your help with writing stuff down." Lisa said while raising her hands up for Sadie to see them. "My hands are getting covered in rust and all this old sludge from lubricant. I am going to need you to make a list of all the things I am going to need in the future. I''ll have a contact of mine find and sell to me the stuff that I will require." "Alright, I won''t be gone long." Sadie replied turning to leave. She didn''t go far when Lisa called to her. "Hey, Sadie?" Lisa called. "Be careful up there alone. I don''t know anyone that lives around here yet. If someonees here that''s not John or Hanna,e back to me as quickly as you can." "I understand." Sadie said giving a reassuring smile. It was a refreshing feeling that someone was feeling concerned for her. Completely unlike being back at the Warehouse Arena MFA headquarters where everyone felt that she was just a burden to them. Lisa nodded and got back to work on the generator. Looking at all the different parts she felt slightly relieved. The parts were in surprisingly particrly good condition. Other than the light green corrosion on copper parts, some rust on other parts and the desperate need for clean lubricant, the overall condition of generator Two was in great shape. Things were really getting off to a decent start. Lisa couldn''t help but smile. Soon the townspeople would have power and she would have money in her pockets! Chapter 60: Up Stream Chapter 60: Up Stream Zane tried to stay under water for as long as he possibly could. The near miss from getting crushed by the huge Mech foot terrified him. However, after all the running and panicking he had undergone, soon forced him toe back up nearly immediately after going under. He gasped heavily as his head broke the surface of the muddy river water. Turning frantically around he looked back on shore to see if the Mech was going to follow after him. To his relief, the Mech was still standing there motionless at the rivers edge. For now his gamble had paid off. "I have got to get out of here!" Zane thought looking desperately around the river. There was a long dock that ran alongside the river that started not too far downstream from him. He could try swimming to it, but the Mech would just follow him. The riverbank on the other side was too far away and the current was definitely to strong. However, it seemed that going for dock was his only hope for the moment. He started swimming for the dock, along with drifting current which further quickened his pace. Suddenly, there was a loud click and an airy hissing noiseing from the Mech. Looking back at the Mech, Zane saw that the cockpit door was lifting open! He saw a big hand grab the side of the cockpit and a huge man came climbing out. It was Dilly! "You''re a resilient one." Dilly deep voice called out as he looked down at Zane. Dilly reached back into the cockpit and pulled out his weapon, an oversized grappling hook with serrated des. "Time to fish." His deep voice growled though it sounded almost as if he was making a joke, a scarry joke. He slowly started securing a rope to the grappling hooks end, while eyeing Zane with a cold expression. Zane saw what Dilly intended to do and started swimming fervently towards the dock. Luckily, the current was with him and he was nearly there, only three meters to go. Once he made it under the dock he could hide around the pilings and hopefully the huge man would lose track of him and leave. "Zzzz, Ssh!" The huge grappling hook whizzed past Zane''s head and sshed right in front of him! The sudden attack made Zane so shocked that he gulped in the foul brown water when he tried to yell. Furiously floundering towards the first set of pilings, Zane finally made it to the first one. "Awe, looks like my aim was off." Dilly grumbled as he reeled in his hook and coiling the rope in one hand. "I guess being in that cramped cockpit jammed me up." Dilly quickly finished winding up the grappling hook rope and then turned off the MCM3. Pocketing the key, Dilly tossed the coiled rope over his shoulder. Then he grabbed the top of the Mechs door and jumped down to the bank side below. This motion also closed the cockpit door and thennding heavily, he started perusing Zane on foot. Zane swam past three more pilings before he stopped, clinging to the pilings slimy sides, to catch his breath. "Crap, crap, crap! How am I going to get away from that monster!" Zane thought as he pulled himself higher up the concrete piling. The muddy water swirled slowly around his body and above him was the old wooden dock nks. There wasn''t anything else around him that he might use for cover. "Thunk, thunk, thunk." The sounds of Dilly''s heavy footsteps on the old wood dock slowly starteding closer towards Zane''s location. Every step drove up Zanes anxiety and his grip on the piling loosened and he sunk back into the water. "What to do?!" Zane thought panicking. "Crash!" A huge fist suddenly appeared as it punched through the rotted wood next to the piling that he had just swam past! Seeing it, Zane turned to swim further away. The fist retreated back through the hole and Dilly''s head slowly lowered in its ce. His long ck hair drooped down and obscured his vision. However, he could hear just fine. The sound of his quarry swimming away was easy to pick out from the consecutive river water wavespping the rocks on shore. He smiled hungrily as the thrill of the hunt was getting to him and stood back up out from the hole. Taking a quick series of long strides Dilly stood over the area he guessed Zane might be swimming at. Again, he effortlessly punched another huge hole in the dock wood. This time he was right on target. The terrified face of Zane was now looking right up at him from the waters surface. "Seriously!?" Zane yelled. Dilly didn''t waste a moment. He gripped the end of his grappling hook and chucked it down through the hole at Zane. Zane saw iting. He had to do something! Swim, dodge, try to block it or just let this be the end? However, Zane hadn''t given up just yet. He may have lost his rifle when the building was toppled, but he still had his handheld weapons. Three ded steel Tiger ws, the very same that his hero, Wolverine, used. The retractable Tiger ws on both his arms were still hidden up under the cuffs of his sleeves. Triggering the mechanism to release them, they instantly shot out as he swung up at the iing hook. "Pa-ting!" The sound of the two metal weapons reverberated sharply underneath the quiet dock. The impact knocked back Zane''s hand and the vibrations tingling his hand were intense. Reeling back Zane turned to keep swimming away, despite the pain in his arm. "A really resilient one." Dilly muttered as he started to pull up the grappling hook. Zane swam as fast as he could, weaving in and out of the pilings. Yet no matter how far he went or where under the dock he was, Dilly was right on top of him. Dilly would keep punching holes in the dock right above Zane, but since Zane was always on the move Dilly couldn''t attack properly again. However, the game of cat and mouse was getting close to the end. Zane was getting exhausted. He wasn''t used to swimming this much and could feel his strength lessening from being in the cold water. Something had to change! That is when he saw it. There was a fairly good-sized log bobbing alongside the outside of the dock. A n quickly popped into his head. "I could hide on the other side of it and push out into the river. Then that giant might lose track of me!" Zane thought. He was nearly at his wits end and this seemed like his only option. "Crash!" Dilly''s fist came crashing through the dock yet again. This time it was slightly ahead of Zane. Zane couldn''t stop himself in time from passing under the new hole! Dilly smirked. "Finally!" He then sent the hook spinning down hard at Zane''s exposed backside. Zane tried to flip over and block the attack with his Tiger ws, but he was too slow. The hooks de smashed into Zane''s side knocking the breath out of him. The pain shot through his whole body and he let out an audible grunt. He intuitively knew that some ribs had to be broken. Dilly saw and heard this and immediately acted. Since the pointy end of the hook was now underneath Zane, he could now make his second attack. Yanking sharply at the rope, Dilly pulled the hook violently up out of the water aiming for Zane. He was going to try and gaff him! The sharp point of the hook stabbed deeply into the shocked body of Zane. It burred deeply into the rib cage on the other side of where he had been hit. Just like a gaffed fish, Zane''s body was pulled upwards and crashed into the underside of the dock. The wood shattered at his bodies impact and he broke through to the top of the dock! At that same moment the hook viciously tore out of Zanes side. Zane, though in pain, seized that break away moment to make a desperate swing at Dilly. Dilly was unarmed for that brief second and his huge bulky body seemed like it would not be able to dodge the Tiger ws. Yet Dilly defied the odds and leaning back he dodged Zane''s frivolous attack. Zanended heavily on the wooden dock and rolled once. He grabbed at his bleeding side and gasped for breath while in pain. Patting the stinging wound, Zane was relieved that no organs were pulled out and were likely unharmed. The whole time he didn''t take his eyes off the big man attacking him. Dilly did not move, however. He simply moved back into his upright position and calmly started recoiling the hooks rope. Then his deep voice broke the silence. "Well now. You can still try to attack me after that attack and position you were thrown in? You are quite the prey." He finished cooking the rope and looked calmly at Zaneying on the dock. "You must be a lieutenant for the ck Rats. No regr man could perform that stunt. Imend you. Tell me your name before you die." Zane gritted his teeth. "I don''t intend on dying here! You won''t beat me." "Ho? You still got some fight in you. No matter, this will be over soon." Dilly replied shaking his head. "Since you won''t tell me yours, I''ll say mine. I am Dilly Utter, Mountain League tier Six Match Fighter." "Mountain League!" Zane gasped as he clutched his side. His ribs were pounding with every breath, that even the adrenaline couldnt mask the pain he was feeling. "Yes. Now goodbye, nameless man." Dilly said and at the same moment flung the grappling hook at Zane''s chest. Zane had nearly no time to react from this distance. Desperately he raised his free arm to block the attack. However, he couldn''t fully stop it. Only one of the hooks tines was blocked by Zanes Tiger ws, while the others rotated and smacked right into his chest! The impact sent him skittering backwards and back out into the churning water below. Dilly knew that his shot struck home, simply from hearing the thudding sound of metal on flesh. Walking over to the edge where Zane had fallen, he looked over just to be sure that Zane hadnt survived. As he expected Zane was sunk without a trace and bubbles were stilling up from the water depths. Just then the radio link in Dilly''s ear buzzed. "Dilly, this is Gillian. I have just taken out Garret. The gangsters boss is dead now, so the fight with the ck Rats is over. How are things on your end?" Dilly turned away from the empty river and headed back to his Mech. "It''s all over for me. No survivors." "Good. See you back at base." Gillian replied ending the call. Dilly reached his Mech and started to climb back into the machine. Opening the cockpit, he climbed inside and started it up. Before he turned to go, he took onest look down at the river. Yet nothing was there. He then turned the Mech around and lumbered off. If Dilly had looked back at the river only a few secondster, he would have seen arge log bobbing in the river. Just on the other side of it was Zane! When falling, somehow Zanes Tiger ws on one hand struck the log and buried deep inside the soft rotting wood. The impact also loosened the log from the dock and sent them both floating out into the center of the river. Though barely conscious, Zane was still alive! His body was wreaked and still bleeding badly, all he could do was float with the log. For how long he was at the mercy of the rivers current, he didn''t recall. Thest thing he could remember was a sailboating up the river before he passed out. "Ah, man. We lost one of our fenders." A sailor aboard the sailboatined to another sailor. "That sucks. We just bought onest month." The other sailor remarked. "Guess we need to find something to rece it before we dock. See any logs we might use?" "Um, ya. There''s a big one dead ahead." The first sailor replied pointing ahead. "We can use that one, right?" The second sailor looked over the edge. "Ya, that will work." Then a spot of color caught his attention. "What''s that on the log?" The first sailor looked again at it. "Is that a person!?" He said seemingly questioning his sight. "It is!" The second sailor stated. "Man overboard! Get something to grab that log with!" Zane was not out of luck just yet! Chapter 61: Dock Side Chapter 61: Dock Side Sadie managed to get the smoldering fire lit again. It took her a few tries, and she nearly put out the embers by ident, but in the end the fire was burning just fine. After refilling the pot with water, she ced it over the fire and waited for it to boil. Watching the motionless water in the pot she grumbled to herself. "Well, this sucks! I am stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, living in this crappy building with someone I barely even know. I got no warm water, no snacks and nothing to do." Sadie sighed and looked around the area. From where she was sitting all she could see were the rusting, decrepit buildings, old rusting cars and the ruined town beyond. "Why did I ever get sent to this horrible ce?" Sadie continued thinking. "If the Association didn''t offer a signing bonus toe here, I wouldn''t have. Also, if the Arena were out there in town I would have quit. This ce is a dump!" The water in the pot now had some tiny bubbles rising from the bottom. She watched them slowly grow and rise with a zed over expression. "At least this is more rxing than working in that stuffy office. No one ever took me seriously. Always running papers around or making coffee" She went to scratch her head and realized she hadn''t bradded her hair yet. It was getting all jumbled up in the soft wind churning as it bounced off the Powerhouse building. Quickly she grabbed her brush from her backpack and started brushing. Luckily, the damage was minimal, and she was able to straighten it out. The water was soon boiling after she finished brushing and she mentally started counting to three minutes. While waiting she started to braid her long brown hair into her signature single braid. Even without a mirror her nimble fingers knew just what to do and even before the boil time was up, she had finished the braid. "Hmm, it would probably be best to take the pot down into the tunnel. It''s cooler there." Sadie though to herself as she took the pot off the fire. "Better let it cool off here a bit before I do take it. Don''t want to ssh myself." Leaving the firepit and pot to cool, Sadie started to wander around the power station grounds. There really wasn''t much to see, just ruins. The only thing that she though odd was all the metal objects piled up by the big sliding door. "Why is are those piled like that? I better ask Lisa about them." Sadie thought leaving a mental note. Eventually she wandered closer to the dam. She hadn''t looked over the edge yet and she felt her curiosity drawing her to the edge. Giving in she leaned against the concrete railing and peeked over. It was far higher than she thought! The sight of the huge t wall of the dam, standing tall over the muddy river below was fascinating. The water came out from three pipes, but mainly from the spillway right in its middle. The broad spillway had a tenge of green algae mixed under the muddy water and this added to the dams nd tan color making it less boring. There were two additional ces water was flowing out from the dam. One was a pipe, one of many, far below, just above the rivers surface. The other water flow location was an old fishdder, where fish would travel upriver to migrate. The water falls and pools of the fishdder gave azy feel to the scene. The river itself dazzled in the bright sunlight. Severalrge sailboats dotted its surface leaving long foamy white V-shaped trails behind them in the water. Others were docked and loading or unloading cargo. Even though this town seemed dead, the dock showed that life was still being brought here. The wind picked up briefly,ing from down river and climbing up the dams walled surface. The faint sound of lots of booms flittered into Sadie''s ears as it did. "Are those gun shots?" Sadie murmured. She strained to hear the booms better. "They sound like they areing from the eastern part of town on the other side of the river." Though interested, she knew that there was no way for her to find out. As far as she could tell there was no easy way across. Also, why would she go towards gunshots? Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she turned to head back to get the water and take it to Lisa. "Quick, get some bandages! We need to stop the bleeding!" The first sailor called out. They had roused the crew of the modest sailboat and fished Zane''s limp body from the water. They did what they could to stop up the bleeding, but that was all they could do. Zane was still unconscious, so they had no idea what had happened. However, they had a suspicion. The eastern part of town to their right had broken out into a frenzy of gunfire for a long time as they were traveling upriver. It was likely the man they found was a victim of whatever was going on over there. Yet the wounded man didn''t look like he had been shot, but rather mauled by some animal. "Let''s take him to shore with us." The Sailboat Captain said to the crew. "We can find a doctor or someone and leave him there. Whatever happened to him is not our concern. If we get caught with him, we to might get wrapped up in whatever is going on over there." The crew members agreed. They were all simple river boat traders. Only a few of them had weapons for just in case bandits or creatures might attack the sailboat. This man ultimately wasn''t worth the trouble. Saving his life was the right thing to do, but that was all they were concerned with. They were headed for thest main dock that anyone could travel to on the river. Any further was the dam. No boats traveled north past the dam. At least as far as they knew. They were transporting food goods and soaps to sell to the Mad Dog gangsters and locals in the area. How the gang had the money to keep theming to sell more, they never asked. As long as they got money it didn''t matter. They wouldn''t be much longer before they arrived. The second sailor patted the unconscious Zane''s chest. "Don''t worry. We are almost there, buddy. Don''t die on us yet. It''s bad luck to die after being saved from the river you know." Sadie had brought the now cooler pot down into the dams tunnel. She found Lisa, filthy, and surrounded by various metal parts that were scattered all over the floor. What they were or where they came from Sadie was totally clueless. "I boiled the water and brought it back." Sadie called out to Lisa. Lisa was banging on a rusty bolt and its noise echoed annoyingly in the concrete tunnel. Lisa''s head popped up hearing Sadie''s voice. "Oh, that was fast. Didn''t think you would be back so soon." Lisa replied. She wiped at some sweet on her cheek and left a gross ck smear behind. Sadie saw it and cringed. "You just took a bath in the river and now your absolutely filthy! Do you have any idea what that stuff even is?" "Ya, it''s lubricant." Lisa said giving a shrug. "I can always wash of again. Something like this isn''t all that bad. I have been in much worse." "I''ll just take your word for it." Sadie replied giving a sigh while putting to pot off to the side to continue cooling. "Well since youre back grab that notebook. I have a few things to list." Lisa said pointing at the notebook on the table surrounded by the manuals. Giving an audible sigh Sadie picked up the notebook. Lisa immediately started naming various things she needed. "Let''s see, I need Dry Ice Cleaner, lubricants for the shaft and Rotor, then I need" It took several minutes for Lisa to finally list off all the parts and issues that needed to be fixed. Several times Sadie had to stop her so she could get the spelling right or ask what exactly the things were. Lisa was happy to exin them and all Sadie could do was nod her head as if she wasprehending what Lisa was prattling on about. "Good Lord, this is what I must sound like when I am talking about the MFA to people." Sadie thought slightly embarrassed. Before Lisa could go on, Sadie interrupted, "I saw several boats bringing stuff on shore. Do you think they might have some of this stuff you need?" "I doubt it." Lisa said thinking briefly. Then she looked around at the mess surrounding her. "But I guess it wouldn''t hurt to take a break and check. I might be able to find someone to order the stuff from." Sadie had also brought two thermoses beforeing down into the dam. She filled them up with the still cooling water for the two of them to drink. Even though the water was warm, in the chilly tunnel it wasn''t all that bad. They were even able to warm their chilled hands on them at the same time. After getting everything ready they headed back up top. Lisa quickly washed off her face and arms best she could in the river. Her face ended up looking fine, but her forearms and hands had been lightly stained ck. Though it didnt bother Lisa one bit. Then once Lisa had put on her coffin backpack, the two were ready to go. It wasn''t a very long walk to the docks closest to the dam. Leaving the facility behind, they went down the road past two blocks of storage units, before turning down to the river. There were several dozen people alreadying and going from the docks by the time they arrived. Just as Lisa had expected there was nothing worth her time to look over. It was all simple items and necessities for people to survive on in the dismal town. Additionally, none of the boat Captains she spoke with dealt in the kinds of things she needed for the dams reconstruction. She needed to probably find some connection that would be willing to trade those rare materials out here to the middle of nowhere. That was going to cost money. Something she had far too little of. "I guess Frank Sellers is my only bet at this point." Lisa thought to herself. Then speaking to Sadie, who was looking at some fancy looking reed baskets, "You ready to go back? I don''t see anything we need for the moment." "We can''t go just yet. Let''s find some beds to buy. No offense, but I want to sleep separately tonight." Sadie said apologetically, but still serious. "Ha-ha, alright fair enough. I am already tired of those old couches anyway." Lisa said as the two turned to keep looking. Then somemotion ahead caught her attention. "What going on over there?" There was arge crowd starting to form around a sailboat that had just arrived at the dock. From here Lisa could hear several people calling out for help and a doctor. "Let''s hurry." Lisa said picking up the pace. "Sounds like there is trouble up ahead." "Alright, I aming. Slow down some." Sadieined while trying to keep up. When Lisa pushed her way through the crowd, she saw what was going on. There was a man being carried off the boat on a stretcher. His shirt had been removed revealing a nasty looking wound and fearsome bruises wrapping across his torso. From what she could see no one was able toe forward and help the sailors out. "Well, looks like I need to put my field training to work." Lisa thought to herself. Taking off her coffin she opened it to pull out her medical kit. "What are you going to do now?" Sadie asked watching Lisa. "I am going to try and help out. No one else seems capable." Lisa replied re-shouldering the coffin. "Hey, I have some medical things. Let me take a look at him." Lisa shouted and headed towards the injured man. Chapter 62: Stitches Chapter 62: Stitches "I can help him." Lisa continued passing through the small crowd towards the sailors carrying the injured man. She held up her medical kit. "I have anti-infection solutions." "Lisa!" Sadie hissed at her, while weaving around the crowd. "Even I know those are expensive. You don''t even know the guy!" "True but take every opportunity you can. This could have its benefits." Lisa replied. Though she herself knew this was likely a bad idea. "Oh wonderful!" The Captain replied following behind the stretchering off the sailboat. "I was worried that we wouldn''t find someone with medicine so quickly. Hes in a dangerous position." Lisa came up to them as the sailors put down the stretcher. Lisa knelt beside the injured man and opened her medical kit. From inside she pulled out a wrapper, containing a single use pair of sterile medical use rated nylon gloves. Since she didn''t have an appropriate sink or soap to wash her hands, this was the best option for her to take in this situation. Taking one look at the wound on the shirtless mans side, Lisa knew fixing this wound was going to be beyond her medical training. The wound looked like jelly covered bread that had been torn apart. Lisa could see deeply inside, to the point that the undamaged intestines were nearly visible. The wound was rtively fresh and still bleeding lightly, but thankfully there was no apparent immediate threat to the mans life. Lisa looked up at the Captain and asked, "So what happened to this man?" The Captain shook his head. "I do not know the cause. My sailors spotted him floating in the river, stuck to a log." The Captain then pulled out the Tiger ws that they had removed from the man. "He had these on, and they were stuck into the log saving him from drowning. There had to have been something going on over on the other side of the river. We had been hearing lots of gunfire all morning." "Interesting." Lisa replied. "Sadie, you still have that thermos with the boiled water?" "I do." Sadie replied turning around her backpack and taking out the water to give it to Lisa. The sight of the blood and nasty wound didn''t bother her on bit. She had seen plenty of blood and wounded people from the Match Fights. Lisa carefully poured the water on the wound, trying to wash away any foreign materials from around and in the wound. Reaching back into the kit Lisa then took out the anti-infection solution bottle and applied it to the now cleaner looking wound. Then, carefully, she took a bit of gauss from the kit and dabbed at the deeper parts of the wound best she could. Next, she took out from the kit a sealed stic bag containing a medical staple gun. "This won''t close the wound, but it will hold everything together. At least until I can see if Joan can help us, she used to be an EMT personnel." Lisa said looking up at Sadie, who nodded in understandably. Taking the staple gun out she pinched the top and bottom parts of the ragged wound together and with five staples, temporarily closing the wound. Taking out another longer strip of gauss she ced it over the wound, then using medical glue, glued it to the mans side. When she finished blood already had started soaking into the gauss. Then Lisa nced over the rest of the mans body for any other damages. Though he had been in the river the marks, cuts, and bruises all over him made it apparent that he had gone through something intense. "What can you tell me about the other side of the river Capt." Lisa said at first, but then realized that the Captain and crew were not there. Jumping up she turned to look towards to sailboat. It was already sailing away! The Captain waved back seeing Lisa''s surprised look. "No hard feeling, but we can''t take responsibility for him. He''s all yours miss!" "Why that horrible man! How could he abandon him just after saving him?" Sadie shouted crossly. "It''s a cruel world." Lisa said turning away with a sigh. "There goes my possible trade opportunity." Then looking down at the unconscious man she thought, Guess Ill just make do with you somehow. The crowd had started to disperse seeing that nothing really was going on anymore. Looking around it was clear no one intended to get involved. Same as the sailors. "What are we going to do with him? I''m no expert, but we can move him much with that wound." Sadie pointed out to Lisa. "Just leave himying here while I go get Joan. Ill be quick." Lisa suggested. "Wait, are you leaving me here, with him, alone on this dock?" Sadie said putting her hands on her hips. "There is no way I can do that. What if he wakes up and starts going crazy or something!" Lisa knew that might be a possible oue, but what else could she do? She couldn''t carry him in her arms without damaging the gauss or wound further and Sadie wasn''t strong enough to help carry him on the stretcher. "Psst, heydies." Someone called to them from further down the dock. Looking that way, they spotted an old man leaning heavily on a cane. He was smiling with a toothless smile and beckoning to them with his wrinkled hand. He seemed like a crazy old man from the extravagantly patterned and somewhat soiled clothing he wore, but Lisa''s intuition was telling her that things were alright. "I have a suggestion for you." The old man spoke gruffly to them. "You need a ce to put that young man and I have one. For a price." Lisa figured that there would be a catch. "What did you have in mind old timer? Let''s see it." Lisa said going his way. "Wait here with him, Sadie. I won''t be long." "Ah, fine." Sadie huffed and crosses her arms to ir at Lisa as she followed the old man. The old man led Lisa to arge shack nearby on the dock. Above the doorway it read, "Ulster''s Shop". The old man hobbled inside, and Lisa followed, bending low to get her coffin through the doorway. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting inside. Besides the natural lighting from the door and a small window, there were only a few dim candles scattered around the room. When her eyes fully adjusted, she saw a teenaged boy sitting on a stool working on something on a work desk. All around the room were a lot of odd mechanical parts, wires, tools, and kitchen appliances. There was another room further back that Lisa couldn''t see what might be in it. "Hey, Tom. Go out back and get a mattress. She needs a bed for an urgent matter." The old man called out to the teen. Tom turned around to look at them. "What for? She buying? You know grandpa that we have to sell stuff, not give it away." The teen boy lifted a pair of tinted soldering goggles onto his forehead and started eyeing Lisa with cautious blue eyes. The old man cackled and spoke to Lisa. "Don''t mind my grandson. He is easily grumpy. Then turning back to the teen, "Yes, she is buying. She needs too." He nced at Lisa giving a crafty smirk. Lisa couldn''t help but chuckle. "Actually, your assumptions are half right. I want to buy three mattresses. Assuming they are rtively clean and in good shape." The old manughed hardily. "That''s the spirt missy! I know how to peg a buyer, that is for sure. Hurry up kid! Get thisdy those mattresses." Tom got up from the stool and hurried out to the back of the shack. They could hear him moving things around, likely to make room to move the mattresses. Tapping his cane on the floor, the old man faced Lisa. "So, what do you have to trade for these three mattresses?" The old man said eyeing the coffin on Lisa''s back. "No trade. I can pay you twenty dors cash, right now." Lisa said removing the coffin and opening the lid. She made sure the old man couldn''t see it contents. He was definitely a craft character that probably wouldnt let something go if he saw value in it. "Deal." The old man replied abruptly. Lisa was moderately surprised. She was sure that the old man would have tried to haggle the price up some more. "Those skimpy sailors don''t hardly ever pay me money. Those mattresses are just in the way as well. Better that they get used." The old man said holding out his hand to Lisa expectantly. Lisa chuckled and took out the money and gave it to the man. He quickly pocketed it, after holding it up to the window to make sure it was real. By then Tom had pulled out the first mattress. It was still in its original wrapping, and though it had a few holes in the dusty stic, it was in great condition. "Are the other two like this one?" Lisa asked looking over it to be sure. "Of course." The old man said giving a nod. "I don''t cheat my costumers, especially pretty ones." He let out a bit ofughter. "Grandpa!" Tomined. But Lisa payed thement no mind. Old people tended to be like that. "Can I leave it in here with the wounded man until I can move him?" Lisa asked. "For another dor, if you got it." The old man said after a moments thought. "Deal. I''ll pay when he''s gone." Lisa replied. Lisa went back to carefully move the man into the shack and onto the mattress. Then making sure Sadie was fine being at the shop she left to go get Joan. It took her over an hour to go find Joan and bring her back to the shack by the dock. Joan was happy to help. She had mentioned before that she wished she could still be an EMT, so this opportunity was exciting for her. Looking over the wound Joan nodded in approval. "Nice job Lisa. You took care of this very well. I can stitch it up best I can. I don''t have much stitching materials left, so I can''t straighten out the torn flesh. It''s going to leave a nasty looking scar." "I''m sure he won''t mind. Better then dying." Lisa replied. As long as he doesnt sumb to any major infection or his constitution gets too weak from the blood loss and gets the better of him, I think he will recover. Joan said picking out the needle and thread to fix the wound. As for recovery time, it depends on whether or not hes had healing modifications put in his DNA. Could be weeks to months. Lisa had heard of healing modifications before, back at the military base. Soldiers were all required to take it and, for once, the government was right for mandating it. The healing modifications boosted the bodes natural healing and immune systems nearly one hundred percent. Before the cyborg units rebelled, they too took it as well. It wasn''t long before Joan finished up re-cleaning the wound, stitching it up and reapplying the gauss. Though she imed it had been a while since she had fixed someone with a wound like that, she appeared to do it wlessly. Her skills were in no waycking. Lisa thanked her and promised to repay herter. Joan agreed happily and after saying goodbye, said she would be fine returning alone home. "Now, how to move all of this?" Sadie remarked after finding out the three mattresses were now theirs. "We have a truck bed wagon you can rent." Tom replied. "Ah, the apple really doesn''t fall far." Lisa said shaking her head. "Fine I''ll pay." After paying the old man the fees, loading up the bedding and still unconscious man into the Toyota truck bed, were they ready to go home. Though Lisa insisted that she could pull the makeshift wagon, Tom insisted that he pull it. "I don''t want you stealing it." Was Toms reasoning. Fortunately, it wasn''t far away so Lisa agreed. Zane opened his eyes slowly. At first, his vision was all blurred, but soon he focused on the unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to sit up, but both his head and side was struck with a sharp pain. "Gah! Where am I?" He moaned aloudying back down immediately. "You''re awake atst. It''s about time." A woman''s voice called to him. Zane turned to see an imposing tall, slim woman looking down at him with cold grey eyes. Chapter 63: Nest Chapter 63: Nest n Stockholm had returned to heal at the ce he considered to be his Nest. This Nest was located on top of an officeplex, that had been bombed and the roof had partially copsed. Yet, the ruined building suited him perfectly. Especially since it was also the tallest of the remaining downtown buildings. Growing up in the wildnds, to the far north east of Moab City, his parents raised him to believe in the Spirits of Earth and that every person had possession of a Spiritual Animal Guide. The Guide was to lead and empower its host human to be the strongest and most powerful over all the others. n''s Spiritual Animal was the Bald Eagle, and this building was his nest. Those that were ranked under him, lived in the buildings floors below. Though the Skull had a legitimate stronghold, n couldn''t stand being there. Everyone and everything there, including the air, was stifling and oppressive. To him it felt as if he was in a burning Beavers lodge. A ce unfit for an Eagle. After he reunited at the Nest with the remanence of his forces, he was disappointed. He had been training and gathering as many warriors as he could for the past six months and only ten Finger ranked, and twenty-three Feet ranked warriors remained. He had lost just over half of his men in one skirmish. Yet even from those survivors, five of the Feet ranked warriors were not going to fight ever again from the wounds they endured. Leaving only eighteen to be capable forbat. Sitting on the edge of the broken buildings roof, with feet dangling off a single steel beam dozens of meters above the concrete below, n surveyed the tall buildings of The Damn''s downtown. From this vantage point, he could see half of the roads that converged on this location dumping into a roundabout. An old, weathered statute of some long-forgotten hero of the past still stood erect in its overgrown roundabouts center. The stiff cold wind toyed with his brown hair as it bustled its way through the city''s rusting high rises. cing a tentative hand on the wound on his shoulder, n recalled the fight from before with Darius. Grumbling to the wind n spoke aloud, "If only I reacted sooner, I could have blocked way more of his attacks. One day I will be known as the greatest man of all. No one will stand before me and inflict damages like that on me again." Being so high up, the strong winds took his words and tossed them away. Never to be heard again. The clear azure sky could be seen for kilometers on end, not a single cloud blemished its cid endless void. He would never grow tired of this sight. The horizon looked so close temptingly close that he could reach out and touch it, yet its rim would always be out of reach. Then, looking down, he spotted movements on streets so extremely far below. A group of around twenty people wereing across the street towards his building. Squinting, n could only recognize one man based solely by his oundish clothing choice. It was Steel Fist. Dressed like a Native American, with feathers braded in his uncut ck hair, mixed with the tattooed skeleton body he had, gave him a most terrifying appearance. Add his oundish weapon of choice, the top of a light pole, made him intently recognizable and feared. "I hope this is a friendly visit." n spoke again to the wind. He slowly stood up on the edge of the steel beam and leaned back stretching his back with his arms high above. "You''ll never know what to expect when he ising your way." Turning around on his heel, n tight roped along the steel beam effortlessly back to where the floor of the building was. He had repaired most of this area months before by salvaging the best materials he could find. The floor was secure, roof didn''t leak, and ss walls had been re-erected all around. Inside, opposite of the staircase, was where his bed and other personal things were kept. Once inside, he headed for the elevator shaft. The elevator was no longer operational, however, its doors on every level remained opened. The Skull had a device that allowed them to gain the upper hand in taking over the downtown area. The device is called an "Automatic Rope Climber". The Automatic Rope Climber device mps down on a rope, cable, or a covered chain; then when the operator squeezes the trigger on the handle it will pull the operator up or down. The original device was intended to help rescuers and first responders to scale buildings, cliffs, canyons, or tall ships to save those in need. Naturally, the military had seen it potential uses for them and the device has gone though many different designs. The first design allowed a person to be carried up a rope at a pace of one meter per second. Then carry the operator and a load of no more than one hundred sixty kilograms down at a safe speed. The devices nowadays can carry someone up at ten times that speed, carry four times the weight downward, and its battery wouldst hundreds of hours. The gang used these devices to take over buildings controlled by rivals in minutes, rather thanying siege for hours or days and taking over floor by floor. Along with minimal personnel losses due to their swift takeovers, using such a device was a clear choice. n had several of these provided for his men and self. Then picking up his device he made sure nobody wasing up on the elevator shaft before he descended to meet up with Steel Fist. The device clicked onto the cable effortlessly and hanging on with one hand, he descended towards the bottom floor. The sound of the friction of the device grating on the cable rubbed softly all the way down. When arriving at the bottom he saw Steel Fist and his men already expecting him toe from the elevator. "Ah, Bone yer, as observant as ever I see. I bet you saw using for some time from that perch of yours." Steel Fist called out and his voice boomed in the marbled lobby. He had no concept of an inside voice. "Yes, I did." n replieding up to greet him. The two shook hands tightly and each giving the other a broad smile. Though allies, each was wary of the other. Competition among the Skulls members was always inevitable. "What brought you here today? I believe I had already thanked you for bailing us out of that skirmish." n asked getting to the point. Steel Fist sighed lowering his head and rested his huge fists onto his hips. His headdress feathers wobbled as he replied. "The Eyes and Head have requested your personal attendance at the meeting that''s being held tonight at the Heads Base. I know you hate it there and so do they. That''s why I am here, to make sure youe this time. Its apparently important this time." n turned his head and spit distastefully onto the marble floor. "I guess I have no choice then. I bet they are mad at me for breaking this pathetic peace between the two sides. It''s just gotten so boringtely doing nothing but patrols." "I agree." Steel Fist said with a shrug. "However, it''s not our call to make. Though it would satisfy our lust for battle, we would likely be overwhelmed by those Mad Dog ingrates numbers. I would rather pummel everyone in a fight I know I can win." "For such a big guy you sure act cowardly." n mumbled under his breath, but it was just loud enough for Steel Fist to hear. n gripped the handle of his tactical hammer in anticipation, fully expecting Steel Fist to retaliate. Steel Fist, rather, burst into a hardy fit ofughter. The feathers in his long ck hair bounced violently around as he did. "I understand why you think that, but if I lose a fight while so young and die, I am wasting my chances at future battles. I can feel it in my bones that wars toe are nothing like we have seen before." n looked into the big mans cow brown eyes and could see the fire of battle burning brightly as ever. He rxed his grip and replied indifferently. "I suppose. Yet if the Head keeps beingzy it may nevere true. The Skull need to leave bones in our wake as the Founder wished." Steel Fist nodded. "Yes, as the Founder wished. Well, we better get going. If we leave now, we can get there early and get a good spot." n looked at the men behind Steel Fist. "I can also bring my men?" "Yes, but only two may enter with you to this meeting." Steel Fist replied. n nodded and turned to leave. After going up a few levels in the building he found two of his best Fingers. They were also the only two Fingers that hadn''t been injured in the previous fight, not even a scratch. The first was Hemlock, a tallnky man with shoulder length ck hair that always covered one eye and his weapon was a simple styled spear with a spear head broader than ones hand. The other was Stone, the pr opposite of Hemlock. He was short, thickly built, bald and used a single-handed battle axe like weapon, specially designed by himself. n chose them to join him because he knew they were dependable and skilled. Just the men he wanted by his side incase thing went bad at the Heads Base. Leaving the other Fingers in charge in their stead, the three men returned to the lobby to leave with Steel Fist and his men. "All set?" Steel Fist asked as they arrived. "Yes." n replied. "Good. Let''s get this meeting over with." Steel Fist replied turning on his heel to leave. The Skull members traveled steadily on foot through the empty city streets. The rubble and trash had been mostly cleared by the locals from the streets and sidewalks, as per the Heads orders. Though no cars ever traveled on them, it still made travel easier. The silence traveling through the buildings and empty roads gave an ominous feeling to the men. Though they were the masters of this territory, it was enough to keep them wary of their surroundings. Nearly an hour had passed by as they traveled block after empty block. Then they arrived at their destination, the once Maple Valley Mall, that was now the Heads Base. However, it no longer appeared as a mall; huge piles of rubble, cars, metal beams, trees and other solids were piled onto it. At every window, every entrance and the wall built around it, were lit torch''s and bonfires. Lining the path leading to the entrance were the sun-bleached bones of their enemies staked in ce or piled up in disorganized mounds. Giving the whole ce the appearance, at least to n, of a burning Beavers death lodge. A true terrible base for the cult like Skull gangsters. n wasn''t afraid of the base, but he still resented it. It wasnt a ce he could truly spread his wings, so to speak, and feel free. Taking a deep breath, he headed into the entrance with the others and the smoking darkness enveloped them within. Chapter 64: Head Chapter 64: Head n''s eyes adjusted to the poor lighting inside of the Skulls base. Smoke permeated the air, stinging the new arrivals eyes and throats. Their body functions soon adjusted after a few stifled coughs and they moved further inside following a wide tiled hallway. Though the smoke was annoying it served a unique purpose. Guards had been ced all around in blind spots, so that those upon entering couldn''t see them right away due to thebined smoke and low lighting. For example, at the entrance a pir was on either side of the doors, behind the pirs, in the smokey gloom, two guards on each side stood at the ready. Dressed in bone made armor and ring through human skull masks, they gave off an imposing attitude to onlookers. They were the men directly under the Eyes and Heads influence. No Hand couldmand them unless directly said too by the Eyes or Head. The arriving group ignored them, after all, they were on the same side and had been here multiple times before. Wall torches lit the way casting flickering shadows all around the hall as the drafty wind tossed them about. Their footsteps echoed on the tile flooring and no one spoke a word the entire time. Soon they arrived at the first lobby. The lobby was circr in design and had three other hallways branching off from this point. In the center of the room, where a fountain should have been, was reced by arge fire bowl. This was the source of most of the hallway smoke. Here at least six bone guards stood, silent and motionless in in view around the room. "The meeting is at the center of the base." Steel Fist said breaking the silence. "I think everyone of importance is going to be there. Even some of our clients, I heard, might also be attending." n raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then it might not be about starting the skirmish. This is probably something bigger." "No, I think it might still be about what you did, but there is something bigger going on for sure." Steel Fist replied as the group started to split up. Two Finger ranked men also wereing with Steel Fist, the twins Fletcher and Femur. The men not going with Steel Fist turned down the left hallway, wherebeled above said, "Food Court". While the remaining six went on straight ahead towards the center of the base. Along this wider hallway were shop rooms that had been converted into various storage rooms, weapons forging rooms, housing, and recreational areas for the Skull members and families. Almost every room on every hallway, excluding the entrance halls, was converted for the Skulls use. The base was more like an underground vige, crammed into arge mall. The only other area not converted for Skull families was the central area of the building. Here was where the Head conducted his rulings, meetings and where the Skull gangsters gather to hear his orders for raiding rituals. Unlike the once modern design and materials that the rest of the mall was made of, this area was converted into the cult-like re that became the core of what the gang was named by. Walking into this gathering area always made n feel something in his chest every time he came here. He couldn''t describe it properly in words, but if he could it might be "Control". Everything here no longer resembled the modern world outside and had been conformed to the Skulls disy of power. The area was a huge and perfectly round domed room. Four main hallways converged at this very spot. Three floors above the main floor mirrored the main floor by design perfectly. Far above the ground was a ss dome made of colored orange, ck and blue ss forming a giant maple leaf backed by the sky. This ss decoration, the symbol of the Maple Valley town, had survived all the bombings and time itself up to this point, a rarity that even the Skull respected. It was the only feature of the mall building that remained untouched. However, that was nothingpared to the cause of n''s odd emotions. The meeting area floor had been cleared of everything, even the tile flooring. All that remained was the bare earth and sandy dirt long ago covered by the building. The pit was two meters lower than the rest of the floor hallways, creating an arena like appearance. Only a single set of stairs led down into it on both ends of the pit. That is where things were just starting to seem unique to the Skull gang. Lining the stairs and going down into the pit was a line of skulls on poles, of which were made of femurs and four human feet bones supported them from below. The skulls had the heads smashed in, then filled with slow burning oils. The oils were then lit to create a fearful, hell like disy as the fire also shot out from their eye sockets and cracked head. Hanging above the pits center and glowing in the light of the maple leaf, was a chandelier held up by chains and formed ofplete human skeletons. Wax candles were covering the bones and constantly dripped down on everyone in the pit below at random intervals. Always to remind them that with every hot drop, that they too would end up dead and if before their natural time, soon joining the bones all around them. In between every torch was a Skull bone guard that radiated a threatening aura. These were the best of the best, and some would say evenly matched to the Hand ranked members in terms ofbat skills. They were defined by a headdress of blood-stained feathers and nes of teeth, both beast and human. Carrying weapons of their choice, they disyed a variety of deadly, cult like weaponry. The torches led right up to a throne stage, built out of nothing, but human bones. The exact number might never be known, but it was rumored among the Skull gang that every rival gang member, everyone that stood up to the Skull and even those that tried to im the leadership role of the Head were piled on there. Even the stairs leading up to the top were made of the ominous bones. Atop the massive pile was an even more bazar sight. Long before the bombs dropped on the town, a Natural History tour was going on and a bone exhibit was put on disy here. In that exhibit were two Saber-tooth Tigers and a Mammoth skull. Those bones had been imed and fashioned into the very throne that the Head sat on. The Mammoth served as the seat, while the Tiger skulls and bones were fashioned into the arm rests. Anyone that saw this ce for the first time knew of the cultic fear. At the foot of the pile and throne standing on either side, were the Eyes of Skull. One man and one woman, each of whom were frightening by their own right. The male Eye was known as ck Fang, the strongest of all Skull. The African American was a giant, standing at two point two meters tall and weighing one hundred thirty-six kilograms, he was the undisputed Champion on the Skull. To make matters even more impressive, he used no weapons for any of his fights, only his fist and feet. Yet, ck Fang was not the most outstanding of the two. It was the female Eye, Deaths Peace, that drew the most attention. Her tattoo covered body had no natural-colored skin left on her anywhere, not even the eyes which were tattooed ck as night. Her side shaven hair was dyed a shocking fluorescent green, as well as her eyshes and eyebrows the same color. Her ears and bottom lip were gaged with disks the had arge eye drawn on it. On the rest of her body, anywhere that could be pierced, had been. The shiny piercings on her powerful appearing body shimmered in the firelight. Anywhere that had no piercings was strapped with an ornate throwing dagger, her favorite weapon of choice and torcher. Sitting proudly, powerful, and with an expression of man that calls himself a god, was the Skulls leader. Daivat Bellona, the one known as simply the Undertaker. His age was unknown, but from his appearance, one could guess he was apparently middle aged. His hair was naturally born white, like snow. In contrast his dark tan skin, mixed with the anatomically correct skeleton tattoos on his bare chest, arms and legs, made the hair appear all the brighter. His expression appeared to always be stuck with a light, proud smile which added to his regal appearance. Atop his head was a headdress of gold feathers and adorned in the middle was a skull with blond hair still attached. The skull once belonged to his first wife, that he caught cheating on him. The headdress shows to all how he felt when betrayed by her. The wife he has now knows not made that mistake ever. True terror irradiated from the Head on top of this throne. n knew that as he was now and going up against whatever Spirt Animal that Undertaker possessed, his own Bald Eagle Spirit would be unable to beat such a beast. A drop of sweat dropped down his back as the six men walked down the stairs to pay respects to their leader. As Steel Fist had guessed no other Hands or other people had arrived yet, as they were early. "Rise, my Hands." The calm smooth voice of Undertaker called to the men kneeling before him. His voice almost sounded like that of a much younger man but didnt affect the authority he wielded. Only n and Steel Fist stood up. The other four wisely remained kneeling. Looking up into the steely gaze of their leader, n couldn''t quell his worry. The Undertaker was already looking directly at him. "Bone yer, before the main meeting, I shall discuss what transgression you havemitted. Your, overzealous, actions for breaking the peace with the Mad Dogs shall be punished, yet you will be spared death just this once." Undertaker then nodded at ck Fang. Without a sound, ck Fang walked over to n and stood over him while looking down at him as if n were an ant. Before n could discern what the hulking man intended to do, ck Fangs knee was already discing his guts. Every ounce of breath was knocked from n and a look a shock rattled his body. Before he could fall to the earthen ground ck Fang seized him by the nape of his neck and punched him yet again in the stomach. The second blow nearly knocked n unconscious as he was raised off the ground by the impact, his vision blurred and faded. He didn''t even recall hitting the ground. As he fought for breath, n could only listen to Undertakers next words. "Now that thats over with, I will say that your actions didn''t actually ruin very much, that''s why your life was spared. Ultimately, that peace was going to be broken tomorrow anyway." Undertaker said letting a sadistic expression show on his face. "Things have changed in our favor! But I am getting ahead of myself. That news I shall exin in the main meeting. Now both of you take your ces." Undertaker said waving them away. Steel Fist silently obeyed and walked over to n still fighting to breath, picked him up to tuck n under his arm like a child and carried him to the area where he was to attend the meeting. Then, without showing much care, he dropped n onto the sandy ground in a small puff of dust. Stone and Hemlock stood next to n, still gasping on the ground, unsure how to respond to the situation. As time went on the room soon filled with the other Hands, local leaders and members rted to the Skull by association or trade. n had regained his breath, but the pain in his body racked him so much he couldn''t stand straight. Yet n could tell that whatever was going to happen next was sure to be huge and now that his punishment was over excitement slowly rose within him. Within the hour the sandy pit and railings of the three floors were now mostly filled. There was a light buzz of people talking around the room, but not so much that it would annoy Undertaker. Suddenly, Undertaker raised his hand slowly. The room fell as dead quiet as the bones around them. All eyes transfixed on the Undertaker. Opening his mouth, giving a hungry smile, Undertaker utter one sentence. "War ising and we shall trample all that oppose us, so says the Soothsayer!" Chapter 65: Zane Chapter 65: Zane "W-what''s going on? I was in the river and then" Zane trailed off trying to recall the incident with little luck. "Some sailors fished you out of the river, brought you to shore and then I took you in after they dumped you on me. I got you all patched you up too. Now you owe me." Lisa replied seeing Zane struggle to sit up. "I don''t even know you. I am Zane, by the way." Zane replied with a grunt as he gave up on trying to sit up. He then tentatively touched at his side and felt therge bandages. He winced realizing how big the injury was. "Call me Lisa. The least you could do is say thank you." Lisa said turning to pick up Zane''s Tiger ws from a nearby table. "I was going to return these, but seems you are going to have to earn them back. I deem respect to be particrly important and right now you arecking." "Hey, you can''t take those!" Zane said trying to get up again, but the pain was still too much. Lisa sighed stepping forward and pushed back Zane''s head back onto the mattress with her foot. "I can. I have. Now earn them back. You owe me your life now, and if you want them, you got to follow me." "As soon as I get better, you''ll regret stealing from me." Zane continued with a bitter tone. He wiped angrily at his forehead where her foot touched him. "I am a lieutenant for the ck Rats and you best listen to me!" Lisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh, how cute. You are in a gang. The only gangsters I have met are the Mad Dogs. You are in their territory now and I may not know how you gangs treat trespassing, but I wouldn''t flout your rtionship with the ck Rats so much right now. I could turn you in, but that has no benefits for me." Zane realized his error and immediately shut up. He merely red at Lisa. He knew she could very well turn him in to his rivals, but why it seemed like she didn''t intend to, he didn''t know. This tall woman didn''t seem the least bit concerned that he was a gang member, and that was something to stay aware of. "I have work to do, so I am going to leave now." Lisa continued. "There''s no need for you to try and escape. Heal up for a few days before you try doing something dumb like that. I''ll lock the door just to be sure. We can discuss my terms at ater date." Lisa turned to leave to room, taking Zane''s weapons with her. He helplessly watched her go. Lisa closed the door softly and the sound of the lock could be heard. There was arge ss window that Zane could see Lisa walk by to the next room. Then silence. Looking around, Zane studied his surroundings. He wasying on an old mattress, which didn''t have any covers or sheets. Sitting next to him was his shirt, shoes, and jacket. Reaching over to them he felt that they were still cold and damp from the river, especially the shoes. The room appeared to be some kind of office room, and there was a single desk and a box of papers in a corner. The rest of the decaying room was totally empty. There wasnt anything that clued him in on where he might be. "I guess I might as well rest." Zane thought to himself, while feeling the aches and pains all over himself. "As long as that monster Dilly doesn''t know where I am or the ERM, I can recover here. I hope everyone else escaped. That whole battle was a nightmare!" Zane thoughts wandered, thinking about the terrors he witnessed during the fight. Soon he began to tire and drifted back to sleep. Meanwhile Lisa had been keeping an eye on him from a hole in the wall behind him. Seeing that he had fallen asleep she decided that it would be fine to leave him alone for now. Sadie had been on the other side of the room rearranging the area for them to stay in. They had moved everything out of the bosss office that they needed and put Zane in there, to keep him secure. "There, all done." Sadie announced patting her hand on her pants to dust them off. "Now we don''t have to sleep so ufortably. Theres also more room to move around in here." "Looks good." Lisa replied leaving her post. The hole in the wall was next to one of the couches that they had removed from the bosss office. "Now that he''s dealt with for the moment, I want to take a look at the next generator." "You''re going back there again." Sadie replied sounding somewhat disappointed. "I know it''s not really your thing, but I need to work on the dam as often as I can." Lisa said giving the little woman a smile. "It''s not really that, it''s just youre my Match Fighter and I need to ensure that you are training properly. I can''t have you going into every fight inadequately prepared." Sadie replied following Lisa as they both headed out of the door. "I see what you mean." Lisa replied as they walked down the metal stairs. "I will start doing something rted to training. Once you are satisfied with my workout, I want you to get another fight setup for me as soon as possible. It won''t matter who." Sadie felt happy hearing this. It was turning out that Lisa was rather easy to work with. "That''s fine with me. I''ll be sure to pick someone simr to thest Fighter. Easy wins are definitely preferred. Though with your skills, I am sure you will rank up quickly." That night Zane woke up again. When he opened his eyes there was hardly any light. Feeling around in the dark his chilly hand found his shirt and jacket. They felt mostly dry now, despite how cold they were. Since he couldn''t put them on due to his injuries, he simply spread them across the top of his chest. "So cold." Zane murmured starting to shiver. He tucked the edges of his jacket under him best he could. For how many hours Zaneid there in the cold, he didn''t know. The thoughts of the battle andrades deaths returned again to haunt him, making it even harder to pass the time. It seemed an eternity of silence had gone by before he saw the faint rays of light brightening the room. The room was still quite dark when he heard the soft thumping of footstepsing from outside the room. A tall dark figure passed by the window and then opened the door to his room. "You awake?" A soft female voice whispered. "I am." Zane replied with a normal tone, though his teeth chattered slightly. "Good. I bet you need to use the bathroom and eat. Get ready to move." The woman continued to speak in low tones. With how cold it wasst night its best that we get you warmed up. Otherwise, you are going to get sick from your injuries. From the way she was speaking he assumed that other people might still be nearby. She then came up closer to him and knelt closer to him. Now he could see in the dim light that it was Lisa. "Alright lets get your shirt back on. Its already very windy outside. Definitely too chilly to be topless." Lisa said. "Try to sit up slowly. Don''t want to tear the stitches." Lisa put a hand behind his head and grasped his right hand tightly. When she started to lift him up, Zane grunted in pain. He hadnt had any pain medication and his sides burned as if on fire. However, Lisa didn''t let up, she steadily lifted him until he was sitting upright. Next, she handed him his shirt and he gently lifted his arms up to put it on. Then he started to put on the jacket, but it put too much pressure on the bandages wound. So, he left it off and draped it across his shoulders. "Alright, now let''s get you on your feet." Lisa said softly. Lisa stood directly behind him. At first Zane didn''t understand what she intended to do. Then he felt her hands grab him under each armpit. He started to protest, but she abruptly lifted him up, almost effortlessly, onto his feet. He turned to look at her with a hint of surprise. She had lifted him up as easily as a stuffed toy! "Alright, follow me now. Don''t slip on the stairs." Lisa said ignoring his expression and started heading out of the room. She turned to look back at Zane expectantly. "Come on." Lisa said waving him on. Zane was still barefoot, but just from touching one shoe he knew that putting them on was a waste of time. Slowly, while holding his side with one hand and the other holding his jacket together, Zane followed Lisa out of the room and into the Powerhouse area. Even inside the building the wind was already stirring. It was going to be a chilly day for sure. Lisa led him to an area where some bushes were growing near the maintenance building so he could go to the bathroom. Lisa knew he couldn''t escape from there with his condition, unless he tried sneaking past her way, so she started to light the fire pit. The sun was just hovering over the horizon, shining its warm light to the coldnds below. The wind shook the tall grass and trees stiffly. Lisa shivered slightly and soon got the fire going. There was still some of the dinner that Lisa and Sadie had made from the rabbit that was leftover in the pot and she put it back over the mes. Since Zane needed to heal, Lisa decided to let him have it. When Zane came back out of the bushes Lisa motioned for him to join her. He slowly walked over to stand by the fire and try to warm up. As the soup and his toes started to warm up Zane decided to speak to his captor. "So why are you taking care of me? Why would you help a stranger?" Zane asked looking down at the talldy tending to the mes. "Why would I help a stranger? A fair question." Lisa replied giving a nod. "Most people would say that it''s the right thing to do, the human thing to do. As for me, I did it to try and benefit myself. I was going to make the sailors pay me to care for you. I need things that only they might be able to provide for me." Then she sighed and stirred the pots contents slowly, breaking up the thawing soup. "But they left before I could exploit them. So, I improvised. You will work for me, in exchange for stitching you up, feeding and housing you." Saying this Lisa stood up and looked Zane right in the eyes. He gulped visibly and couldnt turn away from her cold gaze. Then speaking a rough cold sounding tone, she continued, "Do I make myself clear? You are no longer a gangster. You are my employee." Zane was slightly surprised and vaguely intimidated from the tone she spoke in. The look in Lisa''s grey eyes told him that this was no ordinary woman. Lurking within those grey pools he could tell that she had likely seen things he has never evenprehended. Everything from the way she spoke to the way she moved, told him that now was not the time to disagree or argue. She just had that natural leader feeling about her. Besides, he was curious as to what she meant by employee. That and her intentions to exploit the sailors made it sound like she had some interesting ns. His instincts told him that his life could end up being different if he went along with her for the time being. Zanes only choice was to go along with her orders, for now. Nodding he agreed. Chapter 66: Training Chapter 66: Training Zane finished up thest of the rabbit soup Lisa had warmed up in several quick gulps. He hadn''t eaten since yesterday morning and his stomach ached nearly as bad as his wounds. Looking around at the deste parking lot and rusting buildings he couldn''t understand what Lisa had meant by, "work for her". It didn''t look like there was all that much around here. Besides Lisa was the only person he had met around here. Zane had several questions to ask Lisa, but before he could ask them, Lisa spoke first. "Of course, I won''t have you work right away. You need to heal first. I can tell you what I want from youter." Lisa replied a bit more rxed sounding than before. "Soon the gangs as they are now, will be gone and things will be much more civil around here. I don''t n on living in a slum town in the middle of nowhere for much longer." What do you mean by gone? Zane asked skeptically. Do you actually think you, by yourself, could take on the gangs of this town? Perhaps. Lisa responded without the faintest sign of hesitation. All that in good time. For now, there is someone I need to introduce you too. Just then Sadie came out of the Powerhouse building giving a big yawn. Her hair was unbraided and a bit messy. Pulling her blue green jacket closer around her she came and joined them by the small fire. "Morning." Sadie said sounding rather half awake. "Ah, the here she is now. Zane, this is Sadie, my manager." Lisa said gesturing to Sadie. Still sleepy, Sadie gave a slight wave. So, your name is Zane, nice to meet you. Dont mind me until I wake up some more. "Manager?" Zane wondered aloud. "A manager for what?" "For the Match Fighter Association." Lisa replied. "I only just started professionally." "Match Fighter?" Zane though with some excitement. "That''s what that monster, Dilly, said he was a part of. Maybe I can get some training or tips to get back at that man. I guess staying around here might be worthwhile." Then speaking aloud Zane replied. "I see. Would I be able to." Then a twinge if pain hit him and he clutched his side. His entire middle throbbed uncontrobly, and his breathing becamebored. "Let''s get youying back down. You''ll need plenty of rest." Lisa said patting him on the back. The two started heading back for the building to get Zane back on the mattress. As they left, they heard Sadie call out. "Awe, you ate all of the soup. What am I going to eat?" "We can get somethingter." Lisa called back. "After I do some of that training you wanted to see." "But my tummy is rumbly." Sadie pouted aloud to herself as she looked hungrily at the empty pot. After making sure Zane wasying back down in the office, Lisa retuned to the slightly grumpy Sadie waiting for her. Sadie hade back inside and had taken that time to re-braid her messy hair. "So, let me see how you n on staying in shape." Sadie said as they walked together outside into the breezy parking lot. The sun was rising quickly into the morning sky and the temperature was noticeably rising. "This ought to be a good chance to kill two birds with one stone." Lisa thought to herself. "I still need to block up the southern and western roadways." Then she spoke to Sadie. "Well, I need to mainly focus on my strength training. I especially focus on my shoulders, back, abs and legs. They are my most vulnerable areas to injure." Sadie nodded slowly and produced her tabloid and started typing out what Lisa was telling her. "Alright, noted. I''ll be needing to keep an updated profile on you, just for references." Lisa just had to ask seeing that holo-tabloid again. The holographic technology was still a dream to scientist back in the early 21st century. "So, what exactly is that device you keep using? I haven''t seen that kind before. I saw the security guards using them back at the Arena too." "Really, you have never seen a holo-tabloid before? They are prettymon." Sadie replied puzzled at Lisa''s question. "Practically everyone got some form of these. This one in particr is a Silicon Valley AI Robotic Products (SVAIRP) byproduct called, Srium 6. Its a tabloid designed for basic data storage and transfer in real time. I can also use it tomunicate, but the satellite reception is so bad out here it''s not even worth the trouble. If I were to connect it to Wi-Fi or the inte directly it would function the same as any regrptop or smartphone." "Really? Seems like technology nowadays would be advanced enough that connectivity would be obsolete." Lisa remarked. "Well as you should know the big three North American governments and the Astra Aeronautical Industry (AAI) and a few otherpanies control all routes ofmunication. They put restrictions on anymunication and all data transferring is tracked. The only reason I can use it out here is because of my MFA connections. Even those are sent through the headquarters transmitter back in thepound." Sadie said before giving her an odd look. "What did you mean by ''nowadays''?" Lisa cleared her throat. "It was just a figure of speech." Lisa said brushing off the question. "So, it''s for the MFA. That''s how you were able to pick out that guy, the Skinner, for me to fight back then. You looked up his profile or something?" "Yes, I did. The Srium 6 has facial recognition software, and all the MFA Fighters and employees profiles are uploaded onto these devices. It makes the Fighters statistics much easier to track." Sadie replied. "Facial recognition" Lisa thought to herself. "I probably have made a mistake. If my identity can be tracked through the MFA, then the AFR probably already know I am here! Especially, since I attacked that officer. Crap!" "So, about your training? Can you show me now?" Sadie asked breaking Lisa''s train of thought. "Ah, yes." Lisa said putting her thoughts aside for the moment. "Let''s go down the hill towards the storage unit buildings. I can use the stuff down there." "Alright." Sadie replied curiously. As the twodies walked down the road Lisa was sure to start stretching her muscles. Though most of her strength, power and speed came from her prosthetic robotic limbs, she needed to keep her physical self in tip-top condition. Otherwise, the strain brought on by the robotics would injure her badly. She also had a military secret in her that assisted the functionalities of her muscles, but she never had any intentions of telling anyone what that might be. Coming up to a very rusty small car, Lisa stopped behind its rear. "This car I am going to take back up the hill. She said speaking to Sadie and rubber her hands together in anticipation. I n on fortifying the entrances better and the cars will serve as a temporary solution." Then tightening her Yankees hat on her head to hold back her long ck hair from the wind, she squatted down by the back of the car. Then she ced her hands under the back bumper of the car and adjusted her fingers to get a good grip. Sadie''s eyes widened. "Don''t tell me you''re going to carry that car! That''s too heavy for you!" Lisa chuckled seeing her reaction. "I won''t carry it. I am going to lift up this end, then spin it around towards the gate and then repeat this process. This will work on all of my muscles for sure." Lisa tightened up her hands and lifted upwards with her legs, being sure not to put too much pressure on her back. She gave out an exasperated breath once reaching her standing height. To Sadies astonishment, the bumper was raised all the way up to Lisas waistline! Sadie''s jaw dropped. The car had to be well over three hundred kilograms. Yet Lisa lifted it like it wasn''t all that much trouble. Lisa continued walking from end to end, slowly rotating the car up the hill. The wheels had long since rusted and were locked-up, so there was no danger of it rolling back down the road. Once halfway Lisa paused to catch her breath, even though she actually wasnt breathing all that hard at all. "Thank goodness that these tires aren''t air filled anymore. These airless tires are much more convenient." Again, Sadie had a confusing thought. "Car tires haven''t had air inside them for over a hundred years. You talk a lot about old things and ask about a lot of normal stuff. Did youe from apletely rural area or something?" Lisa felt embarrassed at her slipups being pointed out. She didn''t want to juste out and say, "I am from two hundred years ago. I am running away from the military now after waking from my cryo-sleep." That would just be a mistake. "You could say that." Lisa replied scratching the back of her head. "Thats not really important though. Well back to training." She continued to get back to working on the car before Sadie could pry further. Though Sadie wanted to know more about Lisa, she was sure she had her reasons to hold out on her private life. Besides, it wasnt her ce to know in the first ce. They were just work partners. Then she recalled seeing Lisa bathing in the river and thought to herself, I still wonder how she got all those scars on her back? Eventually Lisa got the car up to the southern gate. The gates blocking arm had long since fallen away, but the machine that controlled it was still there, rusting away. It was rtively close to the fence, but not far enough that the car could be wedged behind it with all four tires on the ground. "Well here goes the harder part." Lisa said aloud. Reaching down at the middle of the car she grabbed it just under the back door. Then giving a grunt lifted the car up and flipped it on its side. Whatever ss from the windows that was left tinkled all over the parking lot when it thudded on the concrete. Next, Lisa went to the trunk of the flipped car and pressed her shoulder onto in. Putting some effort into it, she slowly wedged the car in between the fence and old machine. The whole time the cars rusting metal frame grated noisily on the pavement and sparks spurted here and there. It sounded so badly, in fact, that Sadie had to plug her ears. "Few!" Lisa said once getting it into ce. "That almost didn''t fit. See it''s even scrapped off the rust on the fence." Lisa pointed at the area she mentioned. Sadie just nced at it, dumbfounded. "How are you that strong! It''s your secret, right?! The one you won''t tell me for your profile." Sadie asked excitedly. "Might be." Lisa said wiping at the sweat beads on her chin. She had built up a decent sweat at this point and had to now take off her jacket. "Alright, let''s go get another one." They were about to go back down the hill when a voice suddenly called from behind them. "Well, that was impressive!" Lisa spun around quickly arms ready to fight. "How did someone get near me like that! I let my guard down." Lisa thought angrily. "Easy now! I won''t be fighting you." A man said raising his hands up defensively. He wasing across the parking lot seemingly casual. Sadie spoke upon seeing him. "Aren''t you the Skinners manager?" The man put down his hands and nodded. "Yes I am. Now please miss Queen, no need to worry. I couldn''t ept that defeat you gave one of my men. So, I am here to offer you another Fighter to challenge. This time you won''t be able to have such an easy win." Lisa rxed slightly, but still was at the ready. "How did you find us here? And why are you inside the fence? Are you spying on us?" "Oh, not at all." The manager replied waving his hand back and forth. "The MFA tabloids have a tracking system. If the tabloid isn''t set to stealth mode, any MFA manager can track your location. I just came in through the other gate just a moment ago." "The tracking system is still on?!" Sadie replied slightly panicked. She tapped a few buttons and then turned to Lisa with an apologetic look. "Oops, my bad. It is still on. I''ll turn it off now." Lisa sighed and lowered her arms. "I guess I''ll let it slide this time. See Sadie, this is why I need to block up the area. People can just waltz right in. Also, after this please go over the tabloids settings and read them over." "Ok." Sadie replied apologetically. "So, who''s my opponent?" Lisa asked eyeing the manager. "Him." The manager said pointing over his shoulder giving an overconfident smile. There was a man standing at the other entrance. Looking at him one might mistake him for a giant, because he was nearly taller than the fence! Chapter 67: Meeting Up Chapter 67: Meeting Up Hana was much too anxious. Ever since Lisa had told her about the rough n to start getting revenge for her parents, she could hardly contain her excitement. "All I need to do is point them out to Aunt Lisa and then she can take care of them." Hanna thought tensely to herself. "If only I wasn''t so little, I would fight them myself! If I were stronger, I wouldn''t let them live for another day! But would I be able to do that, to k-kill someone?" "Hanna. Hanna!" Hanna shook her head of angry thoughts and looked up to see who was calling her. ir was standing above her and looking at her with a worried expression. Hanna wasying on the bank of the neighborhood stream in a patch of tall green grass. She wasn''t very far away from the children''s y area and was justying out of reach of the big oaks shade. "I was trying to call you, but you didn''t answer. Is everything alright?" ir asked as Hanna sat up. "Ya, everything is fine. I was just zoned out thinking." Hanna replied sullenly. "What were you thinking about?" ir asked plopping down to sit next to her. The newly grown green grass felt cool to the touch, but eventually it turned nice and warm after sitting on it. The wind was blowing rather hard today and it made the air slightly chillier than normal. "I was just thinking about Aunt Lisa." Hanna replied. "She finally told me about her n to get back at those horrible gangsters." "Oh, really? That''s great." ir said grabbing Hanna''s hand to hold it. "Now your parents will be avenged." "I hope so." Hanna said looking at the water in the stream trickle by. "I know Aunt Lisa is strong, but what if something goes wrong? I mean, there are way more of them than her and they aren''t a bunch of random goons either. Those guys seemed like they were the leaders of the whole gang." ir bit her bottom lip as she thought for a moment. "Well, I did hear about how she beat that one guy in that arena. From the way Rachel and the boys talked about the fight, I think she is capable. I guess all you can do is trust her." Hanna sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I guess youre right. After all I can''t beat them myself. I''m too small." "I think your size is just perfect!" Rachel said grabbing Hanna for a hug. "Besides it''s too dangerous for anyone to fight grown men." Then a question came to ir''s train of thought. "So where exactly is Miss Lisa staying at? Didn''t Mr. Weathers say that he went to check up on her at her ce?" "You know what, I actually don''t know where she is staying at." Hanna saiding to the realization. "I don''t even know what she''s doing out there. Other than her being so nice, smart and being good at fighting, I really don''t know her that well." "Why don''t we go find her?" ir said standing up and brushed off some grass from her jeans and the back of her oversized grey sweatshirt. "I want to know more about what kind of person she is too." Hanna shook her head slowly. "I don''t think Mr. Weathers will let me go. He''s mentioned that it might be dangerous." "As long as he doesn''t find out it will be ok. I want to go on another adventure!" A voice called from behind them. The two girls turned to see Racheling from the big oak towards them with a mischievous smile on her face. The wind was tugging yfully at the hem of her tattered knee length yellow dress as she walked towards them. "I don''t know. He might have his reasons for not telling Hanna." ir replied. "Awe, adults are alwaysing up with silly reasons to hide stuff from us. He probably doesn''t want her to know that Miss Lisa was around the gangsters. However, we already know that! So, what''s the harm in finding out?" Rachel said sitting down to join them and crossing her arms defiantly. Hanna looked on at the two girls as they proceeded to start an argument about what they should do. She really wanted to know where and what Aunt Lisa was doing, but ir was probably right too. Mr. Weathers was always looking out for her and it could very well be dangerous. Afterall, theirst adventure almost got them caught. However, she did find Lisa leaving the gangs hideout and that likely meant she stayed elsewhere. Hanna was really starting to take a liking to Aunt Lisa''s advice about gathering intelligence. She found herself getting more curious as to how everything around her worked and what really was going on around her. This was feeling like one of those chances. "Girls, I think we should go find where Aunt Lisa is." Hanna said interrupting the two taller girls argument. "Finally!" Rachel said looking at ir with a victorious look. She then jumped up and brushed of the back of her yellow dress smirking victoriously. "Are you really ok with going on another possibly dangerous trip. We nearly got caughtst time!" ir replied with a cross expression. "Well, we almost did, but this time we are looking for someone friendly. I think we will be fine." Hanna said while standing up to join the other two girls. "Fine" ir sighed. "So, what''s the n this time?" Rachel said excitedly. Grabbing her brown hair, she started tying it up anticipating Hannas n. "Well, I''ll try asking Mr. Weathers or maybe Mr. Benny for where we need to go." Hanna said putting a finger on her chin to think. "Ah, just skip asking Mr. Weathers. He''s just not going to tell you. Mr. Benny is probably going to tell you anyways if you asked him the right way." Rachel said. "Right, I''ll do that then. Come on, you two want to go right now?" Hanna asked. "Duh." Rachel replied immediately. "Of course. I can''t let you get into trouble." ir said giving a shrug. Benny was sitting in his usual spot on his front porch swing chair. If he wasn''t doing his job of collecting scrap metal to trade to merchants, this is where he could be found. The sun was soon going to reach its noon time zenith and the stiff wind was rocking his chair for him. All in all, a pleasantte morning. The soft thumping of footsteps on the grass soon reached his ears. Looking in the sounds direction, he saw some muddy red hair bouncing alongside the porch anding his way. Instantly he knew it was Hanna. "Hanna! I thought you were ying with your friends today. What brings you back so soon?" Benny called out towards her before they had even made eye contact. Hanna peaked over the high porch flooring to look at him. "Oh, so you are home. I wanted to ask you for a favor." She then came around to the porches steps to join him. "Really? Well, what can this old man do for you then?" Benny asked giving a faint wrinkled smile. "Well, is it possible for you to tell me what Aunt Lisa is doing here in town. Other than helping me out." Hanna asked. Rachel mentioned on the way here that it might be best to not directly ask him. Rather, lead up to that question with other questions. Rachel said she did it all the time to get her parents to give her things. ir also agreed that it was worth a try. "Well, that''s kind of hard to exin." Benny said scratching his chin. "Have you been taught what electricity is? We haven''t had any since a year before you were born." "I do. It''s where the lights can be on without fire, right?" Hanna said giving a nod. "That''s close enough, I guess. I am no teacher, so I can''t give you a proper exnation. Lisa is working on trying to turn it back on for the town. Last time I was at where she''s working, I saw that she was able to get some of the lights working. It was most exciting!" Hanna was interested in this bit of information as well. "Wow, really?! I want to see it too! Where is the ce Aunt Lisa is at?" "Ha-ha, calm down little miss. Tell you what, I can take you there today. I was nning on taking a day off, but I could look for new areas to gather scrap along the way." Benny said getting up from the rocking chair and the old wood groaned slightly. "That''s awesome! Can I bring my friends too?" Hanna asked excitedly. "Sure. More the merrier." Benny replied. "Go get them really quick. I am going to get my gun, never know when I might need it. Its not exactly the safest part of town." "Ok." Hanna said turning to leave the stairs and headed around the house where the two girls were waiting out of sight. "He''s going to take us!" "Really?" ir and Rachel said at the same time. "Yep!" Hanna replied grinning. The walk towards the dam was a pleasant one. The sky was crystal clear, and the sun kept their skin warm despite the cool breeze. The short stay of spring was well underway, and they were enjoying it to the fullest. All the while the girls chatted amongst themselves as they followed the old former cop. Benny could not help but feel happy. The sight of the young girlsughing on this wonderful day made his old heart smile. He had even taken note of a few spots that looked good to gather scrap metal from. "Oh, I almost forgot." Benny thought to himself. "That Twisted should have rotted a lot by now. I bet I could get a sketch of its bone structure while I am there." He patted his chest shirt pocket and felt the old notebook inside. Just then he noticed that they were getting closer to the dam. Its imposing wall reflected the yellow sun light off its old tan concrete to create a charming glow. It was hard to fathom that this mass of rock was a product of human ingenuity, its size was just to impressive. "Wow, that dam looks even bigger up close!" Rachel called out, breaking Benny out of his thoughts. "Have you three not been this close before?" Benny asked the three girls. They all shook their heads no. "Well, we are headed right for the top of it. That is where Miss Lisa is working at. That dam is what makes the electricity from what I understand. Then he gave a shrug. As to exactly how, you better talk to Miss Lisa about that." "Let''s hurry then. I want to see what the view is like from that high!" Rachel said speeding up to jog past him. "We probably can''t get on top of it. Slow down! ir called out to Rachel, but she too was curious about the view. You need to stay with Mr. Benny, he knows the right way to get there." "ir''s right. Wait up for me." Benny replied with a chuckle. "The rest of the way is up hill. You''ll tire yourself out if you tried running ahead." After a while they had gone steadily uphill through the town and were nearly there. From here they were nearly level with the top of the dam. At the moment they were cutting through a road that was nked on each side by red roofed storage units. "Hey look!" Hanna said pointing up ahead. There were twodies facing away from them at the top of the hill. "That looks like Sadie and Aunt Lisa. Let''s hurry!" The three girls quickened their pace as they went towards thedies. Benny tried to do the same but from the popping noiseing from his knee he knew better than to go to fast. The three girls reached the top of the steep hill in no time. ir and Rachel stopped to catch their breath, while Hanna was about to call out to Lisa. That was when she noticed that Aunt Lisa and Sadie were talking to an oddly familiar looking man. Looking just past Aunt Lisa, Sadie and the familiar man, Hanna saw him! Instantly Hanna froze in ce, unable to take another step. She now saw that big man who carried her and her mother around inside the police station. There was no mistaking it, his face had already been burned into her memory. Hanna felt her heart leap into her throat! Just then Benny caught up with them. "T-there she is." Benny said breathing heavily. Then he noticed Hanna''s pail expression. "What''s the matter Hanna?" Hanna could not speak properly. With a tear forming in her eye all she could do was point towards the big guy and hoarsely whisper, "T-that man is one of my p-parents k-killers!" Chapter 68: The First Two Murderers Chapter 68: The First Two Murderers "What!" Benny eximed in surprise. Instinctively he reached for his gun tucked in its holster on the back of his belt. He didn''t pull it out right away, he wanted to though. "Are you sure that big guy is the right one?" Hanna''s outstretched finger quivered as she nodded a voiceless yes. Hearing Benny''s voice Lisa turned around to see the small group behind her. "Hold on a second, I''ll be back. Sadie, go ahead and work out the fight details." Lisa said to the two managers and turning to meet with the new arrivals. "Well, this is a surprise. What are you all doing here?" Lisa asked casually walking towards them. Benny also closed the distance between them, never taking his eyes off the motionless giant of a man standing at the other gate. Then in a low voice he spoke to Lisa. "What''s going on? Who are they?" Sensing something was off Lisa also lowered her voice. "The big guy is a Match Fighter and that''s his manager. Is something the matter?" Then she noticed Hanna''splexion, it was as pale as paper. "Hanna said that the big man over there is one of the men responsible for the murders." Benny replied almost in a growl. "Seriously?" Lisa murmured and nced at the big guy. "Then this is a lucky break. I was just getting ready to fight him. Once I beat him, I can kill him without causing too much of a scene." "I would rather just put a bullet in him right now." Benny grumbled. "No, not yet." Lisa replied holding up her hands motioning to wait. "We need to get the rest responsible to show themselves and shooting him now might make things worse. I got a n, so just wait for now." "Queen. We came to terms for the fight. You ready?" Sadie called towards the two adults talking. Lisa turned around giving a thumbs up. The turning back to Benny she whispered, "Keep Hanna calm for now. If I am about to lose or something crazy happens, shoot. I trust you can handle it?" "Naturally." Benny said rxing his grip on the gun handle. "I''ll make sure Hanna is alright." Lisa then left to go back over to Sadie and the other manager. There was a faint smirk lingering on the managers face. So far, the entire time they were talking the big man looming in the back didn''t budge, like he was like a massive robot waiting for itsmands. "So, I''ll cut to the chase." The manager spoke first once Lisa was closer. "If you canst five minutes against my Match Fighter, we will call for a temporary break. Then in one week we can finish this in the Arena for all to see. I''m sure it won''te to that though." "What if I beat him before that time. After all I''m now not in the mood to y nice." Lisa replied with a stiff expression. "Ha-ha, good one! This Mammoth of a man is no ordinary fighter. He is Golem, a personal bodyguard of the Mad Dogs boss Joe Swanson. The manager exined while suppressing his mirth. He''s a full nearly a full League ahead of you and is about to be in the Mountain League. He has a record of Tier Two with four wins zero losses. There is no way youre capable of beating him from the fights I''ve seen you do. Lisa couldn''t help but feel annoyed. She hated being underestimated, especially by jerk men like him. She had barely shown her potential in fights past and now might be a chance to really cut loose. However, she knew better. This was the chance to have Hanna be able to identify her parents killers. The deal to fight in a week if shested five minutes worked in their favor. "Pfft, I only need to hold back for five minutes?" Lisa scoffed. "Tell me the rest of the terms and let''s get this over with. Me still being in Tier Twenty means nothing to the skills I have." It was Sadie''s turn to give her input. "We agreed to a one-on-one fight, with free weapons choice. Additionally, there is a special bet he wished to add." "Indeed. I had confirmed that you might be staying here, as for why, I could care less. However, I took the liberty of looking in our National Bank and found the deed to this dam. If you win, I''ll give it to you." The manager said breaking out into another cocky smile. "But when you lose, and if you''re still alive, Miss Sadie and you will have to work entirely under me." Lisa didn''t appear the least bit perturbed by his words. This went totally against her personal goals and didn''t want to be under someone else''s control. Also, this special bet was an exciting revtion! Getting the legitimate deed to the dams building would cement her authority to generate the electricity. Without hesitation Lisa replied, "Deal!" And the two shook hands. "Shall we start in a few moments?" The manager replied while typing something into his own tabloid. "Sure, let me just get my weapon ready and I''ll be right back." Lisa replied turning to go back towards Benny and the girls. Hanna hadn''t calmed down at all and was still staring nkly at her parents killer, the Golem. Her breathing was heavy and sweat had appeared on her brow. The others had tried to calm her down but hadn''t been all to sessful. Lisa walked carefully up to the terrified girl and knelt next to her on one knee. She had seen this reaction before, the shock of seeing someone rted to a death of someone close to yourself was unfortunatelymon when in war. She had seen many of herrades driven into blind anger seeing theirrades killer and many died rushing headlong into battle trying to get revenge. "Hanna, please look at me." Lisa spoke softly to the little girl. Then grabbing her chin gently Lisa forced Hanna to look at her. Her cool gray eyes looked tender as she talked to the little trembling girl. "Don''t worry about that man. I am here now. You can trust me, and I will help you get rid of him." This seemed to do the trick. Hanna''s terrified zed over green eyes softened, and tears started to spill. ir and Rachel, also feeling Hanna''s pain, both embraced her in a hug. Lisa got up and headed for the Powerhouse to retrieve her sword. The tenderness in her eyes was gone now, only the cold grey of winter remained. "I cannot stand seeing someone so young suffer like that. I need to hurry this up. Besides, it will help me too." Lisa thought to herself. Lisa climbed the metal stairs quickly and the sound of her rushing footsteps woke Zane up. He had been able to fall asleep for a short time while enduring the pain. He grimaced heavily as he sat up from the mattress. He saw Lisa walk past the window and into the other room. Pressing a hand against the wall he tried getting up and though it felt as if his side was tearing in half, yet he managed to stand. Lisa was just thening back from grabbing her sword from her coffin when she noticed Zane staggering towards the office door. She opened it and spoke to Zane. "Seems like youre toughing it out, but don''t push yourself to much. You really need to stay still." "I know." Zane grumbled. "I got to pee again." Lisa sighed. "Fine, and while you''re down there I have a special treat for you. As your boss I will show you what I really am capable of. A Match Fighter has challenged me and is waiting just outside." "Match Fighter?!" Zane thought surprised. "I''ll get a chance to see if she really is as tough as she makes herself out to be." "That sounds interesting. I''ll watch." Zane replied still holding his side. Now that he was awake, he found that a painful vibration happened every time he spoke. "Take your time. Oh, and pee where others won''t notice. There are kids outside." Lisa said walking out of the room and headed for the stairs. Zane did as he was told. Taking the stairs one at a time and holding faithfully onto the railing, he made it down to ground level with out to much overpowering difort. Shuffling towards the exit he saw the kids Lisa mentioned. The three girls looked sad as they clung to each other. They were looking somewhere out of Zane''s vision. An older tough looking man was with them, along with Miss Sadie. He decided to go towards around the far side of the maintenance building to relieve himself. He was halfway across the parking lot when he nced towards where Lisa was now standing. When he did, hepletely forgot about going pee. The sight of her opponent stopped him dead in his tracks. The man was an absolute giant! "Alright now Joe, all you need to do is fight that woman right there." Joes manager, Saul, said pointing at Lisa. "She is very quick with that long ck sword of hers, so be careful of it. Other than that, she''s not that special." Joe, the Golem, grunted and looked at his opponent. He gave a nasty smile seeing that it was just somenky looking woman. At a young age Joe hadn''t been able to speak due to an ident. As a result, he was often bullied, however, he kept growing bigger and bigger. If anyone even slightly messed around with him, he reacted violently, as physical reactions were the only way he knew how tomunicate. Eventually no one messed with him. Then Martinez met him one day and hired him as a bodyguard. Eventually, Joe learned that all the violence he saw and did with the gang was enjoyable. Now that he had also be a Match Fighter, he knew that violence was his only path. Joe had been wearing arge duffel bag over one shoulder and he took it off. Unzipping it quickly, he revealed a lot ofrge metal tes inside. He fiddled around inside for a few moments before extracting them one by one. Lisa was watching cautiously as he did from only a few meters away. To her surprise she saw that he was putting on those metal tes. They were parts of armor! "Interesting, you can actually put-on body armor. I guess as long as it doesn''t technically break the rules it''s fair game." Lisa thought to herself. "Noted." After a few moments, the outrageously big man had finished putting on the massive amount of armor onto himself. His appearance reminded her of Juggernaut Armor from Spidermanics. He had every part of his body covered, except for his face and hands, with the faded ck and military green painted armor. Then onest time, he reached inside of the oversized duffel bag. Pulling out, he revealed his weapons, they were a pair ofrge thick metal fingered gloves. If his hand had been consideredrge before, they definitely were now. It was safe to assume that his hands were now each nearly one meter in size! Judging from the size and shape, Lisa could tell that there was some trick added to the metal gloves. "All done getting ready?" Lisa called out in a mocking tone. "I don''t have all day to y dress up with you." "Grrr." Joe grunted sounding annoyed. He pounded a fist into his other hand trying to intimidate her. The loud nking sound of the heavy metal gloves echoed off of the building walls. "I will start the timer for five minutes. At the sound of the rm, you both will stop." Saul announced aloud to everyone present. "The fight between Queen verses Golem is ready. Now let the match begin!" Chapter 69: Fast Attack Chapter 69: Fast Attack "Grraaww!" The Golem roared as he charged at the Queen. His huge metal hands at the ready to grab the thin woman before him. Queen was slightly surprised at the speed of which he approached. She had expected him to move more like a train, slowly at first then picking up speed. Fortunately, she was faster. Jumping aside to avoid his charge, Queen made an experimental stab at his shoulder armor with her half-extended katana de. As expected, the dull ck sword pinged noisily as it nced off the tough armor, leaving only a faint scratch. The Golem reacted from the hit and lunged out at the Queen to catch her, but he only grasped air. Queen, for once, used her smaller size to duck under the attack. To the onlookers it looked as if a small girl was fighting a metal sumo wrestler. Twisting her shortened sword upwards at his outstretched arm she struck up at his elbow joint. At thest possible moment Golem knew her intention and rotated his arm so that the elbow te blocked the shot. "Tch, youre not as dumb as you look." Queen said jumping backwards out of his immediate reach. "Grr, he-he." Golem replied with a wide grin. Then he turned to face her head on once again. This time, rather than charging in, he raised his hands in a boxing stance. His giant fist looked quite menacing as he started edging towards her. Apparently, he was going to be attacking much more carefully now. Queen started to circle around the giant armored opponent, looking for an opening or weakness. The whole time Golem never took his eyes off her, giving her no chance to feel him out anymore. Then he took a rapid lunging step forward at the Queen and attacked at her giving an uppercut. The Queen leaned and arched back dodging the blow, but that was what he wanted. Immediately after swinging past her head, he opened his hand and swatted downward at her. Like he was trying to smash her like an insect! Instinctively Queen sensed the danger she was in and rather than trying to dodge she lifted her left knee upwards to collide it with his forearm. The force of the impact reverberated across the parking lot, telling of the power of the two Fighters possessed. Queen reached back and nted a hand firmly on the pavement to bnce herself. While the blow caused Golems hand to rebound and tingle slightly. The armor couldn''t absorb all the shock. Shaking his hand back and forth he let out augh, he was now having fun. Queen immediately moved backwards to distance herself one again. "I need to be careful. This guys battle senses are actually quite good, I''ll give him that." Queen thought to herself. Golem took up his boxing stance once again, giving Queen a moment to think. Eyeing her surroundings, she tried to think up of a n. She had the slight speed advantage and so far, seemed closely matched in power. Yet that armor is definitely going to be difficult to deal with. The parking lot where they were fighting had the fence to her left, behind the Golem was a shipping container and behind that was the Powerhouse building. Then on her right was another shipping container that was running long ways away from her. The onlookers were also on this side watching anxiously in silence from the southern entrance. Only Saul and Zane seemed to be enjoying the fight. The three girls were watching with looks of awe and fear, it waspletely different seeing a fight from this close and in person. Benny and Sadie both stood solemnly by, watching the fight y out. Sadie had hidden her face behind her tabloid and merely peaked over its top, while Benny just stood behind her with his arms crossed. There was plenty of space between the fence, building, and containers for the two Fighters to move about. So, keeping them out of harms way wasn''t an issue. In fact, it let Queen toe up with an interesting n of attack. "Let''s try this again." Queen mumbled. This time she took the initiative to attack. Taking a fencing stance with her sword, poised and ready, she approached the giant man in quick half steps. Golem switched from his boxing stance to a more openhanded one. Then rather than attempting to wait for her toe at him, Golem bounced on his toes lightly to stay mobile to counter her quick step approach. Twip, twip! Queens sword darted out at his open hands and chest. She struck at him like a viper aiming for any part of him in range. Whenever she made contact with his armor, sparks sheared off in brilliant sprays of fire. Through all this Golems face remained stered with an excited grin. Her strikes didn''t perturb him one bit. He nimbly warded off her strikes using his fighting experience to hold her off. The two continued their battle dance briefly, neither gaining seemingly no advantage over the other. "Interesting." Benny murmured aloud in thought as he tapped his chin. Hearing it, Sadie stole a nce at the older man curiously. "What is interesting, Mr. Benny?" Sadie asked looking nervously back at the fight. "Miss Lisa, or should I say Queen, and that Golem man might seem to be even at the moment, but can''t you see that she''s actually maneuvering him towards that container and the buildings wall? I wonder what her n is." Benny replied speaking softly, trying not to be overheard by Saul. Sadie squinted at the two Fighters again. Then she noticed that they indeed were moving further away from where they had started the fight. The Golems back was mostly facing away from those areas and probably didn''t notice. "I didn''t even notice." Sadie replied softly. "They are moving so much I didn''t pay attention to the area around them." "That''s a normal mistake for on lookers. They get wrapped up in the action and forget about how the environment can make all the difference in a fight. As her manager you need to really pay attention to everything. Be her eyes in areas she can''t see." "Right." Sadie replied. She felt slightly embarrassed hearing him exin her shortings. She recalled learning that at the MFA academy, yet she had failed to remember it until now. "I need to be better." Sadie spoke in her mind. However, Saul did notice that the flow of the battle was moving away from them, even if he didn''t overhear the others conversation. As a seasoned manager he saw the potential danger of being backed against either of those areas. "Golem, watch your surroundings. Wall to your left, metal container behind. Get back out in the open!" Saul called out the quick directions over the sound of metal striking on metal. Hearing his call, Golem stole a nce at the immediate area. Queen saw her chance then. Normally this would mean that her ploy had been discovered and then the n would fail. Yet she was counting on this. The moment Golem took that nce would she react. Her right ankle suddenly and unnaturally twisted sharply and pointed directly at the wall. Then in a shift of power, pushed off with her other foot and her body seemed to whip sideways towards the wall. The odd shift of motion surprised Golem, who noticed her movements from his peripheral vision. He reacted off guard and faltered unsure how to react. Queen dashed towards the wall and jumped onto the wall. nting both feet on the wall she reflected off it and in a streak of motion, bounded towards the container. She was aiming for the area behind him! Her actions appeared to move like a pinball in its machine game bouncing off the bumpers. Seeing her streaking by to get behind him, Golem balled his fist and blindly swung, in an arced twisting fashion, at her estimated location. Pung! The sound of his fist striking the wall of the metal container sounded like a gunshot! The on-lookers jumped in surprise at the sudden noise. Hanna and the girls inhaled in unison, surely Lisa had been hit by such a powerful swing! But Queen had been missed by a hairs breadth. Golems fist prated the wall of the shipping container just above her head. As if she knew he would miss, Queen didn''t hesitate. Her sword shed up just as his momentum stopped. The de sunk easily up through the gap in between his elbow pad and arm. Golem let out a roar of anger upon feeling and seeing the de sticking through his arm. Twisting his torso, he went to kick at the Queen in retaliation. Seeing the attacking Queen braced her body and prepared to absorb the kick with her left arm and shoulder. The kicknded heavily on her right arm just below her shoulder. The kick sent her body flying like a football, and she made two somersaults in the air. Queennded heavily on her side and rolled once. Then striking her palm onto the pavement sheunched herself upright and skittered to a stopnding neatly on her feet. Raising her sword up she held it between her eyes and red at the Golem. Blood dripped down its ckened de, highlighting the red liquid even more. "I barely felt that kick, but I know you felt my sword." Queen taunted him. "Grra!" Golem roared again. He then ripped out his hand, with a viscous squeaking of metal, from the container. He looked at the wound in his arm and wiggled his fingers. Though it was bleeding a good bit, his hand was still functioning correctly. Letting out a defiant snort, he resumed his open-handed stance and approached the Queen with heavy stomps. "She''s so fast!" Zane said finally speaking. He had now joined the others and though still clutching his side feeling the throbbing pain, he wanted to watch. This fight was more than he had expected. "Get him Queen! Woo-hoo!" Rachel yelled out seeing Queennd a hit on the big man. "She''s really good. Now I wish I''d have gone to see her other fight." ir said a bit disappointed. Then looking at Hanna next to her she asked. "Are you doing alright?" Hanna didn''t dare take her eyes off the fight for even a second. She simply nodded vigorously. The color had started to return to her cheeks and ir felt relieved slightly. Then looking back, she watched the rest of the fight unfold. Golems heavy stomps left cracks in his wake as he charged at Queen. He was reaching an unprecedented speed in his metal armor that none expected. As he reached Queen, who still had her sword raised up near her face, Golem swung out at her with his left hand. The meter sized metal hand whizzed as it tore through the air at Queens body. In a blurry motion Queen ducked the attack and stepped forward under his arm. In that same step her de glimmered as it slid under his right arm te and into his arm. Yet the strike didn''t feel quite right. Suddenly Queen felt a heavy force crashing into her ribs. The impact once again sent her flying across the parking lot and tumbling across the pavement. Golemnded a solid hit, and this time it dealt her some damage! Golem had faked the swing of his left arm in a semi-sacrificial attack. He twisted his hips at the same time Queen ducked. Then with his right knee, kneed at her exposed middle. From the massive width of his leg, there was no way he could have missed Queen from this close. As soon as Queens body came to a rolling stop, she quickly scrambled up on her feet. She patted her side and breathed a slightlybored breath. "Well, no broken bones at least. But it will leave a bruise." Queen mumbled. However, she didn''t have any time to lose. Golem was already bearing down on her with his fist raised, ready to pound her to dust! Chapter 70: Till Next Time Chapter 70: Till Next Time Queen jumped to the right just as Golems fist pounded onto the pavement, sending a puff of dust off the ground and cracking the pavement. Hanna and the others could feel the impact vibrate through their feet, despite the distance. Saul let out a chuckle upon feeling the impact. "Golem is getting warmed up now. Shame really. She was doing well up till now. I think he''s going to use it now." "Used to what?" Sadie asked ncing sideways at Saul. Saul didn''t reply and ignored her question. He only smiled and nodded in the Fighters direction. Just watch. Feeling slightly annoyed Sadie looked back at the Fighters. Then she saw something that Saul might be referring too. Golems metal gloved hands had smokeing from the back them. Sadie immediately opened up Golems shared file on her tabloid and scanning the notes quickly she felt her gut tighten. Those gloves were bad news! Queen jumped back once more to create some more space between them. Golem stood upright from his attack and once again took his boxing stance. His powerful smoking fists were ready to strike. Despite all the armor on him, Queen could tell Golems muscles were bulging out and full of strength. The amount of oxygen he needed to keep up his stamina and still move so much weight with hardly any effort was quite impressive. "It''s rather lucky of you to be able to ware all that in such cool weather. I bet you''re sweating buckets in that thing. Can''t imagine what it''s like in summer." Queen started speaking trying to stall for a few moments to catch her breath. She needed to think of something quick or she might be in trouble. She did have "That" ability, but now probably wasn''t the time to reveal those secrets. The odd smoke starting to rise from the back of Golems gloves worried her. Just what was it? Whatever it was, Queen knew she had to be careful of them. Golem, however, didn''t give her another chance to think. He charged at her again like an angry rhino. His fists jabbed out at her at a seemingly unnatural speed for their size. Weaving to-and-fro, Queen narrowly avoided the massive fists while moving backwards. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that she was nearing the fence surrounding theplex. "Look out for the fence!" Sadie shouted. She was starting to take Benny''s advice to heart. However, it seemed that Queen ignored her or didn''t hear her. She was about to call out again, but then the memory of Lisa''s fight with Owen popped in her mind. Sadie elected to stay quiet and see if that was what Queen was going to try, like from before. Queen was now only a few meters from the fence, ducking and dodging every punch Golem threw at her. Golem could sense that she was about to get trapped by that fence and pressed his attack even further. Just as Queen was about to collide with the fence, she suddenlyunched into the air. Sadie''s thought was mostly right. Queen had grasped the fence with her free hand and yanked herself upwards. She made her escape move just as Golem swung at her and he looked at her climbing backwards up the fence in confusion. As the two locked eyes, Queen couldn''t help but sh a taunting smile at him. With the heel of her boot and the weight of her body, Queenunched herself off the fence and struck down at his head with a Downward Axe Kick. She couldnt miss his massive, armored head from this close, not even if she were blind! The sound of the kick striking home reminded everyone of the sound of a bells toll. Golem saw his vision blur for just a second as the sound rang violently in his ears. The momentum of the swing he missed, plus the hit from Queen sent him head long to the ground. Then as if emphasizing her attack, Queennded right on the back of his undefended head like a gymnast! Arching her fist high, Queen then sent it pounding onto the back of Golems armored head. The pavement underneath his head crackled when she made contact and cracks webbed out all around him. Queen tried to gain her bnce as she stood on his helmet and raise her sword at the same time. Then with her sword grasped with both hands she aimed for a tiny gap where his exposed neck was. The ckened sword shown dully in the sun light as she raised it up. Hanna held her breath seeing all this. Finally, her parents would have some revenge! Saul also looked on in surprise, his confident smile gone. It had been some time since he had seen Golem in that position. "Wake up you idiot!" Saul yelled out. Without warning the smoke rising from Golems metal gloves burst out into mes! His body shot up from the ground as the glovesunched him upright onto his feet. This caused Queen to be flung off of him like a rock from a catapult. She flew so far that she nearlynded against the main buildings wall, which was clear across the parking lot. Fortunately, she had time to twist around in the air and make a propernding. She slid on her feet for a moment, uponnding and came to a full stop. "Darn it! I nearly had him!" Queen seethed in her thoughts. "So those gloves have propulsion abilities. That''s annoying." Golem roared angrily now and turned around to find the Queen. Upon turning around, he revealed that his face was covered in dirt and rubble, a palm sized piece of pavement popped off his cheek, which would have beenical if not for the situation. That''s also when a hot trickle of blood came out of his nose. The two eyed each other and prepared to charge once more. "Ringggg!" The rm marking the end of the five-minute duel red out. The two Match Fighters red angrily in the noises direction. Neither of them wanted this fight to end so soon. Giving an inward sigh of relief Saul stopped the rm. "Well, Queen, you surpassed my expectations. You will definitely make a great fight happen next week." "Noooo! I can''t be over yet!" Hanna blurted out. "Queen was about to win, it''s not fair!" "Of course, it was fair little girl." Saul replied with a scoff. He turned to look at the girl that had spoken for the first time throughout the fight. When they locked eyes Hanna''s mouth dropped. He was also there at the time of her parents murder! She had been so focused on the Golem that she failed to notice Saul. Yet she recalled that he was there when they sent the dogs after her. "Hey, have we met before somewhere? You seem kind of familiar" Saul said eyeing her. He stared hard at her muddy red hair, dark tan skin, and timid dull green eyes. Trying to recall where he had seen her. Seeing the reactions of the two, ir realized the sudden problem at hand. Immediately she put herself in between the two and used herrger height to block their view of each other. "Oh, don''t be silly." ir said speaking to Hanna. "The Match was fair. They both agreed to that time limit. You are just getting all wrapped up in the excitement." "But ir I saw him when" Hanna started to speak, but ir mped her hand tightly over her mouth. "Shhh! Shut up!" ir said with an urgent whisper. "You don''t want him to know who you are. He''ll probably try to kill you or something!" Realizing her own mistake, Hanna''s eyes widened. She then nodded that she understood, and ir took away her hand. Hanna turned her teary hot face away before Saul could catch another glimpse of her. "Ah, I can''t recall." Saul said giving up. "It doesn''t matter anyway." He then turned towards Sadie. "Now remember, in one week from today be there at the Arena. If you arete, you forfeit." "I know the rules. We''ll be there no problem." Sadie replied. She was content knowing that Lisa had shown that she had what it took to fight Golem. "Right then." Saul said turning to go. "Come on Golem. Let''s head back for now. You''ll have to get back at herter." Golem threw up his hands and let out an awkward angry grunt. He clearly was not pleased with how the fight went. Lumbering over to where his duffle bag wasying on the ground, he plopped heavily on his butt next to it. He then started to remove the armor parts and put them away. Seeing this, Lisa let out a sigh of relief and went over to join the others. There was a clump of grass growing in the pavement along the way and she wiped the blood on her sword on it. Then returning the de to itspact state, she approached Hanna. The little girl turned to her with tears reappearing in her trembling green eyes. Lisa couldn''t help herself and embraced Hanna. "Sorry. I''ll do better when the timees again. He was a little better than I expected." Lisa whispered to Hanna. Giving a small sniff Hanna replied. "It''s ok." Then pushing out of the hug Hanna looked at Lisa again. "T-that manager was also one of those men that were there." "Really?" Lisa said looking back at the two men just as they were leaving out of the gate. "Well then that makes it easier. Now we have one less to identify. Good job." Lisa stood back up and Sadie and Benny came up to her. "Well, that was certainly a close fight." Sadie said speaking first. "Are you alright? Those hits you took looked painful. "Unfortunately, it was closer than I wanted it to be." Lisa replied tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I think that I can hold off on the training for today. That was a great workout." Lisa then patted herself all over. "Other than the bruise that will surely show on my side and some scrapes, I think I''ll be fine." "That''s good to know. Besides on the bright side, now I don''t have to go find a fighter for you to go up against." Sadie replied in relief. Benny motioned for Lisa toe closer to him. "You want me to get them right now." Benny said in a hushed tone. "If I go now, I can make it look like a robbery. Heck, I have seen enough to know how to frame one." "No, that won''t be necessary." Lisa said softly while shaking her head. "Trust me, my n will work out. So far things have been within most of my expectations." "Ah, if you say so." Benny replied shaking his head. "I am d you didn''t get into trouble. I would have had trouble shooting at him with all that armor." "That would be a hard shot. I didn''t expect him to have that armor either." Lisa replied. Then speaking normally, she asked, "Well, what brings you all out here anyway?" "Hanna and the other girls wanted to see where you were staying at and they had never seen the dam up close either. So, I thought it would be a nice walk out here and to show them something new. I had no idea that all this was going to happen!" Benny replied opening his arms with exasperation. "Well, if that was the real reason, I would be happy to show them around. Though, other than the view from the dam it won''t be all the interesting to them." Lisa replied before turning to the three girls. "So, girls, Benny tells me you came to see the dam. Is that right?" "Yes, it is." Rachel said excitedly. All this fighting and new stuff was making her way to excited. She could hardly contain herself and was bouncing up and down in anticipation. "Alright then. Let''s go see it then!" Lisa said giving a smallugh. Chapter 71: Proccedings Chapter 71: Predings Nathan Dees was eagerly waiting at the base for everyones return. He had already gone to check on Mr. Yates'' Mech that had stopped moving right at the start of the battle. When he managed to open the hatch doors, he found Mr. Yates curled up into a ball crying in his seat. Apparently, upon killing his wife''s murmurer he couldn''t control his emotions anymore and even now, hourster, he was still sobbing in another room. There were dozens of wounded militia forces scattered around the warehouse floor, being tended on by any person that knew medical procedures. Nathan walked slowly among the rows of moaning, wounded men. Staff rushed about doing their best to ease the sufferings of the militia. However, they were far too few, under equipped, or under trained to handle such dire injuries. Doctors rarely visited this town and those that did know medical practices had already moved out of town. "We are too ill prepared to care for the injured. Not to mention in the future if a sickness were to break out, we would suffer. Being this far from any civilized city is going to cost us dearly." Nathan thought walking by everyone in the room. Then he stopped at thest man in the line of the injured. The man had a bullet hole that went right through his left arm. The wound had been wrapped with an old t-shirt and a makeshift tourniquet was tied above it, sessfully stopping the heavy flow of blood. This man would likely survive if the wound didn''t get infected. Nathan tightened his fist. "To many were hurt. All because I wanted to fight against the gangs." Just then, rounding the corner, came the East River Militia''s Vice Leader, Mr. nagan. He had a smile on his natural looking ''inmand'' face. Nathan couldn''t seem to find anyfort upon seeing it, at least not in a ce as dismal as this. "Ah, there his is." Mr. nagan saiding Nathan''s way. "The rest of the leaders of in themittee are looking for you. We still have much to do." "Mr. nagan?" Nathan replied speaking softly. "Do you think that all this was worth it? All this pain." He raised his hand and gestured at the room of injured men. Mr. nagan took one nce and the calm smile faded from his face. "Conflict always has it casualties. We shouldn''t overly act responsible and strive to be better in the future." "But we should feel responsible!" Nathan snapped. "I gave themand to fight and they are suffering for it." Mr. nagan paused for a moment before speaking. "Yes, you did give themand, but it was their choice in the end. You said to them to fight for ''their'' freedom. They wanted that freedom, but they never had anyone to follow. You gave them that chance at freedom." Mr. nagan sighed. "Perhaps saying not to take responsibility was not the right thing to say. Maybe what I was trying to say is that you shouldn''t show your displeasure in taking that responsibility. To me, a leader is someone that shows strength even if things didn''t go the best way possible." Nathan looked back over the lines of wounded soldiers. "Shows strength, huh. That hard to do." Nathan replied glumly. "How can I do that?" "By moving forward. I don''t know any other way." Mr. nagan said putting a hand on Nathan''s shoulder. "Nowe on, the others are waiting." Nathan let out a slightly shaky sigh. "Fine." The entiremittee had regathered into the back area of the warehouse that was now being considered the ERM headquarters. Thest to arrive was Gillian and he looked slightly tired froming straight from the disorganized battlefield and putting the Mech back in its ce. He plopped heavily into his seat and puffed out a breath of air. "Ahem, now that we all are here, let''s get on with deciding what to do next." Nathan said starting off the meeting. He was standing at the head of the table arms crossed. All eyes had turned on him and he felt slightly nervous. "I propose that we need to immediately improve are medical facilities. We arepletely inadequately prepared to handle the overwhelming injury''s that our men are currently facing. We need doctors, medications and sterile facilities, not just for now, but for whatever the future brings us." "I agree." Mr. nagan, Gillian and Mr. Zimmerman all said in unison. The trio gave an awkward nce at each other. Trying to figure out who was supposed to speak first. Mr. nagan raised his hand, motioning that he would go first. "I agree. We do need all of those things, but how are we going to aplish this? We have no resources or money to hire the doctors or gather the needed food supplies and even build any kind of facilities." Mr. Zimmerman spoke up at this point. "About that, we should at least look at what we do have and use that. There are medically trained people volunteering to help those men. We should hire someone thats deemed worth to be called ''Doctor''. It would be better than simply waiting for a volunteer toe out here to help us ande toote or not know what to do." "That''s sounds reasonable." Nathan said giving a satisfactory node. "You told me one time your bother was a medical professional at one time, Mr. Zimmerman. Is that right?" "Yes, I think I did." Mr. Zimmerman replied. "So, you might have at least read something of his that was medically rted or from all the medical things mentioned in court?" Nathan said resting his hands on the tables edge. "Yes, I did both of those things. But that by no means makes me an expert in that field. If you are asking me to take on the role of a doctor, I have to decline." Mr. Zimmerman said straightening up in his seat. "Oh no, I wasn''t going to do that. I just wanted to know if you could oversee the hiring of our future doctors. For example, if you were to ask them certain medically rted terms, examples or procedures and they gave their replies, that you would be capable of knowing if they were right for the job or not." "Ah, I see." Mr. Zimmerman said leaning back in his seat and then started to tap the side of his head in thought. "I do have some of his books still in my attic. I''ll get them and read over them tonight." "That''s good to hear." Nathan replied. "I hope youe to the right decisions." Mr. Zimmerman nodded reassuringly, and Nathan continued the meeting. "Now for the next bit of information. Gillian, or should I say, Commander Gillian, please give us the report of the battles oue. Namely the conditions of our foes, are they going to cause any more attacks, and could we handle another fight like before?" Nathan asked looking down towards the far end of the table. Gillian cleared his throat and sat up in the seat slightly. "Well, the battle went as nned, for the most part. Mr. Yates'' Mech wasn''t in operation to pursue to ck Rats. As such, after Dilly and I finished our areas we were not able to take down a few members of the gang. However, those that did escape couldn''t have numbered more than thirty or so. Also, I can personally attest to the defeat of the ck Rats leader, Garret. I was the one who finally took him out. The gang is beaten, broken and leaderless. They won''t be an issue to us." "That''s good to know. How about our forces? What is our standing?" Nathan asked. "The Mechs were definitely the deciding factor in this fight. Without them our forces wouldn''t have fared so well. Out of the two hundred and seventy men and women that fought, fifty and counting are dead or in critical condition. Forty more are wounded and reports are still rising, but I suspect that they will recover and some maybe even capable of fighting still. That leaves us with one hundred eighty volunteer militia remaining." "So nearly half were casualties." Nathan said making a disappointed look. Then recalling Mr. nagan''s words, he rxed his expression. "Thank you for your hard work and the militia''s hard work. I expect you will continue to do just a well." "I will try my best." Gillian replied. "Now, Mrs. Smithy, have youe up with a solution to our financial issues?" Nathan asked the olderdy that was in charge of the groups Treasury. Mrs. Smithy picked up a few sheets of notes on the table in front of her and nced over them quickly. "From the records I have collected so far, along with what the scouting personnel gathered; we have lots of metal to trade. Namely steel and copper. We can strip the unimed buildings of their copper wires and metal from unneeded buildings and businesses. Cars as well, can be confiscated for resale. There are also antiquity items that we could attempt to resell, but it is only a temporary option. If we had electricity it would make things easier, as we could manufacture products. That, however, is not a current option. So, all we currently have is the metal trade." Then looking up from her papers she nced at Nathan. Her thin rimmed sses were sitting precariously on the tip of her nose as she spoke. "However, the sales of the metal will be massively inefficient in the long run. That market is already flooded with materials and merchants havent been buying at the normal ratestely. We need to bring in food, clothing, other necessities, and now a medical budget to factor in. Something needs to be found that we can gather or produce for sale. Otherwise, the ERM won''tst even six months at this rate." "Hmm, I see. That is something to definitely investigate into. If anyone knows of anything to solve this issue, please speak with Mrs. Smithy." Nathan said looking around the room. Then looking back at Mrs. Smithy, Nathan continued. "Do we at least have a buyer for the metal that we do have?" "Not yet. Now that the ck Rats are taken care off, I will go across the river and find merchants that deal with metals. As far as I know, the merchants on our side purchase goods on that side and bring it back to us." Mrs. Smithy replied. This side has always been the poorer side and tend to get the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. "Alright that will have to suffice for now. I am sure Commander Gillian can send men to guard you and help with anything else you need." Nathan said hearing her reply. Gillian nodded at Mrs. Smithy. "That will not be an issue. I would have suggested it even if Mr. Dees hadn''t." "Alright then, on to the next set of issues." Nathan said seeing that the current conversation had reach an end. He had a feeling that this meeting was going to be far from over and the hours rolled on. By the time the meeting had concluded, nighttime had already arrived, and the sunlight was fading fast. Leaving everyone at the meeting, Nathan walked towards where he was living at, of which was in the middle of thergest neighborhood on this side of the river. He was tired and the thoughts of the wounded soldiers couldn''t clear from his mind. Even after that terribly long meeting it hadnt been enough to distract himself. He walked in silence for a while and found that he wasing towards the ce where the injured were. Just then a soldier, ording to the green band around his arm, came out of the building and appeared to be going in the opposite direction he was. Squinting through the night Nathan saw that his other arm was bandaged tightly. The man noticed Nathan and realizing who he was quickly threw up an odd salute. "Thank you, Nathan, Sir." The man said in a serious tone. Unsure how to respond, Nathan gave his own salute to the man. "No, thank you. You fought well. Now go rest up, it''s gettingte." "Yes Sir." The man replied giving a smile and turned to go. Seeing the man go Nathan couldn''t help but shake his head. "Thank me? I did nothing worth thanking this time." Though he quietly said this, the odd feeling he felt in his heart softened slightly. Perhaps having a leader was all this town truly needed. Chapter 72: Moab City Chapter 72: Moab City Moab City was unprecedented. Ever since its founding, Moab had always been nothing more than a small out of the way desert town. Laying beside the Colorado River and intersecting with Highway 191, the town was once only considered to be a lonely tourists attraction rest stop for surrounding National Parks. There were no production capabilities, no resources being mined or farmed. So, there was really not all that much reason for anyone to live here. At least not until the Nuclear Wars and many bombings came to the nation, starting with World War Three, more than two hundred years ago. When nuclear bombs dropped on most of the USAs state capitals and other majorly popted cities, people evacuated many of the un-bombed cities and took to the country sides in droves. Once barren, emptynds for miles on end soon filled with desperate people escaping radiation and war. Moab was one such location. The mayor of the town, at the time of the first Nuclear War, had wanted a way to increase the towns livelihood and ie. As tourism was the towns only real means of ie and with the war going on, it meant that no one was interested in visiting National Parks. So, the mayor came up with a scheme to attract people to move to this isted town and generate business revenue. The n was to advertise the town as a safe, out of reach haven from the war and nuclear fallout. The town is situated far from any major city, like Denver, Salt Lake City, or Las Vegas, and not to mention the roads in this area were vastly untraveled. This made the small town of Moab to be an extremely appealing ce for asylum seekers. The mayor capitalized on this aspect and advertised it so well, that the town of just over 6,000 people, soon burst into hundreds of thousands in under ten years. No vige, town or city had ever undergone such poption boom of this scale and speed ever in the USAs history. Businesses flooded into the city to sell their merchandise, refugees found medical treatment, and stability was brought to the region. All this sess that they mayor had gotten was especially gained from the Colorado River. The mayor utilized the river in his advertising scheme to tell businesses that trade with the outside world was still possible. The river flows southwest from Moab towards the states of Arizona and Nevada, before traveling south along California and into Mexico; then the river flowed into the Gulf of California. Knowing this, the mayor advertised that businesses could ship their goods from Moab along the river and to the world. River Barges and other smaller shipping vessels could travel up the river to Moab to pick up and deliver other goods just as good as trucks could. The isted area and unmonitored river provided safe travels for the trucking and train industries to bring their goods to Moab, without fear of being bombed in route. This was something the currentrger cities couldn''t guarantee. Especially since all satellites were rendered useless to the world, traditional maps and knowledge of the USA would have to be used by the enemy. Since the river was never used by the USA before, no one would watch the river for item transportation. The reason that Moab became the hub for river trade for businesses to the east and north, was that ships couldn''t travel any further up the river. North of Moab was the town of Maple Valley (The Damn) and at this town was the hydroelectric dam, whichpletely blocked the river for any boat. If this were the only dam it wouldn''t have been all that much trouble to destroy it and other cities to the north couldpete in the river trade. However, in years past, the drive for clean renewable energies to rece the worlds dependence on oil created the desire for hydroelectric dam construction. The northern part of the Colorado River above Moab was so under popted, due to the high river canyon walls, that dozens of dams were built to fill the electricity consumption demands. All in all, Moab thrived because of all this and more. Today in 2278 it is a powerful political zone thatys on the edge between civilization, the wilderness wastnds andpeting militarys, such as the American Fascist Regime. Moab City is well known now as one of the few Independent City State. The door to the Moab Mayors office was suddenly assaulted by a barrage of knocks. "Come in." Moab Cities mayor, Cameron Bakersfield, called out with a tired tone. The door lock clicked open as a thin man in sses stepped inside. "Mr. Mayor, there has been another visual report of the Twisted hoard moving southward in our general direction. The elderly couple that made the report stated that it was just north of Interstate 70 and east of Highway 191." "Is that so?" Mr. Bakersfield said giving a sigh as he leaned back in this plush seat. He then rubbed his hand through his graying goatee before speaking further. "Go ahead, Dan, and assign a task force to oversee the hoards activities. If ites any closer, we might need to enforce a lockdown on the city. Additionally, we may need to activate the Defensive Shield. So, make sure the engineers approve that the power supply is stable." "Understood, Mr. Mayor." Dan replied lifting his Srium 6 tabloid and rapidly tapped out the mayors wishes and sent them off the responsible parties. "Done Sir. Now may I ask what your reply is going to be to the AFR military? I understand that they wish to send troops here to conduct an extraction of a highly wanted individual from the city." Mr. Bakersfield shifted in his seat slightly. "Well, that''s to be considered further. I still need to address the Board about it too. As you know Moab has remained neutral to the three governments around us. The American Fascist Regime to our north and east, the Texas Confederacy to the south and east and the State of Jefferson to the west and north. All three want to expand their controls of the wildernessnds and our city is smack in the middle of it. If we let any one of these governments get in too deep politically here, it might cause the other two to react or attack us. We need to keep our City''s citizens safe." "I understand that perfectly well. That is why I am d you are Mayor and not myself." Dan said giving and honest grin. "I am curious as to who this individual is? Or am I overstepping my boundaries?" "Not really. Though they didn''t say what he has done or why they want him so bad, the AFR sent us this notification." Mr. Bakersfield sat up and tapped an icon on the touch screenputer built into his office desk. The image of a man popped up onto the holographic like screen before them floating just above the desk. "This is Zac Evans, also known as Number 56. They want him found, but not to be engaged. If our police force spots him, we are to notify the AFR troops that they n to send and they will take care of him. Whatever that might entail." Mr. Bakersfield exined casually. They im he is highly dangerous and probably armed. Dan looked carefully at the image that disyed a thinly structured, blond middle-aged man. It also showed that all his limbs had been reced with cybeic parts. It wasn''t all that rare for people to have prosthetics in today''s time, but Dan could tell that those were not normal. Dan could deduce that perhaps it was a special design of Zac Evans himself. Next to the man was a floating orb shaped robot. The exact type he didn''t know, but it gave off a side kick vibe when paired with the man. "Interesting. Well, I know that I shouldn''t ry this information to anyone. So, my questions will stop here." Dan said looking away from the image. "Very well. That''s exactly why I hired you. You understand the importance of confidentiality." Mr. Bakersfield said gettingfortable in his seat once more. He rested his sped hands onto his pudgy stomach. "Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Now I must get back to work." Dan said turning to go back out into the bustling office floor outside the Mayors office. Well, guess I better inform the Board. Mayor Bakersfield sighed reaching for his phone. Somewhere in the industrial district of Moab City, near the river dockyards, a man and his robot walked along the freshly rained on paved streets. A light mist drifted up from the warm pavement and into the cool air. It wrapped around the mans knees and he pulled his moist green over coat closer to his chilly body. "Boss 56, you need to dry off soon. Wet clothing is not good for a humans health." The orb like robot, floating alongside the man, spoke in an upbeat robotic voice. "I know you wish to keep on with your mission, but my bosses life takes priority." The ck painted orb floated ahead of the man and turned to look at him with multiple red eye sensors. "I know, Orville." 56 said as he stopped walking and took out a handheld device from his pocket and turned it on. On screen a map of the city appeared, though it was not using the updated holo-projected technology, it was still urate. His location was marked with a blue dot and another red dot was ced not too far away from him. "We are almost to the AO (Area of Operation). We get in there, get the data and get it back to base. I can dry off as we walk." "Understood Boss 56!" Orville replied. A robotic hand on a rod like arm popped out of a slot on its underside and gave a dramatic salute to 56. Orville was the special creation of Zac Evans, aka 56. 56 was a robotics specialist and hacking technician in the Navy Seals Cyborg Unit. As the Units were all mostlyprised of people with cybeic devices, tech savvy types like him were much desired by the military. Orville was one of his pet creations that he had put together after being revived from cryogenic sleep. Orville was roughly the size of a basketball, though he wasnt as round as one. His shape more closely resembled that of a gumdrop. The shape allowed him to float above to ground using the same technology as the Hover Ships electromaic engineering. Though hisponent set-up was an inferior versionpared to the Hover Ships, it was still an amazing feat for the size reduction of theponents. "Boss 56, what''s the data for?" Orville asked as they started back on their way. "We need better information of this future world and the AFR haspletely taken control of the flow of data on their inte. We can''t ess it properly without drawing to much suspicion to find anything that''s not censored or corrupted by their propaganda." 56 exined quietly. Though the streets were mostly empty it never hurt to be careful of eavesdroppers. "This City is considered to be a neutral area and themanders back at base considered this a viable ce to expand our intelligence gathering options." "Iprehend Boss 56." Orville said bobbing alongside the man. "So, the ce we are going to has free Wi-Fi then?" 56 couldn''t help but smile hearing the joke. "Something like that." It was then that they arrived at their AO. An inte caf called Zhou''s Hot Spot. Despite it being an inte caf, it didn''t look as friendly as a normal one. The street side brick walls were covered in lewd graffiti, metal bars covered every window, and an armed masked bouncer was standing at the door checking identification cards of the customers. The overall appearance looked more like a jail than a caf. "Well, here we go." 56 said putting his hands into his coat pockets and he headed for the door. Orville happily floating along in tow. Chapter 73: Tour Chapter 73: Tour Lisa had decided to spend the rest of the afternoon showing the three girls around her new home and dam. They didn''t spend much time indoors, as Lisa didn''t own much, and every room was nothing but rust and trash. Lisa just showed them where they slept then headed out towards the dam itself. The three young girls immediately dashed over to peer over the edge of the dams wall. They were so excited, until they looked over. "Wow! This is too high!" ir said squeamishly pushing herself away from the edge. Hanna nearly did the same, but still tentatively peeked over slightly. While Rachel had the most rambunctious attitude of the three towards the view. She could hardly contain herself. "This is awesome!" Rachel shouted and she leaned out over the edge. So far in fact, that even Lisa felt nervous. "Easy there, Rachel." Lisa said putting a hand on the girls slender back. "You should know better than to hang off something like that." Rachel receded slightly, but she could still hardly contain herself and propped a hand on her forehead to block the sunlight. "You can see so far away! The water looks like shinny ss! Is this what birds feel like when they fly?" "Calm down Rachel. Youre going to slip." ir said to Rachel, but she didn''t daree back towards the edge. "No, I won''t." Rachel replied. "Isn''t the view awesome Hanna?" Hanna nodded slowly, eyeing the silent swirling waters below before replying, "The towns a lot bigger than I thought it would be." "It really is big. I think I can see our houses from here." Rachel said pointing out towards the west side of town. "The sky too." Hanna spoke softly looking out at the distant horizon. "It''s like an endless puddle. I feel like if I threw a rock in it, it would sink forever." "Rather poetic, Hanna." Lisa said tugging on Rachels shoulder to back her up from the edge some more. "How about we look at theke next. It''s very pretty and not as high." The four turned and went to the other side, though Rachel did grumble the entire way. At this time of day, the sun was at their backs and was reflecting brilliantly off thekes surface like specks of glitter. The tall tan and gray cliff sides stood regal and charming on either side of the rippingke. The evergreens wavered gently in the cool but stiff breeze. The wildndscape was a stark and peaceful contrast to the ruined post-apocalyptic town. "Now this is much better." ir said with relief. "I could look at this scene for hours." "Eh, it''s pretty, but I have seen water and trees before. The view from the dam is better." Rachel replied brushing her brown hair out of her face. "No, this is much better. Looking down from that high made my head spin." ir retorted. "Hanna which of these views looked better to you? The dams view, right?" Rachel said looking to Hanna and ir followed Rachel''s lead. Hanna looked back and forth between her two friends. They were clearly arguing, and she couldn''t hurt ones feeling to satisfy the other. "Both are great. I liked both of them." She finally said giving a shrug. "I knew you''d say that." Rachel said giving an audible sigh. "We wouldn''t expect anything less." ir said throwing an arm around Hanna''s shoulders. "Well, we are almost done. If you two thought that these views were cool, wait until I show you electricity!" Lisa said excitedly. "Oh, I heard of that." ir said perking up. "There''s some books from the old library that talk about it. It''s like fire only it doesn''t burn and it''s the same thing as lightning, right?" "Very good ir. That''s a pretty good understanding of electricity. Especially considering Mary told me that you all unfortunately haven''t gone to school. I guess that is to be expected in this degraded time." Lisa said while enjoying the young girl''s exnation. "You see this dam doesn''t just hold the water back, it also can create electricity." "How''s that possible?" Hanna chimed in, while both ir and Rachel nodded in agreement. "Well let''s see. A door deep under the water, on the dams inner wall, opens up and water goes inside the walls. Then it hits a big metal fan and makes it spin. The fan spins a shaft that spins a device called a Rotor. That Rotor is made of copper and that copper rubs on another part call a Stator. That''s where the electricity is made, from those two parts rubbing together. The Stator is inside the part that collects the electricity, the generator. The generator sends the electricity through wires to a transformer. Those big, green metal things inside the building we saw earlier, they send the electricity to houses and buildings by power lines." Lisa paused and looked at the nk staresing from the three girls. "I know that waspletely new to you three, but did you understand any of it? "Nope!" Rachel answered quickly. "A little bit maybe? No." Hanna replied sheepishly. "I sort of get it. Maybe if I could see it that might help." ir said after some thought. Lots of new words for me. "Well in that case. Let''s go see the electricity working in lightbulbs!" Lisa said turning towards the Powerhouse building. Her enthusiasm hadnt been lost yet and was feeling rather eager to show off. The three girls looked at each other, shrugged and hurried after Lisa who was already several step ahead of them. When they arrived at the big metal doors, leading to the tunnel, the girls felt nervous. It seemed kind of creepy to them. Then when Lisa pushed open the doors and the wind burst out, and they all held hands nervously. Stepping inside they expected a dark cave like room with creepy cobwebs and spiders, but what they found was that it was bright and empty. It was ir that noticed where the light wasing from. "Look up there! There are bright tinny suns on the ceiling!" ir shouted and her voice echoed down the long corridor. "Wow! They are so bright, they hurt to look at too." Rachel said lookin away from them and blinking rapidly. "Then don''t silly." Hanna said giggling as she too looked away from the tinny lights burning in her vision. "Right up ahead is where you can see those parts I told you about. One is working right now, and another is apart." Lisa said watching the three girls first exposure to electricity. Back in her time every child knew of electricity and had taken it for granted. Showing off electricity for first timers must have been how Michal Faraday or Benjamin Franklin felt showing it off for the first time. After showing them the machines parts and exining it once more the girls kind of understood, but only ir seemed to grasp anything Lisa exined. Though without schooling it would take a while for any of them to utterly understand the exciting nature of electricity. While she was exining this, Rachels wandering attention discovered the echoes in the tunnel. Once that happened, all the interest in electricity was gone from the young girls and they yed around making funny noises for some time. Reluctantly, Lisa gave up teaching them and let them y. In the meantime, Benny, Sadie, and Zane had been left alone together after Lisa and the girls left them for the dam. There was an awkward silence for a few moments as no one knew what to say. After all they were all strangers and only just met days ago. The stiff breeze blew a scrap of paper across the parking lot, adding to the awkwardness even more. "So, ahem, Mrs. Sadie." Benny finally said breaking the silence. "I hope everything is going better than that fight earlier." "For the most part it has been." Sadie replied giving a nervous grin. "We need to figure out our food situation and the living area we are in needs desperately to be cleaned." "Well, maybe you can get a refrigerator since you got electricity." Benny said with an exasperated shrug. "Wait, there''s electricity here!" Zane interrupted with an urgent look. "Well kind of." Sadie replied. "Lisa''s working on getting this dam to make some. It''s only working in the tunnel right now, but for how long, I''m not sure. She said the parts need repairs badly." Zane still seemed surprised. "I haven''t seen electricity since I was eight. I can''t remember what it looked like." "So, who exactly is this guy?" Benny whispered to Sadie. "Oh, where are my manners. This guy is Zane. Lisa said that he''s going to be working for her once his wounds have healed." Sadie replied. "Zane, huh." Benny said looking him over. "You must be the guy Joan told me about. My name is Benjamin, but just call me Benny." Benny said holding out his hand. "Like she said, I''m Zane." Zane replied shaking Benny''s hand. "I just got roped into working for her just this morning. I still don''t even know what Lisa wants me to do. Especially after seeing her fight! Has she always been that good?" "To be honest, we only have known her for a few weeks." Benny replied. The trio then headed for the Powerhouse, as the wind was kind of chilly out in the open parking lot. "Apparently she''s just as skilled in all of her other fights as well. Oddly enough she doesnt really act like your typical fighter. It seems she would rather try to make money by getting the electricity running again. At first, we thought it was just a whim of hers, but it''s starting to seem like a real possibility." Just then they saw Lisa and the girls returning from the dams wall. The trio followed behind them into the powerhouse building and when they got inside, they found that girls had already gone into the tunnel with Lisa. "Oh look, the doors are open. Let''s peek inside." Sadie said and the two men followed her. When they looked inside the two men both were quite enthralled by the artificial lighting. Though there were several burnt out bulbs and many others that were dimly lit, it was a weing sight. "That''s a sight for sore eyes! Never thought I''d see electricity in this town ever again." Benny said feeling somewhat teary eyed. Zane''s eyes lit up in excitement as he spoke in a hushed tone. "It is actually electricity!" Then without warning, the pain started to rack Zane''s side again as he started to get overly excited. His knees started shaking as the pain throbbed badly. Seeing him struggle, Benny held him up by lifting on Zanes arm. "Let''s get youying back down. It looks like that side of yours hurts." "His bed is upstairs. Just follow me." Sadie said quickly heading for the stairs. While the two men moved slowly behind. Once up the stairs and in the office, now turned bedroom, Benny carefullyid Zane down on his mattress. Zane sighed heavily and closed his eyes. One hand tenderlyid on his wound the other clinched in pain at his side. "Hang in there. You''lle out just fine." Benny said looking down at Zane. Its to bad we dont have any pain killers. Zane merely nodded in agreement and kept his eyes closed. It was just then he realized he hadn''t gone to the bathroom yet; the fight had just been too exciting. After Benny and Sadie left room and closed the door behind them did Zane mumble a curse under his breath. "I guess I am going to have to hold it until this pain goes away." Then he started to think about what he had just seen. The jaw dropping fight with the giant, Lisa''s fighting capability and the electricity in the tunnel. It was one exciting day. Then he started to think aloud. "I don''t know what we were doing in the ck Rats. What exactly was Garrets goal? Trying to gain control, power, or just killing time? Turns out that there are so many more powerful people out in the world with actual ambitions. We know nothing. Especially since she is making electricity here! We didn''t do a thing for the town to make it better for us. I think I should consider really joining up as Boss Lisa''s employee, as she put it. If Garret did lose in the battle, I am done with the ck Rats, they have no future." After making his decision, Zane tried to rest the best he could. Thoughts of what the future might bring, bounced endlessly in his excited mind. Chapter 74: Low Funds Chapter 74: Low Funds Benny and Sadie headed back downstairs after helping Zane back to his room and started to look for Lisa and the girls. They could hear some silly noisesing from inside the tunnel, and once they were closer to the metal doors, they could tell the girls were having lots of fun. "Seems like they managed to cheer Hanna up some." Benny remarked giving a light chuckle. Going inside the tunnel, they followed the silly sounds and soon joined up with the others. "So, I see they found the lights interesting." Sadie said crossing her arms exaggeratedly and ncing from the girls to Lisa. "Well, can you me them? The echoes are pretty good." Lisa said with a grin. Thinking to herself Lisa remarked, I wish at times I could enjoy the simplest things just as these children do. Ignorance truly is bliss! "So now what?" Sadie asked. "Are we going to just y around or are you going to do something productive?" "Aw,e on. We were having fun." Lisa said pretending to be childish. "But you are right, let''s go outside and talk some. Girls let''s go now. You can look out from the dam again, as long as Rachel doesn''t lean over the edge to far." "Fine." Rachel huffed. "My voice was getting sore anyway." Everyone soon left the tunnel and Lisa locked the doors once again. The three girls went back towards the dam to mess around, while the adults watched from the back of the building. The wind wasn''t that strong here and the suns heat bouncing off the rusting metal wall felt nice in the cool air. "Well now I get to really start helping Hanna out by killing that man, Joe Swanson. It might not be easy, but I can manage him." Lisa started off the conversation. "Wait, you are going to kill him?" Sadie asked sounding surprised. "I mean, that''s not unheard of in Match Fighting, in fact its sadlymon. Yet how is that supposed to help little Hanna?" "Oh, that''s right. I haven''t told you Hannas story. Let''s sit down on these pallets, it''s a longish story." Lisa said sitting down on the ancient look wood pallets. Sadie and Benny joined her, though both were careful to find a spot on the old wood without any splinters. Lisa and Benny took turns retailing the story of Hanna''s family''s capture and murder. That the culprits were all Mad Dog members, including the Boss, Martinez. How Hanna then had escaped from them sending dogs after her and how she wandered around alone until Lisa saved her from the puddle and returned her safely back home. Benny added parts about who her parents were and how nice they were to everyone in themunity. By the time they had finish the story Sadie had mixed feelings and expressions to match. "That''s just horrible! I knew the gangsters were mean people, but to kill Hanna''s parents for no reason at all and send dogs after Hanna! That''s just going to far." "Yes, it is. Yet justice shall prevail." Benny said defiantly. "I am sure, Lisa, you have some n in mind?" "I think so. Two or three possible ns in fact." Lisa replied giving a nod. "Hanna is the only one that knows what the rest of the men look like that are responsible for the murders. Besides the two we just met; the others are still unknown to us. I did see their boss, Martinez, but only from above. So, I didn''t get a good look at his face. To fix this quickly Hanna needs to be there at the Arena to identify them while I am fighting. She''s also found a way into the gangsterspound, along with some of her friends. As I am fighting them, she can watch from a window, looking into the Arena and then tell me who is responsible." "Hmm, that might work, but won''t that make it hard to see all of those people from far away peering through a window? Won''t she be at risk of getting caught snooping around too?" Benny replied. "Also, why was she sneaking into thepound anyway? She should know better." "You should ask her about that. I did tell her not to do it again. That''s just too dangerous for kids to be doing." Lisa said agreeing with Benny. "As for the n, that''s only the first option. The other is that while Hanna is wearing a mask and simple disguise, she can sit with Sadie and be able to see everyone from much closer. However, thats not all that much safer. At least from the window she can escape quickly out of thepound." "I wouldn''t let anyone hurt Hanna while she was with me." Sadie remarked. "I could also try to get into thepound too. I can''t let the little girl be in danger like that." Benny said looking fondly in the three girls direction. "All my children and grandchildren have long left this town and I haven''t seen them in ages. So, I''ve considered Hanna to be like a grandchild to me. Especially now that the Marshals are gone." "I understand how you feel, but the hole Hanna and her friends found is much too small for you to crawl through." Lisa replied. "Besides, I have something else for you and Zane, if he''s in better conditionter on, to try and do for me inside the Arena." The two adults looked at Lisa curiously. Lisa then continued exining, seeing that she had their attention. "I am hopelessly low on money. To get this dam running like it needs too, money is a must have. I only have a small amount on my person at the moment for funding the dams renovations. To fix that problem I want you, Benny and Zane, to take some of my money around the Arena and bet it all on me. Try to do it with as many people as you can. I will win and that is a guarantee. Then when I do win, Ill share a portion of the winnings with you two, that way we all will be making a lot of money!" Benny scratched his head in thought. "But Lisa, this town is poor. How are there going to be that many people there that have money to spare?" "That won''t be an issue." Lisa replied giving a mischievous grin. "The gangsterspound is, I think, an illegal betting ring of sorts. This is somehow allowed by the MFA betting rules and the ce is frequented by extraordinarily rich people from out of town, possibly out of state, thate here to buy illegal items or properties." "You don''t say?!" Benny said as his face lit up. "If I were still a cop, I would have used that information to make the biggest illegal bust of my career, if it''s true." "I always thought that market area was kind of odd." Sadie replied. "I had always seen richly dressed people there and always wondered why they were here. I never really messed around near them though. I was too busy working." "All right then, I like that second n better. That way I can be closer to Hanna just in case and me making money by betting would be much better than selling metal scraps for pennies." Benny said giving a nod. "Would it be possible for John and Richard to join us?" "Later on, for sure. It would make the betting lest conspicuous. Lisa replied, then she was reminded of Xander. However, showing up with arge group of people might make us stand out too much. So, let just make it you, Zane and Hanna for now." As the conversation drew to a close, the three girls started making their return to the adults. Rachel was the first to return. "I saw a big bird actually fly under us!" Rachel called out breathlessly. "I can''t believe we are higher than birds on that wall." "Yes, it is amazing indeed." Lisa said with a chuckle seeing the girls delight. The other two girls caught up just then. "Well now that the ns are made, its time you girls should be going home. I bet by the time you return it will be nearly dinnertime." "Can''t we stay here and eat?" Hanna asked, there was a bit of disappointment lingering in her eyes. "I would love let you all stay, but I have absolutely no food at all! I need to go into the forest to catch some." Lisa replied brushing a hand on Hanna''s cheek. Then there came a light rumbling noise from Sadie''s stomach, and everyone heard it. The girls giggled and Sadie''s face flushed. "See? We hadn''t eaten since yesterday and that wasn''t much either." Lisa replied also stifling a bit ofughter. "Benny it was good to see you. Tell Joan that her patient is recovering and if she wants toe over at any time, that would be fine." "I will do that." Benny replied. "Alright girls, say your goodbyes." "Bye Miss Lisa!" ir and Rachel said in unison. Hanna couldn''t say goodbye. The words caught in her throat and it felt as if she was about to choke. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around Lisa''s high waistline, squeezing tightly. Just being around Aunt Lisa seemed to take a lot of pressure of her chest. Lisa put a hand on Hanna''s back and the other patted her head. "Don''t worry Hanna. It''s not for good. We will see each other really soon." Lisa pushed Hanna back some and squatted down to look Hanna in the eye. Hanna''s bottom lip was quivering slightly as Lisa looked at the little girl. The wind tugged gently at the two womens hair gently for a moment. Then with a calm voice Lisa spoke again. "The next time we see those men, it will be theirst. Your parents will rest easy soon." The cold, yetforting, gaze of Lisa''s grey eyes put an end to Hanna''s lip quivering. Hanna knew that just from that steely look, everything was going to be alright. Hanna then nodded slowly and turned to leave with her friends and Benny. "Take care you two." Benny said and the three girls waved goodbye. The twodies returned the wave and watched them leave the area. Soon the group had left out of sight down the hill and back into town. "So, what''s next?" Sadie said breaking the silence. "We need to check the snares and eat. I know you''re definitely hungry!" Lisa said turning to go towards the forest on the other side of the dam. My tummy was not that loud. Sadie objected as she followed closely behind. "Benny mentioned that we should find a refrigerator, since we have electricity. Is that possible?" "Sounds good to me. We could look through those storage units to find one." Lisa said pointing back over her shoulder with her thumb. "I had been meaning to look through them anyway. They might have some good stuff." "Alright, but what about after we do that? We still have plenty of time before next weeks fight with Golem." Sadie asked again. At this moment they were crossing the dam and were nearly halfway across. Lisa slowed down and looked at the east side of the river. "Well, we still need to learn more about Zane. He said that he was a ck Rats member. If he was injured and forced to escape in the river, then we need to know about what''s going on over there. We wouldnt want troubleing our way unexpectedly." The wind picked up and tossed Lisa''s hair violently behind her. Squinting against the sunlight she could see multiple ck dots circling above the plumes of smoke rising ominously. The smoke was thick, ck, anding from several ces all over the eastern part of town. A familiar sent then wafted into Lisas nose; the smell of burning rubber and flesh. "I smell a big opportunitying from there. Just as those birds smell the battle that likely took ce." "Birds? Battle?" Sadie remarked and covered her eyes from the sun light to look at the birds. Lisa had a faraway look as she spoke. "Yep, where there was war there''s always three things: death, money and opportunity." Chapter 75: About Things Chapter 75: About Things Hanna had been told by Benny what Lisas finalized n was for them after arriving back at the Weathers home. She was filled with anticipation and a little fear upon hearing it. She would have told the other girls if not for Bennys warning that, for their safety, they should not be involved. Reluctantly she had to agree, it was her own problem. Even if they wanted to help, it was her burden to carry. That night she could hardly sleep. She was just too nervous and angry. This was the crux of her thoughts that revolved anxiously around in her mind. "I am excited that Lisa is going to help me, but if only I was stronger, I would do it myself! How would I avenge my parents though? There were so many people in the gangs base. I feel stupid for thinking of using Mr. Weathers pistol now. There has still got to be something I can do to get back at those murderers!" Shifting restlessly around under her bed sheets, Hanna couldnt getfortable. The Weathers had put her into the guest bedroom and the mattress was much to stiff for her liking. She missed her old bed, her old room, but most of all her parents. Hanna missed them so much! Even the slightest thought of them ached her chest and she felt like crying herself into a puddle, but the tears just wouldnte. The cause was that she was equally as angry. Angry that the gangsters responsible were living carefree lives and that she was powerless to do anything about it. Tossing the sheets above her head to try and drown her scrambled thoughts, Hanna tried to get some sleep. The next week went by slowly for everyone. Lisa and Sadie worked on gathering food and supplies from the area. Additionally, they continued to block up the two gates leading into the dams property. It took three days for Lisa to find and move an astounding amount of metal and cars to achieve this. Zane had spent most of his time resting. His wounds hadn''t sumbed major to infection, which was a miracle in itself. If Dilly''s attack had gone any deeper, cut his organs or if Zane had soaked longer in the river any longer; there would have been very great chance he would not be this well off or even alive. After watching Boss Lisa fight that huge Fighter and seeing the electricity, Zane knew that she really wasn''t all talk. She was strong and smart, things he knew he needed to be. "Why on earth does she want me to work for her? Aside from doing everything Garret wanted me to do and making the others do it, I really don''t have many skills." Zane wondered while lying on his mattress and staring aimlessly at the ceiling. "She doesn''t even know who I am. I sure don''t know what she intends for me to do either. Then a thought popped in him mind. "If she wants me to fight as a subordinate of hers and puts me up against the ck Rats, what would I do?" Zane shook his head. "No, she doesn''t seem like she''s that foolish to try something like that. What is she nning?" It had been two days since the fight with Golem and Lisa was nearly finishing with the "blockade" blocking the gates to the dams property. Zane decided that being cramped up in the office was much too boring and wanted to see how much she had finished. He sat up in bed and grunted softly. Though the area around his cuts were reddish, it didn''t look all that bad. He patted the fresh gauss that had been wrapped around his torso. "Whatever was in the medicine that the Boss put on me is really good." Zane thought to himself. "I wonder where she got something so valuable out here and why waste it on me?" Zane got up slowly and headed for the door. He had ensured Lisa that he wouldn''t leave and as long as he never left the fenced in area, and she said he could leave the room by himself. He really did intend to stay here, so there was no reason for him to lie. When he got out of the building, he saw Lisa pulling one car on top of another! He watched her as she slowly wiggled the one car onto the other. She lookedpletely unnatural, pulling a car around like it was nothing was not something a normal human should be capable of! Once she finished pulling the car up, Zane saw her stand up and wipe the sweat from her brow. She only had on just her faded ck skintight suit top and a pair of red mid-high thigh shorts, along with her heavy lookingbat boots. Her long ck hair was tied up in a simple ponytail and it was swinging gently in the afternoon breeze. Zane couldn''t help but admit, that even though Boss Lisa was kind of intimidating, her looks were not bad at all. Just as he was thinking this, Lisa looked his way. He quickly averted his gaze and pretended to be looking for a ce to sit and rest. Quickly, but carefully, sitting down against the buildings wall, Zane hoped that she wasn''ting his way. Out of the corner of his sight, unfortunately, he saw that she wasing his way. "Zane, good timing." Lisa called out to him. "I was going to take a break. There''s some things I need to talk to you about." Zane looked up at the tall woman as she arrived next to him. Keeping a passive, almost shy look, he asked, "What do you need to know?" Lisa grabbed a rusting metal oil drum and sat down on it to the right of Zane. "About you, the ck Rats and the other side of the river." "Oh, ok." Zane replied and he shifted nervously. Just because he was going to apparently be working for her, he had no intentions of betraying the ck Rats so easily. "So, first off, Zane, let''s talk about you. Do you have ast name?" Lisa asked. "Walters, Zane Walters. Why do you need to know that?" Zane questioned. "No reason, just curious." Lisa said shrugging. "So, youre a lieutenant for the ck Rats. I take it that you''re fairly skilled in a fight to be a lieutenant, but from that wound, maybe not to good. How did you reach that position in the gang?" Though the way she casually took a jab at hisck of skill hurt, Zane held his tongue and replied trying not to sound defensive. "I earned it and I am good at fighting. The guy I fought was just bigger and not tired out, that''s all. My gang boss, Garret, recognizes that I am good at doing what he wanted done." "Hmm, Garret is your boss." Lisa mumbled. "Just remember, you work for me now, not him. Eventually hes going to be a nobody anyway. So how did you get that wound?" Zane knew that she was fishing for information, but for what, he really didn''t know. It''s not like she was going to try and take on the gang or anything, that was just dumb for one person to try and do. So, he decided to indulge her. "I was fighting another man named Dilly. He was a huge man, just like Golem that you fought. He said he was a Mountain Match Fighter, whatever that means." "Oh, so you fought someone actually strong then. Guess youre not all that weak if you survived him." Lisa replied as she whipped at the sweat on her brow again. "You know him?" Zane asked a bit worried. "No, but if he''s a Mountain League Match Fighter then he''s actually got some skill. I''m technically ranked lower than he is." Lisa replied shaking her head. "Anyway, why were you fighting him?" "Ranked lower than Dilly? But they fought about with nearly the same intensity." Zane thought to himself. Then he replied to Lisa. "Well, you see there is this new group that call themselves the East River Militia. They revolted against us ck Rats, guess they got tired of being controlled by us or something. Anyway, Dilly was on their side. He was driving a big Mech and destroyed my entire group of guys that I was leading. He got out and fought me when I tried to escape in the river. That''s how I ended up here." "I knew it. There was a battle over there. The birds never lie." Lisa said thoughtfully looking towards the eastern river shore. Then to herself, "Whats a Mech? There is still so much about the future I don''t know. Bet it''s a machine of some kind simr to the ones I fought at the military base." "So, I take it that you all lost then?" Lisa asked looking back at Zane. "I-I think so." Zane said with a sigh. "Though we had better weapons and numbers, we were no match for their Mechs." "Interesting. Well, I hope everything you told me is true." Lisa said standing up. "I need some water. Stay here and keep resting. It''s a nice day today." With saying that Lisa left to go find the pot of boiled water Sadie had put inside. Leaving Zane alone, again. He sat there for a while and just enjoyed the cool breeze blowing across the parking lot. He was actually starting to doze off when Lisa returned. She plopped back down onto the oil drum and then tapped his leg with her foot. "Hey wake up!" Zane grudgingly opened an eye. "What? I was nearly asleep." "No time for that." Lisa said taking a swig of water out of a metal coffee mug she found. "I am going to exin your first job for me. It''s kind of important, so pay attention." Zane opened his eyes and sat up some. Finally, he was going to learn of her intentions. Lisa cleared her throat and continued. "As you know my fight with Golem will be taking ce at the Mad Dogs Arena in a few days. I need you and Benny, that guy you met earlier, to do some betting for me. You see, I need money, badly. I want you two to bet the money I give you on me. But don''t just bet with one person, do it with as many people as you can. Just pretend that you have more money than you really do and exaggerate that they have no chance beating your bet on me." "I guess I can try to do that." Zane said slightly relieved it wasn''t something too hard. "But what if they want to see the money or have someone hold it? I won''t be able to get others to bet against me. That''s what happens when we gangsters betted against each other." "Just move on to the next sucker." Lisa said giving a shrug. "There will be plenty of chances. Oh, but if security or a guy named Xander messes with you, cut your losses and don''t bet any extra. I want to keep things on the down low, you understand?" "Ya, I got you." Zane replied. "Good. If you can earn me a good amount, I might let you have some." Lisa said giving a smile. "Now that''s just the first thing I want you to do. The other thing you need to do is watch carefully that little girl red headed girl you saw earlier, Hanna. She ising with us into the Arena too. Nothing is to happen to her." Lisa''s voice was serious sounding and Zane nodded reassuringly. "If you see anyone messing with her you must stop them. At least long enough for me to get there. If you fail to do that, you are going to suffer. Badly." The look in Lisa''s gray eyes sent a shiver into Zane''s core. She was dead serious. "I understand Boss. I will watch her carefully." "I hope you do." Lisa said getting up again. "Other than that, enjoy the Arena. That ce is really big and it honestly impressive. I doubt your side of the river has anything like it. Well back to work. I should be able to finish by tonight. No one is going to be getting in here easily now!" Lisa turned to leave and go back to building the blockade. Zane nodded to Lisa as she left and could only wonder as to what made that Arena so impressive to Lisa. After all Lisa didn''t seem like someone that was easy to impress. However, he only had to wait a few more days to find out. Chapter 76: Information at the Café Chapter 76: Information at the Caf¨¦ 56 and Orville approached the masked guard to the Caf and tried to walk casually past him. Of course, it wasn''t going to work out that way. "Hold on there, buddy." The guard said pressing his meaty hand onto 56''s chest. "I need to check for weapons and data storage devices." "Fine, go ahead." 56 replied raiding his arms for inspection. The guard frisked him carefully first by hand for weapons, after a few moments he found nothing. Then taking out a handheld scanner like device he activated it and slowly scanned 56 from head to toe, but again found nothing. Then the guard nced up at Orville floating cheerily overhead. "Your drone robot thing here, has to stay outside. I don''t know what is capable of. If it''s carrying medicine for you take it now." The guard replied tly as he gestured at Orville. "Fair enough." 56 replied. "Orville, monitor the building from the outside. Maintain n seven." "Rodger!" Orville replied with his upbeat robotic voice. Orville slowly ascended next to the building and then stopped to hover just above the second floors height. 56 then was allowed to enter as the guard opened to door for him. Stepping inside, 56 noticed right away that for an Inte caf, it was darker than most. The only light came from amp on the receptionists desk and a string of dim ceiling bar lights that ran down each other two main hallways. He could see that everyputer in the building was lit up or currently in use. "Busy day?" 56 called out to the young receptionist. She looked up and brushed her purple bangs out of her face with a heavily tattooed arm. "You could say that." The receptionist said in a monotone voice. "What kind of set up you want? Resource based, gaming ormunications." "Resource." 56 answered. The receptionist nodded and typed way at the holographic screen in front of her. Its blue glow reflected gently and brightly off her sleepy brown eyes. He had already learned that in this eraputers were heavily monitored devices. The flow of data was always being tracked, recorded and user information was like currency to data miningpanies. The protections for a users data had long since been lost, then dismantled and online rights were easily abused. The government was always watching too and that was his main concern. He surveyed the room carefully. There were three columns of five rows ofputers each. The three column areas had been divided by the two hallways that ran next to and next to the receptionists desk. The three columns appeared to be further segregated into the three main groups the receptionist mentioned. Naturally the research section was the least crowded. While the gamingputers were packed, and some were just milling about waiting for their turn. So far it seemed like a calm area and no threatening characters stood out. "Here you go." The monotone voice of the receptionist redirected his focus. She was holding up a paper-thin memory sh drive towards him. "Computer C-11 is yours. Just plug it in and hit ept on the terms and conditions. If you have a log in, uses it so your experience can be recorded for a reduction in cost for our serves." "Thanks." 56 replied taking the drive from her. He then headed for theputer and was relieved to see no others were going to be next to his location. ncing along the walls he saw the shiny ck bubbles of the security cameras, barely poking out of them. "Those cameras are going to be annoying." 56 thought to himself. Then he pretended to scratch his ear and flicked on themunication device hidden there. "Orville, hack the security feed and take a still image ofputer station C-11. Ovey it over my time being at the station." "Hacking! Alright something fun! Starting now Boss. It''s just so boring out here, everything is nominal." Orville''s voice crackle gently in his ear. Sitting down in his seat at C-11, 56 casually adjusted the 3D printed stic pistol he managed to smuggle in, back into its ce inside his coat pocket. It was a simple, yet tricky ruse that he had pulled on the guard. His coat pocket has a hole cut above it on the inside of the pocket. He had then tied a string to the pistols grip and onto a hook on the neckline of the jacket. When anyone would be checking him for weapons, all he needed to do was raise his hand and lift up the gun up through the hole by the string. Almost no one would ever check the inside of a coat just below ones shoulder de. So, this trick worked well often. "All clear Boss." Orville''s voice returned on the mic. "Cameras on your location are nk. It was too easy. Give me something harder to hack." "I will try." 56 murmured in reply giving a grin. "Your just too good at your job." "Awe, don''t make me blush." Orville''s robotic voice gave out a giggle. "Alright now Orville, focus. Is the perimeter still clear?" 56 asked as he plugged in the sh drive. The screen lit up and the confirmation window appeared. He clicked ept, as he did have any other choice. "All clear. No sight of any activity." Orville replied. "Good. Maintain silence until I am through. If any hostile actions happen notify me immediately." 56 said in nearly a whisper. Though no one was near him, it never hurts to be cautious. "Copy that." Orville replied and themunication device went silent. 56 surveyed the icons on the blue floating holographic screen. The holographic screen would have been considered a technological marvel 200 years ago. The 3D realism it projected upward from the desk to a meter upwards to a slim frame, was astounding. It waspletely touch controlled and easy to use. The projected light blue screen formed a horseshoe shape around him on the desk. This let anyone focus on the main topic, while having other programs run alongside for easy checkups. 56 selected the first icon disyed on the starting screen. It opened up a library of information rted to current world events, states of war, politics of the world and many other things. With inhuman like speed, 56 only had to read something once and it was immediately stored away in his memory. One of the rare gifts that he actually possessed that allowed him to be in the Cyborg Unit, all those years ago. Eventually he found the information he needed from the limited and moderated inte he was provided. There was a site that talked about military weapons used currently in warfare. Using it he could trace back the sources the site used and eventually he could find the original postings under the military use. Now was the difficult part, gathering military intel and not getting caught. Of the three major groups, vying for the control of North America, the American Fascist Regime was definitely the most dangerous. Additionally, they were the main focus of his Units actions. After the rebellion against the AFR and beating the robotic army''s that followed, he and many other survivors stuck together to fight the government that they knew was up to no good. His job right now was to just learn about the AFRs power, influence, and citizens. 56 reached over with his right hand to grasp the fingertip on his left hand. Tugging at it and giving a twist in a particr pattern, he revealed a sh drive of his own that was stored away for just such an asion. This was one of his special features as a Cyborg Unit Information King soldier (CUIK). Once he plugged it in, a green and ck program appeared on screen. Using he right hand he typed out a string of codes andmands as he opened up sites connected to AFR government programs. The Cyborg Unit members had learned much while in the side of the AFR and now they were going to be putting to use. Slowly and carefully, 56 started to crack open the fire walls of the AFR defense. The whole process took nearly two hours. He even had to stop working asionally to minimize his work before anyone passing by saw what he was up to. Thankfully, that wasn''t often. He somehow found the specs of robotic design, capabilities and manufacturing processes. He even found traces of information on a military device that he could only assume was some sort of Gundam like frame. Gundam''s are, from 56''s knowledge, an advanced, high performance mechanical mobile suit; that is designed to carry a pilot that can control the suit like it is arger version of the human form. Unlike a modern tank, Gundam Mechs are versatile humanoid creations that had be the backbone of the futures current military worldwide. They are generally equipped with thetest experimental technology avable at the time of their construction and rarely controlled by robotic A.I.''s. It''s been found that human and Mech interaction has been proven to be dominant over A.I. counterparts. After collecting a sizable amount of that intel, 56 finally hit a snag. There was one area he couldn''t use thisputer processing power to crack. It was something called, the Silver Void Files. No matter what he tried the firewall was untouched. It didn''t respond to anything he threw at it. Not even his custom-made viruss. "It''s got to be that theseputers capabilities are too weak, or my hacking files are too far out of date." 56 thought to himself. He was about to try again when Orville spoke up. "Boss, get out of there. Hostiles approaching front and back entrances. From themunication chatter I am reviewing it''s the AFR forces." "Damn, they found us already!" 56 grumbled and yanked his finger drive out of the port. The green and ck window disappeared instantly. He powered off theputer and got up quickly. He strode briskly towards the main exit. They hadn''te in yet, perhaps he could slip out unnoticed before they came in. The front door had a small square window that faced the street and 56 kept looking out it as he came closer down the hallway. Just as he reached the door, he saw six men in in cloths approaching the doorway. From their facial expressions, they were definitely not normal civilians. ncing around he saw a tall fake tree on either side of the entrance. A silly idea popped into his head. Casually he stepped behind the one on the left. The pot it was in reached his knees and its stic foliage covered his torso and head easily. The men suddenly burst into the building and quickly spread out looking fervently around the room. The suddenmotion at the entrance caused the receptionist and several of the patrons inside to jump up out of theirs seats to see what was going on. "Spread out. Find the spy and shot if you see him." The man in the center barked. "Yes Sir!" The other five men chanted and from under their shirts they pulled out small automatic weapons. The onlooking patrons saw them, and the building erupted into chaos. Everyone started running about and the new armed arrivals didn''t help much. They kept pointing their guns at everyone causing more panic. "Amateurs!" 56 scoffed in his mind. "If they can find my location this easy, they should at least send someone capable of capturing me covertly. This is just embarrassing." Then stepping cautiously out from behind the nt, he stepped out the door and into the street. Without looking up at Orville or looking back he headed away from the building at a casual pace. All without anyone giving him a single nce. Escaping was another of his special skills. Chapter 77: Observed Chapter 77: Observed Special Officer Hawkins had received a notification that he and a small detachment from his outpost, was to be transported to a secure location near Moab City via Hover Ship. From there his team and three other simr teams were to work together and capture the King type soldier, Zac Evans aka 56, somewhere inside of Moab City. Upon arriving, Lieutenant Colonel Ardith Laghari had remained allusive and was not at the facility that the teams were to rendezvous at. Instead, he merely appeared on the facilities main screen like before. The Lieutenant Colonel''s voice sounded strong as he started off the report for the operations n. "Four teams from the surrounding survey outposts have been assigned to this mission. Special Officer Welling''s Unit from southern Grand Junction City zone, Special Officer Hawkins''s Unit from Northwest Moab City zone, newly promoted Special Officer Foal''s Unit from Northern Farmington City zone and also newly promoted Special Officer Takanowa from Southeastern Provo City zone; you have all been informed of your target. His special abilities, specialized skills, recorded habits and the training he has undergone; I trust you have ryed this to your respected Units?" "Yes Sir!" The four Special Officers chanted all in unison. "Good. Orders have already been ryed to your drone pilots and surveince has already begun over the city." The Lieutenant Colonel continued. "First Lieutenant Zac Evans, Number 56 is his call sign, has been traced to this city for likely two reasons. One is that he was sent here to collect intelligence for the rebel cyborgs. The second is that he was sent here to contact someone on the outside. Such as your observation targets, Special Officer Welling and Hawkins, not all of the cyborgs stayed together. It''s possible that they wish to bring them back into the fold." "I believe it will be the first reason. His listed skills are not suited for negotiations." Special Officer Welling replied. He was a big beefy blond man, your typical image of a military jock. Though his appearance was primitive looking, the fact that he was a Special Officer made it clear there was a brain in his thick skull. "With Moab City being in the neutral zone he would have a better opportunity to utilize his hacking abilities to get into our or our rivals military systems. I see nothing preventing us from removing this threat on site." "Correct." The Lieutenant Colonel replied. "However, we must restrain ourselves for a brief moment. We need to figure out exactly what his intentions are before acting." "So, we are going to capture him?" Special Officer Foal asked stepping forward. "Why not eliminate him if he''s such a threat that this Strike Unit had to be formed?" "The answer couldn''t be clearer. To find the rest of his allies. Their locations must be known to us." Lieutenant Colonel replied swiftly. Special Officer Foal gave a nod and stepped back. If he had spoken any further his position was likely at risk, luckily, he recognized the threatening tone of the Lieutenant Colonel. A Special Officer needs to always be finding answers not asking them and this answer was too basic for him not to have already understood. Though he was a bright young soldier, he had much to learn. "Now one additional point of interest." The Lieutenant Colonel continued ignoring the slight oversight of Foal. "He has created his own roboticpanion. Its capabilities are still unknown. He had created it aftering back from cryogenic sleep and its specs are nearly unknown. Though from how it acted during the cyborgs uprising, it appeared to only do surveince andmunication. Stay wary of it just be sure. Now dismissed and good luck locating him." The image of the Lieutenant Colonel disappeared from on screen and was reced by an aerial map of Moab City. The four Special Officers promptly left the conference room and headed towards the separate rooms their units were stationed in. Though working together, it was clearly apetition among the Officers. They all had the same thoughts, the one to capture 56 would earn promotion or higher clearance missions. Either reward would put them well on track to climbing the ranks. Special Officer Hawkins quickly marched into his room and saw that everyone was working away at setting up for the surveince mission. He had taken over half of his stationed unit and brought them here, while the rest he left under Caswell''smand to keep track of Lisa. Her movements had remained stationary in the town and wasn''t likely to cause problems for them. "Who has eyes on the ground right now?" Hawkins barked out. "I do, Sir." One of the Osprey drone pilots called out raising his hand. Hawkins came over to stand behind the pilots chair and nced at the screen. The drone was flying high above the city and wasn''t zoomed in on any location in particr. So far there wasnt anywhere to fucus their attention on to conduct the search. "I need an analyst to pull up any building orpany that has aputer system capable of mid-tier to high-tier inte connectivity." Hawkins replied once again to the room. One soldier on his right started to vigorously type at his desk and momentarily opened a secondary monitor to disy a map ovey of the city with the specified targets marked in red. The whole map appeared to have chicken pox due to the number of red dots. "Good. Now remove any privately owned or operated connections. Focus on public hot spots and businesses that offerputer services." Hawkins said to the man who immediately went back to filtering out the information. Then turning to another soldier that had just finished hisputer set up, Hawkins gave him an order. "Open up on the main screen an image of our target. I want everyone to memorize his face like he''s your mother. We need to be able to spot him on first sight." "Yes Sir." The soldier replied and soon Zac Evans profile image appeared on the overhead screen next to the main screen. The second soldier spoke up at this point. "Special Officer, I have narrowed down the public areas as ordered." "Good. Now let''s see" Hawkins said moving to look over the second soldiers shoulder. On the screen there were still a lot of options. Library''s, public restaurants, Inte cafs andputer information centers were all over the map. "Hmm, eliminate the heavily popted areas andputer information centers. He likely won''t go near them. It''s too easy to be spotted by facial recognition cameras and hacking arge number of them at once would surely be noticed." Hawkins said aloud while thinking. The soldier tapped away and over half of the dots disappeared. Now there were roughly sixty red dots remaining. "Remove all the restaurants. They mostly have a time limit for customers, and he wouldn''t be able to stay long enough to collect much. Plus, all the curious eyes watching him there won''t make it any easier." Hawkins said and again more red dots disappeared. Now there were thirty or less. "Remove library''s next. They require gic identification from imnted Chips and it''s too much effort to get around their firewalls." The soldier nodded and entered themands. Twelve dots remained. "Put this on the side screen." Hawkins said and turned to address the rest of the drone pilots. "Here are twelve locations I want monitored by Blue Jay drones, 24/7. If you spot the target or even a look-a-like, call it out and track him." "Yes Sir." The room sounded out as the men chanted together. A dayter, 56 had been spotted. Hawkins guess had been right and spotted him entering Zhou''s Inte Caf. Though he was the one to spot him, the Lieutenant Colonel ordered Special Officer Takanowa''s forces to engage the target. The city councilmen had given them permission to enter the city only by foot or vehicles, no air support was allowed or heavy robotic presence. So, it took under two hours for the capture unit to form up and reach the AO (Area of Operation) at the caf. Hawkins wanted to voice his displeasure over themand, but he had gone through a simr experience before. Newly promoted officers would be sent in after a target to get their men practical experience and test the new officers skills in action. Takanowa was no exception. Takanowa had ordered his men to surround the building and then formte a pincher attack on the caf building with in clothed troops. Straight forward approach, nothing to fancy. If the target tried to flee the area spotters and surveince drones were ready to find and follow him. With any luck they would catch 56 still inside. The operation proceeded very well at the start. Everything happening inside was being viewed by miniature body cameras deployed on all the soldiers. The twelve men sent inside quickly took control of everyone in the caf and no one resisted. Corralling everyone together, the soldiers checked everyone''s facial identities and discovered that 56 was gone! "How''s that possible." Hawkins mumbled as he watched the live videos carefully. "Check the building thoroughly again!" Takanowa called out on themunication m''s) channel. So loudly in fact, his voice could be hearding from the next room over from Hawkins''s. "Use thermal vision on Fly drones to check the walls, floor and ceiling. He couldn''t have just vanished!" "It''s possible that he''s still in the building." Hawkins thought to himself. "But he has that surveince robot with him." Then speaking to his drone operators Hawkins said, "Roll back your footage five minutes before the men entered the building. Look for anyone leaving the building from any side." The drone pilots quickly did as they were told. Those soldiers not working at the moment observed over the pilots shoulders to assist. Moments went by as Hawkins kept watching the live feedsing from the soldiers. Yet nothing wasing up, it was bing more apparent he 56 was already gone. "Sir, a man left from the main entrance seconds after the soldiers moved in. Though images are fuzzy a flying robot was seen just nearly off screen joining up with the man." One of the Blue Jay drone pilots called out. Hawkins rushed over to confirm the situation. There was indeed a man leaving the building nearly the same time as the soldiers entered. If they had seen him go by them, those soldiers are fools for letting him leave. The footage of the flying robot alone was convincing enough for Hawkins. "Good eye soldier. That''s him." Hawkins said patting the pilots shoulder. Then standing up he called out to everyone else in the room. "Send the drones in the direction he was traveling based off this footage. Check every intersection and branch out from there. Find any signs of him and report them instantly!" He then opened up themunications to the rest of the Special Officers and Lieutenant Colonel. "We have a possible spot on our target escaping minutes before now. My drones are following up now. Sending footage for additional conformation." "How did he get out?" Takanowa shouted back over thems being the first to respond. "Happened just as your men entered from the front entrance. Might need to check on the body camera footage for follow up. They better not have let him just walk by them." Hawkins replied smugly. "I concur with the footage of the flying robot." Special Officer Welling then spoke on them''s. "Sending my drones to the area north of the expected target." "Sending mine to the south, now." Special Officer Foal also replied. "Good to hear it. He won''t get far." Hawkins replied and then turned back to watch the live feed of his soldiers live drone footage. Breaking into a smile Hawkins thought to himself. "So, the hunt begins again! I just love my job." Chapter 78: Early to Rise Chapter 78: Early to Rise The day had arrived that Lisa was to fight Golem. Hanna had woken up early that morning from another near sleepless night. The sun had yet to even start brightening the day and only a thin line of red had appeared on the ck eastern horizon. Seeing the sliver of lighting through the curtain-less window, Hanna decided that trying to sleep any longer was useless. Getting out of bed, Hanna''s bare feet hit the wooden floor gently only to be stung by its chilly surface. If it would have been a normal morning she would have happily retreated back under her covers, but her eager nervousness forced her onward. Feeling around the darkened room she soon found her socks and clothes for the day. Judging on how cold the floor was, she decided to put on a coat too. Benny had informed John and Mary of the n and situation that Lisa hade up with. Though they didn''t readily approve of Hanna being sent to such a dangerous location, they couldn''t think of a better option. So, when Hanna started to tiptoe down the wooden stairs John was already at the bottom waiting on the couch for her. "Good morning Hanna, couldn''t sleep?" John asked speaking softly in the dark. Hanna nearly jumped out of her socks hearing his unexpected voice. "Y-Yes. I couldn''t sleep to well." "I figured that you wouldn''t. Good thing I got up early, otherwise you were going to go out alone. It''s too dangerous for you to go by yourself." John said getting off the couch. "I was going to wait for Benny on his porch." Hanna grumbled as she walked past him to get her shoes that were by the front door. "Going already?" John asked curiously. "Ya, why?" Hanna replied. "Benny probably won''t be awake until well after sunrise. You have plenty of time to wait. Why not have some breakfast first? I could sure use some." John said turning towards the kitchen. "I''m not really hungry." Hanna sighed, but reluctantly followed him. She had to admit that Benny definitely wasn''t going to be awake at this hour and from the cool air permeating the house, it was going to be too cold to be sitting on an open porch. She plopped down in a seat at the kitchen table as John fumbled in the cabs for something to eat. Eventually he found some nearly stale bread and a jar of crystalizing honey. Sitting across from her, John started to eat a thick slice of the bread with honey lightly drizzled on top. Watching him eat Hanna finally gave in and asked for some. The time arrived for when Benny would likely be awake and the two left the house to find him. As expected, when they were crossing the road, Benny started toe out of his house. Waving to them from the doorway, Benny hurried to put on his own coat and lock the door. "All ready to go I see." Benny said as they met at the foot of his porch. "Yep." John replied. "I will go with you two. Even if I can''t go inside with you, I can still wait outside thepound just in case." "Sound reasonable. Never hurts to have back up. Let''s go." Benny said giving a shrug. The morning air was cold and still as they walked down the ghostly streets towards the dam. The suns rays had already broken the horizon and light shadows were beginning to grow on the buildings. Hanna shivered and tightened her blue puffy jacket hood closer around her neck. This was definitely not the most enjoyable morning for a walk and with every step she took the more excited she would feel. Lisa had also woken up early that morning. She decided to prepare properly for this fight and dress appropriately. Golem has given her more trouble than she had anticipated. Finding an appropriate solution to beat his speed and armor was definitely not simple, especially if she still wanted to keep her cybeic abilities a secret a bit longer. As she prepared for the day, she checked over everything she needed carefully. Her skintight suite, being made densely packed Ker fibers, ceramic, and other sci-fi like shock absorbent materials; was still in peek condition. There was no wear and tear or puncture marks on its smooth ck and gray hexagonal pattered surface. Not even the ce she was shot at had any sign of its happening. Her suit looked like a surfers spring suite, it covered her entire torso, went down half her biceps, halfway up her neck and reached down to stop just centimeters above her knees. It wouldpletely cover her most vital areas while still providingplete mobility. Her arms and legs didn''t need this protection as the military grade cyborg prosthetics were sufficient. Seeing that the suit was in order, she then moved on to inspect her sword. Its dull ck de was folded up neat andpact into the hilt. Then, tilting it slowly downward, Lisa watched it slide seamlessly out of itself to reach its full length. Though there was no apparent friction as it folded out, she decided to rub a bit of oiling onto it. Though she had kept up with oiling her sword regrly it would not hurt just to be doubly sure it would functionpletely seamless. Next, from her coffin she took out a thin ck belt and on it was a maic strip on the backside. That strip was where her de would be attached to, acting as the sheath to secure it while she was moving. This time she was also going to bring a special surprise with her. Normally she would ware heavy militarybat boots everywhere, but today she took out of her coffin, tucked behind most of her cloths, a pair of ck boots that rose up to past halfway up her shins. It had striking redces that added to their appearance nicely. Putting them on and tying them tight, she pulled on a secret switch with her foot. With a sudden silver streak, a short de appeared from underneath her toes. This little trick had saved her on more asions than she could count. Pulling the switch again it instantly snapped back into its hiding ce. Lastly, she put on her fingerless leather gloves with the metal on its knuckles. They fit neatly onto her hands and flexing her fists she made sure that they were secure. For herst adjustments she tied up her long ck hair into a folded ponytail. She secured it well, despite a totalck of hair clips. She had used up all of them in exchange for information on her recent travels from Salt Lake City. The American western regions women seemed to be suffering from ack of this simple small luxury and made it a desirable object of trade. A fact she had put to use many times. Lisa had finished all of this preparation long before either Sadie or Zane had woken up. When she was done Lisa gently shook Sadie''s shoulder to wake her. Sadie however grumbled something iprehensible and rolled over. Clearly it wasn''t going to be anytime soon that she would be getting up. After spending several days with Sadie, Lisa learned that she was not a morning person. It was the same routine every morning. Shake, grumble, and roll over. Zane, however, was no better. Walking past the window Lisa would look in to see that his mouth was wide open as he faced upward. Whenever she''d open the door, the sound of his snoring sounded like he was trying to suck every bit of air from the room. Coming up to his bedside she kicked the mattress with her redced shoe. "Zane! Get up. We got stuff to do." The sound of her loud voice woke him right away. "Wha- oh, it''s morning already?" Zane groaned and he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "Yep. Now get up ande with me. We need to change out your bandages before we leave." Lisa said turning to go. "Alright." Zane said stiffly sitting up. It was then he noticed her appearance. He felt as if a lump formed in his throat. Thinking to himself Zane was surprised. "If I hadn''t known that she was Boss Lisa, I would have mistaken her for a professional assassin that hade to kill me! Her boots dont even make a sound when she walks." Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, Zane got up and followed her out. She had also alreadyid out the medical supplies to treat the wound and it was sitting on one of the cubicle tables opposite from where Sadie was still sleeping. Taking off Zane''s bandages, Lisa inspected the healing wound. "Well, the ends are scabbing over, which is good, and the swelling is less thanst time. It''s going to be a wacky scar, but you''re going to be fine. At this rate Id guess you have only a few weeks until youre fully healed." "That''s good to hear." Zane said with a tight voice as Lisa had now started dabbing at his wound with a bit of gauze that had antibacterial medic on it. It felt like bee stings every time she touched him. Once she was done, Lisa rewrapped the wound with fresh bandages and made sure to tighten it well. He would be moving a lot today and it couldn''te loose, or he''d risk exposure to infection. Sadie sat up and yawned behind them. Zane looked over in her direction. Sadie was warring some fuzzy blue pajamas and her hair was tossed about in a messy bun. She didnt have on her sses either and was squinting furiously. Sensing that Zane was looking at her, Sadie held up her hand towards him. "Don''t look at me. I am hideous right now. Even without a mirror I know I look terrible." She said sounding flustered. Zane cracked a smile. "It''s not that bad. My younger sisters looked the same way." "I don''t care." Sadie huffed grumpily. "Just look away. Lisa hurry up and get him out so I can change." "Alright, alright." Lisa replied finishing up on his bandages. "Come on Zane, out we go." The two went downstairs and started to get what little breakfast they had ready. It was nothing more than some dry bread, fruits and water. They had traded their squirrel pelts from Lisas traps for the food the day before. Though not much, it was enough tost them the morning. Sadie soon joined them waring her normal secretary like appearance and signature single braid. By then, however, breakfast was nearly done. There was a calling from the southern gate blockade just as Lisa swallowed thest of her bread. She jogged over to find that Hanna, Benny and John were already here. Shifting a metal roofing sheet out of the way she made a way for them to enter. "Well, this is new." Benny replieding in first. "Did you move all this just to block the gates?" "Sure did." Lisa replied giving a nod. "I swear, you surprise me every time Ie here." John said following Hanna in. "Well, now that you all are here, might as well arrive early and get you guys situated." Lisa called out for everyone to hear. "There''s something else I want some time to look at while we''re there too." "Alright, let''s go." Sadie replied standing up tossing thest handful of dried fruit into her mouth and putting on her backpack. She pulled her freshly braided hair out from under the backpack and joined the newly arrived group. Zane followed her lead and tried to avoid the suspicious gaze of John. Though he didn''t say a thing, Zane knew that he was being sized up. The group left the dam area and headed for the Mad Dogpound. This was Zane''s first time out of the fenced in dam area and he was curiously looking around the unfamiliar town. So far it looked no different than his side of the river. "Well, seems like these Mad Dogs are no better off than us. If we ever got the chance to regroup the ck Rats, I think we could take them on." Zane thought to himself. Though I couldnt do that now that I decided to join up with Lisa. However, the next corner they rounded soon destroyed that notion. Thepound wall stood tall and imposing as they headed for it. Zane''s expression was giving off a glow of admiration, while Benny and John red at it with suspicion. Lisa chuckled seeing their vivid reactions. "Wait until you see the inside." Lisa said to them. "It''s far more impressive than you realize!" Chapter 79: Bets Chapter 79: Bets As everyone was approaching the gate and the metal wall looming ahead, it started to feel even more imposing. When they were just arriving within sight of the entrance, John decided to take his leave. "I''d had some encounters with the gangsters before. If I get recognized by them it would cause problems." John said as he turned down an alleyway. "I will be near the gate in case something happens inside. You can count on me to deal with the guys out here." "That''s good to know." Lisa replied. "We will be sure to keep Hanna from harm. With every bit of luck, no one will even bother to notice her." Lisa motioned for Hanna toe over to her. As Hanna came closer Lisa took off her ck Yankees hat and pulled out a square ck cloth from a small pouch on her belt. "Here, take my Yankees hat and put on this face mask. This way no one will recognize you at all." Nodding Hanna took the items and put them on. The hat was a tad too big, but after a bit of adjustment it fit nice and snug. The face mask was at first awkward to ware, but after a few moments Hanna got used to it. Benny chuckled seeing the young girls disguise. "That will work just fine. Even I can hardly tell it''s you." "Besides, the gang thinks youre dead, so they won''t be suspicious of you." Johnmented softly. "Are you sure you''ll be ok, seeing them again?" Hanna, in all truth, did not feel ready at all. Her anxious stomach felt like it was in knots and her knees felt shaky. But she knew she must go on! The flicker of revenge was still lit inside her heart. Nodding slowly Hanna managed a reply. "I am fine. I just need to point them out. There''s no way I want to be near them anyway. So, I''ll stay as far as I can from them." "Alright then." John said giving a sigh. "I''ll leave you all to it." John then turned to continue down the alleyway and get to wherever he intended to wait for them. The rest of the group started for the walls entrance. It was then Lisa noticed Benny''s pistol tucked in its usual ce at the small of his back. "Benny, that gun is going to be noticed. They do a pat down at the entrance." Lisa said to him in a low voice. "Let me hide it. They won''t bother checking a Match Fighter, at least not the way I n on dealing with them." "If you are sure" Benny replied after thinking it over. "How are you going to hide it? Your outfit is rather, uh, slim." He then asked looking her up and down. "In my boots." Lisa replied pointing down at her shin high, redced boots. "I can slide the gun and your extra clip in them for the pat down." Benny nced at the boots and scratched his chin in thought. Then giving a reluctant shrug he handed over his pistol and an extra magazine. Lisa carefully slid them into each boot far enough that they wouldn''t be seen or that they would be rubbing on her legs to hard. At the entrance there were only four sleepy looking gangsters. They must have been there all morning and had groggy expressions. Seeing the grouping towards the entrance they stood up to confront Lisa and the others. It probably wasnt often outsiders came to the gate. "What are you all doinging here?" The tallest of the four gangsters asked. This was Sadie''s turn to handle the situation. "I am the Match Fighter Manager for the Fighter, Queen. I am sure you know her, and we''reing to participate in a Match today." Her voice was clearly not nervous, as she had been living here before and dealing with the gang. From experience Sadie knew that the gangsters were not really all that strict. "Got an ID or something?" The man replied. Sadie held up a badge that showed that she indeed was an MFA manager and affiliated with the gang. Apparently, the symbol for the gang on the badge was legitimate and the tall gangster nodded approvingly. The speaking over his shoulder he said, "Go ahead and check them boys. If they''re clean, let them pass." Sadie was checked first and then let in. Zane was next, followed by Benny and Hanna, of which they all passed with no problem. However, when the tall gangster came to check Lisa, she held up a hand to stop him. "No need to check me." Lisa replied matter of fact-ly. "As a Match Fighter, you know I''ll have weapons on me. Just let me through." "I know you do; I just need to see them. No projectile weapons are allowed for outsiders." The tall gangster retorted and moved towards her. In a seamless move Lisa''s de appeared from nowhere and was hovering just under his chin. "Can you see my weapon now? I won''t be touched by the likes of you." Her cold voice sounded dangerous, as the man gulped audibly. "I see it. You''re g-good to go." The tall gangster replied clearly nervous. "That''s better. Be sure to let the others know. Don''t mess with Queen and show some respect." Lisa said putting the refolded de back on its maic sheath. "If you can do that, we are sure to get along just fine. Also, you better bet on me in the uing fight. You''re going to win big." Lisa walked boldly past the four men to join the others. They all seemed surprised by her brazen reaction to the gangsters. "Wasn''t that a little over the top?" Sadie whispered to Lisa as she joined them. "Not really. This way it will be able to remember me better." Lisa replied brushing it off. Benny, Zane, and Hanna looked around the beautifulpound entrance. They definitely didn''t expect a ce run by gang members, to actually be so orderly and aesthetically pleasing. "How could this be kept so well hidden from everyone in town? I knew that the gangsterspound was impressive from the rumors I heard, but this is more than I anticipated." Benny said with a grin. "They even have a working fountain." Zane''s mind was a buzz of questions. "How can this ce be so clean? How can they afford to have all this? Is this really a ce run by gangsters just like myself? I am starting to feel foolish thinking that the Back Rats could take this ce." Then speaking aloud in a hushed tone Zane said, "Our base was nothing but a rundown Motel! We are nothingpared to these guys." "Alright now, close your mouths guys. You''re going to let the fly in if youre overheard." Lisa said pping her hands together. "Sadie, take Benny and Hanna to the Arena to get them used to the ce. Zane ising with me. I want to look around the ''market'' for a bit." Then she rested a hand on Hanna''s small shoulder. "If you see someone you remember, stay calm, don''t cry and let Benny know right away. Do this and you will be alright. I can figure out the rest." "I''ll do my best to." Hanna replied shakily. She then put a timid hand into Benny''s. "When do I start betting? You haven''t given me the money yet." Benny asked patting Lisas shoulder. "You''ll be betting with anyone nearby in the stands when the fight starts. Getting people to bet in the heat of the moment is usually the best chance at getting easy wins." Lisa replied. "I''ll give you the cash right before the fight." "Very well then. Sadie, lead the way please. I haven''t the slightest idea where to go." Benny said turning to Sadie. "We are going right into the Arena to check Lisa in with my boss and then we will just wait in there." Sadie said as they left Lisa and Zane behind. Zane looked at Lisa and gave an exaggerated shrug. "So where to now boss?" "There is a type of marketing ce outside of the Arena. I want you to learn more about it with me. In the future you are going to be buying very expensive things and ces from here or areas like it." Lisa said with an enthusiastic grin. "Buy ces?" Zane asked furrowing his brow. "What do you mean?" "I mean exactly that. This marketing ce apparently sells entire businesses,panies, and merchandise all over the country. I know it''s hard to understand, but you willter on once you see it." Lisa said as they approached the huge warehouse building. Zane craned his neck back to view the massive structure as they approached. "I never knew buildings could be so tall! Could humans really have made this?" Lisa chuckled hearing hisments. "Of course, this building is actually not very tall. There are thousands of buildings reaching hundreds of stories high all over the world. Come on let''s go inside." Zane followed Lisa into the entrance of the massive warehouse. He was even more impressed by what he saw inside. The polished wood flooring appeared to be quite clean and there were rows of white desks and tables with many items on disy. Everything was near, orderly and clean. The people working and buying things here were far more than he expected and judging from their extraordinary clothing, he could tell they were very wealthy. As they approached the center of the market, Zane noticed the same kind of things as Lisa had. The items for sale were far too few. Yet he could see someone just ahead making a purchase of a single car tire and was taking it with him after handing over a staggering amount of cash. "What are they actually selling here? This is such a strange ce." Zane said leaning towards Lisa so he could be heard over the crowd, all while still looking around. "Those items are merely symbolic." Lisa exined as they approached the closest table. The person working there was talking with another customer now, so Lisa had time to point things out to Zane. "This can here." Lisa said pointing to a blue soup can. "This represents a factory that either makes cans or the products that go in it." Below the blue can was a small device with a lit-up screen. "This here exins what it actually is." Lisa tapped the screen and some words and figures appeared. "Chicken Noodle Soup, factory in South Toledo, Ohio. Price: 12.56 million dors, US currency." Zane nearly screamed seeing the insane number of the price that the blue can represented. "Are you serious! How can anyone have earned that much money!?" Stifling augh, Lisa replied, "It''s actually not that muchpared to many of the ultra-rich. The world is farrger than you seem to know and so is the distance between rich and poor. I n on closing that gap and you''re going to help me earn that much and many times that amount!" "How?" Zane asked with a gulp. "Easy small steps." Lisa replied. Then reaching into thergest of five packs on her belt she pulled out tight roll of green cash. "We need to make a bet, win it and repeat. Now let''s go make one!" Xander. Xander looked up from his security monitor at one of his overseers that was walking his way. What is it? Queen hase back into the Market and has a guy we havent an ID for yet. I thought I should report it. The Overseer replied. Is that so. Well, as long as she or that man is not doing anything bad, they are fine. Continue with things as they stand. Xander said waving dismissively. Looking back to his security monitor Xander switched the camera over to one that showed Lisa on it. After looking at her and the man walking through the various stalls heading for the Arena entrance for a few moments, he couldnt shake the uneasy feeling that was creeping into his thoughts. There is something different about you, Queen. As for what, that remains to be seen. Chapter 80: Fist Full of Cash Chapter 80: Fist Full of Cash Lisa and Zane walked slowly around weaving between the overpriced market stalls. Eyeing the patrons and people starting to funnel into the buildings main entrance, Lisa exined to Zane that they needed someone gullible enough to bet on Lisa''s fight. Especially considering that most everyone here was rich and the small sum she had to bet with was probablyughable to them. "We should avoid the people that are clearly way too rich." Lisa exined. "They might seem dumb and frivolous, but they definitely know enough to stay that rich. Look for someone drinking a lot, that argues about anything or is just sitting around by themselves. They are more likely to take up betting with someone, as they can be easier to persuade biased on loneliness and pride." They eventually ended up passing a kiosk that was disying the fights that were going to be taking ce. The kiosk was flipping between the different fights in numerical order disying those that were going to participate. Just as Jackson had mentioned before, today was a tournament day. Many fighters would be here and even more spectators to boot. Just as the two were passing by the kiosk switched images, and something caught her eye. Lisa abruptly stopped and stared intently at it. Her expression darkened noticeably into disapproval. "What''s the matter Boss?" Zane asked seeing her serious expression. "My picture is on here." Lisa replied pouting at it. "I look terrible!" "Eh, really?" Zane looked at the picture. It was from the time Lisa fought the Skinner and she appeared to be waving at the crowd. "What''s wrong with it?" "You don''t get it? My hair looks messy, my face ispletely in looking, and I look just bleh!" Lisa replied angrily. She tightened her fist and waved it at the picture. "Whoever took my photo, without my permission, is going to find themselves dead in a ditch somewhere! I can''t stand photos of me. Especially candid ones!" Zane scratched his head while looking at it again. "I really don''t see a problem with it." "Gah, you just don''t see it. Men are stupid." Lisa grumbled and started to walk away with a huff. As she did, she grabbed Zane by the cor and dragged him along behind her. "Hey! Rx, I can follow you. No need to pull me." Zane said trying to regain his footing. He grabbed Lisas wrist in a futile attempt to lessen the pain. Leaving the Kiosk behind, the two found themselves near the entrance to the Arena''s fighting stage. Inside people were gathering together before the first fight of the day. The betting booths, off to the side of the hallway entrance, were starting to form little flocks of potential betters looking at the odds being disyed on wall mounted televisions behind. "Putting that nasty picture aside, Zane here is what you''ve got to bet on me with." Lisa, still grumpy, said pping a handful of cash in Zane''s hand. "$300 is all I can spare. Benny is going to have the rest of it. Of which is not that much either." "Three hundred!" Zane remarked looking down at the roll of cash in his hand. He likely hadnt ever seen that much money in one ce before. At least that was the vibe Lisa was feelinging from him biased on his expression. Lisa smirked inwardly, "This might be the job I gave him; however, this is actually a test! If he tries to just leave with the money, then he was useless, and my time was wasted. Yet if he does what I ask of him, then he is going to be a decent asset." Then she spoke to him. "I will be leaving you now. I need to find Sadie and start warming up. Go and find someone that will take on the bet." She looked over the crowds of people quickly. "Maybe try that guy over there?" She said pointing to an older man with an ornately carved cane sitting by himself on a lobby bench. "Why him?" Zane asked tearing his eyes away from the money in his hand. "Hmm, intuition." Lisa replied. "He just fits my profile of a betting man." Before Zane could ask her anything else, Lisa turned and disappeared, mingling into the growing crowd. Zane looked back at the money now tightly gripped in his hand. The soft green cash felt nice on his rough hand. "I could get so much stuff with this cash. I bet even Garret never had this much on him before. I could live like a king on my side of the river for a while." Zane thought to himself. "However, that marketce, the prices were so insanely high and that alone makes me wonder. Boss Lisa probably wants to be able to have that much one day and that''s probably why she''s given me the task to make money from bets. If I make her the money, then I''ll probably end up benefiting too!" The thought of making even more money, more than he ever imagined, was definitely tempting. However, he had seen her opponent. That Golem man was no pushover. Though Boss Lisa had shown the slight upper hand in their first encounter; it was the powerful counter attack, that sent her flying, that really worried him. If Golem had used that ability from the start, could she have won? How could she hope to beat a monster like him? Zane wandered towards the closest betting booth. On the back wall was arge television disying the betting ratios of the matches. Along with that ratio, the statistics of the Fighters were also on a rotational disy. Though he didn''t know how to interpret the ratio to know how that ratio was even formted, which annoyed him. He could, however, tell that Lisa''s numbers were by far much smaller than her opponents. The ratio for Queens fight was 16:3, in Golems favor. "Let''s see, three hundred multiplied by sixteen is $4,800!" Zane remarked in disbelief at his own guess for the ratio. The temptation to bet on Lisa at the booth right then was very tempting and he nearly did. But he recalled that Lisa specifically said to bet on her with someone else, not at the booths. Why? He didn''t yet understand. Zane looked back at the older man still sitting on the bench. Zane sighed and thought to himself, "I can try with him first, but if he doesn''t want to, I''ll just bet here." Zane left the betting booth and casually walked over to the old mans bench. The man was very nicely dressed in a light gray suite and matching pants. The quality was like nothing he had seen before. In fact, most of the people here were dressed far more superiorpared to his ragged and worn clothes. Until now he considered that his cloths were in the best condition than those filthy scraps the townspeople had on. For the first time in a while, Zane felt genuinely dirty. Tossing those thoughts aside, he sat down on the other end of the old mans bench. "Excuse me Mr., but I seem to have noticed that youre by yourself here. Aren''t you interested in all the people and fights that are going on? I sure am. This is my first time here. How about yourself?" Zane spoke to the man trying to start a feeble conversation. The well-dressed man didn''t even look his way and just kept watching the crowds as they bustled by. Zane cringed inwardly. He felt as if he hade on way to strong and now the man probably thought he was a weirdo. "Sorry, I didn''t mean toe on to you like that." Zane muttered and started to get up. The older man stuck out his cane and stopped Zane from getting up. "You''re not a normal attender to these events. That is clear. From your cloths I can see that you''re low on money. You are a betting man, aren''t you?" "Y-Yes." Zane replied a bit unsure of his intentions. "I do have a bet I want to make." "Just one bet?" The man turned to peer sideways at Zane with one skeptical eye. "I think your betting on many things, but you don''t even realize you are." Zane shrugged. "You got me there. I don''t even really understand how I ended up doing all this." The older man looked back at the crowds going by and twiddled the tip of his long gray mustache. "This bet, tell me, how much confidence do you have in it?" "Well, I''d say its 50/50." Zane said scratching his head. "Seriously?" The older man said lowing his head dramatically onto the end of his cane. "You mean that you call yourself a betting man, but have no confidence in your own bet? Young man strive to be better than that. I''ll show you what I mean." The older man reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small device. Taping a button on its surface a holographic image appeared. Zane was fascinated by such a sight. Never before had he seen something as technologically advanced as this in this backwoods town. "Here is a list of all my bets for today. As you can see not all of them are with money." The older man said and pointed at a specific bet. "I bet myself that I would be challenged with a new better before the matches begin and here you are! Now I''ll eat sushi rather than curry tonight." Zane nodded as if he was understanding what the man was talking about. All the while he inwardly thought to himself, "What is sushi and curry?" Then scanning the rest of the holo-disy, he saw two numbers that shocked him. "$80,000 dor bet on Coyote beating Ace! $120,000 dor bet on Golem to beat Queen?! How can you afford that much on just bets alone?" "Haha, actually these bets aren''t really all that high. I just didn''t see anything that interested me to bet more." The older man replied as he clearly was enjoying Zane''s plight. "Well, if you can afford this much, then could you bet against me for $300?" Zane asked holding up the cash that he had hidden in his pocket. "Well, I don''t see why not? If it will help you to be a better betting man, than yes." The older man replied giving a nod. "I will bet all this on Queen beating Golem then. She''s my boss after all and it would be shameful if I didn''t bet on her." Zane said. "I ept." The older man said extending his hand towards Zane. "My name is Dino McMathers, Chairman of Luxury Sporting Vehicles Corp." "I am Zane, uh, just Zane." Zane replied taking the mans hand. The two shook hands and McMathers stood up heavily on his cane. "Well, we better be going to get good seats. You said this was your first time here, right?" Zane nodded yes in reply. "Well than,e join me in my booth. It has an amazing view and I''ll introduce you to some other betting men and women. Perhaps you''ll pick up on something to help you from the experience." Dino McMathers said giving a broad grin. Zane though for a moment. Lisa hadn''t told him to join up with her or the others, just make bets. As long as he met back up with her and exined where he went, she would probably understand. Besides thing were getting interesting. "That''s a generous offer. I''lle join you." Zane said getting up to follow him. "Great! You will enjoy this for sure." McMathers said cheerily as the two headed towards the Arena entrance together. Chapter 81: Opening Doors Chapter 81: Opening Doors Zane nearly felt his legs give out as soon as he walked into the Arena. The rooms scale nearly blew his mind! All his life he had been living on the other side of the river and seeing just this room alone and the multitudes of people gather within, told him how little he really understood of what the world was like around him. Sure, he had been in abandoned factories and warehouses before, but seeing this ce so full and alive was a mind changing experience. On top of this, everyone here hade to simply just watch others fight for sport and to make unimaginably expensive bets on them. The fights he had been through to be in the strongest gang in town started to feel petty. Like all his efforts seemed in vain and fruitless. There was still much for him to learn it seemed. "You alright?" McMathers asked seeing that Zane had stopped. "Y-ya, I''m fine." Zane replied oveing his initial shock and continued to follow the older man. They turned left and followed a side hallway that led to a winding ramp, which lead to a series of secluded booths. Each spacious booth appeared to be able to hold nearly thirty people. Outside each entrance to these booths was a Mad Dog guard, dressed in matching red and ck arm bands depicting the gangs emblem, a snarling dog. Dino McMathers started to enter one of the booths after showing the guard a ticket he disyed on his personal holographic disy device. Zane tried following in after him, but the guard stopped him abruptly by pushing him back on the chest. McMathers noticed this told the guard that Zane was with him. Luckily, the guard let him by with out much fuss. This was good because being stopped in such a manner really ticked Zane off. To say that the booth was impressive would be an understatement. To Zane it seemed as if he had walked into a king''s castle, like the ones he read about as a child. The royal red varnished seating was spotless and the floor was carpeted without a stain in sight. Above was the most shinny chandelier he had ever seen. The one in the Marriott hotel lobby was nothingpared to this one and it seemed every booth room had one. "This ce is so clean and beautiful!" Zane remarked aloud. "Really? I''d say it''s rather simplistic in design." McMathers replied casually as the he approached a group of equally aged and wealthily dressed men. "Gentlemen, it''s good to see that youre all here!" "Ah, Dino. The same goes for you old chap." A thin man replied. "Who this blighter you''ve brought here?" The English ented man said motioning towards Zane with a cigar in his hand. "This is my new acquaintance, Zane. He seems to be starting off on his journey as a betting man and I figured it would be enjoyable to give him a little nudge in the right direction." McMathers exined as Zane nervously joined the group of wealthy men. "Well, it clearly seems that he is just starting. Ha-ha." Another red-haired chubby man replied, hardily patting Zane''s back. "Tell us, who are you betting on?" "My boss, Queen. She''s going to beat Golem." Zane replied. He really felt out of ce here, but what could he do? He was already getting absorbed into this new environment. "Interesting." A third man replied. Unlike the others this man was clearly far richer than the rest, even despite his muscr appearance. Every finger had an borate ring, and a tiny gold chain was hooked from his nose ring to his right earring. The man took out of his neon purple suit a device simr looking to McMathers device and turned it on to reveal the fighting list for the day. "Queen, Shadow League Tier 20. With 3 wins 0 loses and 0 ties. Little else is uploaded about her, other than some basic statistics." The richest dressed man replied scanning the holographic projection. "Golem, Shadow League Tier 9. With 4 wins 0 loses and ties in that Tier. In the Shadow League he has an overall record of 119 wins and 3 losses and 0 ties. Weapon of choice: stic Propent Gloves." The man looked up from the projection of Golem to Zane. "Betting on the underdog I see. Queen is definitely outmatched statistically and by experience. Either you''re just making a guess for the big gains and loyalty to your boss or you have some insight as to how this might y out." "Well, I did see them fight once for five minutesst week. They were fairly evenly matched I guess." Zane replied. He felt like he shouldn''t have said this bit of information, but his nerves got the better of him. "Oh, that might exin it some." The thin man said, as he and the others were listening. "Hmm, perhaps I should change my bets before the match starts." "I wouldn''t waist your effort." The richest man interjected. "Golem is clearly the better of the two. I have seen Golem fight several times andpared to the fighting pool here, he is definitely one of the best. Keep your bets as is." The thin man nodded slowly as he thought thing over. "You mean there are others stronger than Golem presently here?" McMathers asked. "I hadn''t seen any such Fighters in my visits here." The red-haired chubby man let out a chuckle. "You always seem to miss those fights. Last year you were gone a lot on business. There are four fighters, I would say, that are much more superior to Golem that are regr fighters here. Their statistics are equally just as impressive if not more so." The men continued on talking, but Zane was lost in thought. "Four Fighters even stronger than Golem?! If Lisa was struggling to handle him, then how could she possibly handle them? Should I go warn her now or see how she handles the fight?" "Zane are you listening?" McMathers asked nudging Zane''s shoulder. Zane''s thoughts returned to the present. "Sorry, I was just thinking. What is it?" "Mr. Cline was asking you a question." McMathers said pointing with the top of his cane at the richest man. "I was asking you how much you are willing to be against me on the fight?" Mr. Cline said putting his heavily ringed fingers together in front of his mouth, as if he was giving his full attention to Zanes reply. "I only have three hundred dors, but I already said" Zane started to say but was interrupted by the thin and chubby men''sughter. "Ha-ha, he definitely is starting off as a better or dead beat broke. Three measly hundred? I could by a half bottle of wine for more!" The chubby man said reining in hisughter. "I dare say that''s a good joke, Zane!" The thin man added. Then he noticed Zane apparently was serious and notughing along. "Oh, it''s not a joke? Well, uh, one has got to start somewhere chap." "I''ll match that bet then." Mr. Cline said to Zane before Zane had a chance to speak. "Three hundred means nothing to me, but I shan''t loose even a small bet as this. Deal?" Mr. Cline said extending his hand to Zane. Slightly bewildered Zane shook Mr. Clines hand and replied, "Deal." From that point on Zane hardly could keep up with the rich men''s conversation. They kept talking about betting thousands to millions of dors on past bets. Making business deals over dozens of state and country borders. It was enough to make Zane''s simple lifestyle mind spin. Even McMathers was no exception, he was proudly talking about his money making endeavors as well. Eventually the time for the first match was nearly here. The booth room had now ten more rich men and women that had joined them. The women were dressed in such revealing clothes and simmering glitter that Zane thought he was seeing angels. They made the women from his part of town seem like nothing worth looking at, mere rags with legs. He felt bad realizing that there were such staggering differences between the people with money and those without. Suddenly a loud voice boomed all around the room, and Zane nearly jumped out of his seat. He had never heard an Announcer speak before! The crowd cheered in with an excited throng and immediately Zane felt excited of what was about to happen. The first match of the day was starting. Lisa met up with Sadie, Benny and Hanna not long after leaving Zane. She believed that Zane would be fine on his own and decided to stay focused for her uing fight. They were in a locker room waiting for Lisa''s fight to start. "So, Hanna, did you happen to see anyone familiar looking?" Lisa asked the little girl. Hanna was obviously nervous and was holding Benny''s hand tightly. "No. There are so many people here. I can''t get a good look at the everyone in the crowd." Hanna replied softly. "No worries." Lisa said patting Hanna''s head. "Once everyone is sitting down, you''ll be able to look around better." "Ok." Hanna said with a nod. "Sadie do you have any input that I might be able to use to fight Golem?" Lisa asked. Sadie was working on her tablet and appeared to be deeply absorbed on her work. "Hmm?" Sadie hummed quickly looking up. "You say something?" "I asked if you had any tips." Lisa repeated. "Well, I was looking over some of the fights that Golem appeared to struggle in, though he eventually won them." Sadie replied. She turned the tablet around for Lisa to see it. "If you notice, that even though Golems speed is rather fast, there were times his opponents got into his blind spot. The bulky armored helmet provides impable defense, it also creates a blind spot behind his head." The image showed another man getting around Golems attack and smashing arge hammer on the back of the helmet. Golem staggered, but never fell. "I think that if you could do something like that pinball attack pattern thingy you attempted before, then you might have another chance to attack him there. However, he''s seen that attack before. So, you either have to start off with that attack to get the drop in him before he warms up, or you''re going to have to do it sometime when he least expects it." Sadie said finally putting the tabloid down. "Hmm, I can try it right away. But if he is able to block me, then I might need to have a backup n." Lisa replied tapping her chin in thought. "I''ll help with that." Benny said and the twodies looked at him. "I''ll need more time to see his and your abilities to think of one. Just keep an eye on where I sit. I''ll shout out an ideas I cane up with." "I''ll definitely be able to hold out until you do. Just don''t take too long." Lisa said giving Benny a wiry grin. "I won''t." Benny retorted. "Hanna, you just keep looking for anyone you might know." Lisa said looking back at the little girl. "If you see someone let Benny know right away. That way he can help find themter." Hanna nodded, but she clearly was quite nervous. "Don''t worry. We got this. Remember you are not alone. You have us to help." Benny said giving her a reassuring smile. Chapter 82: From the Top Chapter 82: From the Top "We have a victor!" The Announcer''s voice boomed out to an entertained crowd. "For his eighth win in Shadow League Tier 10, Stinger Sam battles on for glory!" "Sounds like its time to get ready." Lisa said to the others. She had been stretching and limbering up in preparation for the fight. She even already had a light sweat worked up and she felt ready as ever. "Alright now remember, move fast and watch out for when his gloves start to smoke heavily. That''s your cue to go on the defensive." Sadie said to Lisa as she opened the locker door facing towards the hallway. Immediately the crowds cheers grew louder. The previous fights seemed to have been going well. Perhaps the Mad Dogs gang was much better at providing entertainment and retaining returning fan than previous thought. Lisa took note and considered looking into this more in the future. "Got it." Lisa said leaving the room and turning to go lead the way down towards the stage area. Benny and Hanna followed closely, and Sadie closed the door behind them. Lisa took a moment to ensure her hair was in ce before going out on stage. It was always annoying to have hair getting in the way during a fight. Besides whom ever took that picture of her might take another. The three caught up to her and then they headed out of the hall and into the view of the Arena''s crowd. Where the hall entrance met with the stands, fans were pping the walls sides and jeering at Lisa. Some were encouraging her to win, while others tried taunting her as Golem was clearly the fan favorite. Lisa was waiting at a line marked out on the floor for the Announcer to introduce her, beforeing onto the stage. Benny held Hanna close. Though she had her mask and Lisa''s Yankee hat on, he still didn''t want anyone to notice her and get suspicious. No telling who might be interested in whom Lisa might be affiliated with, and with Hanna being a young girl, she would make an easy target. "Tonight, we now start our main event!" The Announcer''s voice rang out, just as the cleaners finished preparing the stage. "We will be having a battle that is Leagues apart, nearly quite literally! From the Shadow League, at Tier 9 with 4 wins and 0 loses, Golem takes to the stage! Will this iron d giant pound his way through for an easy victory? Only time will tell." Across the Arena, opposite of Lisa''s position, came the sound of a deep drum pounding away, as the crowd was also being stirred up into cheers. Golem appeared from his hallway and marched boldly and with heavy footsteps towards the stage. The military green, ck and tan armor appeared as imprable as ever. He didn''t even spare a nce at the crowd on either side of him. He pressed on towards the stage with all his focus clearly being disyed on his rugged face to be ready for the fight. Reaching the stage, a worker opened the gate for him to enter the high chain linked fence that surrounded the stage. Going through it, his wide armored shoulders nearly brushed the polls on either side, adding even more to his colossal image. He smashed his armored fists together with a resounding nk and red in Lisa direction expectantly. "Entering from the opposing side is a budding beautying to us from the Shadow League''s beginner Tier 20. With a record of 3 wins and 0 loses, this powerful woman has started off her MFA career with a bang! Give it up for Queen! Can this charmingdy hope to stand a chance against nearly unbeatable odds, or will she be crushed like a wayward flower?" The Announcers voice then droned on about the two fighters statistics. All the while, Queen approached the stage while waving at the enthusiastic crowd. Sharp whistles came out from random areas in the stands. Apparently, her looks and reputation preceded her, and it seemed that some fan base was already forming. Not to mention that this match was extraordinary considering that the difference in the Leagues Tiers was umonly huge. Sadie had mentioned to her before that fights between tiers more than five apart were not unheard of, but rarely happened. She entered the stage and the smile faded from her soft face to return to a cold re at Golem. Unperturbed, Golem leered back. The referee motioned for them toe to the center. The referee then exined the standard rules and both fighters nodded that they understood, all while never taking an eye off the other. Then backing up to an opposing corner the two waited expectantly for the sound of the bell. Xander had been watching Lisa ever since she had arrived at thepound. Though she had be an MFA Fighter, he still had a gut feeling that she was more than what meets the eye. He had found out from circting rumors that a woman had killed several gang members outside of a local tavern. Also, that two Match Fighters has also been beat in a fair fight in that same tavern. The description of the woman from each case was remarkably simr to Lisa''s. Naturally, he decided to watch her out of caution and due to the fact she already seemed suspicious around the market. His suspension only grew as he took note of the new man that she had brought into the Arena Market. As expected, they had no previous record of either. The man appeared young and inexperienced when looking at the items for sale. Anyone that has seen as many customers as he had, would immediately pick out a newbie such as that man. So, when the new man approached Dino McMathers, it surprised Xander. McMathers was a regr member that often frequented the Warehouse Arena and had maintained a positive record in his visits. Xander also new that he was a member of some private Bettingmunity. So, it was possible that McMathers and Lisa were linked in some way. However, he didn''t know what that link may yet be. "Get a man to keep tabs on that younger man there." Xander said to one of his subordinates nearby. "I want to know of his rtionship with Dino McMathers. As for that young man, put him on the caution list and linked in affiliation with Queen." "Right away sir." The subordinate replied and left the observation room. "What are you ying at?" Xander said to himself while looking at Queens image on screen. "Why did you show up out of nowhere and cause problems in town. I will find out, as I always do." Zane was enjoying the event immensely. The fighters were amazing, and some were clearly more talented him that he felt nearly ashamed. They fought so valiantly and with a ferocity that he no longer felt as if he had been watching a rival gang, but actual athletes. Though of course not all the Fighters were with the Mad Dogs, but it still seemed that way to him. The rich people around him only added to the event. They constantly were betting on who would win, how and what might happen next; all while the fights were in motion. He had long lost track of how much money was being tossed around him and gave up trying to simply enjoy the fights. After all, he only needed to actually be concerned about Queens fight. He did learn the names of the other two men that he had met from before. The thin man was Charles Goodman. He owned a string of wineries and a perfume factory that had been doing well as ofte. The red-haired man was Rich Rotters, the owner of a civilian Mech parts production factory for construction and farming Mechs. Mr. Cline turned out to own a river shippingpany based out of Moab City. His vessels traded mainly along the Gulf of California and the Pacific shore. Though he couldnt trade vary far north or south due to the military dangers of the California Republic, South American countries and drug lords; he was beating the odds and being quite sessful. It was clearly a very lucrative endeavor and Zane definitely felt some envy hearing him gloat about it to the others. To Zane being able to travel all over the world sounded so much better than fighting for scraps in this town. However, Dino McMathers upation still remained unknown to Zane. No one ever mentioned McMathers''s job or how he came to be a part of this rich society. All Zane knew was that McMathers betted on everything, every chance he got. To the point where it seemed like it was an obsession. Of the four men, that he had stayed around in the booth room, Mr. Cline had yet to lose a single bet. The others had mixed sess by getting their predictions right, but every little detail Mr. Cline said would happen, did. "Well now, Zane. It''s time for your bets toe into y." Mr. Cline said sipping on a ss of clear wine. "I long ago predicted that Golem would win, and I have yet to be wrong. Let us see if you got some luck in you at all." "Don''t fret too much." McMathers said to Zane. "Always have faith in your bets, even if you know you might lose. That''s what makes betting enjoyable!" Zane nodded to the two men. "My Queen won''t let me down. I hope." He replied slowly and he focused his attention at the two fighters as they entered the stage. "She''s strong." "Begin!" The Referee yelled as the bell dinged out sharply. The two fighters didn''t waste a single second, they charged right at each other head on. However, unlike before, Queen didn''t have her sword out and ready, nor did she take a fighting stance. Seeing this, Golem felt confident and dove right at her throwing a straight right hook at her head. As if Queen anticipated this attack, she jumped to the left lightly with a rotating motion. Golems fist traveled just centimeters under Queens torso with such speed, that if you blinked you missed it. Yet it appeared to the onlookers that Queen was seemingly rolling alongside Golem forearm. As soon as she reached Golems shoulder, shended facing alongside him, with a smirk stered on her fair face. Hello there! Queen shouted as she grabbed his outstretched arm and using his forward motion, flipped him backwards and up into the air using the judo throw Uchi mata! It seemed impossible that someone so heavy would suddenly be sent flying up over the much thinner woman''s shoulder. The Arena seemed to hold its breath as he tumbled down like a falling tree. With a resounding crunchy boom, Golemnded hard on the stage, face up. Cracks appeared all around Golems body in the stages flooring. Immediately Queen wrenched her sword off from her maic belt and whipped it out to reach its full length of three meters. Holding it high over her head, she prepared to stab down at Golem. However, the fight was far from over! Golem suddenly grabbed her ankle and vigorously sat up to throw the smaller woman like stick. Queens body summersaulted like a rag doll, through the air towards the chain link fence. Her body collided with it sending a rattling ripple effect all around the enclosure. Unexpectedly, however, she did not fall from the impact. Queen had caught herself onto the fence and was hanging on with her free hand! She appeared to position herself like spider dangling high above in her web. She raised her sword to point its tip at Golem as he jumped up on his feet to face her. Behind him was a clear imprint of where his body smacked into the stage and a small puff of dust followed after him. "Bring it on!" Queen yelled. Golem roared intelligibly and pounded his chest like a gori. It was as if he was saying the same thing right back at her. The fight had started off with a great intensity that no one expected! Chapter 83: Power vs Speed Chapter 83: Power vs Speed Queenunched herself off of the fence, using it like a springboard, down at Golem. Her sword aimed to skewer him. Golem raised both of his forearms up in anticipation to block the attack, but Queen was not aiming at his head or chest. "Ss-thunk!" The puncturing sound of Queens dull ck de could be heard to those on the closest rows, stabbing right into Golems left foot. It appeared to travel right through it and deep into the stage floor. She had noticed that in the fight from before that the armor here was thinnest and had nned in advance to wound him here. "Grah!" Golem yelled and angrily swung down at Queens lowered head. Queen rolled quickly to the side, narrowly avoiding the swing from Golems ridiculously massive fist. Rolling several times to gain some distance, Queen stopped in a crouching position and watched for Golems next move. She had let go of her sword to escape and was now apparently disarmed. Golem grasped the sword hilt and pulled it out of the stage, sending a spurt of blood cascading onto his armored boot. Tossing the sword angrily behind him, Golem turned to face the now disarmed Queen. Every menacing step he then took towards her left a bloody footprint, yet he moved on seemingly unfazed. Queen had calmly gotten up and readied herself by taking her Ap Kubi stance with her palms raised and open. Her normally passive soft face was now frozen with an angry rugged expression, which clearly stated that she was unafraid to face him unarmed. The crowd was clearly enthralled seeing the unexpectedly energized fight, and Zane could feel their voices vibrancy pounding in his chest. It burrowed into his very core and before he knew it, he was cheering Queen on along with the rest. "I seem to have underestimated Queen." Mr. Cline called out hoarsely. The cheers made it hard to converse, so he had to lean closer to Zane to speak. Zane turned to look at Mr. Cline who then continued to speak. "Seems my bet might be in trouble. However, it is far from over. See!" Zane immediately turned back to see Golem had made his next move on Queen. His face was contorted with rage and his heavy body moved towards her like a train. Golem had now moved in striking distance of Queen, thanks to his obvious reach advantage. He was approaching her like a bear ready to maul its next meal. Yet, Queen did not budge. She remained rooted and ready. Seeing this massive man charging at her was nothingpared to the horrors of war that she had endured. A slight confident smirk crossed her lips as Golems fist reared back to take aim at her face. "I think now would be a good chance to step up my abilities." Queen thought to herself. Then mumbling she said, "Advanced Armaments: Stage One." To everyone watching the fight, they saw no change to Queen at that moment. What they didn''t see was the activation of something welling with energy, deep within Queens prosthetic''s cores. The greatest technological secret of the Cyborg Unit was being released! Subtlety. Golem went to hit her with a right straight punch at that same moment as the activation. From his point of view, the punch was clearly going to hit her as she remained unmoved. When it struck her cleanly in the jaw, he felt nothing! Only air remained where her head used to be. It was the crowd that saw what truly happened, yet they couldn''t believe it. Queen bent her left knee, dropping under the punch and into his right blind spot created by his own arms extension. The motion was so smooth and fast that it seemed only possible to a master of martial arts. Yet it was her prosthetics Armament that increased her speed nearly three times that of a normal human. Those that had looked away at that moment would remain forever lost by the actions that followed. Queen struck him hard with a left open palm strike on his armored chest, while pushing upwards with her left leg as well to return to her standing Ap Kubi stance. The subtle power of her Advanced Armaments: Stage One added an unprecedented increase to Queens power and Golem was driven forcibly back a step. Queen followed up with a right open palm strike at his left shoulder once again pushing the huge, armored giant back by sheer power. Then again, she struck out with another palm strike on his right shoulder, which knocked him of bnce and forced to keep retreating backwards. She repeated her barrage of palm strikes driving him backwards and into the chain linked fence. This attack style was likened to something sumo wrestlers would use to push their opponents out of the ring and it worked just as well here. Just as he collided with the fence, she kicked him hard behind his right knee and sent him down on one knee onto the stage. Raising her sped hands above her, Queen swung them down at his head, like she was swing a sledgehammer. The blow crashed hard onto the back of his armored helmet and broke thetch that kept it on his head. The helmet was sent skittering away, exposing his head. Queen went to follow up with another punch to finish him off, just as her fist was about to bust his skull, Golem reacted with a burst of smokey speed. He appeared to have now be moving just as fast as Queen was! His smoking armored gloved hand grasped her wrist, effectively stopping her movements. Queen gave a look of surprise seeing this and tried to break free, but it was no use. She was captured by him! Golem raised his head to show that his face was now undergoing a mortifying change! The blood vessels in his head bulged furiously and a mortifying smile was stered on his face. Like every muscle was being pulled back violently by some unseen force, exposing his teeth and mouth into a murderous grin. Sadie noticed the change and finally yelled out for the first time during the match. "Queen, watch out! He''s using his Inducement!" The warning was a bit toote. Golem swung Queen around to smash her headlong into the fence behind him. The chain link fence bulged and strained greatly under the impact, but somehow managed to stay together. Queen managed to raise her free arm to brace herself, but the counterattack was not over yet. Golem still had her by the other wrist. Golem, still kneeling, then went to smack her body onto the stage, like an angry child tossing a toy to the floor. Queens back hit the floor hard, and she felt the wind nearly knocked from her lungs. She gasped and looked up to see the smoking metal fist of Golem bearing down on her. Flicking her head aside, just in time, Golems fist broke through the surface of the stage. If she hadn''t moved her head would have been a pancake! Cracks spiderwebbed out from the sunken impact hole and Golem raised his fist again for a second strike. While dust and floor rubble scattered in every direction as he did. Queen reacted immediately and sent a kick up to strike his side, knocking him off bnce and canceling his punch. Then she rolled on her side and jumped up, while trying to yank free of his grasp, but to no avail. His grasp was just too tight. Golem now stood up and used his reach advantage to try and grab her again. Queen nimbly juked back and forth avoiding his lunges at her. All the while she kept yanking at her arm to free herself. They looked like they were ying tug-of-war with Queens arm the whole time and the winner was going to have the advantage in this fight. It seemed Queen was in trouble. Her unseen Armament activation had only just dyed the inevitable, or so it seemed. The crowd was cheering, "Golem, Golem, Golem!" The local favorite to win was once again showing that he was no pushover. The insane smile never faltered from his face as he kept grasping out for the Queen. Not only had his speed increased, but his power and reaction time as well. Queen looked at the terrible position she was in and finally though of a solution. Letting out a defiant shout, "Let''s try this then! She started making her counter. Rather than running away, Queen lunged forward straight for Golem. Shetched onto Golems outstretched arm and wrapped her legs around it to mimic an armbar finisher move. The sudden odd position confused Golem for just a moment, as he was being suspended in mid-air and not doing any harm to him, but his hesitation was enough for her n. With her free hand Queen grabbed his thumb and twisted into a painful angle, while also wringing her captured arm out from his grasp! Golem tried to stop her odd counterattack by hitting her with a short uppercut right into her ribs before she had fully escaped his reach. The attack dealt some damage to Queens side, but the payoff was her freedom. Quickly jumping backwards and avoiding another barrage of attacks from Golem, Queen finally managed to get some distance between them on stage. The two red at each other warily, but only briefly enough to regain their breath. Thick gray smoke was now rising from the back of Golems massive gloves and his shoulders moved along with hisbored breaths. Yet his face remained wild with that grin. "Getting tired big guy?" Queen called out to him while she patted at her side. Thankfully, the pain was only flesh deep. If he had more distance to swing that punch would have likely broken her ribs. "You have got to be slowing down soon, all that armor is sure to have drained your energy soon." Queen nced to her left and saw the faint glimmer of her sword. It had folded up itself and was lying near Sadies side of the stage. Inwardly she knew that the time for close quartersbat was over. They were now evenly matched as both had now activated their abilities. All she could do now was get her sword and attack Golem as was nned beforehand. As if to refute her words and say he was full of energy, Golem pounded his fist onto his chest with a heavy thump and advanced at her once again. His heavy body thumped across the stage as the awed crowd watched on. Smoke streamed out hotly from behind him as his gloves appeared to be powering up. The next round of fighting was going to start now, and it was surely going to be intense. Hanna had forgotten all about looking around the crowd once the fight started. The sounds all around her was much more intense thanpared to when she watched from the window. Her vision tunneledpletely in on the fight before her. Watching Aunt Lisa battling one of her mortal enemys had drawn all her attention and it wasn''t until the two paused for that brief moment, did she dare look away. Recalling why she was here, Hanna scanned fervently around at the crowd around her in the dimly lit Arena, all she could see was arms waving and pping, people moving all about, and the rest was all just a blur. After living in the quiet, slow passed town, this sudden change in environment was overwhelming to her. Not her dreams could she have imagined so many people in one ce! A feeling of hopelessness started to creep into her heart. "How am I ever going to find them!" Hanna whimpered in her thoughts. She then heard Aunt Lisa yelling at Golem and was about to look back at the fight when a yellow tank top across the Arena caught her eye. Squinting carefully at it, her eyes widened with fear seeing its owner. On the far side of the Arena, just above where Golems hallway was, she saw him. The man that shot her parents in violent cold blood, smiling free from worry. Martinez Sanchez, Boss of the Mad Dog gang. Chapter 84: Headless Chapter 84: Headless Martinez Sanchez hade to watch his subordinates Match Fight. It had been a while since someone had made Saul mad enough to send Golem into a revenge match. His curiosity and boredom drew him toe here. Along with him were several of his lieutenants and special personnel that he counted on to keep the gangsters functioning as an organization. Jackson was one of them. "So that''s the Queen that''s got you so worked up?" Martinez asked Jackson quizzically. They were seated in the most luxurious seats and booth in the entire Arena. The seats were from an old, abandoned movie theater nearer to the downtown area and they could recline back to a nearly prone position; they also came with cup holders and snack tray. "She''s definitely better than I thought. Golem is having a hard time. All though, I think he''s going to win, shecks the strength to take him down." "I don''t know about that. I thought the same during Owens fight." Jackson replied focusing his attention on the fight going on below them. "Eh, Owen is a pushover." Another lieutenant said from behind them. Jackson turned to see that it was Ernest that had spoken. Ernest was in charge of the gangs western portion. That area of town was mostly just residential, with small businesses and dried out farnd, not very exciting. He mainly kept the residence submitted and collected food from the hunters that woulde from the forested areas or bands beyond. "Shows how little you know. Owen could probably take you out." Jackson scoffed. "As if! He is all about showing off and crap. He''s about as bad as his superior." Ernest said rolling his eyes. "Once he''s fully recovered, how about you fight him then? Bet you won''t say that about him again." Jackson said restraining himself, he was feeling quite annoyed by Ernest''s jab at him. "Yo, guys, shut up! It''s getting to a good part." Martinez yelled at them. They nced down to see the part when Queen suddenly started sumo pushing Golem back to the fence. Martinez whistled a drawn-out tone. "That''s something you don''t see every day." Martinez remarked. "He''s got to weigh over a thousand pounds with that added armor and she''s actually pushing him back." Bong! The sound of Queen knocking off Golems helmet reached them. Everyone in the booth immediately left their seats and gathered at the railing. They were all equally shocked at the sudden turn of events befalling theirrade. "Get up Golem!" Jackson yelled. "If you lose like this, you''re the worst bodyguard I ever employed!" Martinez shouted. Then he griped to himself, Besides, I got a lot of money on this bet. As if Golem heard them, he grabbed Queen and smashed her on the fence. "Woo! That''s more like it!" Martinez shouted and sat back down with a satisfied plop to keep watching. "She totally had me going there, bro. Like, I was nearly put out watching." The slow hipster voice of Branch, the gangs head technology nerd, replied to no one in particr. Jackson nced sideways at Branch, a rather unique individual. Branch was leaning up against the wall, smoking arge self-made cigarette. Whatever was in that thing was anyones guess. Branch had long brown hair that drooped down to brush his orange tinted sunsses. His outdated fashion style was just as odd. He only wore a jean vest and ripped bellbottom pants; it waspletely out of date in any sense of fashion. Jackson didn''t care to much for the guy. It always seemed like he was a waist of space among the gangsters. However, his abilities with technology and understanding how they functioned was the best he had ever seen. Branch was hired to work for the Mad Dogs after the am AFR put a bounty on him for stealing codes to government security systems. So far, he had been useful hacking ounts and such. "Come on!" Martinez and Ernest yelled in unison. Smash her head off! Martinez continued to shout. No, dont let her get away you idiota! Jackson quickly turned back to the fight. Queen had just broken free of Golems grasp and was getting away. The fight was definitely not over yet. Golem barreled down on Queen for the third time. He had every intention of crushing her. It had been so long since he hadst fought someone capable enough to force him to use his Inducement. Not since his boss, Martinez Sanchez,st fought him seriously. That was the second time he ever lost. Now that he was being put to the test again, he decided that he was going to go all out. Golem couldn''t help but smile into an even more terrifying grin. Every fiber of his body wanted to pound this cocky woman to dust and he was going to enjoy doing it! The smile on his face grew ever tighter in anticipation. Rather than trying tond a punch on her like before, Golem switched his approach. Only just two meters away from her, Golem jumped. He quickly raised his legs up in front of his charging mass to form a front leg side kick! Queen reacted quick as she could and raised her arms up to shield her face. Golems heavy body collided into her with such force that Queen was sent tumbling head over heels backwards. She rolled three times before she crashed into the fence behind her. Somewhat stunned by the dizzying tumble, Queen looked up to see that Golem was following up for a second chance to ram her. Just as he jumped at her again, to perform a second front side kick, Queen tossed herself aside, narrowly avoiding the kick. Golems leading foot smashed hard into the fence, it''s metal links seemed to bend like putty as it faced the full brunt of the attack. Several of the links even snapped upon impact. If that kick had hit her, she might not have been able to recover. Queen shot up off the stage floor and quickly dashed towards her sword. There was a sudden brush of air as she turned away from Golem. His massive, gloved hand missed grabbing her shoulder by a hairs breath! She even caught a whiff of smoke from his glove at the same moment. Grabbing the hilt of her sword she spun around, flicking it outwards to reach half its length and not a moment toote. Golems armored glove smashed into the raised de and Queen braced herself to absorb the blow with her sword. Her ck shin high boots squeaked loudly, leaving two ck smudges on the stage, as the power from Golems punch sent her sliding back. "It''s been fun." Queen called out. "But it''s time to finish this." Though she was breathing heavily, the will to fight was still burning in her gray eyes. So much in fact that her grey eyes almost seemed to be glowing. Golem activated his right glove, sending a jet of fire out from the back of it. The propulsion of his fist rocketed at Queen in a jab of power. Queen managed to make contact with the attack with her sword and it sheared off the de and passed by harmlessly over her head. At that same moment Queen sent a kick out to hit Golems right leg. Once again, the kicknded behind his knee, forcing him off bnce. Using that moment Queen jumped off to one side, then in a blur of motion, she appeared on Golems left, sword raised for an execution swing. Golem reacted by throwing a swing at her, but he only hit air. Jumping up quickly he turned to see Queens dull ck de stab right into his left shoulder. The de managed to slip right under his armor ting and sliced cleanly right out the other side of his arm. Golem yelled in pain. He went to grasp the de to stop her from pulling it out to attack again. Yet again he grabbed nothing. She had already removed the de and disappeared from this sight. ncing around himself in a panic, he couldn''t see her. Suddenly, a burning pain shot through his right thigh. With a shout he looked down to see the de tip was growing out from the front of his thigh. Meaning she was behind him at that moment. In a fit of rage, he spun around to pound her with his right fist. The blow was nearly powerful enough to crush a car and when it hit the stage sizeable bits and pieces scattered in every direction. It looked like a grenade had blown up on stage and a hole had appeared right under his fist several meters in size. But Queen was not there. "Whew, that was close." Queens voiced called out from in front of him. He angrily looked up from the hole he created to see Queen standing on the other side of the hole, unharmed. She gave him a quick smile, and in a fazing blur, she dashed away to his right, going around the hole. Golem got up ready to take her on again, but she was too quick for him to follow. Somehow, she was moving at a ridiculous speed, that his eyes almost couldnt keep up with. She kept moving towards him in a pattern of fake attacks and indiscriminate directions. He punched and swung at her, but only seemed to catch her after image. "Over here!" Queen called to him. Golem would turn to punch at nothing as she moved out of reach. "Try again." She would say in another spot just out of sight. He kept trying to react quick enough to her taunts, but it was useless. She was just too fast for him now. Every time she stopped; she would be in his blind spots. This only added all the more to his frustration and fury. The cause of her enhanced speed was that her prosthetics had now finally warmed up. She had not used her Advanced Armaments: Stage One for several months, if not for over a year. The energy sources in the cores of her prosthetics only needed a few moments to get going properly. All she had been doing before was stalling for time. The power coursing through her was like a river flooded by the rain. The Announcer''s voice was stammering as he was trying to keep up with what was happening. Though everyone could see what was happening on stage, it was difficult to keep track of. A battle of this scale hadn''t happened in so long, that many had forgotten that monstrous people like them existed! This was how a Match Fight was meant to be! Golem let out a shout of rage. Blood was dripping all over himself and the floor. Sweat was running everywhere and it was clear that his Inducement wasn''t going tost much longer. Then raising his balled fists up above his head, Golem activated the two of them at the same time. Red fire spewed out from them as he then sent them straight down onto the floor below him, dragging a ck twin smoke trail in their wake. "Ka-boom!" His fists hit the stage like a bomb! A rippling shock wave effect sted out around him. The stage cracked in every direction sending basketball sized chunks flying out in every which direction. People in the stands screamed and scrambled to dodge the oing debris as the chain link fence was unable to stop all the projectiles that had gone through and over the fence surrounding the stage. Benny threw himself on top of Hanna and Sadie as arge chunk crash through the fence at them. Itnded safely in front of them and stopped. Benny lifted his head to look up at the stage. What he saw next sent a shiver down his spine. Queen was "flying" above Golem! Her sword raised up above her as she held on with both hands. She must have jumped at the same moment the st hit the floor andunched her upward. There was a calm, but bloodthirsty smile on her face as she looked down at Golem below her. Then she dropped down, traveling like a phantom through the thick dust that was billowing all around her. Light glinted off the dull ck de as it sliced downward at Golem. Its de let out a soft whistle as it traveled arcing down towards her target. Golem looked up onest time to see this sight and knew it was over. When Queennded on the broken, crumbling stage, Golems head was already rolling away at her feet. It was over. Queen had won! Chapter 85: You are Next Chapter 85: You are Next There was a moment of silence that settled throughout the crowd. From Golems sudden explosive attack, to the swift decapitating victory of Queen; the crowd was momentarily stunned. Then the arena burst into a cacophony of deafening shouts and cheers that the very rafters shook! Queen let out a heavy sigh and lowered her sword until its tip rested on the crumbling stage. Murmuring she said, "Release Armament." Then she raised her balled fist above her signaling her victory to all. The settling, swirling dust mixed with the lighting to create a rather surreal affect adding to her ster finishing pose. Though she was knocked down by Benny protecting her, Hanna managed to see the oue. Tears welled up in her eyes as a feeling of mixed relief and remorse enveloped her. Killing was never something she had ever considered doing. Yet when she saw Aunt Lisa kill Golem, it felt good to her. Why? Then Hanna remembered that her parents real killer was still in the Arena! I need to tell her now, before he leaves! Benny sat up off the twodies and Hanna wriggled free out from under him. She dashed towards the stage before Benny could stop her and ran up to a copsed portion that let her get under the fence. She scrambled up the hole and stopped to lean halfway out on to the stage. "Aunt Lisa!" Hanna called out urgently. "Aunt Lisa!" A bit louder that her voice faltered some and this time Lisa heard her. Turning to look at her, Lisa shouted back. "What is it?" The noise of the crowd was really making speech hard. The referee had managed to get up after being knocked over by Golems st and he was heading towards Lisa for the Announcer tomemorate the victory. Hanna tried shouting again, but they were just too far apart and there was no time to exin. In a fit of desperation Hanna pointed violently towards where Martinez was sitting. Lisa quickly looked his direction and saw him. His yellow tank top was all she recalled of him and immediately knew what Hanna was trying to tell her. Right then the referee grabbed her hand and raised it again as the Announcer ryed her official win to everyone. Then they rotated once so all the crowd could see her. Lisa had a cool smile on disy for the viewers sake. Then she stopped rotating with the referee to face Martinez''s booth. Raising her sword up she pointed it right at him. In that brief moment Lisa thought, Now I can see your face. You wont get away now! Martinez was fuming! "How in the h*** did he just die! There should have been no way this total nobody could have beat one of our best men. Ah, so much money was lost." Martinez stomped over to the wall and smashed a hole right through its porcin siding with his foot. "Yo, like chill boss." Branch said flinching as a bit of porcin hit his exposed shoulder. "Here, smoke this it''ll calm you right away!" Martinez red at the smoking object in Branch''s out stretch hand. "I don''t want that crap!" He then smacked it out of his hand, and itnded on the carpet clear across the room. Martinez then went back towards the railing to look angrily at Queen. Leaving the railing and slightly puzzled by Martinez''s reaction, Branch slowly got down on his knees and gingerly picked up the cigar. He took a big puff from it as he stood back up. "No need to waste it man." Jackson looked away from the sad state of drug loving Branch and focused on Martinez. A shiver shot through him as he saw Martinez with one of the angriest expressions, he had ever seen on the bosss face. Ernest saw it too and took a step back from him. "B-Boss, what''s wrong?" Ernest asked tentatively. "That b**** is mocking us!" Martinez answered spitting with rage and pointing down at Queen. The two lieutenants looked back at the stage to see that Queen was indeed pointing her sword right at them and giving a confident smirk. Then after the referee let go of Queens other hand, she drew a line across her own neck with her thumb. She then mouthed the words, "You are next!" "What is she getting at?!" Martinez scoffed. "Does she think that she is going to try and take us on or something? I have half a mind to do it right now." Ernest gave a nervous chuckle. "Naw Boss, she probably just pumped about her win. She is just showing off. Come on, just ignore her." "Ernest is right." A new voice in the room spoke. It was a tall, bearded man that was walking into the booth with two vicious looking muzzled dogs. The man pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat as he spoke again. "It''s a dog-eat-dog world after all. Only the strongest survive, but we should definitely put her in her ce at some point. This lone she-wolf is definitely a dangerous one." "Ah, there you go speaking in that stupid lingo, Rodney." Martinez said shaking his head to look away from Queen. He let out a big sigh and the angry expression on his face subsided slightly. "You are right though. I doubt she would be interested in joining us. Especially since she killed one of us." He then turned to Jackson who was still watching Queen. "Jackson, get the triplets prepared to fight. Get the Queen to fight them. I do not care what you offer her. I just want her dead!" Jackson stood up from his seat. "You got it Boss. No one can beat them in a one verse three situation." Jackson then turned to leave the room. It was probably best to act immediately on Martinezs orders considering how angry he was now. Walking down the hallway he angrily thought to himself. "That Queen wasn''t joking around. She''s definitely going to try and take you on Boss. If she pulls another rabbit out of her hat and beats the triplets, I don''t think things are going to be in our favor." Then he smiled visibly. "Wait, that''s right, we have Titan. He could be let free again. Even if he destroyed half a neighborhood barehanded, we could always use him." Jackson chuckled to himself at the thought of letting the gangs trump card free once again. It had taken the entire gang a week to tie Titan down long enough to restrain him. Whatever Inducement he had taken was definitely not supposed to have that effect. To this day Titans mind appeared gone. However, that would be a stupid idea to. Jackson continued thinking. Titan is a double edge de, there is no way we can direct him to only go after Queen and not us too. Ill just keep this idea on the back of my mind for now. Lisa watched as the men in the booth followed after Jackson left and disappeared from view. She turned her attention to the meaty head of Golem, still at her feet. Saul was looking dumbstruck through the fence at his fallen champion. Lisa casually kicked it towards him and turned to leave the stage without a backwards nce. Hanna saw Golems head rolling and felt sick. Quickly she slid off the copsed portion of the stage and walked back to her seat to calm down. Sitting down, she pulled her knees close to her chest and tried to forget about the mortifying scene she had witnessed. Yet all she could think to picture was the face of Martinez and her sadness slowly soured. Sadie was the first to meet with Lisa as she came off stage. "Oh, my goodness! That was the most amazing fight I have ever seen in person! How were you able to move that fast? Are you hurt anywhere? How am I going to get other Fighters to challenge you now? You are too strong for Shadow League?!" "Easy now Sadie!" Lisa said putting up her hands to calm the exuberant manager. "One question at a time." Lisa walked over to an empty seat and plopped down into it. The crowd behind her kept trying to get her attention, but she paid them no mind. They couldn''t get over the Arena wall separating the stands from the staging area. Her motive wasn''t to earn fans after all, but to avenge Hannas parents. Benny sat down next to Lisa and looked at her as if he could believe what he had witnessed. "Tell me one thing. How?" "How?" Lisa repeated giving a yful nce at him. She looked down at her hands and he face darkened some. "That''s a hard question to answer. The simple version is, I have been made to be powerful and I know how to be powerful." "I''m not sure what you mean." Benny replied. Just then a bottle bounced off the back of his chair. "I want my money back! You rigged the bet or something!" The voice of an angry came from the crowd behind them. Hearing one of those he had bet against and that others were starting to call out simr protests, Benny was worried things might get out of hand. "But this isn''t the time or ce for this kind of talk. Come on let''s get out of here." Benny said getting up to nudge Hanna to start moving. Lisa grabbed a bottle of water left on the bench that had been given to her by the Arena staff and took a big gulp. Then she got up to follow Benny and continued to ignore the fans lining the hallway tunnel going back towards the lockers. Sadie patted Hanna''s shoulder encouragingly as well and Hanna reluctantly got up to leave to follow after Lisa. They all then headed into the locker room where it was far quieter. Lisa sat down on the floor near the door and finished the rest of her water in one go. The other three sat down on a bench nearby. "So, I take it you got some good bets? Those fans sounded upset." Lisa asked Benny. Benny nodded and reached inside his jacket. Inside was a pocket filled with cash. "You gave me three hundred dors to be with. I tripled it. I even had some of my own money that I betted with too." "So, nine hundred dors?" Lisa said nodding with satisfaction. "Not a bad win. It''s definitely better than nothing. Hopefully, I can get another shot at some easy money. Though this time I had to work fairly hard for my earnings." "If you are calling that fight an easy win, then I would hate to consider what you deem a hard one!" Benny said shaking his head still in disbelief. Zane was ecstatic! Lisa had actually won and in such a memorable fashion! The rest of the rich men with him we equally surprised and excited by what they saw. "What a smashing performance!" Charles Goodman said shaking the armrest of his chair in giddy excitedly. "It was indeed impressive, to say the least." Mr. Cline said rubbing his chin in thought. "Impressive? No, it was way more than that. Normally you don''t see a fight like that out in a nowhere ce such as this. A true diamond in the rough, that Queen surely is." Rich Rotters said nodding profusely. Then he turned to Zane and asked, "What would it take for your boss to represent me in a Match Fight?" "That''s a good question." Mr. Cline chimed in. He then took out some money from his wallet and pulled out three crisp hundred dor bills. "Please, do tell us." Zane took the money from him carefully. These were the first real hundred dor bills he had ever seen. Zane cleared his throat. "I-I am not sure. I could try introducing you to her, I guess. She can give you a proper answer then." "Sounds good to me, boy!" McMathers replied speaking up for everyone. Then he pped another three hundred dors into Zane''s hands. "Lead the way!" Chapter 86: Prophesied Chapter 86: Prophesied "War ising?" The Skull gangsters murmured amongst themselves. The entire room from all three floors sounded like leaves rustling in the wind derived from all the muffled chatter and slighted spection. They had endured countless battles with other gangs and civilians before, but a war waspletely a different matter altogether. Especially now that news of the peace deal had been broken was known to all, many were wondering what was going to happen next. The Skull leader, Daivat Bellona the Undertaker, raised his hands with a regal gesture and the room quieted back down in a near instant. "What I have said is true. A Great War shall being to ournds and will spread like a fire in a wheat field. Far and fast. It has been seen by our soothsayer, Lady Cassandra." Hearing her name sent another wave of excited chatter into the crowd. Lady Cassandra had been a soothsayer for the Skull for untold years and had never failed in her predictions. She had been performing her arts for the past five leaders of the Skull and never lost their favor. Those that listened to her prospered, while those that chose to ignore her suffered. Her words might as well have been considered to be rivaling that of the Oracle, from Greek Mythology. "As tradition has taught us, do not take my word alone as truth." Undertaker continued and the room returned to silence. "We must hear it from her lips, so that we may all know of what shalle to pass. Even I have not heard the full ount." The Undertaker then stood up from his Mammoth bone throne and spread his arms wide. Ornately carved bone trinkets and gold jewelry tinkered together around his neck and waistline as he stood. All eyes were transfixed on him, waiting breathlessly for what mighte to pass. n was no exception. The Undertaker''s face held its natural light, proud smile and his voice rang out strongly as he spoke. "Behold our great Soothsayer, Lady Cassandra!" Suddenly, every torch in the whole building nearly died out, as their mes dropped to just the red glow of the embers. The air temperature dropped as result, giving an eerie feeling to all inside the drafty mall. From the back of the bone-built stage came the sound of a low drumming. Its low boom started slowly, and it sounded far away, but it was clearlying from down a hallway somewhere in the inner depth of the mall. What followed next was an astounding sight. Even those that had seen it before still felt awe and wonder. The Soothsayer Caravan was approaching. The hallway that the deep drums sound wasing from, started to glow. It was an odd mixture of dark green and vibrant purple that continually oscited all around the approaching procession. Though they were forced to stay in their respective rows, everyone eagerly tried to see what was about to happen. They would try craning their necks and standing on their toes; all while swaying back and forth like des of grass in the wind, for a better view. The strange glow soon illuminated the main room revealing two dozen blindfolded and muzzled men, all carrying arge wooden and steel structure on their bare shoulders. Alongside these men was an equal number of simrly blindfolded and muzzled women beating drums to unify the Caravans steps. They wore almost nothing in regard to clothing, it was only their shame that was covered with loose russet cloths. Across this impressive structure was an assortment of bones, skulls and strangely carved demonic like symbols. Censer bowls were scatter randomly around and their incense sticks burned slowly. The smell that they gave off was a mellow sweet sent, that one could almost taste in the air. Arge freshly burned and still smoldering tree trunk was propped up on the back end of the structure adding even more to the bazar procession. At the top of this terrifying looking structure was the source of the eerie light. A ss sphere, that spanned approximately two meters wide and tall, was fixed on top of a pedestal of femur bones. Inside appeared to be a strange light radiating liquid. The odd green and purple liquid didn''t just slosh around at the bottom of the sphere, but rather it slowly floated around inside, like some trapped spiritual being devoid of gravitational pull. At its base stood the unbelievably ancient Lady Cassandra. Her boney wrinkled hands were raised up and pressed tightly against the ss spheres surface. Her milk white eyes were open but saw nothing. Nothing, but what the sphere showed her. Her body appeared to paper thin, nothing but skin clinging to ufortably visible bones. The ragged russet and sliver robes she wore looked like they could fall off her at any given moment. How this ancient woman had survived in this condition was simply beyond reason. The Soothsayer Caravan slowly ascended the bone stage from the rear of the sandy pit. It was now in full view of all that were in attendance. No one dared move. No one dared speak. The Undertaker, along with both the Eyes, approached the caravan with an air of clear respect. Once they reached the edge of the structure, without any audible signal the two dozen bound men dropped in unison down on one knee. To the astonishment of all, nothing atop of the structure was disturbed by the movement. Together the three stepped high onto the Caravans structure. The two Eyes went no further than that first step, only the leader of the Skull was ever able to appear before the Lady Cassandra. The Undertaker approached the Soothsayer from behind because she was always facing the ominous sphere and dropped to one knee. The leaders actions told all that the Soothsayer truly held great authority and reverence. With his head bowed low the Undertaker spoke with respect. "Lady Cassandra, please tell us, tell us the prophecies you have been granted. Tell us what the future might bring!" The Skull members all held their breath as they watched all that was happening. Then the Lady moved! n nearly let out a gasp as what he saw was indistinguishable from reality. The Lady Cassandra never let go of the sphere, nor did she grab onto anything, but the sphere appeared to roll, lifting her up off the structure and rotated her about so that she would be facing the Undertaker looking down at him from above! The Soothsayers milk white eyes looked down at the kneeling Undertaker like a hawk watching its prey. Her wispy white hair drooped towards the sphere and wavered in the passing air drafts. There was a dry sucking noise as the olddy opened her mouth to speak. Her voice crackled at first but showed no sign of further weakness. "Faithful current Head of the Skull. I have heard your request. I shall tell you and all here of what has been seen." The Undertaker raised his head to look up at the impossible sight before him. He showed no signs of fear as he spoke again. "My gratitude knows no bounds. Whatever you say, it shall be done." Then the Lady Cassandra spoke even louder now, nearly to the point that she was nearly howling. "The prophecy has already begun this very day!" A mysterious white light shown out from her eyes now and her rags swayed erratically. "A Twisted vile horde ravages the wildnds; its presence shall continue to curse the world even amidst defeat. Sparks from its me will scatter to burn brightly before all. One will show themself and save life in this wretched town. Sparing it from extinction and giving purpose to many. That same person will then build this ce up from the ashes it wallows in, to soon reach to the very stars themselves. The very heavens will hear of the promised ones deeds. Fighting alone against insurmountable odds will prove the validity of the promised one and bring prosperity back on Earth. The Speaker must act now if this is toe to fruition!" "Who is this Speaker? That we might send them!" The Undertaker replied urgently. "The one that had broken the peace of thisnd shall be punished toplete this task. Should he fail, all will be undone. The Speaker will go to the Sun People of the south to convince them to fight with you here against the Twisted. Then upon returning, the Speaker is to find the one that desires to avenge the lives of traitors. That same person is the one foretold." Immediately after saying these things, the Lady Cassandra suddenly closer her toothless mouth. The white light died from her milk white eyes and her body appeared to calm noticeably. Her body started to rotate again until she returned to her first position on the structure, standing with her hands on the sphere facing away from the Undertaker. The Undertaker then spoke out in obedient reverence. "It shall be done!" The Lady Cassandra finally came to a rest. Then she spoke gruff and softly, as if greatly tired. "Ashen One and Wind Talker,e forth." Two russet cloaked people came up and on to the Caravan Structure from behind the burning tree and approached the Soothsayer quickly. They stooped low once reaching her scatter robes edges. Then in unison the spoke, "Tell us yourmands." "Go with the Speaker. See that he survives until I speak once again." The Lady Cassandra spoke even softer than before. "It''s shall be done." They spoke again in unison. The two russet cloaked people bowed and then proceeded to walked past the Undertaker, who rose up to follow with them off the structure. The Eyes saw theming and quickly stepped back down off the structure and then to the side for the others to pass by. Again, with no audible signal, the two dozen blindfolded men stood up in unison. Then they rotated around so that they were facing the way that they hade. Again, without causing the slightest jostle or disturbance to that which was on the bazar structure. The blinded and muzzled women then started to slowly beat their drums and the entire Caravan returned down the hallway in unified steps. No one among the onlooking crowd moved for the longest time. Everyone was frozen in awe by what miracle they had witnessed. It wasn''t until the osciting green and purple light had finally disappeared from their sight and all the buildings torches had returned to normal, did the Undertaker finally be the first to move. "You have heard the words of the Soothsayer Lady Cassandra! Now you are to obey them! It shall be done." Undertaker shouted with authority. His words cut through the silence far sharper than any knife could. The entire room burst out into a single chant, "It shall be done!" The entire crowd then started shouting with great excitement and cheering with exuberant enthusiasm! It was so loud that dust was shaken loose from the roof and bone chandelier above. This went on for a few moments, until the Undertaker once again raised his hands high to calm them down. "It is time to discover who our Speaker is." The Undertaker shouted over the crowd, who in turn, simmered into moderate silence. Once the noise was eptable Undertaker continued, "As most of you know, our peace deal had been broken with the Mad Dogs a few days ago. Normally I would have killed the person responsible for breaking my promise, but it was the Lady Cassandra that spoke to me first to spare him." The Undertaker stopped looking around at the crowd as he spoke and looked into one ce in particr. He was looking right at n! "Bone yer!" Undertaker boomed out. He raised a ringed finger at n. "You broke the peace and should be punished. By the decree of the Soothsayer, you are punished to be the Speaker that shall undertake this great task!" All eyes turned to look at n. For the first time in years n genuinely felt nervous. He could feel the cold sweat dripping down his back as the crowds gaze struck him from all sides. His voice faltered unintentionally as n shouted giving his reply. "I-It shall be done!" Chapter 87: Setting Out Chapter 87: Setting Out n did his best to calm himself back down after leaving the Skulls main base along with Stone and Hemlock. He immediately left the Skulls stifling base went back to his Nest to perch above the city and let the chilly wind cool his nervous hot body. The rapid change in pace from doing nothing to suddenly having an Earth-shattering prophecy to fulfill tossed onto his shoulders, was nearly mentally overwhelming. Naturally, Ashen One and Wind Talker had also had toe along with them. Though n didnt like the thought of Lady Cassandras dogs seemingly keeping tabs on him, he couldnt turn them away. Though their russet cloaks hid them well n guessed from their appearance and stature that they matched him, if not surpassed him, in strength. Until now he only thought that the Hands and Eyes were the strongest members in the Skull. Now it seemed there were more powerful people among them and he did not like that. "So, I got to go convince the lunatic Sun People toe and join with us to fight a Twisted hoard?" n said talking to himself out loud while looking at the ground far below. "Why the Sun People? They live in the walls of the Grand Canyon and canyons to its north, covered in mud while eating God knows what out of the river. Bunch of savages." His feet dangled out over the gap of the building and enjoyed the feeling of brushing the void between him and the city below. If it weren''t for the impending quest he had to do, today would have been a glorious afternoon to sunbathe. Then there came a tapping noise from the window behind him. Turning around he saw it was Hemlock. "What now?" n grumbled as he got up. He casually walked across the steel beam and opened the door to his top floor room. "I don''t understand how you can actually like sitting out there like that." Hemlock said shaking his head as he nced out at the metal beam. "I get dizzy just looking out there." "So, what do you need me for?" n askeding inside. "Those two cloaked guys, Ashen One and Wind Talker, are waiting two levels below us. They said something about going as quickly as possible." Hemlock replied. "Those guys give me the creeps. They haven''t yet taken off their hoods and don''t talk about anything to anyone. They just stand there watching us." "They do seem suspicious." n said with agreement. "I hadn''t seen them before, and it seems like there are more of them with the Soothsayer. I was able to see some others through the gloom following the procession. One thing is for sure though, they are strong." "Do you think we could take them on if we had too?" Hemlock asked. n started towards the elevator shaft and Hemlock followed closely behind. "I don''t know." n said giving a shrug. "I might be able to if it''s one on one, but it could take the rest of you to just fight one. We need to train better and learn some more skills if we''re to get to their level." Hemlock scratched his head with a frustrated look. "So, what are we going to do?" "Nothing for now. We better do as the Lady Cassandramanded and go to the Sun People. I don''t trust them as much as you do, but if the chance provides itself, take it." n replied with a serious look. He picked up his Automatic Rope Climber and nced down the dark shaft. Far below, near ground level, he could another traveling up the cable. However, he would only be going down just two levels, so traveling down at the same time would be fine. Doing just that he mped the Climber onto the cable and slid neatly down to the intended level. Hemlock followed closely behind with his own Climber. As soon as they arrived the two cloaked men quickly came over to meet them. Seven of n''s men, including Stone, were also here keeping an eye on the strange visitors. "Bone yer, time is nigh. We must carry out Lady Cassandra''s wishes without dy. All that waver perishes." The tallest of the two cloaked men, Wind Talker, spoke. "My brethren speaks true." Ashen One replied in a deep voice. "As a peace breaker we know you do not follow orders well, but this cannot be put off." Though they were speaking up close to n he still couldn''t see their faces under the deep dark hoods. He could only catch faint glimmers of light off their eyes. This annoyed n just as much as their pushy attitude. "I can follow orders just fine." n said giving a sneer. "We will leave in the morning at first light and get a full days worth of travel. We need to prepare properly if this endeavor is to seed." The two cloaked men nodded. They seemed to be satisfied with his reply. They then turned around to return to their seats. Apart from that, they didn''t speak about anything or do anything. If someone took a nce at them, they might have appeared to be mannequins. "Stone. I will leave you here in charge in my stead. Hemlock you will go with me. Also, go find six men willing to join us. Those Sun People are far too unpredictable from what I hear and if things go wrong, we might have to fight. Better to fight in a pack than alone." n said to the two Fingers. "Understood boss." The two men said together. "Don''t worry, boss." Stone said patting n on the shoulder. "I''ll keep everyone here in line. The locals won''t be causing any problems while you''re gone." "I know you will. But it is not the locals I am worried about. No doubt that others will see my peace breakerbel as a weakness. Someone is bound to show up and challenge the right for Hand and try to rule this part of downtown." n said with a low voice. "Out of everyone under me, you Stone, are the closest to me in strength. You must defend my title in my stead. If you lose it, I''ll kill you myself." Stone had a mixed expression of pride and worry. In the end he gave a trustworthy smile and gave his reply. "I understand. I won''t let you down." "Good man." n replied with a nod. "Come on Hemlock. Let us go pick out volunteers." The two then returned to the elevator shaft. n gave onest skeptical nce at the two russet cloaked men before he attached his Climber and started for the bottom levels. Morning arrived sooner than n would have liked. Being on the topmost floor the sunrise would always wake him up first. The glowing sky was once againpletely cleared of any clouds. From a small windsock outside of his closest window, he could see that the wind was blowing stiffly from the north west already. It was going to be a chilly morning. After stretching in his room for a few minutes and redressing his shoulder bandages n picked up his trusted weapon. The heavy hammer head of the firefighters tactical axe felt good in his rough hands. Its blunt end and de had served him well over the years. He couldn''t imagine using anything else to fight with than this. Taking onest look around the room to make sure everything was in order, he felt satisfied finding that it was. His Nest was his home, his quite ce. Grabbing a leather jacket, that he had personally sewed together making it three times as thick, off a chair he headed for the elevator shaft. Slinging his hammer and a backpack of supplies onto himself, he picked up his Climber. He attached the Climber to the elevator cable, but instead of going down right away he locked it into ce. Then, while holding on with one hand on the Climber, n used the other toboriously pull the doors shut. Anyone that wanted to break onto his floor would have to first be strong enough to open these doors and not fall to their doom. Besides if anyone did manage to open them, they would be worth fighting anyway! When he arrived at the bottom floor, he found that a sleepy group of men were already waiting for him in the lobby. Hemlock and the six volunteers were rather eager to get going on this trip, for they were getting restless from sitting around so much. The two cloaked men were among them. However, they didn''t appear the least bit tired. "Well, this is good. Now I don''t have to waste time waking you lot up." n said walking towards the main entrance to the lobby. "Come on, wake up and lets go get this trip over with." The men grumbled halfheartedly in reply and started after n. Once they were outside n knew that his hunch was right. It was a very chilly morning, despite the clear sunrise morning. The wind tugged hard at his hair and he tightened his thick leather jack closer around him. They had yet to go no more than three blocks through the downtown of the city when they ran into an issue. There was a group of Skull members waiting for them. It was clear that they had ill intentions. "Well, look-y here. It is the Bone yer, or should I call you Speaker now. No wait, Peace Breaker sounds right, doesnt itds?" A wiry looking man caring a vicious looking club. "But they won''t be calling you that much longer." The wiry man said menacingly pointing his club at n. The dozen or so heavily bone tattooed men all chuckled in agreement. n''s group all instinctively ced their hands on their weapons. It was clear they were outnumbered and this group looked ready for a fight. n held up his hand signaling for them to rx. "What do you want? You know I must be going. So, move out of the way." n replied ignoring the mans threat with an uninterested gaze. "You don''t get it, do you?" The wiry man retorted. "I am Scalp Cutter and I challenged you for the rank of Hand." n let out a loud exaggerated sigh and unstrapped his hammer from his back. "Are you sure you want to do this? I am in a hurry and don''t have much time to waist. So, I am going to have to make this quick." "Don''t take me lightly!" Scalp Cutter yelled and charged at n with his club cocked back for a swing. "Your loss." n said tly. Then without too much effort he raised his hammer up over his head. Scalp Cutter didn''t slow at all seeing this. Then just as they were nearing within steps of striking distance of each other, n activated his Inducement. The sudden surge of power flooded his veins, and he knew this fight was over. There was a reason Hands were regarded as some of the strongest in the Skull and n was proof of such strength. Taking a strong forward step, he swung his heavy hammer side down at a speed no normal man could ever hope to counter. Scalp Cutter was such an unfortunate ordinary man. The hammer hit Scalp Cutters Head with such force that it exploded like a watermelon! Chunky red bits were tossed all around onto the street. While ns hammer didn''t pass all the way through the body, but rather stuck in between Scalp Cutters shoulder. Instantly all the men on Scalp Cutters side stopped smiling. In an instant it was over, and they had lost. n, stepping forward, ced his foot against the dead mans chest and kicked him hard to disconnect the hammer from him. The body plopped to the ground with a wet meaty sound. Blood slowly spread out from the headless body and into the cracks of the old street. "Now, if anyone has anything else to tell me, do it now." n said tossing his bloody hammer onto his shoulder. He gave a deathly re at the other men. In turn, they immediately turned and ran away. They now knew better than to challenge n, the Bone yer. "Well done, Speaker." Ashen One spoke. "Now to continue on." "Yes, yes. Let''s go men." n answered already feeling annoyed, while stepping over the body. It seemed like it was going to be a long trip if things like this kept happening. Chapter 88: Under Paid Chapter 88: Under Paid 56 and Orville were six blocks away from Zhou''s Inte Caf when Orville''s scanners picked up signals from the drones looking for them. Ever since they had left the caf, they had been taking the back alleys and side streets to avoid easy detection. It was still only a matter of time until they were spotted. Especially with such modern tracking technology like drones. If the satellites hadn''t been destroyed years ago, they would probably been found even sooner. "Boss 56, enemies are closing in. Better get a move on!" Orville cheerily announced as he bobbed up and down alongside his humanpatriot. "We need to find a way out of this city." 56 said aloud jogging at an abnormally fast pace. "We can''t go back to our Hover Ship. They will be watching the flight docks and probably the city gate exits too. Need to think of something unconventional to throw them off our trail." "Running a scan of potential escape routes now." Orville said. "Good, but first let''s lessen the eyes on us." 56 said looking towards the sky. The buildings here were not very tall, but further in towards the city center the outskirt buildings would eventually turn to shinny skyscrapers. It would make it easier for him to locate the tracking drones. Those drones wouldn''t be able to hide behind the t walls of the skyscrapers like they could here in the suburbs. A small twinkle caught his eye from a far off near a brick apartment roof. It could have been the sun reflecting off a window or shiny metal, but the chances were slim. Definitely a drone. "I''m speeding up. They are on to us." "Roger!" Orville replied. 56 rounded the corner of the next building and onto a main street before he slowly started braking out into a brisk run. Orville effortlessly floated along beside him without the slightest bit ofg. The two of them zig-zagged between pedestrians and peddlers making a great pace despite the moderate sized city crowd. "Let''s see how they react to this change." 56 thought to himself. Then he sped up even more. "Special Officer, the target has suddenly increased its pace. He might have discovered that we are in pursuit." One of the Blue Jay pilots called out. "Continue tracking while maintaining the current distance." Hawkins replied calmly. "There is no need to worry. All we need to do is follow and tell the pursuit teams of his location. If we panic than we make mistakes." "Understood, Special Officer." The Pilot replied and continued to monitor the situation on his screen. "Corporal, get eyes onto the Hover Ship docking areas and into the main exits to the west of the city." Hawkins said to another pilot nearby. Then turning to speak to the rest of the room he said, "We need to find out where he''s headed and if he has aplices in the area. If he is acting alone this will make things easier. If not, well, I hope the ground teams are up for a real challenge. Support them best you can." "On it, Sir." Several soldiers replied and others hurried about doing their tasks. The other three Special Officers were all doing simr operations in their rooms too. Once Hawkins drones located 56, the others were notified and quickly adjusted their flight patterns to slowly encircle 56''s projected travel route. Currently the drones were all tracking him in a "V" shaped patter and had his position triangted. No matter which way he turned some drone was still able to see him. "He''s continuing on towards the western most gate. No established Hover Ship docks are anywhere near his current estimated path." One of the Analysts soldiers called out to Hawkins. "Where are you going?" Hawkins mumbled watching 56 on the main screen running at incredible speeds. It looked like he was going as fast, in not faster, than bicycles traveling along him on the road. Then over themunication channel Special Officer Takanowa''s voice came on. "Ground forces are in ce in intercept. Any time for engagement is a go." "Very good. Let''s hope your men can do their job right this time." Special Officer Foal chimed in. "Watch yourself." Takanowa replied sounding annoyed. "He won''t get away a second time." "If you say so." Foal replied. "Enough, you two!" Special Officer Welling interrupted. "Stay focused on the task at hand. If they are ready, better engage him now. Before he reaches one of the major roads up-ahead. It will be hard to take him down with so many civilians around. Not to mention the Moab Council is observing us." There was a moment of silence before Takanowa replied. "Sending them now." 56 could tell for sure now that he was being followed. Several more times he spotted more oddly ced reflections and one confirmed sighting of a drone. They were close to him now. He had now moved out from the alleys and onto the main streets. Luckily, the rainy day had helped keep most of the people off the sidewalks. So, he was able to keep a good pace as he ran. "Any luck on an escape route?" 56 asked Orville. He didn''t sound the least bit tired from the run he had been doing. Thanks to his prosthetic limbs the once difficult to maintain physical movements like this were made simple. "Nothing with a high sess rate." Orville finally replied. "The traffic routes up ahead have been rerouted subtly and the below and above subway systems have been purposefully dyed. We can''t use them to make a quick slip away." "Could we use the auto taxis to mix up the chase?" 56 asked. They rounded a corner and 56 casually leapt over a trash can in his path. The two civilians walking along the sidewalk, that he was intently avoiding and sticking the curbside, let out a gasp of surprise as he flew past them. "Not likely. Anymunication with the taxi AI''s is likely monitored." Orville replied sounding downcast, well, as best as a robot could. "Crap, so we are basically going to have to escape ourselves then." 56ined. They rounded the next corner to find that the city police had set up a roadblock. Their red and blue lights were shing brightly and traffic beyond them was being diverted. "Well, we can''t go this way." 56 shouted at Orville. "Didn''t your scans pick them up?" "Rechecking." Orville replied. A few secondster he replied. "It seems information to the City''s system is being purposefully dyed. They must know of my skills." "Well, that''s not good." 56 said turning to go back the way they came. Just then two big ck Humvee like trucks appeared at the intersection ahead. They stopped to screeching halt and immediately the doors swung open. 56 stopped running and ducked behind a doorway just as several ck uniformed men stuck their guns out from the truck doors to open fire at him. Bullets ricocheted all across the sidewalk and brick entryway that 56 was in. "At least now there doing better. Amateurs would have gotten out of the vehicles to shoot first, makes for easy pickings." 56mented to Orville as bullets continued to ricochet around them. A couple of windows shattered as a result. The fair cries of the people inside could be heard, but no one was likely injured. "Let''s see, what to do next?" 56 said tapping his chin. "Boss, I am picking up something odd in the Citymunication channels." Orville said interrupting 56''s train of thought. "It seems that they have activated the city security sma walls. Something more dangerous than us must being." "Can you find out what?" 56 asked peeking towards the ck uniformed soldiers shooting. A bullet pinged off the bricks above his head and he ducked back quickly. "Those guys aren''t going to wait for us much longer." "I got it." Orville replied. "Oh, you are not going to like this. A Twisted Hoard is approaching the city!" "A Hoard?!" 56 said with surprise. "That wasn''t on the radar before we arrived. Was our intelligence bad?" Before he could think of any reasons, from another smaller road across the street from them, the sound of cars driving quickly drew his attention. Looking that way, he saw two more ck Humvee trucks headed their way. "We can''t stay here anymore." 56 said to Orville. He then stood up and kicked off his shoes, revealing that he had no socks underneath. "Let''s take this chase to the skies." "Alright! My territory!" Orville cheered. "Activate Aerial Armament: Stage 1." 56 murmured to himself. There came a robotic whirring noise from his legs. They were transforming! His feet split open down the middle and slid up along his shins. The shins then split halfway up into four parts and spread out like a budding flower. In between the split areas on each leg was revealed to be two small jet like engines. Then just as the two newly approaching trucks arrived and their doors swung open, 56 activated the engines. His body effortlessly lifted up off the ground and zoomed upward into the sky. As soon as he did, he was forced to zig zag through the air as he was met with a hail of bulletsing from both sets of trucks. He did a quick barrel roll and took cover over the roof tops. His leg engines remained on and he stopped to hover centimeters above the ground. "Let''s keep heading for the west wall. If a Twisted Hoard really ising than I have an idea about who we can get transport from." 56 said to Orville who was flying alongside of him. "I''m so bored!" Tammyined while giving a yawn. "Rx, we won''t have to wait much longer. The Hunters n said we would have a shot at a big job here. Just wait for Dixon toeback." Sam replied. The two young adults were waiting outside of a big fancy gray building, which wasbeled Hunters n Lodge 117, along with threerge Hover Bikes and a midsized tbed Transport Hover Ship attached to one of the hover bikes. The four machines had no tires on them anywhere and were hovering silently, just a mere meter above the ground. The bikes were a mismatch of different colored panels and rust, but still maintained perfectly good functions. The bikes were also covered in an assortment ofrge heavy caliber guns, explosives, bags, and some sharp looking handheld weapons. All these weapons made it possible for them to do their job. To hunt Twisted creatures of all types. Tammy slouched in her bikes long banana shaped seat and punched at the air above her. "I wish he''d hurry up. I wanna shoot something!" "Awe knock it off." Sam said with an annoyed sigh. "You''d be a lot cuter if you acted more professional. We would probably have more money too if you wouldn''t act like a child." "Uh? What did you say?" Tammy replied giving him an angry look. Tossing a ck braid over her dark skin she scoffed at him, "I am as cute as I can be. You can''t improve perfection!" "Whatever!" Sam huffed and pulled his green hoody over his face to block his view of her. "Hey don''t ignore me!" Tammy said sitting back up. "I going toe over there and" But she was suddenly cut short when a boom sounded from the main doors of the Hunters n Lodge. Dixon appeared with a smile stered onto his huge, bearded frame. "Load up and strap down! We got a big jobing our way!" Dixon saiding down the steps with hurried stomps. Its the biggest one ever! "Alright!" Tammy shouted happily and ignored Sams attitude. "Finally, where we are going now?" Sam replied turning on his Hover Bike. Its electric engine hummed to life and he could feel its power rise. Just then the sound of a siren whaling in the distance sounded. Then a light blue glow started to spreading from over the buildings to the west. "Not far at all." Dixon said hopping on his bike, which was hooked up to the t bed Ship. "In fact, the Twisted areing right towards us. All we got to do is fight them at the city walls and collect our bounties!" "Oh, easy money! Finally." Tammy cheered pping her hands together giddily. They were about to take off when a male voice suddenly called towards them. "Hey, got room for one more?" The three of them turned around to see 56 and Orvilleing towards them. Chapter 89: Into the Fire Chapter 89: Into the Fire 56 had just barrel rolled over the next rooftop across the street to safety when Orville asked, "So what''s your idea?" 56 quickly looked around him for any drones following him. Sure enough, there were three in in sight, hovering about nearby roofs. The drone pilots didn''t react in time and failed to hide them in time. 56 quickly snatched his pistol from inside his jacket, turned over in the air to fly backwards to the west and shot a single round at each drone. The first two drones were sent shattering in stic bits to the street below. While the third managed to duck in time and only had a propeller get hit, but it too was sent spinning the ground. Before they were shot, 56 saw the symbol marked on their wings, AFR. Now he confirmed it indeed was them. It seemed even neutral cities were not out of their reach. "Well Orville, before I tell you, filter theirmunication to iste where the drones are." 56 replied spinning around to face where he was flying. "We need to draw them in closer and take them out in one shot. Shooting them one by one won''t work with the amount of ammo I got." "Ok." Orville replied. "Are we using the Camera shback?" "Yep. We just need a getaway car." 56 replied looking down below. They were flying low, only two meters or less from the low rooftops of city apartments and duplexes. Along with the asional air conditioning unit or venttion pipe there wasnt much else to conceal their movements, they werepletely exposed. From the way he flew, 56 looked like a dolphin swimming. He had to constantly rise and lower his torso to change his altitude. The miniature jet engines in his legs were running at a steady even speed, letting him move about somewhat freely in a perpetual forward motion. "My sensors are indicating that they are still flowing us closely." Orville said bobbing alongside 56. At this speed, maybe around 40 kph, it was still easy to keep up. "No sign of any military grade aircraft though. Seems like the AFR doesnt have any air clearance from the city government. Lucky us!" "Yes, lucky indeed." 56 said eyeing the airspace above. "Let''s get somewhere higher and let them know exactly where we are." "Roger!" Orville shouted as the two ascended sharply into the air. They flew up thirty meters beforeing to a halt. This let them have an excellent view of the immediate area. It also let every drone see exactly where he was. With out to much effort 56 could spot several approaching from multiple directions. His eyes, however, were not looking at the drones, but the grounds below them. "There, that will do the trick." 56 said taking a nosedive towards the ground. There was a small farmers market going on and the traffic there was light. Traveling right for the market was just what he needed. Orville saw what 56 had indicated, based on 56''s trajectory, and let out a moan. "Awe, a trash truck? Can''t we ride in something better? I don''t want produce in my circuits." The trash truck was just then backing up to a dumpster and preparing itself to collect the trash. "We won''t be in it." 56 replied giving a chuckle. He thennded casually into the middle of the market. A few startled shoppers and shop keepers backed away from him. It wasn''t every day you see someone flying without any hover vehicle. "Get the Camera sh bang ready." 56 ordered Orville. "On it." Orville replied. He then rotated down and forwards so that his back panel was facing up towards the sky. A smallpartment door slid open and a silver canister appeared. "Ready!" Orville chirped. "Wait for my say so." 56 said watching the rooftops. Just as he expected, a few drones started to fly over the edges of the roofs. Clearly another rookie mistake. They should have known that when seeing a target go for anding, that one should approach the area with caution and observe before exposing yourself to confront or follow. Seeing that they were stillcking in experience, 56 reacted by giving out his next gamble. "I give up!" 56 shouted up at the buzzing drones while raising his hands upward. "Come get me." Then murmuring to himself he said, "Release Armament." His legs engines immediately turned off and his shins and feet returned to their natural looking positions as the metal closed within a blink of an eye. If one hadn''t known beforehand that he had been flying with his feet, they wouldn''t have seen anything strange about him. Other than he was standing in a marketce with no shoes. Not exactly the most sanitary thing to do. At that moment, a dozen or more drones appeared from over the rooftops. They quickly surrounded 56 and Orville from all sides. They were not capable of shooting anything at him but getting hit by one was not a good idea either. They explode rather well for something so small. "Now!" 56 shouted to Orville. A bright sh exploded from the canister on Orville''s back. The onlookers scattered around the market shrieking and yelling in fear as the light temporarily blinded them. The drones cameras were no exception. They stuttered around in the air as their pilots were also being affected by the light. "Let''s go." 56 said as he grabbed onto Orville and tucked him under his arm. He then sprinted towards the trash truck that was just now leaving to get on the road. The sudden sh drew the drivers attention just long enough for 56 to reach the truck. He dropped onto his knees and neatly rolled under the vehicle, nearer to the rear of the truck. Luckily the electric trash truck still had tires and right was where the spare tire was being kept. Breaking the stic pin holding it into ce, 56 then scooted it out of the way and grabbed onto the underside of the truck. He raised himself up into the gap created by the missing tire with his free hand, while the other he still held onto Orville. Just at the same moment the driver started moving again. 56 could feel the edge of his long green jacket dragging on the ground just a few centimeters from the roads pavement. It was an unnerving feeling and he inwardly hoped that there would be no speed bumps or potholes along the way. The truck drove around the block and started to backup to another dumpster. "Are we going now Boss 56?" Orville asked as the truck stopped in front of the dumpster. "Nope. Let''s go one more stop before we leave. Need to make sure that any lingering drones won''t spot us." 56 replied adjusting his grip. "Osprey drones would have been affected somewhat from the light, but only in that immediate area. We need to go farther to escape out of their line of sight." Luckily, the trash trucks next stop was only three blocks away, at the end of another alleyway. 56 simply let go of the trucks underside andy on the ground. As the truck finished up its trash collection and drove away, 56 let the truck drive right over him. As soon as it did, he jumped up and dashed down the opposite way of the alley. Reaching the street on the far side of the block he again murmured, "Activate Aerial Armament: Stage 1." His feet split, then slid up his shins as the shins split open into four parts. Then the jet engines nestled inside burst into life once more,unching him upward into the air above the street. All within half a second. He didn''t fly high, just high enough to go over any oing ground traffic. He quickly found out his bearings and sped towards the glowing blue light in the sky''s west. There was an odd rumblinging from this direction, he could hear it over the sound of the wind. "Any tracking signals nearby?" 56 asked Orville. "None, Boss! Looks like you tricked them good." Orville replied. "So now I can tell you then." 56 said to Orville, still tucked under his arm. "Every city this size has got four Hunters n lodges on each side of them. Moab City is no exception. If a Twisted Hoard ising, the Hunters will definitely be going out for bounties. We just need to tag along, get over the wall and then fly off for a few days. Let everybody think we''re gone, thene back and fly our ship back to the hideout." "Oh, that make sense." Orville replied giving a beep of understanding. "They won''t see thating." The Hunters n lodge soon came into view and as fortunate would have it, there were three Hunters already outside. Seeing them 56 quickly deactivated his Armament andnded with a soft thud on the empty street. Casually he started walking towards them, along with Orville now freely hovering alongside. "Hey, got room for one more?" 56 called out. The tallest and oldest looking of the three turned to face him. "Who are you?" Dixon asked. "I am just wondering if you Hunters are going to be facing the Twisted. Can I ask you all for a ride over the wall?" 56 said stilling casually closer. "Why would you want to go there? Youre clearly not a Hunter and not really armed forbat." Dixon said looking him over. "Not to mention shoeless." "Yes, my appearance is unsightly, but give me a gun and I''ll prove my worth." 56 said spreading out his arms and giving a smile. "Ah, just ditch this guy Dixon." Sam said a bit annoyed and his hover bike raised another meter higher. "We are wasting time. Look, other Hunters are already taking to the skies." Above them several hundred ck shadows were zooming towards the western walls. Each one represented a Hover Vehicle of some kind, each carrying one or more Hunters. It was confirmed now that a Hoard was present. Not many other things would get this number of Hunters motivated to move out together. "Come on. You can keep everything I kill. Consider it my fee." 56 prodded again. "Fine. Get on. If you fall off it''s on you." Dixon said shaking his head in disbelief. He turned to get into his hover bike and reeved it up. Its electric engines gave an excited purr as power coursed through its wires. "Thank you very much." 56 said hopping onto the t bed Hoover vehicle. As soon as he grabbed hold, Dixon and the others took off. The bikes reached a hundred meters effortlessly in seconds. After the sudden climb they leveled out to fly towards the west wall. "What do we call you, stranger?" Tammy called out to him from her bike. "56 is what you can call me. It''s my nickname." 56 shouted back. "Alright than 56, here!" Tammy called back while tossing a long-barreledser rifle to him. "Once we get closer shoot at the biggest ones. They are worth more!" "Alright!" 56 replied. Then looking down over the edge of the t bed, he saw them. The Twisted Hoard. The sight that he beheld filled him with nervous excitement. There were so many of them, more then ever would have guessed, all charging the blue sma wall of the city. The dust the hoard kicked up appeared to look like a sandstorm sweeping the dessert. Near the back center of the dust cloud was thergest, most monstrous creature he had ever seen. 56 was unsure whether believe what he was seeing was real life or a nightmare. From this height he estimated it to be the length of three Blue Whales and twice as wide. A physical impossibility for and creature, but not for a Hoard Mother! His first thoughts were, "Will the city survive this assault? Or will that thing destroy it first? Also, why did I think this was a good idea?" Chapter 90: Lucky Man Chapter 90: Lucky Man Lisa stretched her thick thigh muscles and let out a sigh while rubbing a bit of dust from her eysh. The fight was definitely a lot hard than she would have wanted it to be. It almost felt like to her that she might be losing her edge. A man of his caliber wouldn''t havested half as long if she had fought him back in World War Three. "At least with my Advance Armament: Stage 1, no one can detect its activation." Lisa thought to herself. "Plus, I didn''t use all my tricks either. My boot knives are still unknown, as well as some of my other skill sets. Still, it would have been nice not have to activate my Armament to fight." She looked around at the others in the room. Benny was happily un-wrinkling several bills he had won from the bets. Sadie was viciously tapping away at her tabloid. She was probably updating Lisa''s statistics, skills for reference and probably trying to find a willing fighter for a future fight. The MFA was definitely a good choice to sign up for, for the moment anyway. However, it was Hanna that drew her attention the most. Hanna looked unexpectedly sad. "She should be happy, right?" Lisa thought. "Hanna,e here." Lisa said patting the floor next to her. Hanna slowly slid off the bench and sat down next to Lisa. She slouched against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "What''s wrong? Are you not excited that your parents are being avenged?" Lisa asked as she scooted a little closer. "Kind of." Hanna mumbled. "It''s just that, well that man wasn''t really responsible for killing them. He was just there to drag us around. Was I responsible for getting him k-killed?" Lisa felt her heart ache slightly. This was a hard question. She herself had asked this many times over in the past. Was killing another person, regardless of the reason or meaning, right? "The easy answer is: Yes, but no, at the same time." Lisa replied after a brief pause. "The hard answer is different to everyone." "How so?" Hanna asked turning to look at Lisa. "Well, for me killing was kind of easy at first." Lisa replied slowly. "Many years ago, I was in the military at a young age. My country was fighting in a great war, where practically everywhere there was some kind of fighting going on. My job was to kill, to kill anyone that would dare harm our families back home. So, I had a purpose, a reason and somemander telling me it was ok to follow through. But after a while, I started to realize that what I was doing was so easy, it was actually bing hard." Lisa paused and took a sip of her water. "I could pull the trigger, kill my target and move on. Only something stuck to me, the faces of every person I killed was burned into my mind. I could draw them right now if I could. I was ending a life. I was seemingly right for doing it, but it still felt wrong. Like was it really mine to take?" "So, what did you do?" Hanna asked. "You still kill people." "Yes, I do still, but I choose why and how." Lisa replied. "In war you should kill the soldier and spare the civilian. One day I saw my own forces killing innocent civilians for fun or out of frustration and I tried to stop them, but I was toote. They were reprimanded for it, but that was all. That was then I knew, only those that deserved death, should have it. I had seen more than enough evil to know that putting them down as truly a favor to the world. Those that didn''t deserve death, however, should be helped." Hanna made a face and scratched her head. "I''m not really sure I get it. How does that help me?" "Look at it this way. You were wronged by them. They killed your parents and as such deserve to be punished. Of course, it doesn''t have to be death, they can be punished other ways. However, you never told me to kill him. I wanted to help you avenge your parents. It was my choice to kill, not yours. That includes Golem too." Lisa said while she put a hand on to Hanna head softly. Then looking Hanna in the eyes Lisa said, "You are not responsible for his death. You are free from that burden." Hanna, upon hearing these words, felt the pressure on her chest lighten considerably. It was as if her own guilt was being washed away by Lisa''s kind words. Yet she still could help but still feel a little bit bad about the killing. "I guess that helps." Hanna said giving a weak smile as she kept thinking Lisa''s words over. "Good. It''s a hard concept to understand. I''m still trying too as well." Lisa replied. Just then there came a knock at the door. The handle turned and door started to slowly creek open. "Um, excuse me?" A male voice timidly called out. "Is this where Queen is?" At that same moment Zane''s head poked into the room. Seeing Lisa sitting right next to the door looking up at him, Zane let out a sigh of relief. "Finally! I had gone to the wrong door three times already. At thest one, a guy chucked a chair at me." "Ah, Zane. d you''re back." Lisa said getting up from the floor. "I was wondering where you went off to. I didn''t see you in the crowd." "I decided to talk to that guy you pointed out and well, I made the bet with him." Zane replieding into the room, and he left the door open behind him. "Well, that''s great!" Lisa said patting him on the arm. "So how much did you make?" "I have nine hundred dors!" Zane replied excitedly pulling out the money from his pocket. "I knew you could do something that simple. You made even more than I expected you to make. You might have a talent for this." Lisa said taking the money to count it. "So, I guess we can get going now. Everyone ready?" "Um, not quite yet." Zane replied. "Why not?" Lisa asked eyeing Zane. "Did you get into trouble somehow?" "I don''t think so." Zane replied slowly. "I met with the man, Mr. McMathers, and he invited me to join him for the fights at a private booth. So, I went with him and it turns out he is very rich and so were all his friends there too. They called themselves betting men or something like that. They were impressed by your fight and wanted to meet you." Then he pointed into the hallway. "Theyre right outside." Lisa raised any eyebrow. "Why do they want to meet me?" "They wanted to hire you to represent them for theirpanies in Match Fights or something like that" Zane said with a shrug. "I said that you could give them an answer. Sorry for the trouble." "They arepany owners?" Lisa said excitedly walking out into the hallway. Then thinking to herself, "This might actually turn out better than I thought. Zane might have just brought me a ticket to getting the money I need!" Standing just outside were four richly dressed older men. At first nce they seemed to be the stuffy snobby types. It was their reaction to Lisa that immediately dashed all such thoughts. "Ah, there sure is. The woman of the hour. I am Dino McMathers." McMathers said approaching Lisa with a smile while extending his wrinkled hand for a handshake. The other three also broke out into smiles and straightened up. "That was a splendid Match you did. Rather impressive. My colleagues and I would like to offer you a proposal. Care to listen?" "Perhaps." Lisa replied taking his hand to shake it firmly. "What is it?" "Let me exin that." The richest dressed of the men saiding forward. His neon purple jacket was quite striking and kind of ridiculous, but clearly worth more than anything Lisa owned. "Before my friend here bores you any longer, let me introduce myself. I am Mr. Cline, Owner of River to Gulf Shipping Co. I am based out of Moab City and conduct trade along the Gulf California and the south western Americas." "And I am Rich Rotters." The red-haired chubby man said interrupting by excitedly stepping between the two. "I own Farm Mech Industrial. I specialize in farming and construction mechs for civilian use. Though thepany is still new, FMI is growing considerably well. One day I hope to be making Mechs just like Titanium Technology Corporation, though with less humanitarian harm of course." Then it was the taller, slim man that introduced himselfst. "Im Charles Goodman. I own Sandstone Winery and Associates, along with the Sensational Sensations Fragrance perfume line. I hope you have used or heard of our products before; they are top quality." "It''s nice to meet you all." Lisa said taken aback by their straightforwardness. She kindly shook hands with each man in turn. "What do I owe the pleasure?" "Well, our proposal it that we wish to hire you." McMathers replied before the others could get in theirments. "We saw how well you conducted your fights and want you to represent us to fight in Match Fights. You could consider us your sponsors, so to speak." "Really? You want me to represent you four?" Lisa said a bit surprised. "Don''t you think that with me being so low ranked that it won''t help you all much. Besides, don''t you already have Fighters to represent you?" "Yes, we do have other Fighters." Mr. Goodman replied. "It''s just that, as betting men, we would never miss out on a chance to increase our odds." "My friend here is right." Mr. Cline replied in turn. "We would be foolish to let such potential talent get away from us so easily." "Well, I am d that you see me as talented, but what would being hired by any of you entail? Would I have to leave this town?" Lisa asked turning to nce at Hanna who was watching from the doorway behind her. Lisa also noticed the Benny and Sadie were also watching what was going on. Sadie appeared especially excited and was bouncing up and down on her toes, while judging her expression behind her tabloid. From her reaction, Lisa could guess that this opportunity was likely incredibly good. "Most likely." McMathers replied with a nod. "Fights that we would be challenged to be in happen all around in many ces. Arenas like this are a rarer thing to find in these parts. Really all a Match Fight needs are Fighters, Managers and witnesses." "I see." Lisa said giving it some though. "I hope this won''t be an inconvenience to you all, but I would like to think things over. I am tired from the fighting and need some more time to collect my thoughts." "Oh, that won''t be any trouble at all." McMathers replied. "I n on staying in the area for a few days." Then he leaned forward to whisper, "I trying to hide from my wife." He the chuckled and leaned back. Lisa let out a grin. "That''s understandable." "The same goes for us." Mr. Cline said. "We all came together and nned on leaving after noon tomorrow for Moab City. The Market here asionally has something''s we might find interesting and we visit often." "Yes, it''s hard finding an unsanctioned area such this Mad Dogpound that we can peruse items of interest with such ease. The three governments have been cracking down a lottely on our trade, including our legal ventures." Mr. Goodman said shaking his head. "Alright then. I guess we can meet up tomorrow there, in the Market." Lisa said looking around at the four men. "We have a deal." Mr. Cline said giving a light bow. "We shall see you then." The four men then turned to leave the hallway and Lisa turned to grab Zane around his neck in a one-armed hug. "You are one lucky man!" Lisa said with excitement. "I knew I felt your potential when I first saw you." "W-what do you mean?" Zane asked. He was surprised by her getting so close to him and felt his face get hot, which was totally unexpected. "You survived your fight, survived the river, survived your wounds, made me money and now you have given me a shot at some really good money! How can you not be lucky?" Lisa said pulling him into the locker to join the others. "I was right to have you work for me." Xander was still watching the cameras and saw everything that had taken ce. It wasn''t anything special. He had seen businessmen, like those four, try scouting potential Match Fighters before. Nothing they did even seemed suspicious. "Perhaps I am over thinking things." Xander mumbled. "But I am not convinced yet. She didn''t go with them or sign anything. Meaning she might have an alternative n in mind. I just can''t shake this feeling that she is going to be trouble." Then he turned to leave the security room. "Perhaps Jackson can find out more for me." Xander said giving a chuckle. "He sure is easy to trick into telling me what I want. Chapter 91: Manager Under Pressure Chapter 91: Manager Under Pressure Saul couldn''t understand it, his best Fighter gone. Golem had utterly lost and was now dead at his feet. Golems body had been collected from the busted-up stage and covered up with arge sheet. Several fellow gang members had assisted with removing his huge bulk and even removed all the armor. Though he was a mute bodyguard for the boss and aggressive at times, he wasnt exactly hated by the gang members. "The Boss is going to fire me for this." Saul grumbled. "Why did you have to go and ke on me like that? Golem, turns out you were a waist of my time." He looked up at the gangsters around him. "Go burry him already. I got to go see the boss." Turning to go, he then hurried off angrily. Ignoring the boos from the receding crowd he disappeared under the stands and headed down the hallway to the passages used solely by the gang. What he didn''t expect to see was Jackson was already waiting for him. "Jackson. What do you want?" Saul called to Jackson. He stopped a cautious few meters away and crossed his arms. Jackson might just oversee financial stuff for the gang, but he''s still a lieutenant and dangerous. Jackson had just lit a cigarette and let out a big puff of smoke before replying calmly. "Pretty sure the boss is giving you another shot. So, no need to worry, just yet. He wouldn''t waist our best Manager over a loss like that." "Youre not messing with me?" Saul asked seemingly unconvinced. "Naw, there''s no need for me to do that." Jackson replied putting the cigarette into his mouth and turned to go down the rest of the hallway. "Come on. Let''s go talk to Rickshaw about the next fight against Queen. You''re going to be working with the triplets." Saul was surprised hearing this and quickly followed after Jackson. "The triplets? Those three are a hassle. Last time I tried doing anything with them they just messed around. I told them what to expect when fighting their opponents, but they did their own thing. If they hadn''t won every time they fought, I would take them forplete fools!" "Ya, they are a handful." Jackson said giving a grin. "You better learn to handle them anyway. They are probably your only hope this time." "D***, this just sucks!" Saul uttered angrily. "I should have learned more about Queens skills and technique. I just got too cocky and didn''t think about it." "Hey, stuff happens." Jackson replied while puffing another puff of smoke. Just then they arrived at the entrance to the Training Room. Opening the door, they found that no one was working out and so they headed straight for the offices in the back. They found Rickshaw in his office, buried in paperwork. The ss door to the office was propped open and Jackson gave it a quick rap as he entered. "Rickshaw, I take it you heard the news?" "Heard it? I watched the whole thing." Rickshaw said ncing up from his desk. "That was quite the show. Pity you waisted Golem like that Saul. I expected better from you." "Whatever, Queen was simply better than I thought. Won''t happen again and that''s a fact." Saul replied hotly. "The boss wants him to pair up with the triplets to fight Queen. You think it will work out?" Jackson cut in before the two could argue. "Ah, it''s hard to say. Those three aren''t even here in thepound anymore. They been living in some mansion down by the south eastern golf course." Rickshaw replied. He stood up and arched his back and a few stifled pops and cracks could be heard. "I hate doing all this paperwork. I would rather be doing Manager stuff right now. Training, sparring and working out, now that suits me much better." "Well, you''re not anymore. I am doing that job now." Saul said with a smirk. Rickshaw might be old, but the look he gave Saul made his smile falter slightly. There was a growl in Rickshaw''s voice as he spoke. "Shut up punk. Either I help you or you fail, and Martinez will see you finished. Don''t bite the hand that feeds you." "Whatever" Saul said looking away. "Ill listen to your advice." "Good, now take a seat." Rickshaw said grumpily motioning to the seat in front of him. "Jackson, anything else you need from me before I start talking?" Jackson took the cigarette out of his mouth and snuffed it out into an ash tray on the desk. "No. I think this about covers it. I''ll leave you two alone." "Alright, see youter then. Oh, and close the door on your way out. Don''t want to distract the others working outside." Rickshaw said as Jackson was turning to go. Jackson waved over his shoulder to him and closed the ss door softly behind him. "Now listen carefully." Rickshaw said to the huffy Saul. "Here are some tips for you to try and teach the triplets. No matter how cocky they are. I watched Queens fight and saw something''s that would make her vulnerable in a fight." Saul perked up hearing this. "Like what?" "I tell you, so pay attention. They were subtle, but I saw them." Rickshaw said leaning forward to rest his elbows on the desk. Saul leaned forward as well, while thinking to himself, "Alright! Now to get my chance to get some real revenge on the Queen! Like they say, Third times the charm!" The door closed behind Jackson and he let out a sigh. Saul was definitely acting the fooltely; a screw up like this was bound to happen. Jackson was then about to leave the office room, when one of the workers in the room approached him. It was Nicky. "What''s going on in there?" Nicky asked standing slightly in Jackson''s way and passively forcing him to stop. Jackson looked down at the blond woman in front of him. Normally a bold, pretty woman like this would be rather attractive to him, but he knew that Nicky was someone to be careful of. It wasn''t any secret that Nicky''s rival managers had all sumbed to some unfortunate ident or mishap that ruined their careers. Nicky had uncanny ambition. "Nothing that concerns you. Now excuse me, I have work to do." Jackson said trying to step around her. "Awe, don''t be like that. Just tell me." Nicky said making a pouty face. "You know that if something happened to Saul, especially after that lose, I am going to be his recement. No one else here is as good as I am." "That remains to be seen." Jackson said with a sigh. "There are plenty of veteran managers that can fill the position." "Pfft, as if." Nicky replied flipping her shoulder length blond hair out her face. "My record speaks for itself. Not one of my Fighters have lost a Match yet. I know how to set up the fights, so I wille out on top. Saul, he just sends out the strongest guy every time to pound out hispetition. He''s got no strategy." "Perhaps, but Queen was a special case this time." Jackson said with a shrug. "If she keeps up her winning streak than it''s going to make her Manager, Sadie, look good. She might attract some attention away from you." An angry expression danced in Nicky''s blue eyes, yet her face remained pleasant looking. "That little mouse is nothing. Sadie probably had nothing to do with that win and just got lucky with a capable fighter. If, and I mean if, anyone wants her as a manager, they will lose for sure." The door behind Nicky opened up and Jackson looked over her to see that Xander wasing in. "Hold on, Nicky. We will have to discuss thister." Nicky turned around to ir at Xander. "Fine. You will see I am right in the end." She said giving a huff and walked back to her desk. She then sat there in her seat and eyed the two men suspiciously. "I hope I wasn''t interrupting anything." Xander saiding in and giving a nce at Nicky. "No, it was nothing." Jackson replied. "What are you doing here?" "Just came to ask you some questions is all. Nothing serious." Xander replied spreading his hand out dismissively. "Should we talk here or somewhere nicer." He gave another quick sideways nce at Nicky. "We wouldn''t want to interrupt those working here." "Let''s go elsewhere." Jackson replied. The two men left the office room and slowly walked alongside each other in the hallway. Behind them, two of Xander''s security detail followed closely behind. Jackson paid them no attention as they talked. "So, what do you know of this Queen?" Xander probed. "I know you spoke with her before, has she got any ns or something? I am sure you offered her something and she turned it down." "Why are you asking?" Jackson replied feeling annoyed already. Xander was always too intrusive, watching everything anyone did around here. "Oh, just to be sure of her intentions. I caught her peeping at a gentleman''s purchase in the Market. Normally a Match Fighter wouldn''t pay any attention to something like that. I don''t want her to turn out to be a spy from some organization that''s trying to shut us down." Xander said casually with his seductive scratchy voice. "It''s not often a woman of her type shows up around here. At least not without a reason." Jackson mostly knew the reason why Queen was here. To fight Martinez and supposedly make money. Her mentioning of itst time when they spoke almost sounded like she was holding back on something, but he didn''t know what that might be. However, if he did know what it was what she truly wanted, then he surely wasn''t going to tell Xander. "She talked a lot about how she wanted to be rich or something like that." Jackson replied after a momentary pause. "Though she didn''t like the offer I made to her. Seemed like she had some n for the future." "Hmm, interesting." Xander said tapping the side of his head as they continued slowly walking. "She did also talk about buying things from the market to me as well. Perhaps her motives are just as simple as that." "If you say so." Jackson replied. Then he recalled that a few days before Golems fight that Saul had mentioned that Queen was staying at the old dam. Perhaps she intended on getting that worthless ce working and somehow make electricity. What she was nning to do with it was beyond him. This, along with the information about her fighting Martinez, he decided to keep to himself. "Do you think she still has any chance of joining our side?" Xander asked changing the topic. "Not likely. She acted like she wanted to do things on her own." Jackson replied shaking his head. "I gave her the Manager, Sadie, to try and deter her, but it seems like that idea was a bust." "Ah, yes, Sadie. That woman is most unreliable in my opinion. From the security footage I have seen of her, she is clumsy and forgetful at times. I would have done the same." Xander replied giving a sly grin. "So, is that all you wanted from me?" Jackson asked. He was ready to get away from Xander. Every second was stifling to him. "Yes, for the most part. Thanks for your help. I was simply curious about what Queen might really be doing." Xander replied and he abruptly stopped walking. Jackson took a step past Xander and turned around. "Though my curiosity has been quelled, I still feel like she can''t be trusted." Xander said to Jackson. "I''ll leave her to you though. She has lost my interest, for now." "Alright then. Later." Jackson said turning sharply around and walking away. Xander watched him slowly recede down the hallway. Then thinking to himself as he too turned to leave the opposite direction, "You were hiding something, Jackson. I wonder what it could be. You dodged my first bit of questions with that pause before you replied. A tell tail sign of a lie. Don''t worry I''ll learn what it was." Chapter 92: A Second Fighter Chapter 92: A Second Fighter "So that brings our total winnings to a thousand eight hundred dors." Lisa said neatly stacking the paper money into two equal piles on the locker room floor. "As well as potential financial supporters and a win for Hanna too. This was a great day for us all!" "I agree!" Benny said patting his pocket with a grin. The cash inside felt good to him. Being poor all the time wasn''t enjoyable, to say the least. "So, what is the n now, Lisa? Those rich men made a tempting offer." "Well, I am not too sure yet. It might not be in my best interest to leave here. After all, with the dam being unupied and the townpletely without power, I sense Ill be missing a chance to get some real stable ie." Lisa replied. Then she nced at Hanna. "Besides, I have unfinished business here." "What about after you help me?" Hanna asked quietly. "Hmm, I''ll cross that bridge when I get there." Lisa replied. "Come on. We better get going. John is probably getting worried." The five of them gathered up everything they had brought with them and soon left the locker. They made their way across the Arena floor without anyone speaking to them. The stands had cleared out and only the janitors remained. Reaching the exit from the Warehouse Arena they also found that nearly everyone here too was already gone. A few people were in the market area, but it too was nearly empty already. "Where does everyone disappear off too? Better yet, how do they even get here without the townspeople seeing theme and go?" Benny asked. "I think some of them leave by boat." Sadie answered. "Though I doubt all of them do. After the fights I was always filling paperwork and other stuff for the MFA. So, I never paid them much attention." "You really that interested? I might tell you." A voice called out from behind them. Turning around they all saw a young man leaning up against the Warehouse''s outer wall. He brushed a lock of brown hair out of his eyes as he got off the wall to approach them. He came towards them with his hands still in his jean pockets and he also had on a ck hoody, with the gangs symbol on its front, pulled over his head. Though he appeared to be acting casual, Lisa could tell this guy was ready to strike. The vibe he omitted was that of a coiled snake ready tosh out. "What do you want?" Lisa asked stepping towards him. The man stopped walking and gave a passive looking smile. "Awe, don''t be like that Queen. Is that how you treat someone offing their help?" "No, it''s just me being cautious." Lisa replied. "Wait I know him." Sadie remarked. "You''re Ernest, right? You are the newest lieutenant of the Mad Dogs." "Bingo, littledy." Ernest said taking his hands out of his pockets to give her two thumbs up. "At least someone knows about me. I couldn''t help but overhear yourments and thought I''d help out." "So, you do know then?" Sadie replied. "Of course, but if I tell you, you need to answer a question of mine." Ernest replied putting his hands back into his pockets. "Of course, there''s a catch." Zane murmured from behind Lisa. "I know his type to well." "Let''s hear it anyway." Lisa replied. She was also curious as to how they were leaving the area. It mighte in handyter on in case if things ever went wrong. "If you go on the other side of the bank building, you''ll see threergending pads. Small Hover Shipsnd there to transport those visiting here. The ships take them up to the clouds where the visitors have parked their own private Hover Ships." Ernest replied. The listeners all looked up towards the sparsely cloud decorated sky above but saw nothing. "I don''t believe you." Benny scoffed. "I been here all my life and never seen anything like that." Ernest let out a mockingugh. "That''s because their ships are equipped with optical camouge and Quantum Stealth tech. Cameras on top of the ships copy the sky above and project it on the Ships underside and the Quantum light refraction basically deletes the ships shadow. Just what I would expect from a wilderness bumpkin like you. You all know nothing!" Ernest said shaking his head while appearing to hold back moreughter. "Optical camouge, Hover Ships and Quant-what?" Zane remarked. "What are those things?" "Oh my god! You serious? You are freaking stupid!" Ernest saidughing again. "Hey, I can''t help that I don''t know." Zane grumbled. "We don''t have fancy things like that around here. You better knock it off." Ernest stoppedughing and red at Zane. "Did you just tell me to do something, freaking bumpkin?" "Ya, I told you to stopughing at us." Zane replied agitatedly. This dude looked younger than him by a few years and he didnt like guys that were know-it-alls. Suddenly, Ernest let out a flicking motion with his right hand as it appeared out from his jeans pocket, sending a sliver streak towards Zane. Zane saw it but couldn''t react in time. Time seemed to stop as a thin dagger point rested just in between Zane''s eyes. Taking a stumbling step back, Zane saw that Lisa had caught the projectile. If she hadnt, he would probably be dead. He felt a small bead of sweat roll down his temple. "Tch, almost had you." Ernest said sounding annoyed. "No one tells me what to do. Lucky for you that a woman was here to protect you." "W-why you little" Zane stammered feeling anger welling up in himself. Lisa''s hand stopped him from moving forward. "Now is not the time. Let it go." Lisa growled at him. She pushed him backwards a step and focused back on Ernest. "Nice trick. That won''t work on me though." Lisa said tossing the small dagger back at Ernest''s feet. It sunk easily into the grassy ground, just centimeters from Ernest left shoe. "I wasn''t really trying." Ernest replied giving a shrug,pletely unfazed by what Lisa did. "Want to see me really try?" "Since you answered our question, what''s yours?" Lisa replied ignoring the threat. "Ha, fine." Ernest replied. "I want to know why you pointed at us after the fight. You got some kind of grudge against us?" "Not me in particr." Lisa replied. "I just am here to do two things. Make money and fight your boss, Martinez. I understand he''s the strongest one here and beating him would make things easier for me." "Why''s that?" Ernest asked quickly. He didn''t seem all that worried about thisment and just eyed her cautiously from under his ck hood. "I need manpower. The gang has enough men to spare for my ns." Lisa replied. "So, you want to be the new boss I take it? I cant let you do that. A bunch of country fools can''t lead us real gangsters." Ernest said ncing at Zane. Zane grimaced back, but Ernest simply ignored him and looked back at Lisa. "If you say so." Lisa replied. "But I think things will change that will end up working in my favor." "Whatever." Ernest said rolling his eyes. "I am getting bored now. So, I am going to find someone worth my time." Saying this he picked up his dagger and casually walked away. He was heading towards therge Bank next to the Warehouse and Lisa took note of it. "I really don''t like that guys attitude!" Zane said tightening his fist. "I want to smash his smug face into the dirt." "I don''t think that''s a good idea." Lisa said looking at Zane. "That guy is definitely better than you." "Well then teach me to fight him! I finally know for sure that you are the one to be my new boss. I learned a lot today, more than I probably have in thest year." Zane replied feeling hurt buy Lisas remark. "Besides he''s not the only one I have an issue with." "You sure? I would rather you just ce bets for me. Besides your still injured." Lisa asked. "Yes, teach me!" Zane replied with a serious expression. "Fine." Lisa said with a sigh. "Sadie, how about you make him a Match Fighter too. Might as well make money off him for all this extra effort." Sadie looked surprised. "What? I don''t really think I can just make him one. There''s rules and the submission form that Rickshaw has approve" Sadie looked at the expectant Zane and let out a sigh. "But I can try. If that''s what you want." "Yes, I do." Zane replied giving a serious nod. "My other opponent is a Match Fighter anyway. He is in the Mountain League, like Golem was. So, I have to get stronger if I want to face him." "A Mountain League Fighter?" Sadie said curiously. "What was his name?" "Dilly." Zane replied. Sadie lifted up her tabloid and tapped away for a few moments. Her eyebrows raised noticeably as she apparently found what she was looking for. "I think that if you really n on fighting this guy, you better be a Match Fighter." Sadie said looking up at Zane. "You are going to need it. Your skills are far outmatched. Never seen Dilly fight, but his stats and record are incredible." "Alright then, that settles it." Lisa said turning to go towards thepounds exit. "Tomorrow I''ll talk to the rich guys, while Sadie and Zane go get him approved. Now let''s go. I am starving!" They all started to head towards the exit together. Hanna had been remaining silent all this time. She couldn''t shake her unsettled feelings of seeing Golem''s deathpletely from her thoughts. Hanna sighed inwardly as her thoughts wandered. "Could I have had the courage to face someone like that? Probably not. I am not as tough as Aunt Lisa or Zane. Maybe if I were older and bigger I would, but I don''t think I really could actually kill a person." Suddenly, there was a chilling presence behind her. Turning around she saw a man with a cowboy hat with two big dogs off their leads. She didn''t recognize the man, but the dogs she sure did. They were the same that were sent after her to kill her! Feeling scared once again, she turned and ran to catch up to the rest. She grabbed Benny''s hand and stood close to him. Hanna then nced cautiously back at them, to make sure they weren''ting after her again. Rodney heard one of his dogs let out a low growl. He stopped and looked down at the big, muscr dog. The other simrly sized dog stopped as well and looked at the growling dog curiously. ncing around, Rodney saw that it was looking at a small group of people leaving thepound. "What do you smell, Cooper?" Rodney asked the dog. The big brown dog, Cooper, continued looking at the people and growled again. This time the other dog, Zeus, joined in. Rodney studied the group of people carefully. He recognized Queen right away, but Cooper hadn''t a reason to bother with her. Then he noticed the muddy red hair of the little girl with them. Though he couldn''t quite remember where he had seen her before, because of the mask and hat, the dogs definitely did. "Hmm, interesting. I wonder why you two don''t like her. Did you hunt that girl before?" Rodney asked the dogs. Then Cooper let out a sneeze and turned to walk away, as if no longer interested. "If you think it''s nothing, I''ll let it go. But you don''t normally act like that." Rodney took another look at the group. "Ah, it''s nothing to worry about. Its just some kid anyway. Come on, let''s go home." Hanna saw that Rodney and the two scarry dogs were leaving. She let out a sigh of relief. Benny heard it and looked down at Hanna. "You ok Hanna?" "Ya, just ready to leave here." Hanna replied tightening her grip on his hand. It wasn''t until they finally left thepound did Hanna really start to calm down. It seemed like she had missed another close call. Chapter 93: Representing the ERM Chapter 93: Representing the ERM Mrs. Smithy, Treasurer of the ERM, had been having a hard time with her assignment. She had spent thest two days on the west side of the river looking for a merchant that would buy scrap metal from the East River Militia. So far no one was willing to deal with the militia. Every time she mentioned who she represented the merchants would turn her away. Today was the third day and if she couldn''t find anyone to sell too, she would have to ry the bad news to Nathan and the rest of the Committee. What would happen from there was anyone''s guess. The people were already going to be struggling to survive as summer approached and this loss of ie wasnt going to help matters. The pressure to not fail them drove her old soul onward to reach her goal. Mrs. Smithy originally started speaking to the merchants that traded directly across from the ERM headquarters. After being rejected she tried going further south along the docks, but once reaching the Skull territory she decided to turn back. They were far scarier than she first believed. They too event turned her away without even letting her enter their docking area. So that only left the far north merchants to trade with. Even though she knew the Mad Dog gang was situated strongly here, she had to test her luck. At least there they wouldn''t be as strict to outsiders, she hoped at least. The first of the merchants she met were no different than the others. Hearing that she represented the ERM, theyughed and said that they wouldn''t risk trading with a smallpetitor for the towns control. The Mad Dogs provided enough pay to keep them loyal. Disheartened Mrs. Smithy moved on. The docks beyond this point started to degrade in quality and size. The wood was rotted, concrete pilings were chipping, and the boats tied up here were basically rusting away. This truly was thest stop for any trader on the river. "Mrs. Smithy?" One of her four guards said tapping her shoulder. "I think it''s bing a lost cause. Perhaps we should turn back and trying up with a different solution." Mrs. Smithy sighed. "Not yet. We must find someone to sell our scrap metals too. Once we reach the very end should we give up. I had been surviving in this town far longer than you have been alive. I don''t n on quitting now." "As you say." The ERM guard replied giving a shrug. The five of them then headed towards another group of merchants unloading a small metal barge. Mrs. Smithy put on a bold face and prepared to convince them to buy from her. Lisa had woken up early, in fact it was much earlier than normal. The sun had yet to break the horizon and only its orange glow lit up the ck eastern sky. After leaving her bed she gently walked out of the Powerhouse building and out onto the dam. Sitting precariously on the dams edge, she overlooked the faded dark waters of the Colorado River snake off into the early morning darkness. The air was cool and still. The breeze had yet to wake up as well. Though the air felt cool, it did not feel as nippy as days past. Springtime was getting ever closer and soon the heat from the southern desert would be here in no time. Along with the heat woulde even more hardships for the town. Lisa sighed and talked softly to herself. "I need to get the power running for the townspeople. Marry was always talking about having air conditioning and I am sure she''s not the only one. There is so much to do around here. Looks like stopping here turned out to be harder than I thought." Lisa then started to look over her arms and legs carefully. Though these parts were not her real flesh and bone and couldn''t be injured in the normal sense, they still could be scratched up or dinted. The skin-colored paint on her prosthetics was from the most durable and advanced paint the AFR military had to offer. Damage resistant, fade proof and with a lifetime guarantee; it should havested her longer. On her knees were the old scratches that John had first noticed when they met. They were from her escape from Salt Lake City. When the AFR raid started, she was trapped inside a warehouse that was supposed to have her merchandise inside. By some gang she never heard of the Reapers, apparently, they had stolen her items hours before. To escape from the building, she had to forcibly knock down a few walls to do so. Then after escaping through the city she had to jump over and down many rooves, bridges and spillways. Several times she had to perform a superheronding to absorb the impact after jumping from mind boggling heights. Thanks to all that she escaped the AFR forces mostly unseen. Looking closer Lisa spotted small hairline scratches on her forearm and shins, especially where her clothing and body suit didn''t cover herself up. If her skin condition continued to get worse it was only a matter of time until some of her secrets would be exposed. "I should probably go down to the docks this morning before I got to meet up with those rich men." Lisa continued speaking softly to herself. "I''ll try to find some paint to touch up myself. It won''tst long, but it would be better than nothing. Maybe I''ll find something interesting to buy or a part for the dam I need." After saying that, the blood red edge of the sun rising broke the horizon. A ray of light illuminated the dark earth, revealing the red and tan rocks below. She could help but admire the country''s south westernndscapes beauty and charm. Living on the east coast all her life, she had always been surrounded by green forests and grassy meadows. Here it felt barren, dry and lonely, but somehow still full of adventure. Turning to get off the dam wall, she then headed back to wake the others for breakfast. The day before, since they had more money now, Sadie proposed that they buy food that wouldst them a while. She had gotten tired of feeling hungry all the time and Lisa had to agree. It was a hard life for them out here. She couldn''t fathom how the townspeople had survived this way for so long. After waking Sadie and Zane they ate breakfast and tried to clean up around the Powerhouse building. Dust, dirt and clutter was everywhere. Little by little, they did what they could to keep things clean. Yet until they repaired the building itself, the ce would never stay cleaned. "Hey, guys." Lisa said to the other two and everyone stopped moving. "I am going to go down to the docks and look around for a few hours." "Alright." Sadie replied putting armful of trash into a bin they were using to haul trash away with. "While you are gone, Zane and I can work on getting his Match Fighter paperwork filled out." "Ok, see you soon." Lisa said as she turned to leave. The walk down to the docks was pleasant. The sun was beating warmly now, and the breeze was light. It reminded her of the day before she arrived here in town. Except she didn''t feel nearly as exhausted or thirsty like back then. Upon passing through the red roofed storage units, before reaching the docks, she wondered what they might be hiding. Their faded red doors seemed to be hiding potentially fascinating secrets. "Another day." Lisa thought as she passed them by. Once reaching the old wooden docks, Lisa took her time and looked over the items for sale. Just like before, when Sadie hade with her, the merchandise was nearly same. Useless. No matter where she looked and who she talked too, no one was selling paint either. Then she recalled that when she couldn''t find those mattress''s, the old man from Ulster''s Shop had them. Perhaps he might have paint. Turning a blind eye to the rest of themon ce items for sale, she headed in the direction of the rickety shop. When she came within sight of the shop, Lisa saw the old man sitting on a create by the door. He appeared to be gazing out at the river waterpping the undersides of the docks in front of him. Today was definitely a perfect day to daydream too. "Hey there old timer!" Lisa called out to him. The old man shifted his gaze to see Lisa waving at him. "Why hello there, missy. What can this old bag of bones do for you?" "Well, seeing as I had good luck with you before, I would try my luck here again." Lisa said stopping next to him. "I need paint. Not just any paint, mind you, but paint the same color as my skin." The old man raised his brow, and it created a series of wrinkles doubling what he already had. "Paint the same color as your skin? That''s an odd request." The old man lifted up his cane and stood up slowly. He then turned towards the door to the shop. "Let me go check. Paint hasn''t been a popr item around here. So, if I do have some it''ll be buried under the rest of my useful junk." "Need me to help?" Lisa asked. "Hmm, no need too." The old man chuckled as he slowly shuffled inside the dimly lit building. "I know where to look." Lisa looked around the dock area as she waited. Further down the dock ahead of her was two small t bottomed sailboats unloading supplies inrge creates. A group of merchants was gathered at one spot at the dock and appeared to be having a conversation. From here she could catch odd bits and pieces of the conversation. "Sell scrap metal from some kind of new militia? You''re joking. If the Mad Dogs find I am helping apetitor, I''ll lose my contract with them." One of the men said. The others in the group all nodded and voiced their agreement. All except for an older woman with small ck rimmed sses precariously sitting on the tip of her nose. "I assure you that we will pay the appropriate price. Also, that if you do work with us there is a chance to expand our sales and exclusive purchases with you." The old woman said trying he best to sound convincing. "Sorry. Go try your chances elsewhere." Another merchant replied waving her away. "I got to go back to work. I''m done here." Another said leaving the group. The other men all grunted out simr excuses and left leaving the old woman and four men alone. The four men appeared to be disappointed by the conversation and hung their heads as they followed the olddy. However, the olddy kept her head up and walked confidently in Lisa''s direction. Lisa thought curiously to herself. "I wonder why they turned her down. Sounded like a decent offer to me." Then just as they were about to pass by, Lisa called out to her. "Excuse me. I overheard some of your conversation with those men. Are you trying to sell something?" The old woman stopped and looked Lisa over. "Youre not a Merchant by the looks of your clothing, but I''ll indulge you." "Thanks." Lisa replied forcing a friendly smile. This olddy had some spunk. "I wish to sell junk metal to anyone willing to form a long-term contract with me. My name is simply Mrs. Smithy and I represent the East River Militia. A new faction that is inmand of the town on the other side of this river." "The East River Militia?" Lisa thought to herself. "That''s the same group that had fought with Zane and his gang. If she''s here, then they definitely won." "Selling scrap metal. Why would you do that?" Lisa asked her. "Doesn''t your Militia have anything better to sell? After all you im to control that whole area." "It is true we control the eastern area, but weck the necessary means of production. As well as the funds or power to attempt to start one up. So, we are forced to resort to selling junk." Said Mrs. Smithy exining the matter rather tly. "Interesting." Lisa said tapping her chin in thought. Then she had an idea. "You said that youcked power. Do you mean electric power?" "Yes, that is correct." Mrs. Smithy nodded slowly. "You also want to sell the metal to someone that can transport it south too, I suspect?" Lisa asked again. "That is expected." Mrs. Smithy replied. "Alright then. Well, I might be able to help you with all that then." Lisa said with a wide grin. "I might not have the money to buy the metal now, but I can introduce you to someone who can. I have a meeting with a Mr. Cline and some others about certain things. Mr. Cline runs River to Gulf Shipping Co. It''s possible I can convince him to invest in you." Lisa had a lucky break! Here was her chance to start making some good money and another reason to continue staying here to help Hanna. This was a clear venture to potentially start up trade, a must for any aspiring merchant! Chapter 94: Introductions Chapter 94: Introductions Mrs. Smithy was surprised. She didn''t expect that this random, tall young woman to make such an offer, but she had some spections. This seemed far too coincidental. "Are you or this Mr. Cline, not worried about the Mad Dogs interfering? After all we would be viewed as a rival." Mrs. Smith asked pressing her ck rimmed sses up her nose some. After being turned down so many times for that very reason, she had to ask to be sure. "I know that the gang can try if they felt inclined to, but I could care less about them. In fact, I''ll be trying to get them to work for me in time." Lisa replied nonchntly. "That won''t be for a while though. I am still on decent terms with them right now." "Hmm, if you say so?" Mrs. Smithy replied still skeptical. She took Lisasment as her just blowing smoke and then asked, "And Mr. Cline? What would his view of this be?" "I don''t think he will be worried about them either, but you''ll have to ask him yourself." Lisa replied confidently. Then from behind her came the tapping of a cane. Lisa looked back to see the old man holding a small can in his wrinkled hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but I might have found what you''re looking for." The old man said holding up the can to Lisa. "Excuse me." Lisa said motioning to Mrs. Smithy to wait. Then she turned back to the old man. "Let''s have a look at it." Taking the small paint can Lisa lifted it up to inspect. Thebel was worn out and the words around the edges of the paper were mostly gone, but what was legible made her delighted. It was nearly the correct color as her skin, but the type of paint was even more important. "How did youe by this?" Lisa asked trying hide her enthusiasm. The old man stroked his silver balding head in thought before replying. "I think it was three years ago. A Hover Ship crashed out in the desert south of town. Some looters went out to investigate and this was one of the items they couldn''t sell around here. So, they left it and I took it. Just in case of an event like this ever happened." "So, you don''t really know what it is?" Lisa asked reaching into her pants pocket for her money. "Not really." The old man replied shaking his head. Its just paint, right? "This is military grade skin tone paint! It''s used by special forces to disguise themselves as another person and blend in with the popce." Lisa exined. She then took out of her pocket a folded ten-dor bill and handed it to the man. "I paid twenty dors for three mattressesst time. I give you ten for this little can. I trust you understand that it''s worth quite a nice bit." "I do now." The old man replied taking the money without a single thought. "If Ie across more would you be interested?" "Of course." Lisa replied nodding fervently. "Send Tom to get me if you do. He knows where I am staying at." "Will do. Now I''ll leave you so you can get back to thedy waiting behind you." The old man replied with a smile as he turned to go back in his shop. "See you soon and thank you." Lisa replied and then turned to face Mrs. Smithy. "Well now, back to our conversation." "I had given it some thought, and Ill have toply." Mrs. Smithy replied. "It might seem like a long shot to me but allow me to meet him please." "Excellent!" Lisa replied. "If you want, we can get going right now. I must meet up with two others and then we all can go to the meeting. Neither ce is a far walk from here. So, no need to worry about time." "That''s not an issue. We have all day, so lead the way." Mrs. Smithy said gesturing ahead of them. Lisa nodded politely and did just that. "Oh, where are my manners!" Lisa said turning to walk backwards. "My nickname is Queen. After the meeting I will introduce myself properly. Wouldn''t want you to slip up and mention my real name just yet. They still know me only as Queen. Also, don''t mention the ERM until the meeting starts, just to be on the safe side." "I guess I can do that. Nice to meet you, Queen." Mrs. Smithy replied giving a small smile. Clearly, she had questions as to why use a nickname, but she stayed silent for now. It was probably best that she leaves matters that were not her concern alone for now. After a short walk down the docks and through the storage units area, the six of them arrived at the dams Powerhouse building. Mrs. Smithy looked around questionably, as did her four guards. The tall, barbed wire fence and blockade of pilled cars looked rather imposing and dangerous. "What are we doing here? Is this some kind of joke?" Mrs. Smithy said pointing at the piles of cars and metal at the entrance. "Not at all." Lisa replied going up to the pile. She reached around a hidden hole and unlocked the makeshift door to let them all in. "This is where I and my friends are staying at the moment. This barricade is just to keep others out. After all, who doesn''t want to protect ones home?" Pushing the metal door aside with a metallic grown of protest, Lisa stepped inside. "Mrs. Smithy if anything happens get behind me immediately." One of the ERM guards whispered to her. Mrs. Smithy nodded in reply and the took a nervous step through the doorway. She had no idea what to expect on the other side. Once inside, she started to feel silly. The area lookedpletely normal. She half expecting to see some kind of barbaric disy or cultic scribbles, but the area was clean and orderly. A small campfire was smoldering in the parking lot with a pot on it. Off to the west side of the fenced in area was a pile of random metal and wood. Nothing else seemed suspicious. "Sadie, Zane! You guys ready to go?" Lisa called out towards the main building. Mrs. Smithy looked over towards the entrance and saw two young peopleing out to them. They too, lookedpletely normal. "Why am I so worked up?" Mrs. Smithy thought. "I guess seeing the tattooed Skull yesterday is still creeping me out. I need to rx once I get back to the east side of the river." "I think we are ready, for the most part." Sadie saiding up first. "Zane''s paperwork is filled out. It''s just that, he needs his weapons. Just like you did, he will have to fight someone to prove that he can be in the MFA." She then looked past Lisa and noticed the five people looking at them for the first time. "Uh, who are they?" "These people are interested in making a deal with Mr. Cline." Lisa replied with a broad grin. It was best that she does not mention that they are with the ERM. There was no telling how Zane might react to them just yet. "As for Zane''s weapon''s, I will carry them until the fight happens. It would be hard enough to get everyone into thepound, much less if they were armed." "Compound? Where are you taking us?" Mrs. Smithy asked. Once again, her anxiety started to rise. "To arge walled in area, just west of here. It''s where the rich people around here meet up. It''s for exclusive members only." Lisa replied giving a normal reply. "That''s not exactly right, it''s" Zane started to say, then he saw Lisa''s re and closed his mouth. Those intimidating cold grey eyes told him it would be safest to do so. "Anyway, it''s where they want to have the meeting." Lisa quickly continued exining. "When we get there just let us do the talking, they don''t really like new people." "Are you sure about this. If they are talking about dealings with the MFA things could get dangerous." Another guard whispered to Mrs. Smithy. "What choice do we have? So far things have been fine. We can''t go back empty handed either, so let''s take this risk." Mrs. Smithy replied quietly back. Then she spoke to Lisa. "I guess that''s fine. After all you know them better than us." "Thank you for understanding. I''ll be right back, need to get his weapons and change." Lisa said turning around. Everyone else stood around awkwardly in silence for a moment. Then Sadie finally broke the standoff. "Do any of you need a drink? I have some boiled water thats already cooled. "That would be wonderful." Mrs. Smithy said giving her a friendly smile. Sadie went over to the entrance of the Powerhouse building and picked up two thermoses sitting in the shade. Bringing them back the small group drank heartily. It had been a long, few days for them. Lisa soon returned quickly. She had changed out of her casual jeans and shirt and now wore her skin suite and her leather jacket. She had to y her part as Queen after all. Over her shoulder was a drawstring back-sack that contained Zane''s Tiger ws and around her waist was her sword. "All ready?" Lisa asked. "I think so." Sadie replied putting the empty thermoses away by the fire pit. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the tallpound metal wall. The five neers eyed it nervously, but it wasn''t until they got closer to the entrance that they then voiced concern. "Hey, isn''t that the Mad Dog symbol?" One guard said pointing at the wall. "Yes, it is." Lisa replied calmly. "They do run this area after all. Don''t worry, I will not turn you in, if that''s what you are thinking. I want to benefit from this meeting and have no loyalty to them." "Mrs. Smithy, it''s not toote to go back. If anything happens to you it would be very bad for all of us." A guard asked urgently. But Mrs. Smithy had already decided to follow through with the arrangements. They needed the funding desperately and this was all they had to go on. "Just keep your wits about you and mouth shut. We are going to do this." Mrs. Smithy replied sternly. "We have too." Approaching the entrance Lisa noticed that it was the same man from before guarding the door. Another lucky break. "Hey there." Lisa said to the tall man. "Did you bet on me yesterday?" The tall man had a smile on his face hearing this. "I did. You were right, I won big time!" He looked at the others. "I recognize you three, but who are they?" He asked pointing at the five ERM people. "They are people here to meet up with a Mr. Cline and other merchants inside. I don''t think you know them, but Xander does." Lisa exined. When she mentioned Xander the tall gangsters eyebrows raised. "I don''t think I can let them in." The tall gangster replied. "Only Mrs. Sadie has a badge and you have your fighter reputation. If I get caught letting you all in, I could definitely get in trouble." "What was your name?" Lisa asked him. "Thomson." He replied. "Well than, Thomson, if you were to go in and keep an eye on us things would be alright." Lisa said patting the side of his arm encouragingly. "Come on, didnt things work out just finest time I had you do something?" Thomson appeared to think things over for a moment. "Alright, but if you mess things up, I am ming it all on you." He said while crossing his arms. "Fair enough." Lisa said giving him a pleasant smile. Though on the surface this seemed like Lisa was just trying to get the ERM inside, but there was more depth to this conversation. Lisa wanted to eventually take over the gang, and to do this getting on familiar terms with the gang members was a must. Lisa had been mulling over how to aplish this and, for now, all she could think of was just getting the gang members to trust her. Thomson nodded and led the way inside. When he opened the gate to the wall, everyone marveled at the sight. Just as Lisa and Zane had once experienced their surprise, so did the ERM people. The area was just as nice as ever. Once reaching the Warehouse market, Lisa immediately spotted Mr. Cline and the other rich men. The were sitting at a nice a table near the corner of the building. Here was what looked like a recreational or outdoor restaurant styled seating arrangement. When the group came over, led by Thomas, the men noticed right away. There were not that many people here at the market today, so no crowd to block each groups views of the area. "Ah, there you all are." McMathers called out holding up a ss of wine. "We were wondering when you woulde." "It took a bit longer than expected." Lisa replied apologetically. "Sadie and Zane, you two can go turn in his paperwork now if you want. If he gets confirmation and needs the weapons juste back and get them." "Alright, we will be back soon I suspect." Sadie answered. "Come on Zane." The two left and Thomson shifted nervously seeing that everything was as Lisa said. "I guess I can go now too." He said to Lisa. "You were telling the truth it seems." "See, you can trust me. Thank you for giving us a chance." Lisa replied and Thomson turned to go. "So, who are these folks here?" Mr. Cline asked curiously. "They are representing a certain group that I will be possibly working with. It just so happens that they have an offer to give to you. After hearing it, I will give my answer to all of you as to what my intentions are." Lisa replied smiling. All the rich men appeared interested and looked Mrs. Smithy''s way. Please go ahead, have a seat and let us have it. McMathers said gesturing to the old woman. Chapter 95: Offers Chapter 95: Offers The group of rich men were all sitting on soft plush white chairs around arge round mahogany table. They motioned to Mrs. Smithy for her to sit as well before speaking and she graciously epted. Her four guards kept an eye on the situation around them. Lisa decided to stand behind Mrs. Smithy for a positive backing effect. Mrs. Smithy swallowed her nerves and prepared to speak. The ERM and people of the eastern part of town were counting on her to get help. Though she kept nervously pushing upward on her sses, with every word she spoke hereafter was filled with sincerity. "My name is Mrs. Smithy, and thank you for indulging me. I am a representative for the newly formed East River Militia, just on the other side of the river here in town. I wish to offer a trade opportunity to all of you. We currently have a surplus of metal that we need to sell. From those sales we wish to purchase arge number of various supplies needed desperately by the people under our care. Specifically, medical supplies, food, clothing, building and repair materials. We estimate that by the end of six months all our resources will be gone, and the people will starve. Then if the hungry survive, the summer heat will likely kill the rest of us." Stopping, Mrs. Smithy looked around at the silent men around her. They were all paying attention and didn''t show any sign of disgust or displeasure, a good sign. Clearing her throat, she continued. "As for the issue of money, we will offer you the standard pay for the metal. Then using that same money, buy the supplies we need to be transported, by you, to us. This way you will lose nearly nothing and always be gaining capitol. Queen here has said that you all might be interested in such an offer." "That is correct." Lisa (Queen) replied before the men could give a reply. "This is not all that''s being offered. If you agree to help out the ERM with this deal, I will be unable to go with any of you to fight. However, if you bring your challengers here, I will fight them for you for half what the hire rates would be. No matter who." "Very interesting." McMathers replied looking between the twodies. "The metal trade offer is really a paltry offer. It really doesn''t give us that much money to make. Yet, Queen, are you sure that you want to tie in your chances with this ERM, instead of making far more with us?" "Of course." Lisa replied right away shing a confident smile. "I think you are missing something important here." Lisa than looked at Mrs. Smithy. "You told me that your areacks the necessary power for producing anything of value, correct?" "Yes, that is correct." Mrs. Smithy replied. "We have buildings that have a wide variety of production capabilities. Ranging from soup cans to construction Mech assembly, as well as chemical and adhesive solutions products. However, none of these buildings or facilities are operable without electricity." "So, this is the point I want to make, they have no electricity. As such no one is making or buying anything of value. A waste of this towns productivity and overall worth. What if they had electricity though?" Lisa looked around at each of the men, each one in thought. It was Mr. Goodman that replied first. "Then they could produce items for sale, and I assume you mean that we could buy them for resale?" "Exactly!" Lisa replied pping her hands together. "I am sure that Mrs. Smithy would be more than happy to offer you all more than generous discounts for your assistance. Mr. Cline, you have a shippingpany, so you will be the first to profit for this investment. Not only will the scrap metal deal work out but having a constant tradework to this area will be a great future source of ie. This whole town needs so much raw and crafted items that I am confused as to why no one has yet tried this yet." Then Lisa turned to Rich Rotters. "Mr. Rotters, your new Mechpany would benefit from this immensely. If you were to purchase the Mech factory here, or buy the parts for cheap, your business would likely explode from the extra ie. Not to mention that the new workers would probably be able to work for far less than your current employee''s. Of course, all with in Mrs. Smithy''s expectations. No need to cheat the locals." "Then you, Mr. Goodman." Lisa said turning to him. "You could open an alcoholic distributor here to open up trade to Moab City and other areas for cheaper as well. I am sure Moab has some kind of shipping tax or fees put into ce for river traders, after all that is how the city has prospered. Shipping from here would be immensely less expensive. Then once the people here start to make more, they will want to buy your products and you have sellers priority. That goes for all of you, you all would have an insider offer that no other merchant would know of." Mrs. Smithy looked at Lisa with great curiosity. She couldn''t help but wonder to herself, "Why is she so adamant in helping us? We only just met this morning by chance. There has got to be some benefits in this for her, but what could it be?" McMathers cleared his throat. "This all sounds like a promising idea, but doesn''t it all depend on if they have electricity? Do you have a solution to this problem?" Mrs. Smithy felt her hopes sink. It was true they had no way of producing electricity. If they wanted to buy wind or sr power converters it would cost them far too much. They also didn''t have a way to put them up for use in time or maintain them. Then there was the cost of building an electric power grid. It was just all to unrealistic. "As a matter of fact, I do." Lisa replied confidently. Mrs. Smithy and McMathers both gave looks of curious surprise. "Exin." McMathers said leaning forward in his seat. "Mrs. Smithy, you recall the ce we went beforeing here?" Lisa said looking down at her. "Yes, what about it?" Mrs. Smithy said with a nod. "That was the building that contains the transformers for the hydroelectric dam. That''s right, the dam is hydroelectric." Lisa said with a triumphant grin. "I am in the process of fixing it up. I have been able to get one generator running and the dam, alone, currently has a continual power flow. I also have a Merchant, Frank Sellers, that is willing to bring me the parts I need to fix up the rest of the generators. Once the power is up and running at sustainable rate, I can provide all the businesses power. This way everyone benefits in the way I described and potentially even more!" The entire meeting table was silent for a brief moment. Mrs. Smithy was indeed speechless. She hadpletely overlooked the possibility of what the dam was capable of doing. To think that someone was already in the process of getting power back to the town was equally as unbelievable. "Well, I like what I have heard so far." Mr. Goodman replied. "Once I inspect the facilities will I make my decision. If all is well, I''lle up with an agreeable contract. I find no risk in giving expanding into potential gains. Besides this will give me a real reason to travel out here, my wife has been nagging me a lottely abouting here." "Thank you very much!" Mrs. Smithy replied looking from Lisa to Mr. Goodman. "I will make the arrangements." "I think I can spare a few smaller vessels to transport the metal southward." Mr. Cline replied as he started looking at something disyed on his personal tabloid. "I understand that there are people all around the country that are suffering. I might sound harsh, but I can only help those that can help me. If I could help everyone equally, I would. It is just not physically feasible. Once you get the amounts of metal for sale tallied up, then we can discuss from there." "Thank you very much Mr. Cline. The people will be very thankful for your business." Mrs. Smithy said with a smile. "I, however, will wait until things are for sure going to work out." Mr. Rotters replied. "I cannot afford to make any such move out here at this time. I will keep an eye on the situation out here though. If I see a notable improvement, I may take up this offer." "That is understandable, we will work on making things satisfactory in no time." Mrs. Smithy replied. "Now hold on." McMathers said holding up a hand. "There is something being overlooked. What if the Mad Dogs catch wind of the electricity? From what I understand is that they control this area. If they find out that you, Queen, have been helping out apletely different rival group, will you still be able to protect and supply the electricity?" All eyes turned to look at Lisa. She expected that this might be brought up. However, she maintained her poker face smile. "That won''t be an issue in time. I n on working out my rtions with the gang to where these actions will be supported, if not produced, by them. I also will provide electricity to this side of town as well. Likely, tripling the number of sales for you all, from the addition of this area. This is another concept I wish to present to the ERM in time." Lisa said looking then at Mrs. Smithy. "I will ry the message to our mayor." Mrs. Smithy said. She took out a note pad from her belongings and started writing down all that was happening. Unlike the rich men, she didn''t have a tabloid to record the meetings progression. She had nearly forgot to pull it out sooner. She was just too excited that things were proceeding so unexpectedly well. "Well, I am a betting man, so here is my contribution." McMathers finally said after giving a long sigh. "Queen, I will fund your repairs on the dam. In exchange, you need to beat an adversary of mine. So far, he has beaten me every time we challenged one another, and I am tired of losing." "Alright, that won''t be a problem. As long as I can fight them here, I will win." Lisa replied while pounding her fist into her hand to show her sincerity. McMathers gave a broad grin. "That''s the spirit! However, the Fighter you will have to fight is not going to be as easy as Golem was. In fact, I would say that the Crescent Moon of Moab is the third strongest of all Match Fighters with in a hundred miles of here." Lisa let out a light chuckle. "Well, with this Crescent Moon is about to be the fourth strongest after dealing with me. You have my word." For all our sakes I hope so. McMathers replied. Lisa then addressed the rest listening in, Now, what else needs to be discussed? Chapter 96: Signed Up Chapter 96: Signed Up Nicky looked around nonchntly at her office coworkers carefully. She had to be sure no one was paying attention to her. Being the closest desk to the main door and copy machine, it was hard for her to do her work without prying eyes. Now was the time to put one of her specialties to work, spying. This was the reason for nearly all her victories and her Fighters easy wins. Knowing your enemy is knowing half of the battle after all. Taking out from the top drawer of her desk an ordinary ck pen case, Nicky set it next to the hard backed disy screen for herputer. Only Rickshaws office had a holo-projected screen. Carefully picking at a crack on the back of the pen case, with her well-manicured fingernail, she pulled out a USB port and plugged it into theputer. A small tab immediately pulled up on the bottom left corner of the screen. The on the tab was a paused video image of Rickshaw''s office. Nicky had sneakily ced into his office months ago a small micro camera. The camera was disguised as nt support stick in one of Rickshaws many cactus pots. No one would expect a stick to have a camera hidden inside, the perfect spying tool. From its position on a shelf off to one side of the room, Nicky could see and hear everything he was doing in the office. Putting her Air Pods into her ears she thought to herself gleefully, "Ok Rickshaw, lets see what you told Saul. I am sure it wille in handy for me." Taking one more nce around her, she was satisfied no one was eavesdropping on her. Then she rewound the video to where Saul had entered, and Jackson had left. She next hit y and immediately minimized the tab, but the tab continued to y the audio. While listening, she half pretended to be working on some documents. As she listened, much of what they were talking about was mostly useless questions or things she already knew about. Things like teaching your Fighter timing, how to approach an opponent, switching tactics, staying mobile and other simr things. It wasn''t until Rickshaw started talking about Queen and Golem''s fight that she really started paying attention. "Finally, that refresher chat was boring! Now, what mistakes did you find old man? Tell me how to break mousy Sadie''s hot shot Queen." Nicky chatted to herself. This is what she heard. "So here is the start of the fight." Rickshaw started exining to Saul pointing at the holo-projection on his desk. "She is clearly ok with a close ranged fight. The fact that her weapon was not being used at the beginning is proof of that. Saul, you should have warned Golem to focus on finding an opening and chipping away at her defense. Instead, he charged recklessly right in, exposed him to her counter and ended up t on the floor." "But she charged right at him at the same time. How was I supposed to know she had such power and could do that to him?" Saul asked. "Golem is a tank type fighter." Rickshaw replied. "He should have let Queen make the first move and use his armor to his advantage. Despite her speed, as we had seen from those rapid palm strikes, the hits only managed to force him back. They didn''t actually hurt him." "Ok, but she did take off his helmet from that one hit." Saul said apparently pointing at the screen. Nicky could hear the electrical indicator sounds of him tapping on the holo-screen of Rickshawsputer. Probably fast forwarding the fight to that referred to moment. "What should I have told him to do at that moment, other than using his Inducement?" "Well, you made the right call, and he did attack her in the right manner." Rickshaw said voicing his thoughts. "If he had managed to grab her and break something or further restrict her movements, than it might have ended there. Yet she escaped. What I would have done was, as soon as she grappled his arm, told Golem to pin her into the ground. Her back waspletely exposed." "Ah, I see." Saul said with a sigh. "It''s obvious now." "Continuing, when she did break free and got away from him. Golem should have tried grabbing the helmet really quick and putting it on. Even if Queen used that moment to attack, he still could have protected his head." "Hmm, alright. What else?" Saul said after a moment of thought. "Well, rewinding back to the start, you have when she stabbed his foot after jumping from the fence." Rickshaw borated and the sounds of him tapping were again audible to Nicky. "After stabbing his foot, which was a smart move, Golem swung at her and she let go of the sword to break away. That now meant that he could have either used the sword or tossed it out of the ring. It was a careless error for the both of them to let the other get the sword." "Good point." Saul replied. "I should have told Golem to chuck it further away. She didn''t have any other weapons on her anyway." "Any weapons that we could see." Rickshaw corrected. "Look here at her boots. Don''t the bottoms look a bit thick?" "Maybe?" Saul replied sounding unsure. "I really can''t tell." "It''s just my spection, but there could have been hidden des in them. Many fighters have some tricks hidden on them" Rickshaw said. "I did not notice this until rematching the reys. Since she didn''t use the supposed des, I can''t be sure that this is the case. Just keep that in mind." "Alright." Saul replied. Nicky could hear the chair squeak around as he adjusted himself noisily. "What else do you have to show me?" "Her sudden speed increase was most intriguing." Rickshaw said and the electrical sound of him tapping on the holo-screen returned. "This was actually quite strange to me. I saw no indication of anything being used by her to cause this change. If she had used an Inducement than there would have been a noticeable physical change, even a minor indication like in her eyes, skin or blood vessels. Like Golems Inducement caused him to have his blood vessels nearly burst and facial muscles tighten into a creepy smile. Yet she had no such side effects. If it were an Augmentation than there was a good chance that we could have seen signs of them. Of the areas exposed of her skin, I can''t see anything like that could be considered an Augmentation surgery scar or lump. Perhaps under that skin suit of hers there could be signs or the Augmentations themselves, but it''s still unclear." Rickshaw cleared his throat. "That only leaves Alterations. However, which of the three subcategories does she use? If it were gic alterations that would be the easiest to exin and ount for no physical signs of any work done on her body. Yet for someone to have such a thing done to them, out here in the middle of nowhere, starting out their career is unthinkable. Gic alteration users are normally rich or part of a syndicate. As far as we know, she has no such connections." "I don''t think she''s had gic alterations either." Saul replied. "Golem and Queen fought for a five-minute sparring match a week before their main fight. There was one thing that I did see that was difficult to exin." "Oh? Really. You fought her before and still didn''t take precautions?" Rickshaw said with a twinge of noticeable disappointment. "What was it?" "Click!" Nicky paused the video right then. Someone wasing to the copy machine and just to be sure that they didn''t overhear she paused it. While the coworker was scanning his papers, Nicky used that time to stretch. Arching back, she could feel the stress from sitting so long fade slightly, especially around her chest. Then there came a loud clicking from the door leading out to the hall. Nicky stopped stretching in mid-stretch to sp her hands behind her head. Upon seeing who it wasing in was rather shocking. It was Sadie and behind her was a young man she hadn''t seen before. "Well, well. This is a surprise. I wonder what shes doing here?" Nicky thought. She then decided to watch the two in silence. Sadie didn''t go back to her old desk, like Nicky guessed. But rather, Sadie headed straight for Rickshaws office. The young man followed right behind her. He kept on looking around curiously at everything. It was apparent that he was unustomed to seeing such surroundings. An outsider. "Did you bring some country boy here? Pathetic." Nicky thought to herself. Getting up casually Nicky started to follow them. As the two went up to knock on the already open ss door to Rickshaws office, Nicky went to a spot that she liked to listen in on anything being discussed in that office. From here it looked like she would be getting something from a series of file cabs without a rousing suspension. "Um, Rickshaw?" Sadie called out softly as she rapped on the ss door. "Do you have a moment?" "Sure, I guess I can spare a few moments, but hurry I already had one meeting earlier and need to get my own work done." Rickshaw said leaning back in his seat. As he did, he picked up a mug from his desk and took a sip of its contents. Sadie and Zane stepped inside, leaving the door open. Sadie reached into the small backpack she had on and took out a small blue folder. Nervously Sadie pushed her sses up her nose some before speaking. "I have filled out a new Match Fighter application form." Sadie said holding out the folder. "I would have sent it electronically, but I have no signal outside thepound." "A new fighter?" Rickshaw said skeptically eyeing the man standing behind her. "You already seem to have enough work with Queen. Are you sure youre ready for a second?" "I-I think so." Sadie replied still nervous. "I n on taking it slower with Zane. He''s more of your standard type." "Standard?" Zane thought a bit annoyed hearing this, but he stayed quiet. He knew that from the fights he had witnessed, Sadie wasn''t all that wrong. "Hmm, lets have a look then." Rickshaw sighed taking the blue folder from Sadie. Unsealing it he pulled out the form. He took a few moments and flipped through the pages checking over everything. "Um, well everything looks to be in order and the potential Fighter is present. All he needs now is a test fight. Let''s see if any manager here has someone that they can put him up against." Saying this, Rickshaw got up and walked by them. He stopped in the doorway and looked at Sadie. "Oh, and one more thing. Next time make sure you staple the form in the correct order. You had thest paper first and it was all in reverse order." He let out a sigh. "Be more careful next time. It''s things like this that make me worry." Sadie could feel her face turn red with embarrassment. Zane stifled a chuckle and luckily Sadie didn''t notice. In their short time together, he had noticed Sadie made small mistakes often and found them funny, but cute at the same time. Then the three walked out of the office and past Nicky. Nicky had to cover her mouth faking a cough after overhearing what just happened. Otherwise, her cover would have been blown. "You silly mouse! Even the simplest assistant knows how to staple papers together!" Chapter 97: Returning to Town Chapter 97: Returning to Town "Is there anyone here that would be interested in having a debut fight for Sadie''s newest Match Fighter?" Rickshaw called out to the room. Most off the Managers stopped working and looked up with mixed reactions. They seemed interested in the fact that their local mess-up, Sadie, was actually starting to do well. While a few of them took one nce at Zane and went back to work. To them Zane didn''t look all that special. "I could." A male manager called out raising his hand. "I have a Tier 20 Fighter that''s only had two fights. It''s hard for him to find new Fighters out here and the end of the month deadline is getting near." "Alright then." Rickshaw said turning towards the manager. "Which one are you referring to, Shawn maybe?" "Watt." Shawn replied. "Ah, yes. Watt. Well, he does need the experience and it would be a good match for a first fight for Sadie''s new Fighter." Rickshaw replied with a nod. "It won''t be a headliner fight like Queens, but it should be a good opening for Zane''s first match." "I can schedule Watt for two weeks from now. He''s still on border patrol along the Skulls territory." Shawn said as he was looking at the calendar on his personal tabloid. "That good for you?" Rickshaw asked turning to look at Sadie. Sadie was still feeling a bit embarrassed about the form and only managed to give a nod in reply. "Alright then. Two weeks from now it is. See you then." Rickshaw said turning to go back to his office. Nicky saw all this and approached Sadie and Zane. All the while holding back a fit ofughter. "Sadie, I hope that your new fighter won''t end up as a flop." Sadie turned and saw that it was Nicky speaking and she felt her gut tighten. This unfairly pretty woman always made her so mad and scared at the same time. "H-he won''t be." Sadie stammered in reply. "Queen and I will be teaching him. I am sure he''ll be a capable fighter one day." Nicky looked up and down at Zane and gave an exasperated shrug. "If you say so. Though it should be the Managers job to train their Fighter. It only shows how useless you are if you''re letting Queen take your job. He looks flimsy and unprepared, so you''ll have your work cut out for you." "Look, I don''t know who you are, but I am not some pushover." Zane said stepping forward. He wasn''t used to being bad mouthed before as a ck Rat lieutenant. Anyone that did had their face smashed into the dirt. Nicky rolled her eyes at him making the action as obvious as she could. Tucking her blond hair behind her ear she replied sarcastically, "Sure, sure. Big strong guy type. I am sure you''ll manage. I''ll wish you luck, you''ll need it." Saying that she turned away and went back to her cubical. "Who was she? She''s kind of annoying." Zane said to Sadie as they were leaving the office room and going into the hallway. Sadie sighed. "That was Nicky. She''s the second-best Match Fighter Manager here in thepound so far. She''s never had one of her Fighters loose outright, so she knows what she''s talking about." "Really?" Zane said scratching his chin. "I wouldn''t have pinned that prettydy to be that skilled." "Well, that ''pretty''dy is good at her job. Sorry I''m not her." Sadie remarked with a huff. "Hurry up, let''s get back to Lisa already." Sadie griped as she sped up her pace, leaving Zane to catch up. "Alright, slow down some. I didn''t know she was going to get you this worked up." Zane replied cluelessly to her upset reaction. Nicky watched the two leave and shook her head. Thinking to herself she got ready to listen to the rest of her recording, "Still a simple girl. I hope she doesn''t lose to badly. I want to be the one to snuff her out." Again, looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Nicky went to finish the video. Sauls voice spoke first as the video resumed. "There was a moment where Queen charged at Golem when he was cornered between a wall and a shipping container. It looked to me like either her ankle or leg twisted, and she moved around Golem with a rather unnatural motion. She thenunched herself off the wall to get behind him before he could react properly. It''s hard to imagine that a normal human could move like that." "That settles it then. Queen is a prosthetic or cybeic user." Rickshaw replied. "From what you described and what you had seen, that''s the only thing that makes since." "So, what should I do?" Saul asked. Theres none of her type around here. "Two thingse to mind." Rickshaw replied slowly in thought. "Break or bend the prosthetic. It''s no different from a real arm or leg, it''s just a lot stronger. The other is if she had cybeics, create a lot of dust or debris in the air and the system will be sluggish or overworked trying to filter out all the data. The users movement will slow and then you can counter easily while they are trying to adapt." Nicky pauses the rest of the video. This was all she needed to know. Now toe up with her own n! The t bed barge drifted slowly up the muddy Colorado River. Frank Seller walked slowly along the railing watching the red and tan rock formations pass by. The cool breeze felt good to him as it bnced the suns heat well on his jacket. The barge had left itsst port over two hours ago and would arrive in Moab City the following afternoon. They had to first pass through the final stretch of the Grand Canyon and the river beyond. A very beautiful stretch of river that he always admired. This pleasant scenery wouldn''tst for long. They were getting close to where the northern most Sun People live. Many years ago, people that were trying to find a safe ce to hide from nuclear war and aerial bombings decided to settle here and in deste ces like it. They thought that it would have been a good idea to hollow out the canyon walls and create burrows to utilize the natural rock as a barrier to deflect the bombs and radiation. As time went on, the people fell into istion from the rest of the world. Scrapping a living off rocks and from the river they started to form their own culture and lifestyles after a few generations. However, this was not a necessarily good thing. They fell back into a state of mystic beliefs and superstition. As the generations went on and continued technological istion persisted, they became no different than viges found in the deepest jungles of the rainforests. Often time when a passing ship traveling on the river in current times, went by the area they now lived, the Sun People could be seen doing the oddest of things. Some wouldpletelyther themselves in river y and mud, theny in the sun on rocks to "bake" as a symbolic way to worship the Sun. They all wore animal skins and d themselves in the bones as well. At night they could be seen forming a line of small fires and jumping over them in session, as if ying some leapfrog game or preforming a ritual. No one actually knew or wanted to know exactly what was going on. asionally they would try to attack a passing boat if provoked, but for the most part they were a peaceful people. They hadnt be so far gone that outsiders were restricted from theirnds. If fact, they were well known to be zealots when it came to fighting Twisted and assisted others if their religious leaders saw it fit. They called them the Radiations Spawn and the Suns challenge sent to judge the humans for trashing the Earth. Defeating a Twisted proved to the Sun that they were still worthy to bask in its glory and not be cast into eternal darkness. Frank had traveled this stretch of the river multiple times and had seen his fair share of the crazy antics and demonstrations from the Sun People. The smell wasn''t all to pleasing either. The Sun People burned something in their fires and imed that it warded away the Twisted, because all Twisted had an excellent sense of smell. So, when he caught sight of the sign pointing out the entrance to the Sun People''snd he decided to go down below deck and double check the inventory. This sign was the words ''Land of Sun'' hand carved into the rocky canyon wall. Each word was as tall as a man and deep enough to be seen for a kilometer down river. Once below deck Frank picked up a clipboard with a hand-written list of the boats inventory. The small ship was one of five simrly sized boats that he owned operated. All were purely capable of only traveling on the Colorado River and manykes along the way. Shipping processed metal, construction materials and tools to constructionpanies was a simpler job than most of hisrgerpetitors would run. Walking past the long containers lined up in neat and orderly rows Frankpared the list to thebels. He took his time as there was no rush to check on everything before arriving in Moab City. Besides, being in the cool dimly lit underbelly of a ship, listening to the soft, sloshing rumble of the engines turning the propellers, was very rxing to him. After an hour or more he finished checking things over. Satisfied he found everything in order, he returned the clipboard to its ce. "Well, if everything goes smoothly for the rest of the trip and in Moab, I guess I should go see if that Queendy still wants to conduct her business." Frank thought aloud. Then turning to go up the stairs to get up on the main deck he called out, "Hey Gaston! Everyone doing ok out there?" As he reached the top, he saw his long-haired Match Fighter watching the far riverbank with a Neanderthal-like ir. "Seems like everyone on board is fine." Gaston replied in his deep slow speech. Then he pointed into the distance along the bank with a meaty finger. "The locals seem to be in a good mood too. I can see children jumping off rocks to swim in the water. The rest of the trip will be just fine." "That''s good to hear." Frank replied joining Gaston at the ships railing. "You ready to meet Queen again?" He asked while stealing a nce at his big friend. Gaston''s normally serious face cracked a smile. "That would be nice. I hope that her beating me wasn''t all luck. This time I''ll be ready." "I hope so." Frank replied. "Well, I am going to take a nap now. Enjoy the view and the smell. I am starting to catch a whiff of it now." "Alright. See you in a while." Gaston replied as Frank left him. Then he went back to watching the riverbank wall slowly rising higher to form the Grand Canyon cliffs. Chapter 98: Watching Twisted Below Chapter 98: Watching Twisted Below 56 and the other three hunters stopped flying for a moment to hover high above the approaching dust cloud of Twisted. All around them were dozens of Hunter clusters floating on simr Hover vehicles, all prepared to engage. Their numbers were all together close to a hundred. This wouldnt likely be enough. "What are we waiting for?" 56 asked looking at his three newpatriots. "We should attack before the Hoard reaches the city''s line of defense." "Shut up newbie!" Sam scoffed looking at him from under his hood. "The Hunters n has rules for these kinds of situations. We''re going to follow them." "That''s right." Dixon replied. He then lifted the watch on his wrist and turned it on. A little blue screen appeared with the Hunters n badge on it. It also had a single notification. "Wait for confirmation." "The Hunters n is normally only seen a group of bounty hunters, big game enthusiasts, and thrill seekers. However, that''s just not the case Well, not entirely." Dixon continued lowering his watch and leaning forward to rx his crisscrossed arms on the handles of his Hover Bike. "We hunt because it''s natural for a hunting animal to do so." 56 thought this a strange thing to say for that particr moment, but looking into the eyes of Dixon, 56 knew he was wrong. Something old and strong lurked within those brown eyes. Looking at the other two he saw something simr. These people were not ordinary. However, 56 was not one toin either, he felt kindred feeling towards these Hunters. 56 gave a shrug and looked down at the long-barreledser gun in his hands. "I''ll take your word for it. After all, I''m only here for the ride." "This part is always so frustrating!" Tammy whinnied. "Can that old man hurry up already and let us go. Look the first waves of the Twisted are about to reach the sma wall." "Give the Leader a break." Sam sighed watching the scene starting to unfold below him. "All we can do is watch." 56 looked down at the bizarre sight below. Sure enough, the smallest and fastest Twisted were getting close to the wall and charging at frightening speeds. Oddly enough there appeared to be no flying Twisted. Every mutated creature appeared to be running or crawling on the sand-strewn ground. "Is there a reason that none of these Twisted are flying?" 56 decided to ask. "Hmm, I''m no nerd, but for whatever reason the nuclear radiation mostly only affectednd creatures and some aquatic creatures." Dixon replied squinting his eyes in thought. "It''s assumed, that at the DNA level, that birds and other flying creatures were not mutated. Which is fortunate for us. Could you imagine a flesh-eating monster, the size of a car, swooping down from the sky to eat you? That would be terrifying." "Besides, we wouldn''t be able to have these nice Hover bikes if they could fly." Tammy chimed in while patting her bikes pink painted side. "Interesting." 56 murmured. "I would love to learn more about them. There is still so much about the world these days that I don''t know about. Orville, go ahead and start recording the moment we engage. I just found a fun topic to study." "Rodger Boss!" Orville replieding out from under 56s arm to float alongside him. "Let''s get ready to see the show up close." Tammy said excitedly. 56 looked at her to see that she was putting on a pair of heavy looking goggles. Dixon was also doing the same. The long brass-colored tubes that covered her eyes had green tinted ss at the ends. 56 was curious as to if they were a new type of binocrs. "You got an extra pair for me to look?" 56 asked her. "No." Tammy replied shaking her head and her brown curly hair bounced in the wind. "Take Sam''s. He is not going to be using them anyway. Right Sam?" Sam sighed. "Fine, here. Just give them back before we attack." Sam tossed over his goggles to 56 and then went back to rxing on his bike. "Thank you." 56 replied and put on the goggles. Just from ncing over them once, as he guessed, they were a new type of binocrs he hadn''t seen before. Adjusting the focus to see properly, he looked down at everything below. The once tiny ck dots on the ground now appeared to be right next to him! As if he were so close that he could reach out and grab them. Normally stabilizing onto what one would look at through binocrs was difficult, but these goggles had a built-in stabilizer! Technology sure hade a long way with unexpected creations. What he saw was both amazing and terrible. Mutated creatures resembling hairless rabbits, yet four times that size, with ws the length of kitchen knives were leading the charge. Their overwhelming numbers were exceeding all thought of reason. Mixed in with them wererger darkly colored creatures. With heads grown into the shape of American Football''s, hairless, long and elongated. Their front skinny legs were much longer than their hind legs, much like that of a Hyenas. The way they galloped looked bizarre, like these creatures were running atop whips rather than legs. The amount of dust that the vast numbers of the smaller creatures leading the way kicked up made it difficult to see what might be following behind them. Looking carefully 56 could spot glimpses ofrge and thick creatures forms lumbering though the dust. Yet, despite the dust the Hoard Mother was nearly totally visible. The Hoard Mother''srge alligator shaped head was swaying back and forth on a neck that resembled a brontosaurus. The bus sized head appeared to have two separate mouths, one atop the other, and thick stout teeth of which each looked as wide as dinner tes. Three pairs of bright red eyes stood out in great contrast to its dark green scaled skin. The Hoard Mother''s head, and top portion of its body reminded him of a snakeskin, but it appeared to be very imprable and more like tank armor. Strangely enough when he looked at the eight tree trunk legs of the Hoard Mother, they appeared to be covered in shimmering long brown fur. A very strangebination in contrast to the reptile like appearance. Every time it lifted one of these mind-boggling legs, a cat like paw appeared rising through the dust. Each w looked to be nearly as long as four meters or even more in length. The tail of the massive creature was just as crazy. Instead of one singr tail, it had three tails. Each tail was equally as long as it''s neck, and like the legs, the tail was covered in the same brown shimmering fur. At the end of these tails there appeared to be a bone like tip which greatly resembled a scorpions. Each tip appeared to be eight meters long and as hard as steel. However, these features were not what impressed him as much as what he saw clinging to the underside of the Hoard Mother. Like giant green emeralds set into an upside-down crown, were dozens ofrge shinny sacks. The sacks looked half sunk into its body and appeared to be pulsating slowly with luminescent fluids. As much as he tried to look at what might be inside those strange sacks, he couldn''t see in them. He did have a hunch though. Eggs. "They are about to hit the wall!" Tammy shouted excitedly. Quickly turning to look that way, 56 was surprised by what took ce. Though not as surprised by the Hoard Mothers appearance. The creatures charged right at the blue sma walls to apparently ram into it or try climbing over. However, that was a mistake. Every creature that hit that wall was instantly obliterated! Like bugs hitting a windshield, the Twisted creatures sttered into burning plumes. The reason was simple because sma is extremely hot! sma is superheated matter that is so hot that the electrons are ripped away from the atoms thus forming an ionized gas. Researchers have painstakinglye up with a way to use the properties of sma as a charged gas to confine it with maic fields and to heat it to temperatures hotter than the core of the sun. Then they learned to project it outward under maic suppression to form a "wall" of sma, protecting the city from any kind of oing object or substance. The near perfect defense to repel a Hoard. Many of thergest city''s all around this war torn, apocalyptic world has deployed this method to protect their citizens. Even the sts and shockwaves from bombs are stopped by this wall. If it didn''t consume a ridiculous amount of energy and technology to maintain, then everyone would have made use of it. The projected wall also is confined to travel in one direction due to the maic field restrictions of the sma technology and is still ineffective to protect from attacks from above. One of the greatest weaknesses of such a sma wall, are the towers themselves. The towers are what produce and absorbs the sma. If a tower is destroyed than an entire panel of that imprable wall will instantly disappear. It took only seconds for the charging Twisted Hoard to realize this. Stopping their reckless charging and organizing swiftly they swarmed towards the towers hissing, braying or growling hideously in anger. The towers loomed high and imposing above the mutated creatures scurrying below. The nearly smooth ck surface of the towers leaning outward at a sharp angle made climbing difficult for them. Additionally, the entire structure was wrapped up in sharp serrated barbed wire. Effectively further hindering any chance for the creatures to climb. Atop the towers were automated turrets and robotic defenders that were constantly shooting redser guns down at the Twisted. In minutesrge ck blooded mounds of Twisted creature bodies piled up around tower bases. This didn''t slow or perturb the creatures assault, unfortunately. They just kept climbing on top and jumping upwards in an attempt to scale the towers. Only to continue being met with wires andsers. 56 let out a drawn-out whistle as he watched. He then lifting his goggles to look at the others. "That''s some crazy looking battle going on there. It''s almost like we aren''t needed." "We will be deployed soon." Dixon answered confidently. "The old man is probably going to split our forces into three groups. One will go to the backside of the wall. It won''t be long before the Twisted decide to try and burrow under the wall and attack the city. The second group will assist the tower defenses. While the third andrgest group will go and take out therger Twisted and Hoard Mother. That is, if we can." "Hasn''t a Hoard Mother''s been beaten before?" 56 asked. He lowered his goggles again to look at the huge monster. "Its only happened twice before." Dixon replied. "The first time was in eastern Russia near the north China border. They had to use a nuke to take it down. That scaled skin is so thick even a tank couldn''t even dint it. The second time was by the European Union, what was left of it anyway. They discovered a toxin that is enough to down and paralyze a Hoard Mother, long enough to be able to blow off its head with explosives. As it turns out, we don''t have a nuke or the toxin. So, this fight is going to be rough!" Chapter 99: Still Keeping Tabs Chapter 99: Still Keeping Tabs The room was dead silent. Every monitor linked to a drone''s live footage waspletely whited out. They had failed to monitor, follow and capture their target, King type cyborg 56. The beginnings of Operation Chess were off to a terrible start. "What just happened!?" Special Officer Takanowa called out nervously over themunication channel. Everyone listening seemed taken aback by the sudden turn of events. No one could reply. A massive boom shook everyone from their stupor and an angry shout followed immediately after. "I should have known!" Special Officer Wellings barked angrily banging his fist on a table. "It was mentioned in his files that that robot of his was capable of drone retinal disabling. How could we let something so simple get by us and end up falling to such an obvious trap!" "Are we sure every drone was affected?" Special Officer Foal asked on thes. "Perhaps the Osprey drones weren''t damaged?" "Negative." Takanowa replied momentster. "Every drone has a blind zone on their retinal sensors. We can''t see any of that area. We had been yed the fools." This time Lieutenant Colonel Ardith Laghari spoke up for the first moment in a while. He had been observing silently as he watched the Special Officers lead the mission. He was not happy. "What an utter disgrace! You call yourselves solders of the American Fascist Regime; the worlds supposed finest? I ought to demote you all and send you back for retraining. Being outwitted by a single mere soldier and crippling the entire operation in a single blow. Complete waste, the lot of you! Welling, Foal, and Takanowa; I have heard your reports of failure, but Hawkins, you have been silent. Tell us why?" "Simple, Lieutenant Colonel Sir! I have not failed this mission just yet." Special Officer Hawkins replied promptly as he stood in attention speaking with a ridged fashion. "Oh really? Exin." The Lieutenant Colonel asked. His angry brown eyes stared daggers at Hawkins through the main monitors screen. "Yes Sir." Hawkins replied calmly. Then he turned to one of his Osprey Pilots next to him. "Turn on the monitor." "Understood." The Pilot, Gill, replied. Hitting a key on the digital keyboard the ck screen turned on, revealing the now empty market area where the sh bang trap took ce. The inoperable drones could be seen scattered all along the ground and market stalls roves. However, this footage showed no signs of retinal damage. "As you can see, I already had one drone deployed in rest mode as a backup just in case something unforeseen happened. It''s been said that ''caution is the wisdom of those still alive'' and I too read the reports. I considered that since 56 is a known technology expert operative cyborg, he would have countermeasures to deal with enemy technology. This was all I could think of with the resources at hand." Hawkins exined clearly and concisely. All the while the Osprey Pilot Gill widened the drones field of view to restart the search for 56. Since the target was heading westbound the pilot naturally started panning that direction. A second observation assistant soldier was also looking at the screen alongside of the Pilot Gill and patted Gills shoulder while pointing to an area on screen. Then Gill called out just as Hawkins was finishing his exnation. "Special Officer Hawkins, we found him again." Turning around Hawkins looked at the screen. A smile broke out on his face seeing it indeed was 56. He was flying closer towards the west sma wall, though where was not yet clear. Then he typed in amand in theputer and the drones footage appeared alongside the video of the angry Lieutenant Colonel. "You see, we still got a visual on him." Hawkins turned back to look at the Lieutenant Colonel with a pride full grin. "Though I think that the current flow of the operation is still suspended to a point." The Lieutenant Colonel lightened his iring gaze hearing and seeing Special Officer Hawkins report. "Well done. It seems that at least one of you is capable of doing your job. Continue the mission only with observation for now, Hawkins. As for the rest of you, handle getting the ground teams back to base and collecting the damaged drones. Expect reassignment when everyone is back." "Yes Sir." Hawkins replied. He then turned back to the pilots screen to watch what was going on. The other three Special Officers replied, though less enthusiastically, as well and went on to carry out the assignment in shame. Gill whispered to Hawkins. "Awesome call Sir. I was confused as to why you told me to go offline at the start of the chase after 56 left the Caf. Now I know. You seemed to have been thinking two steps ahead of everyone." "Not really." Hawkins murmured back. "I actually guessed that this might happen. It was almost entirely luck that this n worked out. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained." "As you say Sir." The Gill replied with a grin. They all watched as 56 flew through the streets at a low altitude. Skimming over cars and truck, yet low enough not to get in the way of flying Hover craft. If it weren''t for the bright burning of his smokeless leg engines, 56 might have been lost in the big suburban area for good. Despite this stroke of luck, they still had no idea where he might be headed. "I wonder if he knows that there is a Twisted Hoard in that direction." The Assistant soldier wondered aloud. "I doubt it." The Gill replied. "That information wasn''t even sent out to the public and only the military and officials knew it was on the way here." Hawkins was about to verbally agree with Gill when a sudden thought came to mind. What if he did know about the Hoard? His goal was to escape the city. Surely, he knew that all escape routes were being observed to. All perhaps but one. The Hunters n. "Lieutenant Colonel, Sir." Hawkins called out while turning to face the main screen. "I believe that 56 is going to escape the city, via the Hunters n. Does he have any known contact or affiliation with the n?" "Interesting. No, he does not ording to our records." The Lieutenant Colonel replied after turning away from the screen for a brief moment. "This should be his first timeing here to Moab City or a Hunter n location. Besides, he has been in cryogenic sleep for decades. There is no way he could know any Hunters. However, considering his options, this is his easiest chance to escape from us." "Shall we continue observing him?" Hawkins asked. "Yes, but you are to continue keeping your distance. The robot with him might be capable of monitoring surveince frequencies. That would be my analysis of how he found out that all our drones were watching him at that time." The Lieutenant Colonel replied. Hawkins replied with a salute and went back to watching the screen. 56 had already made contact with three nsmen and appeared to have made a deal to leave with them. They watched as 56 joined the unidentified Hunters and flew off into the air. "Well, it''s official. 56 has escaped the city." Lieutenant Colonel spoke to everyone. "Special Officer Hawkins and his men will continue the Operation Chess alone for the time being. All current engagements are now limited back to surveince only. All other Officers are to return to their assigned locations and await new orders." "Understood Sir." The four Officers replied in unison on thes. The sound of the other three disconnecting from themunications channel was noted by Hawkins with satisfaction. Leaving only him and the Lieutenant Colonel alone to speak. "Well done Special Officer Hawkins. You and your team have proven that you are capable enough to know the real reason behind this mission and Operation Chess." Lieutenant Colonel said leaning forward on screen. "To be brief I''ll give a shortened version for everyone. The specifics and additional information I will ry to you alone, Hawkins,ter on in a formal report." The Lieutenant Colonel then cleared his throat to continue. "Operation Chess is a mission to stop and oppose insurrectional forces within and around our borders. The obvious first target is the rouge Cyborg Units that have been alluding our capture. They are fanning the mes of civilian rebellion and rebel groups. Providing support, resources, intelligence and relocation practices, the Cyborg Units have be quite the unintended throne in our side." "The second target is to undermine the stability of the Texas Coalition to our south. We can no longer tolerate their existence and rebellious separation for our great country. Ultimately, we will use the Cyborg Units as a scapegoat to either get them to request assistance from the Coalition or find credible means of me to say that the Coalition is supporting the rebels. This will give us the basic means for an invasion of the Coalition while maintaining face on the world stage and bring them back into the fold. Additionally, the same will eventually be said and done to neutral cities and territories. This will let us finally move to attack the State of Jefferson. Allowing us to confront the invading foreign powers across the Pacific. This, however, is far from now." "Understandably Sir. I too feel that the Texas Coalition must be reunified with the Americans." Hawkins replied. "Very good." The Lieutenant Colonel replied nodding slowly. "However, you are not the only Special Officer included in Operation Chess. You are but one of many, selected from simr tests, that have been handpicked to serve in this n. For now, continue monitoring both Zac Evans, aka 56 and Lisa Cunningham, aka Queen. If 56 leaves the city and your area of operations, report it to me immediately so I can resign the surveince to another included Special Officer. As long as Queen continues to stay in that wayward town, you can leave her be for the most part. As long as there is nothing that she does there to hinder the AFR ore into contact with the Cyborg Units members just maintain surveince." "Yes Sir. We shall do our best for the AFR!" Hawkins replied standing in attention. The rest of the soldiers in the room immediately followed their Officers actions and join in the salute. The Lieutenant Colonel surveyed the with a satisfactory nod. "Very good. I will contact you again once I havepiled everything out you need to know in detail." The screen monitor disying the Lieutenant Colonel suddenly turned dark. He had cutmunications leaving them to work unobserved. Hawkins turned to look at his men. "Well done. Now you heard him. Get back to work! 56 isn''t going to just turn himself over to us." Though Hawkins felt disappointed he couldnt yet confront Queen and get revenge, this oue made up the difference. Hawkins smiled inwardly in thought. "This is basically a promotion! Things are turning out quite nicely. Now even more excitement is going to happen to me now. No chance of boredom for days toe!" Chapter 100: Already Chapter 100: Already Lisa and Mrs. Smithy were sitting alone at the mahogany table. They had spent the remainder of their time with the four rich men working out additional details of the towns current facilities, contractual details, and price arrangements. It was the first time for Lisa to actually conduct a legitimate business deal outside of her schooling. Fortunately, Mrs. Smithy was kind enough to assist and exin the more confusing details. After all it was well over two hundred years and countless days of fighting since Lisa had learned about marketing practices. The four men said that they would return once their schedules worked out but assured them that it would take no more than a few days. Mr. Cline also said that he would be sending a ship or two ahead of time to collect the first load of scrap metal. Along with the ships woulde one of his best assistants to oversee things until he personally signed the dealpletely. Mrs. Smithy let out a satisfying sigh. "I am so d that is over. I had spent nearly three days trying to find someone willing to work with us. I can''t thank you enough for setting this chance up for me." "You''re wee." Lisa replied waving her hand in the air nonchntly. "We both just happened to be in the right ce at the right time. I too needed a way to get my electricity sold to someone. The repairs and parts I need won''t pay for themselves." "Indeed." Mrs. Smithy replied with a nod. "Are you not worried about this Crescent Moon Fighter that Mr. McMathers mentioned? He seems like a dangerous fellow." "Not at all. I relish the opportunity in fact." Lisa replied giving a confident grin. "I may look like a soft-hearteddy, but I just can''t sit still. I have to blow off some steam some way and this fight will be a good chance to do so. The fights up until now havent been putting me to the test." "You mean, you are the Match Fighter that''s going to fight him?" Mrs. Smithy asked raising her eyebrows. "Why yes. I am a Match Fighter and now officially a businesswoman as I intended. I should probablye up with a name for my electricpany." Lisa said tapping her chin in thought. Mrs. Smithy was genuinely surprised. Looking at this tall, slim, and gorgeousdy, she would have never guessed that she would have been a Match Fighter. Now she understood why Lisa had originally asked to be called ''Queen''. It was her Match Fighter name, and the rich men might have only known her as such. There was probably some reason as to why all the secrecy. "So, you promised to introduce yourself properly after the meeting. Is now a good time?" Mrs. Smithy asked. Lisa looked around at the market guards lurking around keeping an eye on everything. The market had started to again more customers as the day wore on and the guards seemed quite upied, but why risk being overheard. "If you can indulge me for just a while longer, I would like to show you that the electricity I promised is indeed real. I will tell you my name then. For personal reasons I can''t speak it here." "Very well. I can wait a bit longer, it''s not that big a deal." Mrs. Smithy replied. "Besides, I too want to see that the electricity really is being created." "We can go just after my friends get back." Lisa said taking a nce in the direction they should being from. They weren''t there yet, so she shimmied deeper into thefortable white chair. "Sounds good to me." Mrs. Smithy said taking another sip of her water that she had brought along with her. "Not to pry or anything, but you kept mentioning in the meeting that you wanted to stay here. What is the reason? If I had a good chance such as yours, I would have taken it. This town is practically war-torn ruins and wastnds, you should have joined them as a representative for theirpanies." "Yes, this town had seen better times, but I feel it can see them again. Though I may not be from around here, as I only arrived her nearly a month ago, but some stuff happened, and I am helping out some of the locals. Especially one young girl. Her parents were murdered, and I have been helping her out. "Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Have you discovered who is responsible?" Mrs. Smithy asked putting the water down with a concerned look. "Well, I can say that I and others also helping her, know who did it and the first one has already been dealt with." Lisa replied being sure not to give too much away. If she had mentioned that it was the very gang that they were sitting in thepound of, and that she had beheaded one of them already; Mrs. Smithy might want to call if the arrangements and get out of here. "Well, if you do catch the rest, I would like you to try them in court. The ERM is creating a formal court system and wish to conduct things within properw and order. Thisnd has be far too violent,wless and corrupt. If the regr people are to thrive and survive, properws must be upheld." Mrs. Smithy said with a twinge of pride. "That''s good to hear. Maybe one day everyone can be truly happy. I just hope that it can be with in my time." Lisa said thoughtfully. Just then Sadie and Zane returned from meeting with Rickshaw. When they arrived, Lisa noticed Sadie''s grumpy expression. "What''s wrong? Did it not go to well?" Lisa ventured to ask. "Everything was fine." Sadie replied hastily. "Zane has his debut fight in a few weeks, then he will be official." "Well, that good news." Lisa said still curious as to why she was mad. "So, was Nicky there? Is that why you seem upset?" "Hmpf, ya, she was there." Said replied tossing a brown braid over her shoulder and looking away from Zane. Lisa picked up on these cues and decided it to press further. Now wasn''t the time to talk about it. "I see. Well things turned out well for the both of us. So, I guess we all can head back to the dam." Lisa said changing the subject. "Sounds good to me." Sadie murmured. It wasn''t long until they finally left the Mad Dogpound and were back in the rundown town. Mrs. Smithy still could not believe how nice thepound actually was and could not help but talk about it. Her and Sadie chatted about the ce as they went. While Lisa and Zane followed behind with the four guards, who looked quite relieved to be out of there. "Just how are they able to keep that ce so orderly?" Mrs. Smithy asked. "Other than therge amounts of ie, they have a caretaker that is in charge of keeping the ce in perfect condition. I heard a rumor that he was the original Town nner in the past." Sadie replied. Her mood seemed to have improved now. As the two continued chatting and moving further with the four ERM guards, Lisa nudged Zane. "So why was Sadie so mad earlier?" She asked quietly enough for Sadie not to hear her. "I''m not sure." Zane answered shrugging. "We turned in the forms and set up my fight. Then that pretty blonddy, Nicky, cane over and started bad mouthing us. I assume it was because of that." Lisa picked up on him mentioning he thought that Nicky looked pretty and already knew the real reason. However, she decided to see how things went from this point on and kept it to herself. If Sadie had a thing for Zane than things could get interesting and didnt want to ruin any potential juicy stuff. Despite having a military, tough girl lifestyle, Lisa did like and good romance novel or movie every now and again. "I see. I am guessing that Nicky and Sadie have had this kind of rivalry thing going on for some time now." Lisa replied still speaking softly to not be overheard. "As long as Nicky doesn''t directly threaten Sadie, I think it is best we stay out of it and just focus on winning our fights. That is bound to fix the main issue. Not to mention help us." "Ok, I think I can do that much. So, what about getting me ready for my uing fight?" Zane asked changing the topic. "Anything in particr I need to focus on?" "Well, first of all, we need to make sure that your wound is up to the task. Not only for the fight, but for the training too." Lisa said as the group rounded the next street corner and the dams Powerhouse building came into view. "You need to get back into shape. Sitting around and recovering is good, but your muscles will getzy. We can do very simple arm and leg training for a little while, then once the wound looks better, we can work on your core strength. I am sure that is what Sadie will deuce as well." "Nicky said something about not letting you do all the Managers work either to Sadie and that you might make Sadie useless. Probably should let her make the choices." Zane replied. "Not that I don''t agree with you though." "Hmm, ok. In that case I will try to make my suggestions seem like she thought them up. If she says the same stuff as me, then no need to worry. Sadie will be able to handle Nicky''s jeers, I''m sure of it. Though clumsy, I think Sadie will end up being a fine manager." Lisa said thinking hisments over. "Sounds reasonable. I just want to hurry and get back at all these guys that keep messing with me." Zane said tightening his fists and Lisa took notice. "No one ever screwed with me as a gangs lieutenant like that before and now that I am not, I just feel agitated." "I can understand that feeling." Lisa replied slowly. "After getting out of the military, I found it quite vexing that there was no chain ofmand. With every conversation or encounter they just seemed tock any proper mannerisms to indicate who was in charge. It took a while to readjust into ''normal'' society. Everyone would rather just force their way through you, rather than show others respect for just being fellow humans." Just then they arrived at the entrance to the dam. Lisa went up to the hidden gate and once again unlocked it to let everyone in. When they reached the Powerhouse building Lisa turned to exin the situation to the ERM group. "My name is Lisa Cunningham and for the moment the dam under repair and is only slightly operational. I do have the Control Room powered up and monitoring the electric output. Right now, I haven''t any problems with that rooms equipment either, so that will speed things along nicely. I only have one generator that is currently powered on and several others I have taken apart for inspection. The single generator is only powering the dams tunnel and Control Room for right now. Follow me and I will show you to the tunnel." Lisa said turning to go inside. The group followed silently into the building. Lisa took a moment to unlock the big green metal door. As she did, Lisa continued speaking. "Behind us are some of the transformers that are currently disconnected. This is to prevent any power surges or unforeseen issues to harm them." Then giving a big shove, Lisa pushed open one of the heavy metal doors with a whoosh. "Now here is the electricity, as promised!" Mrs. Smithy and the four guards inhaled sharply. It was obvious that they too had not seen electricity in an awfully long time. Perhaps they couldnt really have had expected her words to be true until they had actually seeing it for themselves. "This is wonderful!" Mrs. Smithy said stepping inside to gaze up at the lights. "This settles it. As soon as you are able,e join us across the river. Our elected Mayor, Nathan Dees, and the rest of the council would be thrilled to discuss matters." "Well, why wait?" Lisa replied giving a chuckle. "I cane over tomorrow." "Very good. We better hurry back to give our ount and everything ready for your arrival." Mrs. Smithy said turning quickly to go out of the tunnel. "Come on boys, let''s get back to the boat and get going!" Lisa watched them heading down hill towards the docks as she stood in the entrance to the dams fence. She thought aloud to herself, "I wonder how things are going to work out with this, Nathan Dees and the ERM. Hopefully, they aren''t going to be more trouble than they are worth. Militia tend to attract troublesome forces. Still with that trouble wille money. It always does. He-he!" A happens chance encounter is starting to turnout to be a big break! It hasnt even been a month sinceing here and already Ive got a potential first customer! Chapter 101: Graveside Chapter 101: Graveside The night after Lisa''s fight with Golem, Hanna couldn''t sleep. Be it from either the days excitement or that her thoughts kept wandering around Golems death and what Aunt Lisa had spoken about. She tossed and turned for hours in the still unfamiliar bed. "Was killing him really the right thing to do?" Hanna spoke quietly in her room to better formte her thoughts. "I know Aunt Lisa said I wasn''t actually ountable for him dying, but I still feel horrible inside. He was just doing what he was told. Just like when Aunt Lisa said she fought in the military; she was just following orders. But she did feel bothered killing them. So even if I didn''t do anything, he still died because of me. Yet he still was responsible for my parents-, I mean what happened. Gah, this is so confusing!" Frustrated, Hanna rolled over in bed under the rough quilt for the dozenth time. Giving up she kicked off her bed sheets andid there just in her pajamas. "He never even knew Aunt Lisa fought for me to get revenge. How could I consider that getting revenge? I did nothing." She let out a long sigh andid motionless in her bed. It was so still and quite in the house that she could practically hear the silence. The moon was half full tonight and its pale glow seeped into her bedroom and dyed the floor with its gossamer light. Stars twinkled sleepily as Hanna gazed out at them. Curious thoughts of what really might have happened when someone died danced within her head. Where would they go, for how long, would they still think or feel? Would theye back as something else, or was that it? They had one shot at life. Was there someone waiting for them on the other side or did nothingness await. Were they scared to die? Hanna shuttered at these unsettling thoughts. Thinking of death was just a horrible experience. So full of uncertainties, anxiety, dread, and fear. Especially since her life up until recently had been so happy and content. These thoughts had never crossed her mind before and might never had for a long time if her family were still here. Her parents had always been so kind and caring. Though they had extraordinarily little in this poor town, they were happy. Mother loved to tend the garden and flowers. The loving look in her beautiful brown eyes, as she tending to them, was always so calm and tender. It made Hanna feelpletely rxed and safe, like all was well in the world. Her hugs were even better too. Mother always smelled so nice, likevender after the rain. Father was always chatting and joking around with John, Benny, and Richard. He always worked hard to provide for them, even if he hated doing physicalbor. Many times, he woulde home after dark totally exhausted. Being hugged his arms she always felt so stable and secure; and yet absolutely free. Father loved to set her on hisp and read stories to her. They would spend hours at a time just simply talking and joking around. Just living in that very moment. Hanna had tried to be a good daughter for her parents. Though she always seemed to make mistakes, but in the end, they were always forgiven. Thinking back on them, they were a wonderful family. "Will I ever see you again?" Hanna''s soft voice quivered in the silent darkness. A hot tear dropped off Hanna''s nose before she had even realized it was there. Her emotions were welling up now and there was no stopping them. She grabbed her pillow out from behind her head and buried her face into its limp fluffiness and just cried. For how long, she knew not. All she could do was hold the pillow close to her and do her best to not cry out loud. Eventually, letting out one final sob, she managed to calm down. "What did we do to deserve this?" Hanna moaned into the pillow. Martinezs face suddenly appeared in her thoughts, "Why did you kill them!" Tossing the tear stained pillow away, she punched and kicked at the air in silent frustration. A sudden thought appeared in her mind. Where were her parents at now? All this time she had been going on, day by day, in what felt like a daze. As if her parents were not really gone, but on a faraway trip and would be back anytime soon. Yet they wouldn''t being back. They were gone. Never to hold her close again. A second wave a sadness quickly enveloped her. Though not as strong as before, the pain seemed to rack her heart. Letting many warm tears still roll, unchecked, down her cheeks. After calming somewhat a whileter, she made a decision. "Tomorrow, I will ask John to take me to them." Hanna said to the darkness. "I need to see them." The moons light was long gone from the floor now. If not for the stars, darkness would have been all that remained in her sight. Exhausted from crying all night, Hanna finally drifted off to sleep. Morning came much too early for her. The sound of Mary tapping on her door was what ultimately woke her up. "Hanna." Mary''s muffled voice called from the other side of the bedroom door. "It''s time to eat breakfast." Hanna sat up in bed and stretched, feeling the grogginess from a sleepless night enveloping her. Her still tear stained eyes felt like lead. Grudgingly she managed to get out of bed, shuffle over to the closet and change into her day cloths. A simple red and blue stripped shirt and tattered jeans. Finally, she took a simple ck Alice-band and used it to hold back her smooth muddy red hair. Looking into therge mirror on the wall she wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks as best as possible. However, her normally dull green eyes still looked reddened and sad. She thought about giving a smile, but she couldn''t even force one. Frustrated, she left the room. Downstairs at the dinner table Mary had cut up an apple and even peeled off the skin, just like Hanna liked it. Still, however, Hanna could hardly eat even half of the slices. John, who was sitting across from her munching on an old biscuit, noticed herck of appetite. "Hanna, is something the matter?" John asked putting his breakfast down. "Kind of." Hanna murmured. "Well, you can always tell us if you need help with anything." Mary called from the kitchen, overhearing their conversation. "She''s right, Hanna." John replied. He could see that her eyes were red and knew that she had been crying again. "All you have to do is ask." Hanna fidgeted for a moment, trying to build up the courage to speak. When she did speak it was soft at first. "I-I want to see my parents. I want to know where they are." John leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Alright, that will be fine. I should have taken you to see them sooner, but I wanted to wait until you were ready. Are you sure?" Timidly Hanna nodded reassuringly. "Ok then. Finish your apple and we can go together." John said while picking up his own biscuit. Hanna felt better now that she was able to ask and went back to finishing off the apple slices. The two of them soon finished eating and got ready to leave by getting their shoes from the front door. While Hanna was still tying herces, John opened the front door to check the temperature. "It''s going to get warm today. We won''t need to bother with jackets." John said leaving the door open. The suns warm rays glowed brightly, lighting up the houses entryway. "I''ming too." Mary replied as she came after them from the kitchen. "Just let me go get something from upstairs." "Is it ''that'' thing?" John asked Mary, emphasizing the word, ''that''. Hanna noticed this but stayed silent. "Yes, but only it. The rest we should wait on, like they asked." Mary replied now halfway up the stairs. "I guess that''s fine." John said shrugging. Hanna looked up at him questioningly as she finished tightening her shoe. "What is she getting?" "We will exin on the way." John replied. Then he turned to go outside before Hanna could ask another question. Hanna then too got up to follow him. Not a minuteter Marry had joined them outside. In her hand was a small in looking wood box. There was nothing special about it at all and it fit neatly in Mary''s hands. "Oh, it does feel nice out today." Mary said as the three of them started walking. A light breeze was blowing the warming morning air gently about. "So where are we going?" Hanna asked them. She was both curious and afraid still. "We are going back to the police station." John answered looking forward at the road ahead. "The same ce where they were killed." Hanna felt her stomach tighten as nasty memories flooded back. Her pace slowed slightly, and Mary took notice and slowed down with her. "Are you going to be alright?" Mary asked rubbing the small girls back gently. I know this might be scarry, going back there. "I think so." Hanna replied with a sniffle. Though she felt like she would rather run the other way and pretend that her parents were still away on a trip. However, she knew that she would have to face reality someday. Might as well be now. The trio walked the rest of the way in silence. The road leading to the police station was not highly traveled, so they didn''t see many other people. The once safe area had be a dangerous hot spot between the market and river docks. John always kept a watchful eye around them and luckily nothing happened. As soon as they reached the entrance to the station, Hanna froze. If she took another step than she would have to face the truth. If she turned back now it might all be a dream and she would wake up soon. She did not want to see her parents graves, yet she must. A friendly hand touched her shoulder. Marys soft voice then coaxed her forward, "Come on Hanna, just a bit further. You can do it. Hanna felt her knees shake as she stepped forward. Once she did, she could take the rest slowly. Walking nervously across the parking lot, Hanna stopped in front of two piles of red rocks, sand and two wooden crosses. This was where her parents were buried. Their lonely graves. Hanna looking dumbstruck down at them. Her mind had gone nk. She couldn''t find the words to speak. Nor did any teare to her eyes. She felt frozen in ce. John took a step forward to stand in between the two graves. He then turned to face Hanna. "The one on the right is your mother, Dalia Marshal. The one on the left is your father, Rond Marshal. I was going to give them proper tombstones, but I didn''t want you to see me making them. I''ll do them soon now though." Hearing the names of her parents finally broke Hanna. She copsed heavily to her knees and buried her face into her hands sobbing. Mary knelt down alongside Hanna and hugged her tightly around her waist. Trembling from her sadness Hanna leaned against Mary. No one said anything for a while and waited for Hanna to calm some. There was no reason to rush the grieving child. All the while Mary even fought to hold back her own tears. Once Hanna uncovered her face, she tried to control herself. "G-goodbye. I love you!" Hanna managed to finally say. "I promise not to let you down. Just watch over me." "I am sure that they will be." John replied slowly. "Here." Mary said holding out the little wooden box to Hanna. "This is something they gave to us; just in case they did die before you turned sixteen. They said it was a special gift for you." Hanna took the box with a shaky hand. It didn''t weigh much and the sound of something small, shifted inside. Carefully Hanna lifted the henge. Inside was a stunning engraved gold and tinum locket. On its front was a tinum Chines dragon circling around to bite its tail. It was beautiful. A loving gift, from loving parents. Hanna took it out gently from the simple box as another wave a tears came swirling back. Chapter 102: Locket Chapter 102: Locket "It''s so gorgeous!" Mary eximed putting a hand over her mouth. Apparently, this was her first time to actually see it. "How could they afford to have something like this?" She asked looking up at John questionably. John was equally surprised. He shook his head slowly in response. "How should I know. Something like that has got to be worth thousands. Rond and I made the same amounts at work, so I know he couldn''t have afforded it. Especially for how short his time was being employed." Hanna cupped the perfectly round locket tenderly in her hands. Its beautifully ornate designs sparkled in the sun light as the dragon appeared lifelike and wless to the onlookers. The background, behind the tinum dragon, appeared to be intricately detailed gold snowkes mixed interlocking with ice crystal formations. The tinum base allowed for the gold objects to stand out and be better depicted without a single w or inuracy to be found. The locket had a strikingly beautiful thin mariner chain, that despite its size, it appeared to be extremely durable. The tinum Chines dragon looping around to bite its tail was also no exception. The dragon''s image had been raised up slightly above the golden wintery designs to make it stand out to dazzle even more. Every single scale, every flowing tendriling off its head, along with each tooth and w could be seen in perfect minute detail. Not a single item was miss-sized or misshapen. One could even see the angry expression in the dragons eyes as it bit down on its own tail. Hanna had never seen something so morous as this before, not even in her dreams. However, the symbol of the Chines dragon eating its own tail looked very familiar to her. She studied it carefully tilting it from side to side in her cupped hands, but nothing came to mind. It was one of those moments that you knew you were going to remember the answer hourster, while doing something random, and feel silly for not recalling it sooner. Such a curious symbol. Hanna then carefully pried open the golden snap lock on the locket. It slid open much easier than she had anticipated, and its henges opened effortlessly. Inside was a single, vibrantly colored image on the right side of the locket''s interior. The image was of her father and mother smiling as they held a small, bundled baby, presumably Hanna caught in toothless midughter in between them. Behind them was a vast openndscape of bright reddish-brown rocks and rusty sand. It looked just like the desert area to the south of town, almost. Seeing the happy image, Hanna started to tear up again. Up until now every photo or memory of her parents had been burned away from inside their home. She was so overjoyed to be able to see them once again. On the opposite side of the lockets interior was a short paragraph written in fancy flowing and looped cursive wording. It said: "To our most cherished daughter, Hanna Marshal, born April 2, 2264, at Tharsis Royal Hospital. We will love you with all our hearts forever, no matter what maye. We wish that your future be as bright as your smiles! Loved eternally by Rond and Dalia Marshal." Hanna smiled happily as she closed the locket and clutched it close to her heart. She looked up at the two rocky graves in front of her with tears in her eyes. "Thank you." Hanna whispered shakily. "We can stay here as long as you need." John said to Hanna as he walked over to the police building wall. "I can keep an eye out for trouble. So just take all the time you need." "That''s right sweetie." Mary said patting Hanna''s back softly. "Today is for them." The rest of the morning rolled by quickly. Hanna was able to get her feelings out and pent-up emotions let go for the time being. By the time noon came, the suns rays started to make the exposed gravesite hot. Saying her goodbyes until the next time, the three of them returned home. Hanna was sitting at the kitchen table with her new locket resting on the table in front of her. The Weathers had decided to leave open the doors and windows to let the warm air freshen up the house and a gentle breeze had been wafting in. The sounds of Mary working on something in the kitchen let Hanna know that everything was alright. She kept tracing the dragons image with her finger thoughtfully. She couldn''t turn her gaze away from its dazzling beauty. "Where have I seen you before?" She whispered to the dragon. Something as unique as a looping dragon eating its tail should have been an easy thing to remember. There wasn''t anything like it in town or in any books that she had read. Yet she felt as if she had seen it a thousand times before today. Just then Hanna heard the sound of Mary''s footstepsing through the kitchen from the garage. She looked up to see Mary carrying a small sowing kit on top of a cardboard boxbeled: Fabrics. "I want you to keep the locket with you, but it''s much too valuable and noticeable to have on in public." Mary exined to Hanna as she set the box into the table. "So, we are going to make a suede covering for the locket. This way it won''t scratch up the locket or irritate your skin." "Ok. That would be a good idea." Hanna replied leaning forward onto the table to peer into the box. Mary opened the box revealing a vast variety of fabric patches, scraps and half used mini rolls. She had to dig around inside for a good while until she found the suede fabrics she had been searching for. "Ah, there we go." Mary said lifting out three differently colored fabrics. "Which color would you like your lockets covering to be?" Hanna reached out to stroke the soft fibers of the suede cloth. It felt nice on her rugged fingertips. ying outside all the time tends to do such a thing to a girls hands. Unexpectedly, a memory of her motherining about having rough hands popped into her mind. A tear suddenly popped into the corner of her eye. Hanna quickly tried to forget about it before her emotions returned and focused back on the fabrics. "This sky blue one is very nice, but I think it''s too noticeable and easy to get dirty." Mary continued speaking while ttening the fabrics onto the table. "If It were me, I would pick between the other two colors. The dark forest green or the russet colors." Hanna inwardly agreed with Mary''s assessment. The blue was pretty, but it appeared to have a scuff mark on it already. The dark forest green was genuinely nice to look at and was closer to her favorite color. It gave off a shady cool, yet lushness vibe at the same time. The russet had an earthlier tone to it and the color struck Hanna to kind of hold a slight affinity to the photograph inside. "I''m not sure of which one to pick." Hanna said after a brief pause after hearing Mary''s question. "I like them both a lot." "Well then, how about we use both of them?" Mary replied picking up both cloths. "We can stitch them together with equal halves. That way if you feel like having a different color on, you can just flip the locket over." "That sounds nice." Hanna replied giving a small grin. The first one all day. Mary smiled back, happy to see that Hannas mood was improving. "Alright then. Let me just get out a good thread to stitch them together with." Mary said opening the sewing kit. "I want to sow the covering if you''ll let me." Hanna asked. "But I think you are going to have to show me how to sew it together. Mother never taught me." Mary nodded knowingly. "That''s perfectly fine. Actually, every time your family had damaged clothing; your mother woulde to me as well. She didn''t know how to sow either." "Really? Howe?" Hanna asked curiously as she watched Mary still watching for the right thread. Mary pulled out a white spool of thread but put it aside. Along with the ck, blue and red thread spools that she had already removed. It looked like there was a lot of odds and ends stuffed into the kit and made it hard to find things. Organization wasn''t one of Mary''s best qualities. "Oh, I am not sure." Mary replied, still rooting around in the kit. "She said that growing up her family was well off and could afford to just buy a new set of clothing. Sure must have been nice to grow up like that. Never did mention much else about her childhood though" "That must have cost a lot." Hanna answered not hearing Marysst words. "The market here doesn''t have a lot of good clothes." "Ah, here it is! I knew it was in there somewhere." Mary eximed. She pulled out a dark tan colored, thickly shaped, spool of thread. Compared to the other spools this one was much thicker looking. "I thought that this would look nice with the two colors. Like a vine tying a tree and rock together." "I like that idea." Hanna replied thoughtfully. "So, what needle do I need to use?" "Well, the needles eye needs to be big enough for the thread to fit. Yet not so big that the needle is too hard to push through the fabric. Suede is not all that strong, and it could get ripped." Mary exined pulling out the appropriate needle to use. "Firstly, we need to make sure that the fabrics will cover the entire locket. Don''t want the insides to be noticed. So, to do this we will cover the locket with tworge square cloths, one color on each side." Mary exined this as she performed the described actions to Hanna. Hanna careful watched every motion she did. Trying her upmost tomit these actions to her memory. "Next, take the thread and needle and start stitching them together at the top of the locket, but leave a tinny gap away from the chain. We will need to make a hole there so you can wear it." Mary exined starting to thread the fabrics together as the lockety in between them. She poked the thread through the russet fabric and then into the green fabric behind. "Then make sure that you keep the thread as close together as possible. That way it looks neat and there are no gaps." She said as she reversed this action, going back into the green fabric and into the russet. After a few passes, Mary asked, "See how close I made the thread to itself?" Hanna inspected the work carefully. Every stroke looked uniform and segmented like a millipedes body. "I think so. Can you keep going so I can make sure I would do it right?" "Sure." Mary replied. "I''ll do the first half, then you can try. Just stop when you get three quarters of the way around. There is an additional step we need to do." "Alright." Hanna replied watching Mary going back to work on the stitching. Mary finished up her share in no time and handed the project to Hanna. Hanna carefully did her best to mimic what Mary had done. However, her actions felt clumsy and the needle nearly poked her several times. Luckily, she didn''t get pricked by the time she got to the three quarters of the way point. Her work looked much sloppier than Mary''s, but it was passable work. "Ok, what next?" Hanna asked looking up from her work. "Now we cut the thread and tie it off tightly." Mary said taking out scissors to cut the thread. Then skillfully Mary tied a tight knot extremely close to the stitches. "Next, we start new stitching line up at the top, just like the first time." Mary then did just that. However, when she got closer to the first thread line, she widened the gap between the stitches. Hanna was about to ask why when Mary spoke. "I am doing this so that if you ever need to take the locket out to open it, you can. You can just untie the stitching here and pop the locket out of the loosened area." Mary exined. "Then it wouldn''t be too hard to restitch it back in ce." Mary then tied a small, tight bow at the end of the stitching. "There how does that look?" "It looks interesting. Are we going to trim off the extra cloth though?" Hanna asked looking at the odd square ends of the fabrics. Mary chuckled. "Of course, silly." Mary then took the scissors and trimmed away the fabric as close as she dared to the stitching. Then she cut the hole for the ne chain and the project wasplete. "There we go. Now put it on. How does it feel?" Mary asked handing it to Hanna. Hanna put it on and twiddled the suede covered locket with her fingers as it dangledfortably on her neck. The length of the chain nestled loosely below her corbones, meaning there was plenty of room grow without damaging the chain. Hanna let out the second and brightest grateful smile of the day, "I love it! Thank you, Mary." Chapter 103: Militia Leader Chapter 103: Militia Leader Nathan was mulling around the grounds outside of the Militia''s base. Ever since thest main meeting that the whole ERM council attended, there hadn''t been much going on. Other than dealing with a few internal squabbles andining from dozens of citizens, he hadn''t aplished very much. The lesser wounded from the previous battle with the ck Rats had already been sent home. Leaving only the most injured to be dealt with by thecking medical staff. He would check up on them at least once a day, but he could tell many were suffering and unfortunately, their numbers lessened by the day. Nothing was all that much different from when the ck Rats were ruling the area. "Mayor Dees, it''s time to go check up on how much scrap metal the others have collected. We should go check on the docks area first. We need to be ready for when Mrs. Smithy returns with a buyer." The speaker was Anthony Roth, Nathan''s new personal assistant. Though Anthony was an assistant, he looked more like a bodyguard. The man was huge and stood a full head taller than Nathan. Despite his notable size, Anthony was a rather timid and gentle man. When Nathan first met Anthony, he saw that a fly hadnded on Anthonys shoulder and freaked out upon seeing it. He proceeded to start swinging his clipboard at it frantically but with little sess and the fly easily escaped. Nathan could help but find the sight to beical. "Alright, let''s get going." Nathan replied giving a sigh. The two of them headed towards the docks and along the way they passed many of the towns people. Some were carrying metal stuff, a few were Militia soldiers keeping an eye on the area; while most were just wandering about with nothing to do. "Any changesing our way soon, Mayor Dees?" An elderly man walking by asked. "Not yet, but hopefully soon. Stay positive." Nathan replied giving a reassuring smile. "I hope so." The elderly man replied. "The young ones are getting restless." Nathan agreed inwardly. He then merely waved goodbye and continued walking on. The people hadn''t been all to inspiredtely. With the gangsters gone and not that much of an apparent change in their lives, it was bound to happen. It wouldnt be long before the townspeople would start thinking of possibly rebelling just as he had. The area that they were currently walking through had been the same area that Dilly had driven his Mech through. Many of the buildings sides that were lining the streets had been shredded and rubbley scattered everywhere in the streets. Fortunately, most of the residents had long since moved out or they buildings were just empty store fronts. Soon the two arrived at the docks, leaving the wrecked streets behind. Here there was a lot more productive activity going on, which was a nice change in pace. Men and women were bringing all kind of metal items to give to the militia. Militia representatives were making sure that everyone was proceeding in an orderly fashion as they formed lines to add their items to three growing metal plies. This was done so that the militia members keeping records of the metal collected by the people would be able to ensure that they were properlypensated for their work. Of course, only once they were able to sell the metal, if at all. Just as the Council had agreed on. Gillian was the one overseeing the work going on here and seemed to be doing a good job. The militia and citizens were all working awfully hard together and appeared to have aplished a great deal so far. Nathan and Anthony headed immediately over to where he was. "Things are looking good." Nathan called out to Gillian. Gillian looked up from his note work scattered around on an old table. The paperwork was being held down by smooth, tan stones to keep the constant stiff breeze from blowing them away. He gave a relieved look seeing that Nathan wasing over. "Ah, there you are." Gillian said leaving the table. "I needed an excuse to stop working. I absolutely hate pushing a pen around all day. If I were younger, I''d rather be out there working." "d I could be useful somehow." Nathan replied as the two shook hands. "Everyone seems to be doing something productive, all but me." "That''s not true." Anthony saiding from behind. "As the Mayor, you oversee everyone''s work, so in essence their work is yours too." "That''s one way to see it." Gillian said giving a shrug like nod. "It''s just not the same as doing it with my own hands." Nathan replied. "Well, then help me out." Gillian said pointing over across the street, opposite from the river. "I need an extra man to help carry that half of a car. There were some ants in it earlier and they bit one of the workers. The bites ended up causing an allergic reaction. Don''t worry, it wasn''t serious. Just his forearms will be lumpy for the rest of the day. Luckily, he had gloves on." "Sure, I can help out." Nathan said giving a grin. "Uh, ants? I think I''ll stay here and uh, check over the documents." Anthony said skittishly. He stepped over to the table and started looking over the papers immediately. "Alright, you do that Anthony. I probably made mistakes anyway." Gillian replied holding back hisughter. Anthony sure hated insects. The two leaders then went to join four other men waiting by the car half. The ants had already been dispersed and the men only needed an extra set of hands before moving. The six of them were able to carry the car half over to the closest of the three piles without any mishaps. A militia soldier recorded the addition and gave the four men the credit. As ERM leaders, Nathan and Gillian''s contributions were not going to be counted. Nathan wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and took a nce over at Anthony. Anthony was still fervently looking over Gillian''s work alongside an assistant soldier that had joined him. The two of them appeared to be working quite hard. "Anything else that I can do?" Nathan asked Gillian. "Anthony looks distracted and I don''t want to keep doing nothing." "Well, a bunch of soldiers had pulled down any still standing streemps over the past few days. The citizens were going to build carts to drag them here and they should be done by now. We could go help them pull the carts." "Sounds great. I am sure the task won''t be easy." Nathan replied sounding simply just d to move around. "Lead the way." Mrs. Smithy and her four guards had left Lisa and the dam to quickly cross over to the ERMs controlled area. After paying the boat driver, they headed straight for the headquarters. She was overly excited to announce her good fortune. When they arrived, she was only able to find Mr. nagan working with two assistants on documents pertaining to who owned what in town. Apparently, Nelly Havens Head of Records, was putting a lot of work in and needed to have her findings overlooked for final approval. "Mr. nagan, are you the only one here?" Mrs. Smithy asked breathlessly while knocking on the entrance to the room. "I have good news that I must tell everyone in the Council!" "You were able to get a buyer than?" Mr. nagan asked standing up from behind the table they were working at. "Yes, and much more. If things work out well, the people will be right as rain in no time. But I will exin that once the Council is together. There is just a lot to exin." Mrs. Smithy replied happily. "That''s great!" Mr. nagan replied. He then turned to speak to the two assistants with him. "Go and get Mayor Nathan and the rest. We need to meet here as soon as possible." The two assistants left in a hurry. Mrs. Smithy then came inside and sat down in an empty seat, as did the four guards. They all looked exhausted. Mr. nagan noticed this. "I''ll be right back with some water and food. I think you all need it." "That would be wonderful." Mrs. Smith replied, and the guards all nodded in agreement. "Until then, let me just get my notes and paperwork in order." She pulled out from her backpack a small stack of papers and started sifting through them. It was over an hourter by the time everyone on the Council was gathered. Gillian and Nathen were the hardest to find. Anthony was supposed to have kept an eye on them but got distracted. They were eventually found working in the streets three blocks away from the dock metal site. Mr. nagan gave poor Anthony a long lecture about the incident and how vital his job at keeping an eye on the Mayor was. "Alright everyone, lets get this special meeting underway." Mr. nagan announced pping his hands together. "Mrs. Smithy has returned from her mission and apparently has good news to ry to us. Is that correct?" "Yes, it is." Mrs. Smithy replied standing up to address the Council. "Very good news." "Let''s hear it then." Mr. Zimmerman grunted as he scooted forward in his seat expectantly. Mrs. Smithy cleared her throat and started to speak as she read off a paper held in her hands. "Firstly, the initial objective was to find a buyer for the metal. It was harder than anticipated. I found, by chance, a woman by the name of Lisa Cunningham who was interested by our plight. It just so happened that she was already going to be meeting with several rich investors and invited me along to join them. Through that meeting many things were discussed, and fortunate deals were made." She looked up to survey the room. Everyone was eager to hear what came next. Not wasting another moment, she continued. "The buyer for our scrap metal is a Mr. Cline, Owner of River to Gulf Shipping Co. He will be sending several small vessels and a special assistant to oversee the work. He agreed to pay us the requested rate. This is not all. Three other investors also learned through this meeting, that we have an untapped industrial opportunity here and would like to work with us to get it going." "One of them is Charles Goodman, he owns an alcoholic beveragepany and perfume products line. He wants to look into potentially outsourcing some of his business out here to us to likely create a beverage dispenser facility. Then there is Dino McMathers and Rich Rotters. These two men will be interested in investing as well, but only after Lisa Cunningham is able to perform her end of the deal." "This is the most important part. Lisa Cunningham, also known as the Match Fighter Queen, is in control of the dam here in town. She was able to get the hydroelectric station of the dam working and can now produce electricity! She is going to get the dam up to full capacity and we can purchase the electricity, and once again get our town back and running like it once was!" Chapter 104: Uncomfortable Visit Chapter 104: Ufortable Visit The room burst out into a fit of excitement and chatter. This was a far better oue than they could have anticipated. Mrs. Smithy was unable to continue the report for nearly a minute, until everyone simmered down. "As I was exining," Mrs. Smithy said speaking loudly over the noisy room. "Lisa has only been able to produce enough electricity to power the inner portions of the dam itself. She didn''t specifically say when she would be able to produce more. Neither did she say how the electricity would be provided to us. However, she is in contact with a merchant that could bring her the needed materials. Also, Mr. McMathers will fund her project on the pretense that she beat a Match Fighter by the name of Crescent Moon." Upon hearing that name Gillian perked up. "Crescent Moon? I know of this person." The Council members all turned to look his direction. Gillian paid them no mind and continued. "This fighter is probably one of the best in these parts. Also, one of the few fighters from this region to reach Mountain League Tier 10! The man is a local legend." "Mrs. Smithy, do you think that Lisa or Queen, is capable of beating such an adversary?" Mr. nagan asked. I am not to keen on the rankings of the MFA. Mrs. Smithy shook her head. "I am not sure. I didn''t see her fight or personal record. Though she did strike me as a strong person." "Hmm, perhaps we shouldn''t bet on her earning the funds to fix the dam." Mr. nagan replied leaning back into his seat while rubbing his scruffy chin in thought. "Maybe we should just im the dam as our own and use the electricity for free." Several other members murmured their potential agreement. "Perhaps you''re right." Mr. Zimmerman replied, looking towards Mr. nagan. "It might be wiser to secure funds for ourselves to fix the dam. Especially if this Lisa doesn''t survive the fight, as I hear many in that profession don''t, or is too injured to fix it." "Now let''s not be hasty." Gillian said raising a hand. "We shouldn''t judge a book by its cover. Mrs. Smithy, is she going to be able to visit us, so we can assess her in person? Perhaps she might actually be lying about the electricity and pulling a scam." The Council members all started speaking amongst themselves again. Mrs. Smithy sighed inwardly, "From this line of questioning, it could be possible. However, I saw the lights with my own eyes." But her opinion did really matter, only the facts she knew did. "Yes, Lisa is going to meeting us sometime tomorrow." Mrs. Smithy announced. "We can ask her more specific questions then." "Sounds good to me." Nathan said for the first time. He had been sitting back and observing how things were going to proceed. "Mrs. Smithy and Mr. nagan, you two need toe up with questions suitable to ask her in regard to the dam and the electricity. Gillian, you will find a way to determine how capable she really is. If you don''t think she is all that strong, we will need to think of counter measures." The three all nodded in joint approval. Nathan than turned to look at Miss Havens. "Is there anything we need to go over that we neglected?" Miss Havens had been keeping a written ord of the meeting and had been furiously writing all that was taking ce. Hearing the question, she picked up herrge note pad and flipped through the papers to scan over them quickly. Her handwriting was about as perfect as it could get and looked as if a printer had done it, if not better. "Perhaps we need to discuss what to do about the rich merchants. They are also going to be a big part of our future ie if all goes well." Miss Havens said stopping at a particr page in the notes. "Also, if we do intend on acquiring the dam, it might be an issue with the Mad Dog gang. That is technically their area." "Ah, yes. That is a good point." Nathan said tapping the table with his fingers. "We would bring conflict with a muchrger gang than the ck Rats. That wouldn''t be good for us." "No, it would not." Gillian replied. "They are at least three times the ck Rats numbers. We would lose even with the Mechs. Besides our forces can''t fight on an empty stomach." "I can attest to that. They are also very financially secure and capable." Mrs. Smithy chimed in. "They have a walled fortress around their base and their forces were definitely very well armed." "Well, that''s out of the question for now." Mr. nagan replied hearing this information. "We will just have to see how things go upon meeting Lisa." "What of the rich merchants?" Nathan asked. "Mr. Clines business is going to be secured in no time. Yet the others are all going to be needing electricity to work with us." "Mr. Goodman said that he would inspect the facilities himself to determine how to proceed from there. Perhaps he has some way of conducting his business without electricity?" Mrs. Smithy suggested. "That would be interesting." Mr. nagan replied. "What about Mr. McMathers? What was his profession?" Mrs. Smithy thought for a moment. "I actually don''t know. Mr. McMathers never mentioned to me what he did exactly. That''s rather odd now that is been pointed out. Every other merchant mentioned what they did. Perhaps Lisa can answer that for us." Mr. nagan nodded in response. Nathan saw than no one had anything else to talk about and felt it was time to wrap things up. "Well until she doese here, let''s focus on the tasks at hand. We need to do the best we can with what know so far." Everyone in the meeting gave a collective agreement and the gathering slowly scattered. Gillian was the first toe up to Nathan at the end of it all. "Hey, want toe back and finish helping move the scrap metals?" Gillian asked in a low tone. "I just know you''d rather do that than office work around here." Nathan nced around and no one was paying them much attention. "Sure. Let''s hurry." Before anyone took notice, they had left the room. Saul was feeling rather annoyed. The triplets were his only real option at this time and he had to go find them. He knew of the towns south eastern golf course that Rickshaw had mentioned. It was an area that the Mad Dogs had controlled for an exceedingly long time and had even been their headquarters for a while. Though he had never been to the mansion himself, its reputation proceeded itself. It was known for therge production of meth and serums. The gangs main sources of ie. When the Mad Dogs first arrived in the town, their objective was to find a ce outside of Moab City, along the river, so they could make the meth and serums without interference and a means of transportation. The Damn was the perfect ce. It was out of the way, easy to takeover and had plenty of people to force to work for them. The reason they picked the golf course and mansion was that they intended to build the methb, and eventually serum factory, underground. The golf course grass would provide the perfect cover. The area around the course was mostly sandstone and sand, as was under the course''s grass. So, if they hollowed out under the course and scattered the rubble it around it would appear no different to any possiblew enforcement surveince drones. How big the factory now was or how much it produced, Saul did not know. All he knew was that a lot of packages were leaving that ce, heading right for the river docks. The triplets were currently charged with monitoring the ce. When he finally arrived at the golf course he was rather astonished. The course waspletely green and well kept. It stood out vibrantlypared to the desert scrund and tan sandstone rocks all around it. His only guess as to why it was in such great condition was that the same person in charge of thepound''s grounds oversaw here too. Following the main path, he soon arrived at the mansion. There was a tall metal fence surrounding the entire building and two guards carrying assault rifles stood under a veranda by the gate. Both men were in matching uniforms, with the gangs symbol printed on an arm band and military bulletproof vests. They saw him approaching and stepped forward to interrogate him. "What are you doing here? Go back the way you came. This is private property." The first guards said. Saul could hear the sound of the guards gun safety being turned off. Though he felt nervous he didn''t show it when he spoke. "It''s alright. I am with the Mad Dogs. I am Saul, a Match Fighter manager and I am here to get the triplets toe and fight someone. Jackson and Rickshaw told me they were here." The two guards nced at each other. They didn''t seem convinced. They were definitely part of the gangs elite force. They didn''t seem the least bit fazed by his mentions of the higher-ranking gang members. "Got any identification?" The other guard asked, and he reached out with an open hand to Saul. Saul nodded understandably and took out his wallet. He took out a special looking card with the gangs symbol of a snarling dog and his own name. "See, it says I am a member of the gang and MFA. I am also here on Martinez''s orders, so you might want to let me see the triplets." "Fine." The guard sighed and handed the card back to Saul. "Now spread your legs and raise your arms. Need to check you over." Saulplied. He fully expected this kind of treatment. After being checked over, very thoroughly, the guards were satisfied. "Alright, follow me." The first guard said turning towards the gate. The other guard went back under the veranda and opened the electric lock to the gate. A buzzing rm alerted them that it was ok to enter. When Saul entered the mansions grounds it appeared just as well kept as thepound as well. At the ss double doors of the mansion stood an additional two guards. Seeing them approaching one guard opened the doors for them. Saul could only guess as to how nice it might look inside, especially considering how well kept the outside was. When he stepped inside, he nearly gasped. The ce was trashed! Cans, bottles, bags, and sand were scattered all over the once nice marble lobby entryway. The fermentation smell of alcohol and ashy cigarettes stung his nose. Laughter and pounding music sounded from the ground level parlor room towards the back of the building. The first guard was already heading that direction, so Saul quickly followed him while tiptoeing through the horrendous mess on the floor. Inside the parlor Saul could see many people partying. Gangsters were everywhere, some drinking, smoking, some were lounging on couches. There were also dozens of scantily d women dancing around provocatively and serving drinks. Most of the people seemed to be gathered around some pool tables further back in the room. If he hadn''t been here on an order, he would probably have loved to join in. "Where are the triplets!" Saul shouted over the ruckus to the guard. The guard didn''t reply but simply pointed towards the pool tables. Saul nodded and headed for that direction. The guard merely watched him carefully from behind from this point on. Saul had to push his way through the party crowd surrounding the pool tables. When he finally made it through to the front, he was shocked by the situation he saw. The triplets were the ones ying pool; however, it was the worst game of pool he had ever witnessed. The pockets were cut out from the table and reced with living peoples heads! The people were probably some unfortunate souls that got caught either escaping the factory or stealing the meth. They had been tied up and forced to face the pool table at eye level. The area around them on the once green fabric table was dyed with blood. The eldest of the triplets was just then hitting the cue ball and it smacked into the nine ball. Which it then zoomed towards the corner pocket and with a meaty thud, nailed the tied-up man there squarely in the nose! The man gasped in pain, unable to move, as blood sttered out of him like a squashed tomato. The crowdughed along with the triplets. This heartless action was their entertainment. "I got to deal with these guys?" Saul thought feeling a slight bit of panic upon witnessing such an ufortable sight. Chapter 105: Triplets Chapter 105: Triplets Saul couldn''t fathom this kind of cruelty being performed in front of him. Sure, he himself had participated in some nasty cruel business before, but not without a purpose. All six of the people, turned pool table pockets, were in horrid physical condition. Noses were busted, eyes swollen shut, teeth shattered, and bleeding jaws were bruised on every angle. The rest of their bodies weren''t spared either. Partygoers would be walking around the table and would either kick or step on the legs and feet of the tied-up prisoners. Some even went as far too spill drinks needlessly onto them. Saul looked around at the triplets, each ying this terrible game of pool. He had seen them a few times before at the Arena, but not from this close. They were all very tall and muscr, like they had been taking steroids for a long time. Each of their legs and arms were swollen beyond normal with powerful looking muscles and their shirts looked ready to burst at every movement. Their chiseled physiques were rather off putting when considered that they all had very bushy, curly ginger hair and freckled farm boy faces. It was even moreical when they spoke with their light Irish ents. "Aye, that was a good shot Sean." One of them said to the eldest triplet. "Thank you very much, brother." Sean said adding chalk to the end of his pool stick. "Is it your turn Conor or was it Patrick''s turn?" "It was mine." Patrick shouted eagerly stepping forward. He immediately took aim at a ''side pocket'' and sent the cue ball flying. It bounced off a wall and narrowly missed the target. The man, tied up as the pocket, let out a sobbing noise of relief that the ball had missed. "Awee on!" Patrick shouted stomping his foot. "That should have hit and shut up ya twink!" Patrick proceeded to poke the sobbing mans forehead with the end of the pool stick. The man tried to force himself to stop sobbing, but a bloody tear still managed to seep out of his swollen, plum colored eye. Patrick sighed heavily as if disappointed and a few partygoers watchingughed. "My turn then." Conor said shoving Patrick roughly aside to grab the cue ball. Saul decided to ignore what he saw and just keep working his way around through the crowd to them. The sooner he could tell them their bosses order and get out, the better. The unpleasant sight and smells were starting to give himself a headache. The crowd was annoyingly thick and the dancing antics they performed were no better. Even if he tried to shout over the music pounding into his soul, they wouldn''t notice him. He eventually quit trying and just bulled his way through the people. When he did make it to the closest of the triplets, he was exhausted. "Finally." Saul panted. "Hey Conor, I came with a message from Boss Martinez." Saul patted the big guys arm to get his attention. Conor must have felt angered by this and turned to grab Saul by the shirt cor and lifted him upward. "What you think you are doing, touching me? I ought to toss you in the factory myself." Saul was having trouble breathing as his own shirt was strangling him. The look in Conor''s eyes was pure rage. He was still able to squeak out a few words. "Boss got a fight for you!" "Oh, does he now?" Conor replied giving a smirk. "Let''s take this somewhere quieter." Conor, still holding Saul by the cor, effortlessly carried him into the next room. The crowd was thinner here and at least now there was a wall in between them and the speakers. The other two brothers noticed what Conor was doing and followed. "What''s this loser doing to you?" Sean asked looking at the struggling man in Conor''s hand. "This guy said something about the boss, but I never seen him before." Conor replied giving Saul a heavy shake. Sauls hapless body flopped about like a limp fish as he tried gasping for a breath. "Let''s hear it then." Patrick said. "If he''s legit, then it might be something interesting. Boss ain''t had us do muchtely." "Fine." Conor replied and dropped Saul. Saul tumbled to the dirty stained carpet and gasped deeply for breath. He rubbed his neck gently as he stood up to look at the three giants nervously. Looking at them Saul imagined himself speaking with three mean muscr, baby faced carrots. "I am, *ahum*, I am Saul, your new Match Fighter Manager. Boss Martinez has someone he needs you three to fight, maybe kill while you''re at it." Saul stammered, but still managed to mask his nervousness somewhat. "Never heard of you." Sean replied crossing his heavily veined arms. "I was Golems manager! You should know of him." Saul replied spreading his arms wide. "Oh, I know that guy." Patrick said to his two brothers. "He''s that mute dude that like to put on that useless body armor. One of the Boss''s guards, right?" "Ya, that''s Golem." Saul replied. "Eh, not really that impressive of a fighter. A bit slower than us." Patrick continued and he flexed his muscles to exaggerate his point. "Who does the boss want us to fight?" Conor asked ignoring his brothers actions. "A new, but dangerous, fighter. She goes by the name Queen." Saul answered. "Pfft, never heard of her. Why would the boss send us to fight some nobody, and a female at that?" Sean smirked. "She beat Owen and killed Golem by beheading him. Then after that she insulted the boss by pointing her sword at him giving a threat. She must have been trying to provoke him or something." Saul exined. "It must have worked, because here I am. To have you fight her." Sean leaned forward menacingly. Saul could feel Seans hot alcoholic breath brush his cheek as he spoke. "First of all, you are not going to ''have'' us fight anyone. We will do that if we want too. Secondly, sure why not. Hahaha!" Sean broke out into a fit ofughter and the other two joined him. Saul gulped visibly and gave a halfhearted smile and nodded. "So, you guys are good with this?" Saul asked just to be sure. "Yes, watching over the factory is getting boring." Sean replied. "Besides, we need to have a few words with the big bad boss. Some things need changing around here." The other two brothers gave a menacing bit ofughter hearing their brother''s reply. Apparently, they were talking about something that Saul guessed he better not ask about. "That''s good to hear." Saul replied. "Not to rush you, but when can youe do the fight?" "Eh, lets see. How about the end of this week? Conor replied. "York will be back and he can watch the ce, not that it would matter. All thats gone on in thest month is a few miserable workers trying to escape." "They never get far or put up much of a fight." Patrick chimed in. "That will work, the end of the week." Saul replied nodding. "So, I guess I''ll be going now then?" Saul tried to step around the three big brothers, but they had other ns. Saul, once again, was grabbed by his shirt, from the back, and lifted to dangle in front of Conor''s smirking face. "Why leave so soon? The night party hasn''t even started." Conor said as the three brothers turned to go out into the party again. "I don''t really think I should." Saul stammered. "I need to get the fight set up and other stuff." "Ah, that can wait." Sean answered yelling over the music as it got louder when Conor carried him into the previous room. "Try using this. It will get you in the mood." Saul cringed seeing what the huge man was reaching for. A nearly topless waitress was walking around carrying a bowl of tinny stic baggies with a white power inside. Meth. "I really shouldn''t." Saul said as Sean took a baggie and opened it. "Bottoms up!" Sean shouted. He then grabbed Sauls face and dumped the bag into his nose and face. Saul sputtered as his breathing was even further blocked up. He had no choice but to breath in the meth. A small puff of powder shot out as he tried to exhale. The three brothers and everyone watchingughed heartily seeing him struggle. "Now let''s get this party really going!" Sean shouted pointing at the DJ standing at the opposite end of the parlor room. The DJ, wearing a neon lit turtle mask, nodded and the music started pounding even harder as his hands flicked across the panel in front of him. The crowd cheered in reply. Conor finally let go of Saul and he was able to breath freely. Thest thing Saul could remember thinking that day was that things were getting out of hand. Then the rest afterwards was a forgotten blur. Lisa and Zane were outside the Powerhouse building listening to Sadie talk to them. The unhindered sun was warm, and the spring breeze felt good on their skin today. A great day to start Zane''s conditioning for bing a Match Fighter. "Alright, since you are injured Zane, let''s just work on arm and leg strength." Sadie exined. "Lisa, you just do triple of what he does for now." "Ok." Lisa replied while stretching. "Let''s start off with putting these on your arms and ankles." Sadie said pointing at four small bagsying on the pavement next to her. Zane picked one up curiously and found that they were full of sand. He looked over at Sadie questioningly. "What are these for?" "You are going to put them on as weight training. With them on you will do this workout regimen I have put together." Sadie exined as she patted the top of her tabloid. "It''s going to be hard, but we need to break you in quickly. Other Match Fighters won''t wait for you to get into top shape, so neither will I. Fair warning, this is going to suck!" Zane patted the sack and chuckled. "This doesn''t seem all that heavy. I doubt it''ll be too difficult." "Lisa, you put on that vest I made after your fight. It''s the same design as Zane''s sandbags. Since you are in better condition, you''ll naturally be worked harder than him." Sadie exined. "Understood. I could use a good core and shoulder workout." Lisa said picking up the vest. "Go ahead and stretch and then Lisa, you nk for as long as you can. Then break for two minutes and repeat. Zane once those bags are on, we will do arm lifts and curls. After a few sets, you''ll switch to stairs." Sadie ordered. The two started to stretch obediently and Sadie couldn''t help but feel giddy. The feeling of being in charge was new and exciting to her. Being bossed around in the Associations office all the time was really getting to her. This was a nice change of pace. "Oh, Lisa, don''t overdo yourself. You still are going to meet with Mrs. Smithy''s leaderter today." Sadie said as the thought came to mind. "I know. I promise not to get to tired out. I too know that I need to make a good impression." Lisa replied loosening her shoulder de muscles. "I hope that the leader will be as easy to deal with as Mrs. Smithy was." "I am sure it will go smoothly." Sadie replied reassuringly. Chapter 106: Crossing Over Chapter 106: Crossing Over Lisa left Sadie and Zane an hour after noon had passed. She didn''t want to waste too much time before leaving, but at least she took a quick moment to rinse off in the river. Sadie, true to her word, made sure that Zane was really feeling the pain from those sandbags. As Lisa left, carrying her coffin backpack, she could help butugh to herself seeing Zane struggling as he walked with heavilybored steps up the metal stairs. His response to the workout reminded her of when she attended the Marines boot camp. When Sadie asked her as to why she was taking the coffin with her, Lisa just gave a shrug. "No particr reason. It''s just whenever I travel away from home for a while, I feelfortable knowing I have everything with me. Besides it''s kind of bing like my trademark." "Are you really going to be gone for that long?" Sadie asked craning her neck to watch Zane climbing up thest flight of stairs. "Isn''t it just to have a quick meeting with Mrs. Smithy and the ERM leaders?" "Yes, it is going to be just a meeting. However, they are a militia. I have dealt with several others before and it''s a good idea to know who they are, what they stand for and if they are actually going to do what they im to aplish." Lisa replied with a serious expression. "Militia tend to end up causing more problems than they intended too or are just using the people for personal gain. If I want to sell them electricity and other stuff, I at least want to know more about them." "That makes sense, I guess." Sadie responded after some thought. "So, I take it that it might be more than a day until youe back?" "Probably." Lisa said taking a step towards the exit. "Make sure you stay safe, and don''t kill Zane while I am gone." "It''s you that should stay safe." Sadie replied with a chuckle. "You seem to like getting into trouble." "Perhaps. Bye." Lisa said giving a grin. She then turned sharply on her heels and left the building. Her long ck ponytail was trailing behind her as Sadie waved goodbye. When Lisa left the building, she turned towards the dam instead of going to the southern exit to go towards the docks. Rather than take a boat across and meet the ERM in a normal fashion, she had a better n. To see them from a natural angle like anyone living in town would. If things were going well or bad under their rule, then the people would naturally show it. Lisa was going to take the long route. Crossing the dam, over the foaming murky river far below, Lisa looked ahead at the route she intended to take. From the past times she had gone into the woods to set her traps, Lisa noticed that the road going off to the left from the dam seemed to keep going north. So, taking it to try and reach the eastern shore of the town wasn''t going to work. However, turning right, once off the dam, she would quicklye to her second problem, a cliff. Then looking at the rocky cliff edge ahead, she could tell from the topography of the tree line and beyond that the cliff went on for a long way. Possibly even going past the rest of the town all together. She had yet gone in the direction of the cliffs edge to follow it and see if there was a path that led down into the town. She hoped that there was; not only to make the journey easier, but if she intended toy electrical wire or power lines to the eastern part of town, a pathway was going to be essential. Leaving the dam behind her, Lisa entered the green forest and turned right to go down the trail leading to the dam''s tunnel entrance. Fortunately, the rockslide was intact and stillpletely covered the damaged entrance. Satisfied that all was well, she then left the area and headed towards the cliffs edge further ahead through the new growth of thick shrubbery and tall yellowed grass. When she found the cliff and peeked over its crumbing edge, her heart sank. It was a jagged straight drop to the bottom. It would be a climbers yground with so many crevices and handholds to scale the cliff, but not for her. It was approximately twenty-five or thirty meters down to the bottom. Looking towards the river on her right she saw that the cliff turned towards the dam. Judging from how the dam appeared to be built, it was wedged between the cliff and the steep hill on the western shore. Then she had a revtion; the dam was actually holding an unfathomable amount of water! If the cliff was thirty meters and the dam was clearly even higher built, then the amount of water pressure that could potentially be used to generate electricity would be rather high. Taking a moment to give this some thought, Lisa calcted that the dam could generate enough electricity to not only provide for the town, but maybe even half the state of Utah! Though the though of this was overly exciting she had to deal with matters at hand. Looking back the other way, she saw that the jagged edge of the red rock cliff snaked away far out of sight. The tree line also appeared to disappear not far from her current position. Without the rivers water the dry, barrennds could not support enough life to even grow a single tree. Lisa then headed towards the area where the forest ended. Hopefully, she could get a better view of the situation and started walking, following the edge of the cliff carefully she looked precariously over the edge. On more than one instance she could hear an unsettling crumple noiseing from under her as the loose rocks started to slide towards the edge. It wasnt until the evergreen forest roots fully disappeared that she could see the edge from a safe distance. The sun red down at her and a faint breeze breathed hotly into her face. The desert sand and rocks were all that she could see on the lumpy hills that stretched out for as far as she could see. The only sign of life was the ck dot of a buzzed circling far overhead in the clear azure sky. A truly open and wildndscape. Taking another look over the cliffs edge it appeared that her situation was no better here. The cliff hadn''t gotten any lower or easier to get down from. At least from here she had a good view of the eastern parts of the town that were now sprawled out below. From the river on the right there were a few small docks that appeared to have a lot of debris pilled near them. She could only assume it was the scrap metal for the ERM to trade. However, from this distance it was much too hard to tell for sure. The rest of the town seemed to be in even poorer conditions than the side she was living on. Buildings were crumpling piles of disrepair, dry rot, and negligence. Oncefortable homes and apartments looked to be now unlivable, even from this far distance it was clear to her. Lisa also noticed that the area was mostly industrial buildings, chemical towers, and distribution centers. They were especially obvious from theck of greenery from all the concrete parking lots, tall metal spires and vent stacks. This was a good sign for her. It meant that future investments into this aging infrastructure would likely be very doable. She then thought of the ck-market hub that sold the illegal businesses purchases. "I wonder if those unused building could be sold there the same way?" Lisa murmured to herself. She had started walking along the cliff at this point and was still inspecting the town down below. "If I could buy or im these ces and resell them, it might make me a nice bit of profit. Then again getting them to produce products and owning all the jobs in town would also be a good long-term investment. However, it all depends on what the militia is up to and if I can control the area. I need to take over the Mad Dogs for manpower or workout some good rtions with the ERM. If I cant rule by the sword, Ill do so by the pen." As she continued thinking of ways to aplish this, Lisa could tell that the cliff was not ending any time soon. Its high rocky wall was as steep as ever and still maintaining a height of over twenty-five meters. "Looks like I am going to have to speed things up. Otherwise, I am going to miss meeting up with Mrs. Smithy." Lisa said out loud to no one. The parch wilderness around her was as lonely as could be. Void of colors, other than sand and red rock, there was not much to look at. Leafless bushes had captured tumbleweeds and the distant sun baked rocks had a hazy mirage like appearance. Lisa took a deep breath enjoying the fresh air. "Advance Armament: Stage One." Lisa said softly to herself. She could then sense her prosthetics welling up with power as they powered up. The feeling was hard to describe, it was like experiencing an adrenaline rush and speeding in a car at the same time. She could feel and control her power, but it really wasn''t her, just the prosthetics energy. It really was a wonderful feeling though. Like she could do anything at all, without any limitations. Feeling that the power building up within her was exactly right Lisa started running, fast. Rocks and tuffs of dry grass zoomed by her as she quickly picked up speed. Normal running speeds for a human is around 32kmh and Lisa was surpassing that by far. With the help of her prosthetics, she was reaching a speed closer to 65kmh, double what a human is capable of. Doubling her normal movements and power was exactly what Advanced Armament: Stage One was supposed to do. Compared to using mechs, conventional robotics, body frames and military battle suites Lisas prosthetics were far more versatile and did nothing to hinder the user. They were hooked up directly to her nervous system at the micro level and responded to her brain activity with exact precision. Then because they were robotic extensions of her own body, she could move in ways no normal human should just by thinking it. Lisa enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair, the sun on her skin and the power of moving so fast. Though she was forced to squint slightly from the wind, it didn''t hamper her spirit at all. Jumping asionally fromrge boulders, half buried by the desert sands, she was able to cover even greater distances. Not even her massive coffin on her back felt heavy to her the entire time. After nearly an hour of running at this ridiculous speed, Lisa finally noticed that the cliff height was starting to wane. The area below appeared to be much more washed out from the natural elements and the cliff was starting to turn into a steep slope of shale. It wouldn''t be long before she would finally be able to go down at a safe height and back towards the town. The cliffs length far surpassed her original guess as well. It had been almost thirty kilometers since she had left the dam. That is when she saw it, the area where the bottom of the cliff met with the top. A long rocky, sandy slope of weathering had molded the two together for nearly a hundred meters before the cliff started to regrow anew in depth beyond the slope. Lisa breathed heavily as she gave a satisfied smile. "Almost there. Too bad I must end this run so soon. It''s actually a great path and day for a run! Seeing how long this cliff is, it might be more prudent to build my own path down the cliff wall by the dam. Otherwise travelling this route with others will be too much trouble." Taking another nce backwards towards the town she could hardly make out the outlying buildings and roads. "At least I''ll have a good run back." Lisa thought and jumped from the cliffs edge down to the slope. "Let''s go!" As she reversed her direction, unbeknownst to her, there was someone following and watching her every move. Carefully. Chapter 107: Eastern Town Chapter 107: Eastern Town Lisa finally made it down and off the jagged cliff. It was an unnecessarily long way around and there was no doubt in her mind she needed to find a way to build a path up to the dam. The area''s she had run past clearly offered no such suitable location. A more detailed observation from below was likely going to be her only option to find a way to get the electricity to cross over the river. Reaching a long-abandoned gas station at the edge of the town, did she finally stop running and deactivate her prosthetics Advanced Armament. She paced around breathing heavily to cool down some, but she was not yet tired in the slightest. Despite running so much, even at that speed, her prosthetics did much of the work and her lungs didn''t actually work as hard to supply her body with oxygen. Setting her coffin down and leaning it on the wall of the gas station, Lisa opened it to take out some water that she had brought in a thermos. She sipped on it slowly while looking down the road towards the town and nned her next move. So was Assistant Officer Caswell. He had been left in charge by Special Officer Hawkins and was to monitor Lisa. Ever since Lisa left the Powerhouse building and entered the woods with her coffin backpack on, he had been worried. She was finally on the move. To where or why, he had no clue. He was even more concerned when she suddenly started running along the top of the cliff at speeds that boggled reason. He nearly called the Special Officer to ask for advice but decided to wait and see what she did first. Caswell didn''t want to appear to be ipetent orcking in hismand. He only had five drone operators with him at the hidden outpost. A single Osprey drone was monitoring the whole town, while one Blue Jay drone was left to follow the target whenever she moved, and the three Fly drones were still tasked with facing each side of the Powerhouse building. The Fly drones were originally trying to follow after Lisa but were soon quickly out paced by Lisa''s speed and only the Blue Jay drone was able to keep up. Caswell had already ordered the Osprey to stay observing the town, which only left the Blue Jay drone to follow Lisa. "Sir, where is she going?" The Blue Jay Pilot asked. "There is nothing out there for miles. Just open desert wastnd." "I know that." Caswell replied a bit annoyed. "Just keep up with her and let me know if she starts to get out of range." "Understood." The Blue Jay Pilot replied. Caswell thought to himself as he watched her running on the pilots monitor. "Did she find out that we are watching her and trying to flee. No that can''t be. We would have noticed her acting differently. Besides everyone that''s she''s been with has also remained normal." "All we can do for now is watch and wait." Caswell called out to the room. Everyone chanted a reply and went back to watching Lisa run. After catching her breath and drinking, Lisa put back on her backpack coffin and started walking towards the next closest buildings. If they could be called that. The rusting, rotting heaps were barely habitable for even mice. The two-way street she walked on wasn''t in any better condition. The pavement was cracked, crumbling, and full of either potholes or covered inrge swaths of sand. The asional tumbleweed even blew by in thezy wind, only adding to the lonely barren surroundings. Lisa took a quick nce inside the two copsed buildings and found they were indeed unlivable. Giving an audible sigh she continued. It was going to be a long dusty walk to the rest of town. "How could America be such an inhospitable wastnd? So far gone as to be so poor and backwards. Thend I fought so long ago to protect and serve, gone." Lisa spoke aloud to herself. "It almost feels as if my efforts were in-vain." It seemed like forever until she arrived at what might be considered the main inhabited part of the eastern town. The buildings were in slightly better condition and much closer together. However, she still had not seen a single person. It was like a ghost town. She had gone three blocks through an industrial looking area that had several warehouses and round storage containers. Nothing of real importance. It was starting to seem like she would have better luck finding someone further towards the center of town. She turned at the next block and saw that there appeared to be a residential area ahead. Lisa casually started towards that area when she heard an odd scraping sounding from an old corner store on her right. Curious, she headed towards it. Peaking in through the front door she saw an aging half bald man dragging a bed frame. "Odd fellow." Lisa thought. Then she called out to him. "Excuse me. Can you help point me in the right direction?" The sudden sound of her calling out startled the man and he dropped the bed frame with a tter. He spun around looking desperately around for the cause of the voice. When he spotted Lisa standing in the doorway, he fumbled at his waist and pulled out a knife. "Stay back! Who are you?" The aging man cried. He pointed the knife at her, trying to appear threatening. However, his thin dirty unshaven face and unsteady gave him way that he was utterly afraid. "Rx, you old geezer." Lisa said holding her arms up. "I am not going to hurt you." "I-it''s you that needs to be worried!" The aging man replied shakily. Clearly, she wasnt very convincing. "Like I said, rx. I just need some directions and I''ll leave you alone." Lisa replied giving a friendly smile. The old guy seemed to realize that she didn''t seem to be acting dangerous and asked in an unsure voice. "Ask away and be quick." "I am trying to find the East River Militia''s headquarters. Can you point me there?" Lisa asked calmly. "It''s that way, about seven blocks." The geezer replied pointing the way she originally was going to go. "I see, thank you." Lisa said ncing that direction. "I hope you have a nice afternoon." Lisa then turned to go. When she did, she could have sworn that she heard the old man sigh in relief. Things were definitely tense around here. It seems that the militia''s presence was either not strong enough or they were being oppressive to the people. She had to meet them to be sure. Yet from the state of the mans condition, things were not going well here in town. After going a few more blocks through broken homes and rubble filled streets she finally saw more people. They were in no better condition than the geezer from before. Each and every person going by was looking very haggard and hungry. Curiously enough, they were all carrying metal objects either by hand, on makeshift carts or dollies. Though they would asionally take precautionary nces at Lisa, they didn''t bother her. Apparently, strangers were notmon around here. They all seemed to be taking their metal towards the river area. "They must be collecting metal for the militia to trade." Lisa thought. "Either the militia has a rewards system, or they are being forced to work." She was about to ask a couple of people ahead, they appeared to be struggling to drag the heavy cart of metal and might want some help. When suddenly, in between her and them, two men carrying rifles and wearing green matching armbands came out of a burned down home. Lisa guesses that they must be with the militia forces. They hadn''t seen Lisa yet and instead headed for the struggling couple. Lisa noticed that the people didn''t appear worried as the two-armed men approached. In fact, it appeared that the two men offered to help them. All four of them started to pull the troublesome cart together. "Well, that''s reassuring." Lisa thought moving on. "The militia troops seem to be for the people, at least the lower ranked ones. Now to find Mrs. Smithy and the rest of the ERM leaders." She took a nce at the sky and saw that there was ruffly three more hours until the sun reached the mountains top, signaling that it was time for all to go home. "Better hurry or they will think that I skipped out on them." Lisa murmured and hurried in the direction that the headquarters was supposed to be. Lisa came to the next intersection and was surprised by what she saw. The area was destroyed, like a bull had charged down the street and hit every house. Freshly destroyed rubble was still scattered in the road and only a thin trail had been cleared out by the residents. "This might have been part of the fight between the militia and ck Rats, but what could have caused this much damage?" Lisa thought starting down the brazen path. The rest of the street was simrly damaged like this. Lisa''s was definitely curious as to what had really gone on here and hurried her pace. Soon she reached the end of the destroyed street and found herself at arge open parking lot. The parking lot surrounded arge warehouse that had several guards posted around it. They all appeared to have on green arm bands and held some kind of firearm. Though from the varied ways they carried their guns and guarded the area, it was clear to her that they were all amateurs. If these amateurs beat off an organized gang than they must have had some real good luck or help. Then again, she had seen how well Zane fought during training with Sadie. "I guess it''s not all to impossible." Lisa thought with a chuckle. Lisa then decided to cross the parking lot and talk to the militia troop. A few of them noticed her walking boldly across the open ground and hesitantly approached her. "What can we do for you? I haven''t seen you before." One of the Militia called out. He was a scraggly looking young man, maybe no more than twenty. "Hi, I am supposed to have a meeting with Mrs. Smithy. Is this the East River Militia headquarters?" Lisa asked giving a friendly smile. Before speaking the man blinked nervously seeing her up close, only now realizing she was much taller than himself. "Yes, it is. Well, I guess you can go in. Right?" He said looking at the other guys with him. "She knows Mrs. Smithy." "Maybe. I don''t know." One of them replied with a shrug. "Gillian never told us what to do if a new person came here." "Well, is she here?" Lisa asked. "No, she''s out at the moment." The scraggly man replied. "I see. Then can I wait for her toeback inside. It''s rather hot out today and I have juste from the east road. I am sure you know that''s a long walk to make." Lisa said looking at the unsure men. "Sure. I think that''s fine." The man finally replied after some thought. "Follow us." The man and the others than lead Lisa into the Warehouse from the main entrance. Looking around Lisa noticed that the area wasn''t all that much of a headquarters. Boxes and apparent supplies were scattered around, Militia troops wandered aimlessly around, and no one appeared to be in charge. They took her over to a table and chairs to the left of the entrance. "You can wait here." The man said pointing at a chair. "Thanks." Lisa said slipping off the strap to her coffin. She set it down with a heavy thump and the men around her looked surprised. "I-I think we better wait with you." The man stuttered. The others nodded in agreement and all took a seat with Lisa. "Whats in there that makes it so heavy?" One of them asked eyeing the coffin. "Well, I am a Merchant and in there are some things I sell." Lisa replied calmly. These guys didn''t act at all like a militia. More like civilians with guns. So, she figured that could act casual for now. "That''s why I am meeting with Mrs. Smithy, to discuss trade." For the next while they would ask Lisa a lot of questions. She happily answered them while they continued to wait. Mrs. Smithy and Gillian were waiting at the docks and feeling a bit impatient. "No boats have crossed all day." Gillian remarked. "Maybe she''s noting after all?" "I am sure that''s she''sing." Mrs. Smithy replied. "You, over there." She said pointing at a militia trooper. "If a talldyes by boat take her to headquarters, please." The man nodded reassuringly. "Come on. Let''s go back for now." Mrs. Smithy said rubbing her lower back and turning to go. "I am getting tired." "Alright." Gillian sighed turning to follow. "So far I am not impressed." Chapter 108: Appearances Chapter 108: Appearances Nathan and Anthony were working in a storage room that had been converted to be his temporary office as Mayor. They were using this storage room because it was one of the few rooms that actually had windows in it and remained separate from the rest of the open-air warehouse. Rather than just waiting for Mrs. Smithy to return with the merchant/ Match Fighter, Lisa, he decided to organize his paperwork. There was a lot of papers scatter everywhere and he hated every second of working with it. "Anthony can you find the paper about calcting the number of empty houses in the southern area. I found the folder that has the rest of the information." Nathan said holding up the mentioned folder. "I saw it not too long ago, uh, in that pile by your left foot." Anthony was sitting in a chair next to three opened file cabs. Papers, notes, and documents were scattered in semi-organized piles. He had a light smile on his face, apparently enjoying the tedious task at hand. Nathan had no clue how the big guy could remember what things was where, but Anthony seemed to recall everything. "Ya, it is." Anthony replied as he leaned down and flipped through the stack to about halfway. Then he picked out a single sheet of paper delicately with his thick fingers. "Ah, here it is." Nathan took the paper, nced over it briefly, then put it into the folder. Then he let out a sigh, "Well, at least we are making progress. Only about a couple thousand papers to sift through." Anthony nodded with agreement. "It''s such a nice, rxing, and quiet job. I prefer this to working on the docks for the ck Rats. They were always yelling and making me carry all the heavy stuff. I don''t really like working too hard." Nathan picked up another pile and was about to ask Anthony for something when he stopped halfway into asking. They had the office door open, to let in a breeze, when the sound ofughter wafted in. There was nothing wrong with theughter, but it sounded like several people all at once, which was unusual. Nathan listened intently for a few moments. Then a second bit ofughter could be heard. This time louder than the first. "Are the guards messing around again?" Nathan grumbled as he stood up from behind the desk. "They really need to stay focused. The ck Rats are not all gone yet, and they could try sneaking in. Come on Anthony, let us go see what''s going on." "Alright, if I must." Anthony replied with a bit of regret as he put down the paperwork piled on hisp onto an open file cab door. The two of them left the room and started to crisscross around the piles of supplies and randomly assorted creates on the warehouse floor. The sound ofughing a jeer steadily grew louder as they approached the main warehouse entrance. Rounding thest pile, Nathan saw that arge group of militia soldiers were all sitting or standing in a semicircle around a table. "Come on Wayne, you can pick it up!" Someone shouted from the group. "Naw, he''s to scrawny." Another voice mocked. "Look at his arms shake! How much does that coffin weigh?" A third person remarked. "Coffin?" Nathan thought curiously. "What is going on?" Nathan came up behind the militia men and peaked over their shoulders. In the center of them was arge darkly polished plywood coffin. One of the soldiers, a scraggly young man, was struggling to pick it up by a pair of straps that resembled a backpacks straps and the crowd was enthusiastically cheering him on. "Gah! I can''t." Wayne replied letting go of the straps. "It''s too heavy." "Awe, I bet it''s not that heavy. Look at him, he''s got twigs for arms!" Someone on the left called out. "Then you give it a try!" Wayne retorted pointing at the speaker challengingly. "Fine, I''ll show you it''s easy." The speaker replied stepping out from the crowd. He was a full head taller than Wayne and thicker built too. He casually walked over and picked up the straps. He went to pick it up, yet he did not put much effort into the lifting motion, as a result the coffin showed no sign of movement. He pulled again, this time really trying. His face tightened up as he strained to lift it. "Are you serious?!" He gasped and let go of the straps. The coffin rocked slightly, but that was all. It never even came off the ground. "Let me give it a go." A deep voice called from nearby from Nathans right. Nathan looked over to see a short, but muscr man approaching the coffin. He rubbed his hand vigorously together and grabbed the straps. Giving a tremendous disy of power, with his arms bulging and shoulders taught, lifted the coffin off the ground. The surrounding militia troops all cheered him on. Despite his efforts, the man couldn''t go any further than that. The coffin was apparently too unfathomably heavy. "What brought this on anyway?" Nathan thought as the now growing crowd was getting riled up. "Awe,e on boys, you lot can do better than that." A woman''s voice called out. Nathan didnt recognize the voice and looked fervently around for the source. He saw a young and pretty good-looking woman sitting at a table with some of the militia troops. The woman tossed her long ck ponytail over her shoulder as she leaned forward onto the table to sp her hands together. On her fair skinned face was a yful, but slightly dangerous looking smile. Nathan felt immediately felt his chest tighten, Gorgeous! She didn''t have the same tired look and weathered aurora that the rest of the women around here had. She acted much moreposed and prideful. Those grey eyes too, Nathan noticed, seemed to be holding back much more that was her outer looks gave off. "Do I have to show you that''s it''s not heavy?" The woman asked giving a light mocking chuckle. "Theres no way you can lift that!" The short muscr man retorted, shaking his head. "Sure, she can." Wayne replied. "She''s the one that carried it in here. You just didn''t see it is all." "I''ll believe it when I see it." The other man that tried picking up the coffin called out. Several others around him murmured in agreement. Nathan couldn''t help but agree with them. The slim woman didn''t appear to be all that overly muscr, just really well toned and fit. Surely Wayne had to be just joking around. "Fine, don''t believe me." Wayne scoffed. "Show them, miss!" Wayne said gesturing to the woman. "Ok." The woman said with a shrug and started to stand up. Nathan was surprised to suddenly realize that the table that she was sitting behind was covering her true height. She appeared to be taller than he was. He then watched curiously as the tall, graceful woman walked up to the coffin. "Look guys, it''s not heavy." The woman said grabbing a strap with one hand. Then lifting it effortlessly up on to her shoulder, like a normal school backpack, she gave a victorious grin. She even took a few ubored steps to fully prove her point. The onlookers all were in shock, Nathan included. There should have been no way that three grown men couldn''t have barely budged it, but she could. There had to be a trick to it and Nathan wanted to figure it out himself. "Let me try. Bet it''s not really all that heavy." Nathan called out over everyones talking. Anthony looked at him questioningly but didn''t try to stop him. Nathan continued, "I want to see if it''s really that heavy or are you all are just pulling a prank." The crowd seemed to like the idea and some of them egged him on. The woman also seemed obliged to let him try. She put the coffin down with a light thud and motioned for him toe over. "Here you go. See for yourself." She said giving a confident smile. To many of those watching they were surprised to see that Nathan had stepped out from the crowd and wasing towards the coffin. Someone in the crowd then shouted, "Hey, the Mayor is going to show us how it''s done!" "Come on Mayor Dees, show us why youre the boss!" Another shouted. Then cheers flowed from all sides. Nathan grabbed the straps with both hands and gave a slight test pull. It felt as solid as a rock and just as dense. Inwardly he felt like he might have made a mistake. However, he couldn''t lose face. The people under his charge were watching him and he had to put in his all. Sitting around doing paperwork all day did not feel like the right way to lead, it had to be through actions. Taking a deep breath, he lifted hard on the straps. The coffin was ridiculously heavy and he barely lifted up off of the ground. Yet he couldn''t stop there, he had to beat the woman. The sounds of everyone''s cheers drove him on. He kept lifting and reached a height equal to his knees. Then slowly andboriously dipped down to get his shoulder to get it onto his back. Somehow, he was able to do it and finally stood there with the massive pressure on his back trying not to buckle. "Well, well. Seems like he wasn''t all talk after all." The woman remarked to the enthusiastic militia troops. Nathan couldn''t hold out anymore and dropped the coffin on the ground as his knees nearly gave out. Its solid heavy thud could be felt through the concrete to everyone nearby. He panted heavily and slipped out from the straps to rest his hands on his knees. "T-that''s actually very heavy." Nathan said looking up at the woman. "How are you that strong?" The woman was about to reply when she was interrupted by another persons shout. "Lisa Cunningham?! What are you doing here already?" Everyone looked to see Mrs. Smithy pushing her way through the troops. Gillian was following close behind. "Ah, Mrs. Smithy. Sorry I didn''te find you right away at the river." Lisa said apologetically. "I actually didn''t evene by boat, but rather walked the long way around along the cliff." "You walked around that long cliff!" Mrs. Smithy replied with a surprised looking to a stop. "That''s nearly thirty kilometers!" "Yes, I know that now." Lisa said giving augh. "I wanted to see if there was a way down it. I was considering building a road or pathway down towards the town from the dam." "We can talk about thister." Mrs. Smithy replied waving her hand in the air and ncing at the troops around them. "Now is not the time. And you, Mayor Dees, what are you doing? Messing around like this when you should have been negotiating with Miss Cunningham." "Oh, we hadn''t made our introductions yet." Lisa said before Nathan could reply. She even started to casually put back on the coffin while speaking. "I was just waiting for you toe and having a bit of fun while waiting. In fact, I didn''t know he was the leader around here till you said so moments ago." "I see. Well, let''s get the rest of the Council personnel and start this meeting. We have a lot of work to do before dark." Mrs. Smithy said with a huff turning to go. "Alright. Everyone back to your posts!" Gillian''s voice boomed out. "You all should know better than to ck off, and you four." He said pointing at Wayne and the three with him by the table. "Go inform the council members." The four of them nodded and quickly left the building to scatter in the directions of where the members might be. The crowd then grudgingly dispersed as Lisa, Nathan, and Gillian followed Mrs. Smithy to the back to the others side of the warehouse. It was time to do some negotiating. Chapter 109: Top Customer Chapter 109: Top Customer Nathan felt embarrassed. Not only did he fail to carry the coffin as well as Lisa, but she was also the important person for discussing the future of this town and its people. Even he knew that as the Mayor and leader such activity was definitely not appropriate. As leader he should have restrained himself better. Still, he couldn''t help but look at this tall woman alongside him. She had an unnatural confidence about her as she walked. He couldn''t tell if it was because of her physical strength or confidence in her position or yet even something that he had yet to learn about her. He could see her dull gray eyes were constantly surveying the area and it seemed to him that there was much more thought going on behind those strong eyes. Suddenly, their eyes locked as she noticed him ncing at her. He quickly looked away, trying to brush it off casually. She didn''t seem bothered and they continued on towards the back of the warehouse. Nathan avoided looking at her like that again. He didn''t want toe off as creepy or anything like that. Once they arrived at the council meeting table Mrs. Smithy turned to speak to Lisa. "Please, have a seat and get ready to speak with the rest of the Council. They should be arriving any second now. They already were aware that this meeting was going to happen." "Thank you." Lisa replied. She turned to the closest chair at the tables end. Taking off her coffin, she set it down with a light thud and sat down next to it. Then she proceeded to unlock it with the key from around her neck. Gillian pulled Nathan aside and spoke in a low voice. "I know that I was supposed to be judging her abilities, but that coffin, is it really that heavy?" Nathan nodded. "Yes, it''s got to be easily over 140 kilograms. My legs and back are starting to feel sore. I am probably getting out of shape or theck of food is starting to show." "Ah, don''t feel bad." Gillian replied patting him on the back. "Lifting that much is a lot by normal standards. However, if she''s walking around with that big thing like it''s not even on her, than she has got to have some monstrous power." The two nced at Lisa, who was taking some papers out from the coffin. "Looking at her you wouldn''t have guessed it." Gillian continued. "She looks like a normal woman to me. I figure out her skill sooner orter." Just then Mr. nagan walked in and the two stopped whispering to greet him with a small wave. They then noiselessly pointed at Lisa indicating that she was the one. "Well, you must be the one we were waiting for Miss Cunningham. I am Mr. nagan, Vice Mayor of the ERM. We are d to have you here." Mr. nagan said turning to extend a hand towards Lisa. Lisa put her papers down on the table and gave a polite smile. "Thank you for the opportunity. You can just call me Lisa, no need for the Miss though." She then firmly shook his hand. "Very well, Lisa. Now excuse me while I take my seat." Mr. nagan said turning to go. He nced at the other two men and motioned for them to follow. Mrs. Smithy has already taken her seat as the three men took theirs near the head of the table. They leaned closer together as Mr. nagan spoke to the others. "Tell me what we know of her so far. Can she really be helpful to us?" As Nathan and Gillian gave their ounts of Lisa, the rest of the Council members soon arrived. It wasn''t more than half an hour before everyone assembled. Wayne was thest to arrive along with Mr. Zimmerman. Wayne was helping to carry several books for him. "Well, I looks like we are all here and I am ready to start recording." Miss Heavens called out with pen in hand. "Very well. Let''s start this off by saying thank you to Mrs. Smithy forpleting her mission and finding help." Nathan said standing at the head of the table to look at Mrs. Smith and then he started pping. The rest of the room joined in. After a short moment he stopped and continued talking. "As you all know, we need help and materials to get our town and people back into a normal state. Mrs. Smithy gave her report yesterday on what is expected to happen in the near future. Miss Cunningham, a key factor to this issue, has agreed to help enlighten us on what else to expect and fill us in on questions we might have." Lisa stood up at the other end of the table with a smile on her face and gave a slight wave. "Thank you for letting mee and I hope we can work well together in the future. I did happen to take the liberty of looking around at the town some beforeing here. This area is indeed in need of help. Even the area controlled by the Mad Dogs gang is not anywhere near as bad as this. Though the situation is not irreparable. Together I am sure that thing will work out. As of right now, you are my top customer and will be getting my full business focus." Several of the members nodded in agreement. Lisa felt relieved while thinking inwardly to herself, "This is a lot more pressure than giving a speech in ss. However, my superior orders in the military were much scarier to face." "Thank you. I am sure that thing will work out." Mr. nagan replied. "We do have several questions and things to discuss. I hope you can give us answers." "Ask away." Lisa replied taking her seat once again. Mr. nagan cleared his throat to start asking his questions, "You imed to have control of the dam and are able to produce electricity. When will it be able to produce and provide enough electricity to re-power our towns buildings?" "I do control the dam." Lisa replied. "I have already dismantled several generators already andpiled a list of items that I need to get the dams electricity production up to a satisfactory rate. All I need to do is speak with my contact, Frank Sellers, and order the parts. It''s only a matter of a time until the project is done." "How long until then?" Mr. nagan asked. "I expect no less than a month for the parts and an additional week and a half to fix the generators." Lisa replied. "Is there no way to speed up the process to get the parts sooner? I understand Mr. McMathers said that he would fund the project. Could he pay more to speed up Mr. Sellers delivery?" Mrs. Smithy asked. "Perhaps." Lisa said with a shrug. "It should depend on how fast his ships are to make the delivery. I can ask him for a more detailed answer." "That''s understandable. Merchant barges are not exactly fast boats." Mr. nagan replied. "That brings us to another set of questions about Mr. McMathers, what exactly does he do? And how could he arrange a fight with this Crescent Moon of Moab? Can you beat him?" "I can beat him." Lisa responded quickly. "I have never lost to anyone in an official match and n on never losing. I am also willing to bet everything I have on the fight as well, if that is any constion. As for McMathers, I don''t know the specifics of what he does. Though I have my suspicions as to what it could be and likely it is not legal. If that''s the case then Crescent Moons employer is also in the same line of work, I suspect." "Could that be an issue? For you or us?" Mrs. Smithy asked. "No. I don''t think it will. It''s possible that this might work in our favor in the long run, depending on how things go." Lisa answered. "I hope so." Mr. nagan replied as he looked over a sheet of paper in front of him before asking his next question. "Back to the electricity. How are you going to supply us with it? The electrical power lines used to crossover along with the highway bridge to our south. However, the bridge is both partially destroyed, and the other side is controlled by the Skull gang." "Well, originally I wanted to make a road from the dam directly to this part of town. However, the cliff is the only obstacle. If there was a way to build a way travel down it or make a path connecting the two than everything else will be easy. Additionally, it would reconnect the two sides of the town and make trading much easier. I dont recall seeing many farriers crossing over here." "We could possibly use the Mover Mechs." Gillian spoke up for the first time in the meeting. "Since their batteries cannot be removed and with what power they do still have, they could make the trip around the cliff to get recharged at the dam." "That''s not a bad idea." Nathan replied and Mr. nagan also voiced his agreement. Though Lisa had never seen a Mover Mech herself, if it was anything like the mechs and robot soldiers she had fought not long ago with her cyborg unit allies, then she could surely see how they would be helpful to solving this issue. Lisa then answered, "I think that the dam would be capable of recharging them. It''s definitely worth a shot." "Good to hear." Gillian replied nodding. "Excellent. Now a few more questions." Mr. nagan said continuing. "What exactly is your rtionship with the Mad Dogs and these various Merchants?" "The Merchants I only know through a strictly business aspect. I haven''t formed any such a close rtionship with them, but I do feel that they can be beneficial for the ERMs needs as well as my own." Lisa replied answering carefully. "As for the Mad Dogs, well, it''s a bit tricky. I want to either take them over by taking out their leaders or winning them over through other means. For my ns beyond providing electricity, I need the manpower and they have a lot of it. This will be done with caution, of course. I will make sure that nothing I do with them will reflect badly on the ERM." "Hmm, I hope not. Especially considering we are not in a good position right now." Mr. nagan said cautiously eyeing her. "So, are you a member of the Mad Dogs?" "No, I am most certainly not." Lisa remarked. "Then how do you n on leading them if you are not one of them?" Mr. nagan asked. "Simple. Everyone loves money and power. I will soon be able to show that I have it and can provide it for them. Besides, without any leaders around to lead them it will be easier for me to take over." Lisa exined. "I have already started preparing for the asion and have a n." "If you say so." Mr. nagan replied sounding skeptical and he did nothing to hide the fact. "Well, before it gets anyter let''s discuss costs and timelines. It will be getting dark soon and we need to hurry." "Alright then." Lisa replied. She then stood up and picked up the papers from in front of her. "I already had made some estimates of what things might cost and how long it might take to build everything. All that is except for the pathway to the dam. We can explore thatter." "Let''s see it then." Mrs. Smithy said holding out her wrinkled hand. Lisa walked around the table and handed it to her. Mr. nagan and Nathan also got up to inspect the paper. After several minutes of reading over the papers and a few words of discussion it seemed that a decision was made. The two men returned to their seats and Mrs. Smithy started to speak to everyone. "I think that this is a rather generous offer. We can definitely make this work out in time and with a few adjustments." "Wonderful!" Lisa remarked. "I tried making it as fair as I could for both parties. I look forward to hearing your counter offers." Chapter 110: Finalizing Chapter 110: Finalizing Lisa and the East River Militia Council discussed several things pertaining to how they would pay for the electricity. At the moment there was hardly any Solid or Paper money in the ERMs possession, and absolutely to transfer money Digitally with imnted chips. They had yet to conduct trade with Mr. Cline and get any bit of ie either, which only add more to their plight. Lisa originally intended that for the first three months of electricity being provided, that there would be no charge and the ERM agreed. She understood that things were definitely tight and would be helpful to them as a sign of good faith and partnership. Naturally, it would greatly be beneficial to her in the long haul. The next issue discussed was how to bring the electricity into the town. Neither side had any power lines or the personnel capable of building any. Lisa had also thought on this issue several times before and deducted that buying power lines would be their only option. She offered to pay for the lines as long as the ERM provided the manpower. At least until she put together her own crews to manage the work. To this the ERM also agreed with. Many people in town had no jobs anyway and needed them badly. Things were going smoothly with the negotiations by the time nights darkness started to creep into the building. Both Lisa and the ERM Council agreed to pick things up in the morning. Lisa was getting her notes and papers back into her coffin when Nathan, Gillian and Mrs. Smithy approached her. "There is one more thing we would like to discuss." Nathan said speaking first. "We know it''ste, but we are concerned about your fight with Crescent Moon. Are you really able to beat him or are you just trying to sound like your being confident?" Lisa looked at the three of them carefully. It was a serious question, yet she couldn''t help but feel a bit offended. "Why is everyone underestimating me so much? Sure, I am not big, mean and scary, but still. Why doubt me?" She quickly thought. "What do I need to prove myself, to show that I am capable?" Lisa asked closing and locking her coffin. "Well, from what I know of Crescent Moon is that he is very fast with his scimitar and his strength knows no bounds." Gillian replied. "Could you show us how you n on dealing with him?" "Hmm, I can try. I don''t know exactly how fast he is, but I can try to demonstrate my skills somewhat." Lisa replied standing up to shoulder her coffin. "Let''s go outside for a moment." "Alright." Gillian said with a nod. Then the four of them headed for the warehouse exit. Wayne had also just so happened to be heading in the same direction and overheard their conversation, so being curious he followed them. He even waved over the three other militia troops, that were with him from before, and exined what he overheard. They too became curious and all silently agreed to watch what might happen. When they got out of the building, they saw that Lisa and Gillian were standing in front of a wooden box. On it was an old stic water bottle. The cap was long gone, and its sides were moderately crumpled, but they had filled it with water. "So, you want me to strike this water bottle, by any means of attack, to test my speed?" Lisa asked. "Yes, that''s the gist of it. I think it''s an easy way to do this test." Gillian answered. Lisa replied with a sigh, "Very well." Lisa had already taken off her coffin and was currently standing with her hands on her hips. She also had her maic belt on and on it was her folded up sword. Apparently, the others watching didn''t yet realize that it was a weapon. Then mumbling to herself Lisa said, "Advance Armament Stage 1", and that adrenaline sensation once again welled up within her. Thinking to herself, "This ought to do the trick. It''s not my fastest speed, but they don''t need to know that." Casually she reached behind her and grasped the dull ck des handle. "Don''t blink you''re going to miss this." Lisa called out to those watching. A split secondter, she struck! The speed of what happened was so fast it was nearly indiscriminate. Lisa had silently slipped off the sword from the maic strip and started to swing it single handedly in a back hand grip, level with the ground, at the bottle. The sound of the de extending out to reach its full length, in the blink of an eye, resembled that of a whip. When she halted her swing after passing through the bottle, it appeared as though that she had actually missed. The bottle didn''t even waver. "Well, that was impressive, but the bottle didn''t do anything." Mrs. Smithy remarked. "Yes, that interesting sword is indeed dangerously deceptive and the speed it appeared was fast, but Lisa, I think you missed." Gillian pointed out. Wayne and the others also agreed hearing Gillian. The crumpled bottle looked exactly the same as before. "No, I hit it." Lisa replied unperturbed. "Look." She took a step forward and with her finger barely nudged the bottles side. When she did, one of the crumpled sides suddenly gave way and the disturbed water caused the top half of the bottle to fall over, spilling water everywhere over the wooden box and pavement. Nathan nearly let out a gasp of amazement but held back. Mrs. Smithy and the militia troops, however, did not. They all let out a shout of awe and one of the watching troops started to p. "I stand corrected." Gillian said bending down to pick up the fallen bottle half from the parking lot pavement. He traced the sliced edge of bottle observing the perfectly clean cut. "Well, your speed is indeed noteworthy. I think you can match Crescent Moon. But the sharpness of the sword impressed me most of all!" "Match him, huh?" Lisa remarked. "Is he really that good?" "Yes. So now, what about your strength?" Gillian asked. "Let''s see" Lisa murmured looking around her for a suitable object. "Ah, this will do." Lisa spotted an old truck doorying on the ground nearby. She went over to it and picked it up from its top window frame. The ss was long shattered and gone, but the metal still looked as tough as ever. Everyone was curiously watching what she was doing. Drawing her free hand back behind her head, Lisa balled her fist tightly. Then swung at the truck doors center to punch it. Her fist sunk right through the metal door, as if it were nothing at all, and then appeared on the other side. Taking her fist casually out from the hole she created, Lisa tossed the door towards the dumbstruck spectators. "There, that should be good enough proof." Lisa remarked. "Now is there anything else I need to prove?" Gillian shook his head no, as did the other two council members behind him. They were clearly speechless seeing her perform this impossible feat. No one said anything, until a cricket chirp suddenly sounded and caused them to stir. "Um, do you need a ce to sleep for the night?" Mrs. Smithy askeding to her senses. "The warehouse has no beds, other than in the medical area, but those are dirty for now. I am sure that you would rather stay with me than out in the open." "That would be nice." Lisa replied going over to put on her coffin backpack. "I promise I won''t be any problem for you." As Lisa and Mrs. Smithy were leaving Gillian turned to speak to Nathan. "I think that disy settles it. Lisa, or Queen, is definitely worth betting on!" "Agreed." Nathan replied nodding wholeheartedly. "I wouldn''t want to get in the ring to fight her after seeing that." "Me either. It''s times like these I am d I am retired from the MFA." Gillian said shaking his head. Then he nced over at the four militia troops chatting excitedly nearby. "Guys! Don''t you have to be on guard or something? Get back to your post!" Mrs. Smithy and Lisa arrived at a small red brick house only a few blocks from the ERMs headquarters. There used to be a white picket fence going around the perimeter, but it''s paint had long since peeled away. Rose bushes had overtaken the front of the house and appeared to even cover the windows. Yet the home appeared to be very cozy. "Sorry it''s not much, and I don''t even have any extra nkets for the guest bed. I had already giving mine away to those that needed them." Mrs. Smithy exined as they approached her home. "That''s perfectly fine. I am just thankful for a ce toy down." Lisa replied. "Well, aren''t you polite." Mrs. Smithymented. The dying sunlight outside was hardly able to illuminate the inside of the home. "I know it''s dark, but I still have a few candles." Mrs. Smithy picked up some dry matches and a tall skinny candle up off of a low coffee table. Striking the match and lighting the candle, the light brightened up the room to reveal a quaint yellow painted living room. There was an old dark green Lazy-boy chair and matching couch. There were lots of pictures of various family members of all ages on the walls. The room reminded her of her own grandmothers home and had such a nice nostalgic feeling. "You can sleep in the first room on the left." Mrs. Smithy said pointing towards a hallway. "I am going to go out back and get dinner ready. My husband should be arriving home soon as well. Don''t mind him. He''s normally grumpy and probably won''t say a word to you." Lisa chuckled. "That''s fine. I''lle help you cook if you want." "Very well. This way." Mrs. Smithy replied. When morning arrived, Lisa was up first. She felt awkward just lying there while no one else was awake. So quietly she snuck out of her guest room and carefully left out the front door. Fortunately, no one was disturbed. Once outside she took a big breath of the cool morning air and looked around at the faded townhomes. The river could be seen several blocks away to her right and the cliff was behind the Smithy home, also several dozen blocks away. The area was quiet and still. Not even a breeze had picked up yet. "I should probably survey the cliff to find a suitable spot to work on." Lisa said softly to herself as she left the Smithy home. The streets were quiet, and no one was out working yet. They all must have been exhausted from the past few days. In the meeting the day before it was mentioned a lot that the townspeople were working very enthusiastically towards collecting the metal for the trade deal. Lisa fully understood them, after freeing themselves from the ck Rats gang they needed something to help keep them going. Though from how things sounded the peace wouldntst. Halfway to the cliff the buildings turned from residential to industrial. Lisa read over the faded signs of each building as she passed them. Many were former distributingpanies and specialized electronic production nts. Nothing that would be particrly useful to the town. All except for the veryst block, which even had its own privet road running towards the river. The sign out front of an old, rusted gate said, "Johnson Concrete Co." "Oh, a concrete production nt." Lisa wondered aloud. "This could actually be a very profitable ce to get running. Not only to rebuild the town but selling concrete or even concrete grade sand would be great. I have to get this see if I can ce it under my control." After passing the concrete nt Lisa arrived at the foot of the cliff. However, just like when she looked at it from above, there was no possible way up. They were going to have to build their own road up to the top. The project was going to be hard, but well worth it. "I hope those Mover Mechs, that Gillian mentioned, will actually be of use. I hadn''t seen one in action yet." Lisa said looking over the cliffs jagged wall. "I cannot wait to get on to making money and helping out this entire town! This sure does beat being on the battlefield any day." Chapter 111: Canyon Chapter 111: Canyon n was board yet again. The rest of their journey was nothing but walk, walk, walk. There wasn''t a single time that they had to fight. No bandits tried to rob them; no hungry wild animals wereing after them; in fact, they hadn''t even seen anything dangerous during the entire trip to the Sun People. All this was very infuriating for n and he wished this trip would be over with already. The closest known viges of the Sun People were in a ce once known as Canyonds National Park, Utah. Thergest gathering of these unusual people from this area was at the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. The river merchants that came to trade at The Damn said that the ce was called Shadow of the Sky Ind. Which in hindsight was a bit redundant since it actually was in reality south of Ind in the Sky Park. In any case the entire trip was going to take four days and tomorrow they would arrive there. The route they had taken was along the Colorado River with the muddy water on their left and the canyon cliff wall on the right. They did have an old road to follow for the first day of travel, but it ended at several long-abandoned Potash evaporation ponds. Meaning the rest of the journey would be along the uneven rivers bank side. The views from the riverbank were extremely rugged, barren, and beautiful. The rocky multipleyered cliff walls of various colors ranging from tan, red, grey and ck created a myriad of amazing formations. These imposing rock cliffs were paired with the bright blue endless sky added to the wild, open vastness of this lonelyndscape. Scattered along the rivers edge were ragged small, leafed bushes, twiggy underbrush, and yellowing tan grasses. Hidden among them were boulders and river worn, smooth rocks that made traveling a rather zigzagging affair. If they traveled too close to the river waters edge they would be met with red y and silty mud. The soaked soils would grab onto their shoes and feet making it very difficult to proceed. This kept them closer to the center of the cliffs and river. asionally a lone hawk would pass by overhead or as they rounded a bend in their path a coyote would run away startled by their sudden appearance. Yet, if they traveled to close to the cliffs the loose shale and rocks made traveling very dangerous and opened up the opportunity for ankles to be twisted or rolled. This, however, was unavoidable at times where the river and cliffs narrowed dramatically. At these moments they were subjected to crawl vertically parallel on all fours to continue on. It was a shame that they had no way to utilize the river to travel on. They had boats but none at the time were avable to use for the journey. The lengthening of the suns rays was definitely showing signs of summers approaching. However, its heat was only oppressive during thete morning and early afternoon hours on this trip. The cliffs on either side of the murky brown river provided temporary shade and made the journey less overbearing. Additionally, they didn''t need to worry about drinking water as the river proved enough to sustain them. It was food that was the most difficult to obtain. If they wanted to eat, they would have to search the sparse, but thickly grown foliage for rabbits or ground birds like Rails, Pheasant, Grouse and Quail. If they wanted fish it would be too time consuming to stop and go fishing for them. The provisions that they had brought with them, however, would have been enough for the journey there, but not back to The Damn. They would have to get some from the Sun People or find food along the way back. As they traveled n had always kept a suspicious eye on the two cloaked men lingering at the back of the group. Still the entire time both Wind Talker and Ashen One kept their hoods on and kept themselves hidden well. It seemed as if those hoods were glued on and this annoyed n. He had considered trying to "identally" pull on off to see what they looked like but thought it too risky. He was sure that sooner orter they would review themselves. "ording to the map, we have to go around that right veering bend up ahead and then we can see the first signs of the Sun People''s vige." Hemlock called out from the head of the traveling group with a paper map in hand. "Shouldn''t take any less than half an hour." "Finally, my feet are aching from walking on all this slippery rock." One of the Skull men replied. "Ya, and all these bushes have been scratching my shins up so badly. I should have had on long pants." Another Skull member said chiming in. "Ah, save it you lot!" n shouted. "You don''t want the Sun People thinking we are a bunch of pushover pansies. Now do we?" "No boss." Several of the men replied halfheartedly. "Good. Now let''s keep going and try to look impressive. First impressions are always important, even if they are a bunch of crazy people." n called out. The Skull group trudged on, though slightly weary. Thest few hundred meters felt like forever, but the journey was worth it. They arrived safely at the Sun People''s vige. It was quite the sight to behold. Three penins shapedndmasses were naturally carved out by the two merging rivers forming canyon walls that were over four hundred meters high. The canyon walls were colored a lighter tan and sun-bleached rock near the base and waters. The topmost half of the canyon were rose pink and sandstone colored. The only vegetation growing here could be found on the skinny and steep riverbanks. In these rock walls were hundreds of manmade holes and caves. The northernmost penins appeared to look like Swiss cheese as each hole had been burrowed by human hands into it. The holes stretched from the Colorado Rivers side towards the Green river side that snaked its way into the Colorado River from the north west. This was the side that the Skull group would be able to reach bynd. The other two peninss were cut off from them by the two rivers. The south western shore penins was thinner than the northern one but had just as many holes and caves. This penins appeared to have the most docks and boat ramps connected to it as well. Smaller dinghies and canoes were scattered all around the rivers. Some catching fish, while others carried goods torger ship that couldn''t dock close to the shallow shores. They could see these ships were from shippingpanies from the far south ording to the ID numbers painted on their sides. Though for a backwards people they too still had needs from the outside world. The eastern penins was the thickest of the three. There were no see-through holes in this penins, only five massive cave entrances and dozens of smaller ones. This was likely where the main portion of the Sun People lived. It was especially apparent seeing therge amount of smoke billowing out from four of the five massive cave entrances. It looked like instead of a canyon cliff that there was some giant earth dragon slumbering in the ground. The most amazing thing that was about this ce was not the canyons, caves, docks or rivers; but it was the hundreds of wooden and rope bridges that interconnected all three peninss. They appeared to look like some giant spider had woven the area together with bridges and now the people had taken the ce over. On these rope bridges the Sun People had hung their animal pelts, gs, clothing, and even various foods to out in the sun to dehydrate. Hundreds of people were always crisscrossing the bridges at any given moment. No one could have ever guessed that this deste area would have so much human life. Seeing it the Skull couldn''t help but gawk at the scenery. It wasn''t until Ashen One loudly pped his hands together that they finally woke from their awe. "We must be getting on our way. No need for us to stare at what we will soon be walking along." Then he and Wind Talker moved on to the front of the group as if they were now leading the way. This too also made n feel slightly annoyed. It wouldn''t hurt to look at this ce for a little longer. In no time the Skull group was noticed by the Sun People patrols and quickly surrounded by them on both river and along the cliffs. The Sun People were all clothed in very strange attire, men and women alike. Some wore nothing but animal loincloth, while others had tied animal bones onto their bodies to create a replica of their own internal bones. Still, some wore normal looking clothing like pants, bras, hats and one man was seen wearing a wedding suite jacket. None of what they wore, however, was clean. They all hadthered on y and mud onto their bodies, which blended them into their cliff surroundings making a natural camouge. The Skull group had shown no signs of fear or aggression, but firmly stood their ground. Even as the Sun People inched forward brandishing their spears, crossbows and modern firearms. Their number was twice the Skulls. Then one of the Sun People warring a Bison skull on his head stepped forward to speak. "Who are you and why have youe? Only those traveling by boat are normally weed without suspicion." n calmly stepped forward to casually speak. "We are of the Skull. Those that rule over The Damn town beyond Moab City. We havee here by themand of Lady Cassandra to speak with your leaders about a prophecy that she has divined." Hearing the name of Lady Cassandra sent whispers throughout the Sun People. Clearly her name was not unknown to them. This was hopefully a good sign. The Bison skull man nodded. "If that which you say is true thene peacefully with us. We will consult the shaman to see if this be the case." "We shalle peacefully. We have no intention of causing trouble." n replied visibly rxing. The rest of the Skull group did the same and removed their hands from their weapons. "Very good. Follow me." The Bison skull man said turning to go. The rest of the Sun People also lowered their weapons but stayed alert and ready. "Now, how am I going to exin to them that we need to go fight with us. This is going to be a rather interesting ordeal." n thought to himself as they followed the strangely dressed man. **This is a real ce where the rivers meet and if the description of the area was hard to picture, you can look up the coordinates in Google Earth: 38 11 37.77 N and 109 53 20.81 W to see exactly what the area looks like. Its very neat!** Chapter 112: Shaman Chapter 112: Shaman As n and the rest of the Skull group followed the Bison skull man along the narrow riverbank. They couldn''t help but look at the suspended bridges, caves and boats as It was a truly unique environmental setting. Very different from The Damn and even Moab City. There were no buildings, towers or structures that could resemble modern civilization. Everything had been either naturally formed or carved out into and from the rocks. What actually went on inside those caves was anyone''s guess at this point. They arrived at a very steep stairwell carved into the rock that led upwards to the lowest cave on the northern most penins. As they climbed up the stairs n took note that at this caves entrance there were several guards standing to watch them from above. Security was not ck by any means despite not having any apparent electricity or cameras. When they arrived at the cave there were only two torches illuminating the entrance. Further in it also appeared to be just a very shallow cave, maybe no more the a few dozen meters deep and empty. "Are you going to be returning the way you came?" The Bison skull man asked as everyone gathered at the cave. "Yes. That is what we intended." n replied. "Then I ask that you leave your weapons here. No need to worry about them. The guards here will watch over them and won''t steal them either. Thieves are agents of the Night and we Sun People frown on such beings." The Bison skull man answered. "I don''t like this." Hemlock whispered into n''s ear. "We are going to be vulnerable without them." "It should be alright. At least we know where to escape to go if things go bad. They seem hospitable enough for now." n replied. Though he too didn''t want to go unarmed but n handed over his hammer grudgingly. The other Skull members did likewise equally as reluctant. Moments after they had finished giving up their weapons another Sun Person, that seemed to act more in charge, came into the cave. The Bison skull man waved at him. "Hello Garth, we spotted these people approaching from the north Colorado River. They say they are of the Skull and have news from Lady Cassandra." "So I have heard." Garth replied looking at the Skull group. "You all look the part, but I need to be sure. What is Death-heat, the Skull leaders hair color?" n took a step towards Garth and replied. "Our leaders name is Daivat Bellona the Undertaker, and his hair is snow white. I figured you were going to try and test us, but I thought it would''ve been something harder." "Well, that was quick. Looks like they actually sent someone with intelligence. Very good. Come with me and I''ll take you over to speak with our Shaman''s. They will want to know of what she speaks." Garth replied and turned to leave the cave. n motioned for everyone else to follow. The Skull group followed Garth closely. They did not want to get separated from each other. This was a very strange area to them. Even though their guide, Garth, talked normal his appearance did not match. His entire body was covered in caked mud, of which was interyered with red, white, and ck mud in a vertical pattern. The only articles of clothing he had on was a loin cloth with pouches on its belt and a leather sash that carried an array of daggers over his right shoulder. His appearance made the Skulls tattooed ck bones look rather clean and civilized byparison. They followed him out onto a steep stone pathway that led towards the midsection of the penins. By the time they arrived at the midsection they were now two hundred meters above the river. Here was also most of the caves and hollowed out sections of the peninss cliffside. Additionally, there was a wooden nked roadway that haloed around its center, like Saturns rings. Hundreds of Sun People were traveling everywhere along this roughly five-meter-wide wooden road. Here it looked to n that this was some kind of marketing area. Stall like areas were carved out of the cliff walls and just deep enough that they provided shade to the Vendors and stored goods. The Vendors were all shouting out prices of raw materials and food goods of all kinds were being sold. Even canned and processed foods from the outside were avable. n, however, could not look around too much, as Garth was constantly moving onwards at a rather stiff pace through the crowd. They soon arrived at one of thergest wooden bridges that crossed over to the eastern penins. It was wide enough to amodate six people to pass by each other simultaneously. Garth merely nced behind him with a dull look to make sure that they were keeping up and then started out onto the bridge. There were only a few Sun People crossing at the moment, so the Skull group was able to catch back up. Several of them felt nervous and hesitant crossing over the river far below them. n, on the other hand, was enjoying the view and stiff winds that shuddered the wooden bridge. His Eagle Spirit was clear enthralled by the entire experience. Unfortunately for him, the bridge crossingst no more than fifteen minutes. The rest were just de it was over. Now that they were over the worst wasn''t done yet. They now stood at the foot of thergest center cave. Being perfectly ten meters high and wide seemed impossible and the caves surface waspletely smooth, showing no signs of cracks or chipping. The cave appeared to have actually been board through by a mining or tunneling machine. How a machine of such size could have gotten two hundred or so meters up the shear rock walls was a mystery to them. Garth stood in the entrance to the massive entrance looking at them with his arms crossed. He pointed to n as he addressed the group. "You pick three men toe with you to meet the Shaman and tell your tale. The rest will wait here for your return." n sighed and turned to look at the men with him. He knew who he would rather bring, but Lady Cassandra has sent Ashen One and Wind Talker for a reason. "Hemlock, Ashen One, and Wind Talker youreing along. Sharp Tooth, you are in charge of these guys. If thing get bad, you know about n B." "Understood Boss Bone yer." Sharp Tooth replied in a rough grizzled voice. "We won''t let them take us easy." "That''s the spirit." n replied with a grin. Then he turned to the four he elected to join him. "Let''s get this over with and go home." The four men then started to follow Garth and enter into the oddly ominous cave. At first the contrast of light and dark was too great and they couldn''t see into the darkness. However, once they stepped fully into the darkness, they could see simply fine as their eyes adjusted. A double row of candles, one on the wall the other on the floor, marked the route they were to follow. They hadn''t gone far when they saw somethingpletely unexpected, a huge thick metal wall blocked the tunnel. It covered the entire tunnel and not so much as a crack could be seen at its edges to form a perfect seal into the bed rock. Only at the bottom center was there a small doorway to pass through. Two guards baring torches and polished metal spears stood in attention at the door. Garth went up to them and spoke exining the issue and the guards nodded understandably. Garth was the first to enter. He had to stoop over low and step up over a ledge to get through. It looked very much like the entrance to a boat cabin, the door even had a wheel locking mechanism like a boats door. Just as n was going through, he noticed that the guards spears were disguised with wrapped leather rifles with bays on them. He didn''t have time to inspect them further as instead of the doorway being simply a door, it was actually a small tunnel that forced everyone to almost crawl through. The walls didn''t quite feel like metal, but something much denser and heavier, like Lead. Then it urred to him that this was actually what the Sun People''s ancestors had built to withstand a nuclear bomb! Just as the stories he had heard reminded him. He had never seen the power of a nuclear bomb, but if this was what it took to stop one, then he wished to never see it! Once they were through, they found themselves in an evenrger cavern. Again, it waspletely smoothed out just like the entrance and lit by dozens of torches. The area appeared to have been once designed for many hundreds of people to dwell in, but now only a massive animal hide tent remained. It was adorned with animal, Twisted and human bones of every kind and various strangely carved wooden sun idols were also present everywhere on the floor, walls and hoisted on polls. Sitting at the entrance to the tent, gazing into a fire burning blue and green, sat three ancient looking Shaman. Each of them wore a multicolored feather headdress, much like Native America chiefs, and countless bracelets and nes adorned with glimmering orbs and beads. Their white and grey beards twisted and rapped around their wrinkled torso and legs, further adding to their great ages. As the five men came closer neither of the Shaman moved. "Stand firm!" An old crackling voices suddenly chanted out. All three Shaman had spoken out in unison and the noise echoed with a ruckus throughout the cave. Immediately, all five of them stopped dead in their tracks. Garth fell to his knees in respect with his arms and palms raised, as did Ashen One and Wind Talker. Seeing this n mentioned for Hemlock and himself to do likewise, though holding out their arms like that looked stupid, so they just knelt. "State your purpose. It must be something important if you have disturbed us before the monthly ritual." The eldest looking Shaman said still not looking away from the blue green fire at his feet. "It is, oh great ones." Garth replied solemnly. "These men from Skull have brought words from Lady Cassandra herself." The three shamans suddenly started quivering in a fit of either excitement or fear or it was just some strange possession. They looked no different than a dead leaf still clinging to a tree limb during a winter gale. "The Lady has had another Prophecy?!" "This is true." Ashen One said looking up from his kneeling bow. "As you say." The Shaman on the left said as their quivering subsided. "Has a Speaker been appointed ande to give us this prophecy?" The Shaman on the right asked. "I havee." n replied speaking loudly and with an uncharacteristic tone of respect. Perhaps the importance of the task was getting to him. "May I speak of it now. Time is seemingly precious, and we must not dy." Then in unison once again the three Shaman spoke. "Speak, that we all may hear and heed!" n took a deep breath and began to recite the prophecy word for word. Every hour of the trip he had been memorizing it into perfection and didn''t stutter a single time while rying the message. He recalled it so well that even in his dream the night before he saw himself speaking it. The three ancient Shaman sat motionless and silent the entire time. Nothing but the cracking of fire and n''s voice could be heard. When n finished there was a long silence that had fallen. Itsted so long that he even started to think that these old men had fallen asleep. Just as he was about to ask again, the Shaman stirred. In a clear, unified voice they gave their reply. "No!" Chapter 113: ERM Volunteers Chapter 113: ERM Volunteers Lisa returned to the Smithy home two hours after she had left. Mr. Smithy was sitting in a rocking chair hidden behind the Rose bushes and Lisa waved to him as she opened the fence gate. "Sorry I left early. I couldn''t sleep in for some reason." Lisa called out cheerily. Mr. Smithy grumbled something inaudible and went back to reading a book that he had with him. Lisa came up to stand on the porch with him. "Is Mrs. Smithy still here?" Lisa asked unworried by his unhappy reply. "Mmm hmm." Mr. Smithy replied with a simple nod. Not even sparing a second to look up at Lisa from his yellow paged book. "Thanks." Lisa answered and went to go inside. She found Mrs. Smithy in the kitchen cleaning dishes from dinner and breakfast. Hearing Lisae in she stopped cleaning to great her. "Ah, there you are. You missed breakfast. Was there something wrong that you needed to leave so early?" Mrs. Smithy asked while drying her wrinkled hands on a towel. "Not really. I went check out the underside of the cliffside this morning and I havee up with an idea of what needs to be done. I''ll exin more during the remainder of the meeting." Lisa replied. "Well, that''s good to know. Do you want breakfast? I only have a little bit of bread left." Mrs. Smithy asked. "If its not too much trouble." Lisa replied and she felt her stomach rumble slightly. Thinking to herself Lisa wondered, This town has nothing to eat no matter where I go. Maybe I need to find a solution to this problem too. It was nearly noon by the time Mrs. Smithy and Lisa returned to the East River Militia''s headquarters. Everyone else had already arrived and were ready to proceed. Miss Havens had prepared her notes and gave everyone the thumbs up to start. "Let''s get the second half of this meeting underway." Mr. nagan said addressing the room. "We talked yesterday about bringing the Mechs over to the dam for a recharge. Additionally, we briefly heard about you, Lisa, needing more manpower to get things repaired quicker. So, to satisfy both needs we agreed to send the Mechs around the cliff to get charged. With them we will also give you five volunteers to assist you. That is if you can amodate them." Lisa was delighted and worried hearing these things. The Mechs were definitely going need to be charged up to build the road down the cliff. However, she hadn''t considered if they could actually cross over the dam or would they be too heavy. Yet the risk was necessary, and she might have a n to work around this issue too. As for the five volunteers, she could amodate them. She had the living space for them, but the food required for them would be hard to keep up. Though this was expected and something that she was going to face eventually. As for the Mad Dogs, they probably wouldn''t even notice if she had five more "employees", as she mentally called them, working at the dam. As long as no fights were started than things would go just fine. Probably. The other issue of them being at the dam would likely cause would be how Zane might react around them. They were technically still enemies, the ERM and ck Rats. Would these volunteers or Zane recognize each other and fight, causing a potential rift to be created between Lisa and the ERM? This was going to be another challenge for her to deal with. "I think I can handle it." Lisa thought to herself. "I''ll just have to get Zane to agree with my terms and work with the ERM volunteers." After thinking over these thoughts quickly Lisa then gave her answer. "I can take on the volunteers and have everything ready for when the Mechs arrive. Them being at the dam would also help me get more of the generators and transformers taken apart and checked over. This way I can give Mr. Sellers and McMathers arger list of needed items." "Thats very good to hear." Mr. nagan replied. "Commander Gillian. You can go ahead and announce the signups for the volunteers. If there are more than five that want to go, pick the five you think are best suited." "Alright. I''ll just go do that now." Gillian replied standing up from his seat. "After that I''ll notify Mr. Yates to prepare the Mechs for deployment." "That''s a good idea." Mr. nagan replied giving a nod. Next to speak was Mrs. Smithy. "Lisa, you mentioned that you had an idea where the pathway might be on the cliff. Can you tell us now?" "Yes. At an area, not far from the dam, the forest growing up there stops and turns into the desert. It''s at this point that I believe should be the best spot. With summering up it would be wise to work where shade can be provided to those working." Lisa exined. "Also, taking into ount that the cliffs height is the nearly the same across its full length, it would be best to build it there and avoid any weakened areas caused by the tree roots." "Miss Havens, do you have a map of town in that area? Particrly of who might own thatnd." Nathan asked as Lisa finished. "Let''s see. Ah, yes." Miss Havens replied picking up a folded map and handed it to him. Nathan found the spot roughly where Lisa had mentioned. He saw that the area was marked as unowned and could be connected to already existing roads. "That area looks just fine. As soon as the Mechs are ready go ahead and get started." "I will do just that." Lisa replied. Then she recalled the industrial building that was nearby that location. "I have a question. I saw an interesting building that was nearby that area. It was called Johnson Concrete Co. Is it owned by anyone?" Nathan looked back at the map and found the ce she mentioned. Areas that were still owned by people or currently inhabited were outlined with red and those that were not had been left nk. Meaning that the unimed areas were technically imed by the ERM, until prove otherwise. The Johnson Concrete Co. had no suchbels. "No, it''s not owned by anyone. Meaning we have control over it. Why do you ask?" Nathan said looking up at Lisa. "Well, I was considering buying it." Lisa replied. Though she didn''t show it, Lisa was actually very excited to find out that it was unimed. "In the future, I think I can get it running again as well and expand my ie pool. The electricity is important, but I can only make so much from it. I likely won''t stop with buying the Johnson Concrete Co. either and might buy others, if everything works out." "That may be an option." Mrs. Smithy remarked looking over the papers. "The town would need both funds and concrete. We will have to discuss the idea after we get the electricity running. That is what all our focus should be on." "I can understand that." Said Lisa giving a light sigh. "May I at least inspect it a little?" "I see no reason why not." Nathan replied. "Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?" He asked looking around at everyone in attendance. "I think all that''s left is to read over the contracts once more and sign them." Mr. nagan answered. "Alright then, let''s do that now." Nathan replied. After two hours the two parties finished reading over the contents of the contracts and adjusted them ordingly. Seeing that everything was in order, Lisa and Nathan signed them. The first major contract of Lisa''s career had been made! When the meeting was finalized and everyone was leaving to go back to their duties, Gillian returned inside. He found Lisa and Nathan still speaking together about the contracts. They appeared to be getting along nicely. "I really can''t express my thanks to you for helping the ERM out." Nathan said looking rather relieved. "Things were really starting to get a bit tough to handle. The people needed hope and you providing electricity is just the thing for now." "I wouldn''t think too much on it and I wouldn''t call this a sign of hope. I am just exploiting an opportunity and it just so happens to be a good one." Lisa replied as if waving off the importance. "Of course it is important! Mrs. Smithy was in a real bind until you found her. Now we have a chance to get by in this hostile life we live." Nathan remarked sincerely. "Excuse me you two." Gillian saiding up to them. "I hope I am not interrupting, but I have picked out volunteers to go with you Lisa." "Oh, well that was fast." Nathan said with genuine surprise. He really didn''t think that people would be that willing to go somewhere that might be dangerous. "Let''s go meet them. Shall we?" "I don''t see why not." Lisa replied. "Lead the way Commander." Gillian gave a light chuckle and turned to lead the way. "Please don''t be so formal. Just call me Gillian. Only the militia troops are supposed to call me that." "If you insist, I will." Lisa replied cheerily. Waiting outside were the five that had volunteered. Lisa noticed right away that one of them was Wayne, but the other four she knew not their names. "The one I am promoting as the leader of these ragtag troops is Wayne." Gillian said pointing to the scrawny man. "He''s young and still needs training, but he is reliable. Then from right to left is Tayvon, Ava, Henry, and Willis. They are also just as dependable. I already told them that they are to assist with everything to do with the dam and building projects. However, if the Mad Dogs or others try to attack and they can''t defend the dam, they are to retreat right back to the ERM. I''ll leave that up to Wayne, or if he''s unable, Tayvon will make that choice. They don''t work for you, Lisa, but for the people of the ERM." "That ispletely understandable. I wouldn''t expect them to do more than they are able either. I promise that I won''t let such an unfortunate event happen anyway. Strictly business ordeals only." Lisa said looking the five young volunteers over. All five of them looked around her own age or younger. "d to help out where we can." Wayne called out. The other four nodded together in agreement. Though they were a militia they still didn''t know what kind of a salute to give, or if they even had too. This, however, didn''t bother Lisa, as she didn''t expect them too. "It''s nice to have you help. Don''t expect too much to do at first. However, I want you all to be sincere and learn what I teach you as fast as you can. Electricity is not something to be taken lightly and I don''t want anyone hurt or things broken." Lisa said crossing her arms across her chest. "We understand." Tayvon replied. "I once saw lightning hit a house and burn it down. So, we will definitely be careful." "That''s good to hear, I think." Lisa said light heartedly. Everyone chuckled at herme joke. So far everyone seemed to be getting along just fine. For now, even though you are with the ERM, Ill consider you volunteer employees. I will be expecting you all to do well. Lisa added and everyone nodded in agreement. "So, what''s the next move?" Wayne asked Lisa. "We are going to leave here and go back to the dam in the morning. So, if you have anything to bring in a backpack or a weapon other than a gun, get it ready to go." Lisa said to them. Then she turned to Gillian and Nathan. "Do you have any thick strong ropes and two small g poles? We are going to need them." "I think we can find some." Nathan replied. "The g poles I know are in a create inside, but what do you need them and ropes for?" "The gs are for marking the spot to build the pathway up the cliff. Also, we won''t be going back the way I came or by the river. We are going to use the rope and climb the cliff." Gillian raises his eyebrow. "Are you sure that a good idea?" "It will be fine. I think it will be a good team building experience for these guys here." Lisa said motioning to the five now nervous looking volunteers. "Don''t worry, if they fall, I will catch them. After all, you both know I am strong and fast enough." She then patted the coffin on her back to further emphasize her point. "I hope so." Nathan replied. He was trying to imagine how Lisa was going to try catching a falling person. "Me too." Wayne murmured to the others with him. Inwardly the volunteers all agreed on one thing with certainty. Climbing the impassable cliffside, that they all had seen since childhood, was definitely going to be a new experience. Chapter 114: Climbers Chapter 114: Climbers The next morning Lisa said her goodbyes to the Smithy''s and thanked them for their hospitality. They really were a delightful couple, even if Mr. Smithy was always grumpy. Lisa was especially thankful to have an actual meal, even if small, then eating wild game all the time. Leaving from there Lisa went back to the ERM headquarters where she had been told that her new volunteers were to meet up. When she arrived Gillian, Nathan and the five volunteers were waiting along with a short, skinny man she hadn''t yet met. They didn''t seem to have been waiting long and were just now leaving the building. "Ah, there she is." Gillian called out seeing Lisa crossing the mostly open parking lot. "Let me introduce to you Mr. Yates. He is the one in charge of the Mechs maintenance and operation." "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cunningham." Mr. Yates said stepping forward to extend a hand to Lisa. "Likewise, and just call me Lisa." Lisa said taking his hand to shake it. "I am curious to see these Mover Mechs. I have seen the AFR military mechs before, but not a civilian Mech." "Well, you will see them soon enough. They are not all that impressive, especiallypared to military mechs. I already have them ready to go and preparations for their journey are done." Mr. Yates replied. Gillian pointed at a small crate next to the door they had exited from. "As for the ropes you asked for, we couldn''t find any that were in any condition for climbing. However, we do have some chains that might suite your needs. I also have the poles and gs you need for marking the location. I''ll just carry them there with me." Lisa went over to the create and picked up one of the chains. They were caked in a rusty dirt grime, but they were definitely thick enough to support the weight of everything for the climb. "Ok these will have to do." Lisa said putting the chain back and picking up the crate to tuck it under her arm like a purse. This was a shock to all watching as the crate had to be over 45 kilograms! "Let''s go check out the spot I suggested and make sure that it''s satisfactory. "Sounds good." Nathan and Gillian said at the same time holding back their surprise. Their unified reaction brought about a bit ofughter from the group. Along the way Nathan and Gillian talked about the damaged buildings and roads. How they were destroyed by the Mechs during the fight with the ck Rats. They also exined how bad things had been under the ck Rats controls and the people were always struggling. Then the five volunteers also mentioned some of the things that happened to them by the gangsters. "Seems like this town has a lot of problems. At least more so than just what''s on the surface." Lisa thought while listening. "Who would have guessed that out here in the middle of nowhere, that gangs would be such an issue. It almost feels like Im in a Mad Max movie." It wasn''t long until they got out of town and arrived at the cliff at the north of town. This time Lisa had traveled further away from thest point she had observed by the concretepany and was now closer towards the dam. Up above on the cliff edge they could see where the trees were growing. While in contrast, down here in the valley, only stubby bushes and yellowed grass grew. "This is about the area I was considering." Lisa said pointing to the right of where the tree line ended. "Now, I am no expert on construction, but it might be best to leave the Mechs up on top. This way they just need to simply push sand, dirt and rock over the edge until it all reaches the top. Then we can start ttening it out into a slope and build the path." "That''s probably the best idea for what we have at the moment." Mr. Yates replied. "If we sent the Mechs back down here to work and they ran low on power, then we would have to march them all the way around again to recharge them. Besides your idea would likely take less time to aplish from the top. "Sounds reasonable enough." Gillian remarked scratching the stubble growing on his chin. "So now youre going to try and climb this cliff? I still think it''s easier to just take a boat." "It would, but that''s not the point." Lisa said turning to face everyone. "The point is to help build a team spirit and work on solving problems together. Forming a strong unit bond is a surefire way to aplish any goal effectively." "Don''t worry Lisa. We all know each other very well. This will be a breeze." Wayne replied giving a grin. "That''s right." Willis added. "Ava, Henry and I grew up on the same street together. Wayne and Tayvon only lived just only on the next block over and we hung out often." "The only thing that''s of concern is climbing." Ava said ncing in its direction. "None of us have ever climbed something like that." "It''s not overly difficult. I will be right there exining what to do." Lisa said to them. "Hold out your hands, with your palms up." The five of them did just that and Lisa looked over them carefully. Their hands were rough and callused, a clear sign that they were used to hardbor. They were likely not going to have any problems climbing, even for amateurs. "You all will do fine." Lisa said after looking them over. "It''s all just a matter of how strong your grip is. The rest wille naturally." Lisa also noticed that all five of the volunteers had on backpacks just as she had asked them to get. However, she couldn''t see any kind of weapon on them. It seemed strange to her that militia troops would be unarmed, especially when going to somewhere they knew nothing about. Her curiosity quickly got the better of her. "I have to ask, where are your weapons?" The five of them nced at each other questionably. Willis and Ava shrugged and Tayvon nudged Wayne to speak. "Well, uh, I have a pocketknife." Wayne stuttered and took out an old looking 10-centimeter knife. It was hardly worth calling a weapon. "The rest of them don''t have anything yet. We only used the guns we stole from the gangsters." "I see. Well let''s just hope it won''te to the point that you might need some." Lisa said with a sigh. "In the meantime, of you want too, find something that you would like to be your weapon. This is apparently your first time leaving the town and the world is a lot more dangerous and unforgiving than you realize. I''m not just talking about people either, as there are animals and monsters too." "Monsters?" Henry repeated questionably. "We''re not children. So, you don''t need to make stuff up." "Actually, I''m not. There are real monsters." Lisa replied with a straight face. "There are creatures called Twisted and they are like the nightmares you had as a kid. I am sure that Gillian and Nathan know about them, as well as the elders in town." Gillian and Nathan both nodded. However, Nathan was just as clueless as the volunteers, he hadn''t heard of them before, besides bedside stories. After all he was nearly the same age as them. Yet he was the leader of the ERM and couldn''t reveal that he didn''t know anything. Then Gillian spoke and everyone listened. "Lisa is right. Twisted are a very real threat. Though there hasn''t been any seen around here in years. Those monsters that we did see, were only a few weakened creatures and the gangsters could handle them. The desert has mostly kept them at bay and starved for us." "I actually fought one at the dam just a few weeks ago." Lisa said to him. "I can show you its bones, if they''re still there." "R-really? Monsters are real?" Henry replied hearing all this. The others shifted nervously. "Not to worry. There was only one and I killed it fairly easily. They aren''t scary once dead." Lisa said to them reassuringly. "In any case, we still need to get up on the cliff. So, let''s get to it and quit wasting time." Lisa turned to start heading towards the cliffs bottom edge and everyone followed. The sun was starting to get hotter now and it was probably best to get moving now. Though it was still technically spring, the sun was starting to heat things up faster by the day. "Good luck." Nathan said to the volunteers. "Mr. Yates and I will just watch from here. I don''t think we can help much." Mr. Yates nodded in agreement. Gillian took a few steps towards the cliff, "I''ll stay at the bottom and make sure everyone will be ok." "Very well. Now guys here is the n. Wayne, you will go first and find the right ces to grab and stand. As the lightest and the leader that should be your priority." Lisa told him. Wayne nodded and gulped nervously. This was actually the first time he had been told to actually lead someone. Not to mention while doing something he wasn''t too sure of himself. "Tayvon and Willis, you two will go next. As the strongest looking of you all it''s important that youre there to help if anyone slips." Lisa continued. "You''ll help because you all will be linked together by this chain, of which will be attached to you by the loop on your belts. Luckily you all have on jeans and belts, so that makes things easier in the absence of climbing gear." Lisa slipped off her coffin and opened it up to remove several lengths of short rope. "This is what we will use for the loops. They are strong enough. Because I tested themst night." She then handed the short ropes to the five of them. "Go ahead and tie them on, tightly." The five of them did just that and fortunately they were knowledgeable enough to tie good knots. Double checking them, Lisa was satisfied with how they did it. So, she went on to finish exining. "I''ll go up first and find a suitable route." She stopped and cleared her throat and then she put on a more serious expression. "There is one rule you must follow. If any rock, stone, or pebble falls while youre climbing you must yell out that it is. That''s super important. If one falls and hits a person below in the eye, finger or head it will jeopardize everyone''s safety. So be careful and warn each other immediately. This is part of your teamwork skills." The five of them nodded slowly unsure how else to answer. They were starting to understand that Lisa was very adamant about things she did. "Alright. Go ahead and thread the chain into the loophole and tie the chain ends to yourselves. I am going to start first." Lisa said turning towards the cliff. Before she started climbing, Lisa took the crate of chains and poles from Gillian and strapped them to the top of her coffin. She then shouldered all the heavy objects onto her back with ease. Apparently, she intended to climb with it all on! Lisa did just that. The cliff wall started a few dozen meters above the valley floor. Rocks, shale and sand had fallen over time and piled up to create a slippery half hill at the cliffs bottom. When she reached the actual cliff, Lisa looked at it carefully for a few moments. The cliff further towards the trees looked safer. It was rockier and had a fewrge boulders sticking out of it. Then at the top tree roots were sticking out, which would also be useful if they werent dry rotted. The rest of the area to the left looked to smooth or the rocks to lose. Deciding her route, Lisa started climbing and she made it look easy even while being bogged down by her coffin. She had climbed ten meters before she started to slow down as the rocks became looser at this level. Seeing this feat Nathan couldn''t help but marvel aloud. "Just how strong is she? What exactly drove her to be like this in the first ce. She like no woman I''ve met. It''s kind of cool." "That''s exactly what I was thinking." Mr. Yates replied. This startled Nathan. He did realize he was speaking out loud. He gave a light cough and continued. "I guess we will need to learn more about her." "You mean, you need to." Mr. Yates said giving a rare smile. Nathan looked questionably at the older man. "What do you mean by that?" Mr. Yates shook his head. "Awee on. She is a good-looking girl and youre a good-looking guy. I see the way you look at her." "Oh please, we are just business partners and only just met." Nathan said looking away from him and his face felt hot. He hoped that Mr. Yates would not notice. "Besides, we don''t have time to do anything like that. We have responsibilities." "If you say so." Mr. Yates said turning to go. "I''ll get the Mechs and pilots ready to leave now." Chapter 115: On Top Chapter 115: On Top Lisa reached the top in around fifteen minutes without that much difficulty. She could have gone up much faster, but she had to find the best and safest route to take for the others. Reaching the top, she took of her coffin and crate and left them next to a fallen log. Returning to the edge she waved down at everyone below, signaling for them to start climbing. Wayne returned the wave and then nervously grasped a rock hold in one hand. Then taking a deep breath he spoke to the others while pulling himself up higher, "Alright guys, let''s do this." The rusted chain was rather long, so it provided enough space in between everyone for them to climb freely. They had gotten to the point where all five were now off the ground and nothing had gone wrong yet. Gillian, however, still remained watchful from below. asionally he called out suggestions and support. It almost looked like a worried father cheering on his kids. Watching everything from above was boring, so Lisa decided toe down and help alongside them. Instead of climbing down she had another idea. The cliff was not exactly straight up and down the entire way, but rather it sloped slightly forward ten or twenty degrees at various points. This actually made it much easier for climbing and wasn''t as tiring as apletely vertical cliff. Her idea was to slide down slowly onto a boulder that stuck out halfway down to the bottom. It wasn''t directly above the climbers so falling rocks wouldn''t be an issue. Nathan was still watching alone from below and was now sitting on a thigh high rock. He really didn''t have much to do, maybe except more paperwork with Anthony. That was out of the question though. He could definitely use this as an excuse to put it off for a while longer. He had been watching the volunteers until he saw Lisa moving down the cliff and she drew his attention. The way she was traveling was definitely very odd. Lisa was looking downward while sliding on her side and her right arm was above and behind her, grasping the cliff rocks to slow her descent, while also using her boots as breaks. Dozens of small rocks bounced alongside her as she went and a plum of dust driftedzily away from themotion. At first, he though she was falling, but then saw the calm expression on her face and realized the sliding was intended. When she reached the intended rock Lisa finally stopped skidding. By now the climbers were just reaching a patch of the cliff that Lisa recalled was a bit hard to grasp at the handholds. Wayne and Willis were already passing through this point. While the other three were still working their way up. Everyone seemed to be doing well. asionally a rock would break off and tumble down, but theymunicated well, and no one was hit. No one was rushing either. They were doing an excellent job working together. This was good news for Lisa. This meant that once they got working on the dam parts, she would be content knowing that they could potentially work alone without her supervision. Or if something unexpected and dangerous came up, they would be alright. Just as she thought this, Wayne grabbed onto a long thin crack that ran horizontally and upward to the right. The crack suddenly made a funny crumbling sound and broke off into arge square b. The b was nearly as big as he was, and it was going tumble right for the others! "Look out! Move!" Wayne shouted in a panic, as he could do nothing else. The b bounced right in front of Willis and went spinning over both him and Tayvon. The other two were not as lucky. They were on a spot that stuck out further than the other climbers. The b was going right for Henry''s right hand and Ava was right below him on that same side. Hearing the warning Henry looked up and seeing the fast-approaching danger, reflexively let go and swung out of the way in a fright. Just as he did, the b smashed into the very spot his hand was at and split in two. Ava heard the warning too, but when she looked up the wind blew her long brown bangs into her vision and she couldn''t see the b right away. Only when the b nearly struck Henry did she see it, but by then it was toote! The smaller half of the b struck her right shoulder and backpack, resulting in her being knocked off the cliff! For one second time froze and everyone thought she was going to keep falling. The look on her face was pure disbelief. Then the chain jerked tightly and stopped her from falling further. However, the danger was far from over. When she was stopped by the chain, the force and weight of her falling was too much for Henry to hold onto with one hand. He was already off bnce from dodging and his grip slipped! Then both he and Ava started to free fall! Tayvon was watching all this happen and grabbed onto the cliffside as hard as he could. "Twang!" Tayvon could feel the ridiculous weight of his two falling friends suddenly jerk at his waistline. There was a loud ripping sound and he started to slip out from his grip, but he held on just barely! His legs, arms and fingers strained under the pressure of all this weight. "Quick, Willis and Wayne climb upward to tighten the chain and help Tayvon hold up the others!" Lisa shouted. She was already scurrying across the cliffside towards the two helpless climbers dangling in midair. Ava was swinging back and forth in wide arcs clinging to the chain with one hand, while Henry was trying fervently to grab the cliff wall, yet it was just out of reach. Willis and Wayne quickly climbed higher and tightened the chain, giving much needed help to Tayvon. Tayvon feeling the stress lessen, was able to readjust his grip and have a firmer hold. Sweat pored profusely down his face but he showed no signs of giving up. Lisa climbed to right over Henry and grabbed the chain. Then she pulled it towards the cliff with one hand in a swinging motion, letting Henry reach the cliff. He was still only able to hold on with his hands, as Ava was pulling his lower half away from the rocks due to the cliffs angle. "Now climb up, Henry!" Lisa shouted. "Everyone else move up to the next spot in the count of three. Ready?" "Ready!" The three men called from above. "One, two, three, climb!" Lisa shouted. The chain in her hand lifted and she too pulled upward. Henry was now able to reach the cliff with his feet and he started to climb. After passing Lisa, Henry stopped to catch his breath. "T-that was too close!" He panted while using a shaky hand to wipe his brow. "Yes, it was, but keep going. It''s not over yet!" Lisa replied. "Same thing, on the count of three. Ready, go!" Everyone repeated the action until Ava was within reach of Lisa. Lisa grabbed Ava''s outstretched left hand and yanked her up to where Lisa could hold her by the waist. "Got you!" Lisa said to the terrified youngdy. "Everyone catch your breath for a moment. I can hold onto her now." "P-please get me off of here! I don''t want to fall again." Ava said clinging onto Lisas shoulder. "Shh, I got you. I''ll carry you the rest of the way up. Just get on my back and hold on. Is your shoulder ok?" Lisa asked. "I-I don''t know." Ava replied shaking her head. "It happened so fast! I couldn''t do a thing." "Ok, we will look at it up on top. Now if you can wrap your arms over my shoulders, but not around my neck. Then get your legs over my hips." Lisa instructed as Ava did them. Lisa could feel Ava''s whole-body quivering, but she still had the strength to stay on. "Now hold on, we are nearly done. Youre doing a good job." Lisa climbed up to Henry, who seemed to have regained hisposure, and she stopped for a moment to encourage everyone. "Good job keeping everyone on the cliff. Let''s keep going upwards. Thest bit is much easier." Henry nodded and started to climb again. Lisa followed alongside him until they reached Tayvon. Tayvon was looking tired and worn out. He had just used so much strength to hold the others up that his fingers were trembling, and knuckles were turning white. All the while he was sweating profusely and there seemed no end to the beads of sweat rolled down his darkly toned arms, face, and neck. "Now that was an impressive disy Tayvon!" Lisa said to him. "You were wonderful just then. Feel proud about that. Nowe on, just a few meters left." Tayvon took a deep breath and reached shakily up to the next hand hold. Lisa couldn''t go higher due to the chain on Ava, so she stayed next to Tayvon the rest of the way. By now Wayne had reached the lowest of the tree roots. He had found a thick strong root and was now moving up much faster. After a fewborious minutes everyone was safely at the top. "Whew! Now wasn''t that an interesting experience." Lisa said looking at the five exhausted people lying t on the ground under the forests shade. "I haven''t felt that kind of excitement in a while. Don''t worry we will definitely not do that again!" "I hope not!" Willis replied look up at her from the ground. "Me either. My shoulder is starting to ache now." Ava said touching the spot tenderly. "Let''s have look at it." Lisa replied. She took off Ava''s backpack carefully and pulled back her shirt cor. There was a fist sized scratched red mark showing on her shoulder. Tenderly she poked at it and Ava flinched. "Hmm, it will leave a bruise, but nothing is broken or bleeding. Looks like your backpack was what mainly got hit. Very lucky and no harm done." It feels like I got punched. Ava replied rolling her shoulder and wincing at the numbing pain. Id imagine it would. Lisa replied. Now that that is over with, I wont be having you guys do anything unordinary like that again. Gillian and Nathan were nervously watching everything and everyone on the cliff. When the b fell and the two started to fall, they couldn''t do a thing and felt so helpless. "I want to get up there and help so bad!" Gillian said frustrated. "I knew this was a silly idea. Do we really think that we can trust her after seeing this?" "I am not sure." Nathan replied not taking his eyes off the cliff. "She dide back to help and carry Ava. So, she did try to fix the issues." "Well, they should have just taken the boat and avoided this all together." Gillian retorted. "I hope she doesn''t do this kind of reckless behavior often. Otherwise, we should take them back from her. She seems to talk about being trustworthy, but this isnt helping her case." "Perhaps." Nathan replied as he watched Henry crawling over the top edge to safety. "Let''s just see how things go for now and give her the benefit of the doubt. Look she''s nting the g poles now." The two then watched as Lisa started nting the g poles into the ground and securing the markers into ce. She then waved down at them and gave two thumbs up. They took it as everyone was alright. "Fine. We will wait." Gillian grumbled. But Ill be sure to give her a prompt talking too when I meet up with them tomorrow. Chapter 116: Moving In Chapter 116: Moving In Zane felt dead. Sadie had been working him like a dog for three days straight. His legs burned, arms felt like Jell-O and his torso felt like Lead bricks were squashing him. He didn''t want to move a single fiber of his body, it simply hurt too much. "Come on Zane, just one more time up the stairs." Sadie said looking down at Zane as she stood above him with a cheery expression. Zane was star-fished out at the foot of the stairs as hey on the cool concrete floor of the powerhouse building. The stairs had now be the object that he loathed. He looked up at the cheerydy above him. Her brown single braid dangled over her right shoulder and pleasant smile was on her face, all this was a lie! "She''s the devil in disguise." Zane grumbled in his thoughts. "I won''t let her charm fool me. She is slowly trying to kill me. I think I would rather get stabbed by Dilly again." "Come on Zane. I know you can do it!" Sadie continued prodding. "Just let me rest for a few minutes." Zane sighed. "Fine, just a short break." Sadie said turning away with a pouty expression. "Your opponent is out there right now probably fighting or training and all you''ve done isin. If this keeps up, youre not going to win. Where''s your motivation?" "I think I lost my motivation six flights ago." Zane murmured. Sadie rolled her eyes and decided to get him some water. While Zane had been doing the training menu, she had instructed him to do, she was trying to clean this ce up. The ce was a dump. Dirt, leaves, water damage, and trash were everywhere. Every corner had piles of grimy nasty stuff, the floors hadn''t been swept in years and dust wasyered thickly on everything. To get rid of a lot of mmable stuff, and not waste them, Sadie would just toss them into the fire and boil water at the same time. There was lots of rotten wood and trash to keep the fire going nicely, so she didn''t worry about it going out. She couldn''t stand living is such a dirty ce. Sadie couldn''t help but wonder why Lisa had chosen this ce to live. There were plenty of other buildings in town. The water pot was still boiling on the fire and she decided to take it off, before returning to Zane with water that was already cooled off. Sadie had just taken the pot off when something caught her attention over by the dam. Looking that way, she was pleased to see that it was Lisa returning. However, Lisa was not alone. There were five young strangers following along with her. Taking a nce at Zane, Sadie saw that he was stillying on the floor. She rolled her eyes again then started to head towards the grouping her way. They seemed to have stopped near the middle of the dam and were peering over the edge while Lisa was talking to them. Sadie also noticed that Lisa had some small animals in her hand, apparently from the traps in the woods, and this was a good thing to see. There was nearly nothing left to eat. It seemed to Sadie that food was the biggest obstacle to ovee living outside of the Mad Dogspound. "As you can see this dam is even higher than the cliff, we all climbed up." Lisa exined to the five volunteers. "Its height lets the water fall fast enough to turn the turbines fast enough to generate the electricity in the generators." Lisa had been exining how the dam worked and functioned as they passed through the woods on their way here. If they were going to be helping to work on it, they should at least understand how it works. Once inside she could then exin everything in greater detail. "I can''t look over the edge. I think I have a fear of heights now." Ava murmured nervously stepping away. While the other four marveled at the sight of the river splitting the two sides of town. "I think I see our street from here!" Willis said pointing in their homes direction. "This is awesome. I had seen this ce from afar, but up close is way more impressive!" Waynemented. "If you all look the other way you can see thergeke that has been formed behind the dam. It is just as spectacr. Also, not as terrible to look at Ava and rather rxing instead." Lisa said motioning for them to look. The five of them turned to cross over the dams road and were in awe of this new sight as well. It was also then that Lisa noticed Sadieing their way. "Sadie, I am back." Lisa called out giving a small wave. "I see." Sadie called back and the two met up. "How did everything go with the ERM and who are these people?" Lisa broke out into a huge grin. "Everything went great! I now have my first customers and a legitimate contractual deal. Once the dam is fully operational or even partially working, I will be paid to be powering the buildings for the ERM. Also, there will be three huge Mover Mechsing here to get charged up. You know what those are right?" "That''s wonderful! d to see things are working out and yes I know what Mover Mechs are." Sadie replied before giving a sigh. "Zane''s training has been going, well, moderately ok. He is terribly out of proper shape. Tomorrow youre going to have to spar with him, because all we''ve done is conditioning." "Lisa." Someone called from behind Lisa. They turned to see the othersing towards them and found it was Wayne speaking. "This ce is pretty cool. Who''s this?" "Everyone, this is Sadie." Lisa said throwing an arm over Sadie''s shoulders. Sadie blushed embarrassed by the action, but Lisa continued speaking. "She is a good friend of mine and my Match Fighter manager. Sadie, these are volunteers sent by the ERM to assist with the dams reconstruction. Their names are from right to left, Tayvon, Willis, Henry, Ava, and the Captain of the group is Wayne." "Hello, everyone." Sadie said giving a timid wave. The others gave weing hello''s and tired but friendly smiles. "There is one more guy that is staying here." Lisa continued. "His name is Zane, a trainee to be a Match Fighter and my only official employee as well. I assume he is still training inside, right Sadie?" Sadie let out a sigh. "Yes, he''s lying in the floorining that he''s too tired." "I hope you didn''t work him too hard." Lisa replied getting off of Sadies shoulder and looking back towards the powerhouse building. "Not really." Sadie said giving a shrug. "Well, in any case, let''s get you all situated and find a ce for you all to sleep. There''s not much in terms of sleeping space, but we can fix that eventually." Lisa said turning to go towards the powerhouse and she waved for them to follow. "Come on. There is still a lot more to see." The seven of them all arrived at the powerhouse and sure enough, Zane was still sprawled out on the floor. He heard them entering and seeing new arrivals he, though still aching, scrambled to get and greet them. When Lisa introduced them too Zane, she purposefully left out the part mentioning that they were with the ERM. Instead, she craftily called them volunteers from their first client. Lisa was going to have to find out whether or not he could handle working alongside former enemies. Additionally, she watched the five volunteers carefully. They might have recognized Zane as a ck Rat Lieutenant and things would get tense. However, they made no such indication that they knew him. Though they could be hiding it, she just had to keep an eye on them. "Well Zane, I''m going to have to kick you out of your room and you lose the bed. Ava is going to be with us." Said Lisa after everyone was finished with their introductions. "You and the rest of the guys are going to the room across from the one we are in now. There arent many areas to sleep on, but you''ll get first pick. We can work on buying more beds for everyone in the near future." Zane seemed slightly disappointed but nodded obediently. Lisa then led the way to where the rooms were at. The bosss office she had left untouched after taking the couch out when she first moved in, so they had to move a lot of stuff for them to befortable. After a while everyone had adjusted the areas for them to stay in and settled in by moving the couches from Lisas base back to here. "Alright, now that that''s done time to go down into the tunnel." Lisa announced. "I am going to show you all the electricity and what I expect you all to be working on. There''s a lot to cover and exin so pay attention and ask questions when you don''t understand something." Everyone agreed, except for Sadie. "Zane and I will go back to training. I think he''s had a long enough break now." Zane let out a grown. "Do I have too?" "Yes, now quitining and be a man!" Sadie chided. Everyone else chuckled hearing this and seeing Zane''s unhappiness. Especially Lisa. She hadn''t expected Sadie to have had such a dominant impact onto the former gang member. Sadie seemed so quiet and timid until it came to doing her job. It really opened her up to others. Lisa first showed the volunteers the control room and exined some of its functionality. Then she briefly exined and showed what the transformers, on the first floor, did in the process of electricity production. When Lisa brought them to the huge green doors of the dams tunnel and opened them, they all let out a collective gasp. The sight of electrical lighting was astounding to them. Even more so than a few tiny lights on the control room panels. "I hadn''t seen lights like these since I was six or seven." Henry finally said breaking the silence. "We knew you had electricity, but not already to this extent!" "It''s still only limited to the tunnel and control room." Lisa replied with a grin. She was getting a rather proud satisfaction feeling watching them ogle at the lights. The whole idea that what used to be America now had so many people that hadn''t seen electricity before or in a long time was sad. Bringing it back to them had its own special feeling that was difficult to put in words. "Now let''s go further in and I will show you the main focus of the work that needs to be done first." Lisa said walking down the tunnel. The group followed closely, still in wonder. Lisa proceeded to exin what she had done so far. She had taken apart almost a dozen generators andid out many of the parts for inspection and inventory purposes. Lisa exined what each part was, used for, and what needed to be taken care of. The whole processsted for nearly two hours. By the end of the ''brief'' exnation, the five volunteers felt as if their minds were spinning. "How are we going to remember all of this?" Tayvon asked. "Ya, we haven''t really had any kind of formal education. Only what are parents taught us and what we found in books." Ava added. "Assuming we had read the books." Willis pointed out. "I''m really not into reading." "Don''t worry. I don''t expect you to remember all of this right away or what the manuals say exactly." Lisa replied. "We will have plenty of time for hands on training and experience. I''ll be here working with you the whole time. Besides, each generator is identical, and the job will be repeated over and over. You''ll probably even find things that need fixing on your own too." "So, when will we start?" Willis asked. "After the Mechs are charged and gone to work on the path will we thene back here." Lisa replied. "We won''t be able to work on fixing the problems until Mr. Sellers returns with the parts to work with. Until then we will work on finding broken parts and repairing the other facilities around here, in addition to these generators. Not to mention we need to find food and clean water. There is a lot of work to do around here." Chapter 117: Back at the Damn Chapter 117: Back at the Damn That evening everyone had eaten thest bits of food that were avable to them that Lisa and Sadie had collected. The rabbit and two squirrels Lisa brough back from her trip were a big help too. Though it was not much, there was still enough food to go around for all of them to feel full. It was after this time that Lisa decided to speak to Zane about the new volunteers and if he truly was going to remain loyal to her, in spite of working with the ERM. Everyone had gathered around the fire sitting on wood boxes and telling stories of neat or silly things they had done. The sun had gone down not long ago and it''s burning glow still illuminated the horizon. Up until now everyone had been getting along well. Lisa stood up and stretched. "Well, it''s gettingte now and before I go to sleep, Zane, I need to speak with you." Zane looked at Lisa questionably, but didn''t say anything. Lisa''s expression gave him no hint as to what she wanted. Getting up he patted the back of his pants, "Alright boss." The two of them left the fire and walked out onto the dam. There was a light warm breeze blowing, which was a nice change from the chilly air they had been having. Zane was feeling a bit nervous, because Lisa hadn''t said a word to him the whole time. When they reached halfway across the dam did Lisa finally turn to face him. Even in the dying sun light he could tell from her seemingly glowing grey, scowling eyes that she was serious. "As you know, I went to meet with a new client during thest few day." Lisa said as she started to exin. "The client was on the eastern side of the river, where you came from. While I was there, I learned that the fight between the East River Militia and the ck Rats is over. The ck Rats lost." Zane let out a heavy sigh and hung his head. "Well, that just sucks. I spent a lot of my life working in that gang. Made a lot of good friends there. Hard to really imagine that it''s all over." "Perhaps some are still alive, but just in hiding?" Lisa suggested. Thinking to herself, Hmm, he seems to be taking this well. Zane looked up and shook his head. "No. Everyone I was friends with definitely didn''t make it." He then went on to exin how the battle proceeded from his point of view. How the Mech, being piloted by Dilly, destroyed the building they were on and how they were all killed. He shuddered slightly retelling the moment what the one man was crushed underfoot by the Mech. "So that''s really why you want to fight Dilly." Said Lisa thoughtfully. "You didn''t strike me as the type that wanted to fight someone just because you lost." "Ya, that''s the real reason." Zane replied softly. "So that being said, are you still sure that you want to work for me?" Lisa asked. "Yes, why wouldn''t I?" Zane replied after a moment pause. "Would you still work for me if you knew that my, or should I say ''our'', client was the East River Militia?" Lisa asked slowly. She watched him carefully as there was no telling what he might do. Zane appeared to have a conflicted emotion appear on his face. His forehead crumpled into several waves and his eyes darted aimlessly at the pavement below. It was several moments before he could reply. Eventually he seemed to havee up with a reply. "I am not so sure. They are my enemies and Dilly is on their side. I don''t think that sits right in my mind." Zane replied. His voice sounded tense. "That''spletely understandable." Lisa said giving a nod. "But what if this was an opportunity?" Zane looked at her curiously. "How?" "Well now that I have connections with them it would be very possible to set up a Match Fight with Dilly verse you. After all, that is why you are bing a Match Fighter. If you were to leave now, you would not only be losing a ce to work and live, but that opportunity as well. You want vengeance and this could be it." Zane took another moment to think things over in silence. During that moment it appeared that a thought came to his mind. "Wait, you said that those guys by the fire were volunteers and the client is the ERM. Does that mean they are with the ERM?" Lisa expected that he would catch on eventually. "Yes. They are part of the ERM. However, it seems that they don''t recognize you." "Seriously?" Zane remarked in concern as he turned to look in their direction. "Why would you let theme here? If they find out who I am then it could put me at risk! They captured and killed lots of our members before that fight. I could be next!" "Calm down. I won''t force you to stay or leave." Lisa softly said holding up her hands. "It''s your move at this moment. Just remember what I told you before. You work for me and I will make sure that my employees are safe. I will keep them from harming you. Remember, youre my lucky guy and that luck won''t run out just because things are getting hard." At that moment, the moon came rising from behind Lisas head as it climbed over the forest, big and majestic. The pale orange, white glow of its light illuminated everything around them and brightened the darkness. Zane looked at Lisa''s now clearly glowing grey eyes and in them he saw confidence, sincerity and a certain something that he couldn''t quite point out. However, he felt like she could be trusted. He started to feel kind of embarrassed hearing her words. Zaneughed to himself in thought, "Wasn''t it the guy that was supposed to protect the woman? Why am I so pathetic?" "I-I guess I can try sticking it out a little longer. I don''t like training with Sadie, but it''s definitely going to make me stronger." Zane replied as his voice struggled to find the words. "So, what should I say if they ask more about me?" "Hmm, just say that you lived in this town and I hired you because you were helpful to me." Lisa said allowed in thought. "As long as youpose yourself and don''t reveal that you used to be a ck Rat, things should be fine." "I''ll try." Zane replied. "Good man. I am d you are choosing to stay. Besides, you still owe me for helping you out." Lisa said patting him on the shoulder. "What exactly did you do in the ck Rats anyway? It couldn''t have been much, otherwise they would have known you on sight." "Well, I guess it really doesn''t matter anymore." Zane replied giving a sigh. "I was in charge of the southernmost area of the town by the bridge. My job specifically was to make sure that the Skull wouldn''t cross the river or old bridge and attack us from behind. That area was very sparsely popted, so it''s not too hard to imagine that they wouldn''t know me." "What about from the fight? Could someone recognize you from then?" Lisa asked crossing her arms across her chest. "I don''t think so, except for Dilly. I was mainly acting as support and shooting from the rooftops." Zane replied shrugging. "Hmm, well that''s good. Hopefully, your guess will be right. Don''t worry, whenever someone elsees from the ERM just stay out of sight best you can and keep training. Things will work out. Just trust me." Lisa said walking past him to head back to the building. "Come on, its time to go to sleep." Zane nodded and followed after her slowly. Though he had his doubts, there wasn''t much left for him to do. He had to make this work out. Suddenly, Lisa stopped walking and he nearly bumped into her. Lisa turned halfway around to re at him. Suddenly her eyes now no longer held the same helpful and encouraging feelings they once did. Now they were as cold as ice and seemed to be peering into his soul. "You won''t try to seek vengeance for what happened on them, will you?" Lisa asked and her voice almost sounded like it had a low growl in it. "If you were lying this entire time, I will make sure that you pay. I won''t let anything mess up my ns, that includes you or anyone I know." Zane gulped. He had seen her fight and how strong she was. There was no chance he could actually consider crossing her. "No, of course not! I''ll do exactly as you tell me." Zane managed to say. The cold expression immediately disappeared, and a friendly smile returned to spread on Lisa''s face. "That''s a good choice. Remember who you work for." That night was a long one. Though he agreed to work alongside the volunteers from the ERM, he couldn''t sleep knowing that potential enemies were right next to him. Since Lisa let him make first pick as to where to sleep, he picked a couch and pushed into the corner closest to the door. This way he could keep an eye on them, just in case. He probably only got a few hours of sleep and before he knew it dawn hade. As soon as he managed to get off the couch and go down the stairs, he found Sadie was already waiting for him. "Well, look who''s sleeping in. Come on, get on your training gear. We got a full day ahead of us!" Sadie said giving a cheery smile. "She''s the devil and trying to kill me. She''s more dangerous than the ERM." Zane whined inwardly. Frank Sellers was finally arriving at hisst stop, The Damn. The trip had gone really well. Everything had sold for more than he expected in Moab City and they didn''t run into any trouble with bandits or the Sun people. After first delivering a few goods to the Skull he immediately headed for the northern most docks controlled by the Mad Dogs. It was here that he was going to dock the boat. The Mad Dogs had much better food and beer in their taverns than the Skull would be willing to offer. "Alright Gaston, let''s go see if we can find miss Queen and if she still wants to make those purchases." Frank called out to his bigrade. "Ok." Gaston grunted in agreement shouldering his heavy weapon. "She wanted to buy construction materials and metal." Frank continued speaking as they left the boat in the crews care and headed down the ageing, wooden docks. "I wonder what kind of metal Queen wanted specifically? Seems like everyone here is trying to sell metals." Gaston didn''t reply, but simply followed closely behind. He was used to listening to Franks rhetorical questions andments. There was no need to reply to something he didn''t know the answer too. "This Queen sure sounds like an interesting person." Frank said finishing his own thoughts. A teenaged boy just so happened to be walking by and heard him say that name. The boy stopped and tapped on Frank''s arm. "Hey mister, did you just say Queen? Like the Match Fighter?" The teen asked. "Yes I am. Do you know her?" Frank asked slightly startled by the teens sudden questions. "I do." The teen replied. "If you pay me a small fee, I can go get her or even take you to meet her." Frank looked at the scraggly boy with suspicion. "How do you know her and that you are not tricking me?" "Oh, I am not tricking you sir." The teen replied giving augh. "Queen hase to my grandfathers shop a few times and I had to deliver goods to her ce. It''s not too far from here." Frank sighed and took out two quarters from his pocket. "You''ll get these when you actually take us to her. Deal?" "Deal. Now follow me. Oh, my name is Tom by the way." Tom answered motioning for them to follow him further north along the dock. Chapter 118: Hunters Charge Chapter 118: Hunters Charge 56 felt concerned hearing that the Hoard Mother''s kind had only been defeated just twice before and that Moab City or the Hunter n had no way to beat it. Still, they didn''t seem to be hopeless and he himself could guess why. Just because the massive creature couldn''t be beaten by them didn''t mean that another means of victory wasn''t attainable. "So, what''s the n then?" 56 asked. "Firstly, keep it away from the sma wall towers." Dixon replied promptly. "The cities safetyes first, and we can''t let it destroy a single tower. The Hunter Leader has a team working along with the Moab Government on delivering a solution and we just need to buy time. As soon as we get themand, we''ll engage the Twisted. Things will work out." "I hope your right." 56 said looking back at the intense battle unfolding below. "So which group are we going to be attacking with?" "I was wondering that myself." Tammy chimed in listening in on the conversation. "Depending on where we go, I need to know what ammo to use." "The ammo all do the same thing." Sam scoffed. "No, they don''t!" Tammy replied rolling her eyes at him. "You know bullets andsers all have a wide variety of impacts and secondary implosions." "Knock it off already you two." Dixon shouted. The two huffed and turned away from each other. "To answer the question, we are going to be in group two. All we need to do is attack the Twisted assaulting the towers. The tower defenses can handle the smallest of the creatures, it''s the medium andrge ones we need to worry about. If they destroy a tower before the others can deal with the Mother, then defending the city is going to be exceedingly difficult." "I see. Well in that case shooting them down with this bad boy should be easy." 56 replied patting theser gun on hisp. "I wish that were so. Twistede in arge variety of types and some can be harder to kill than others." Dixon said stroking the hair on his chin. "Oh look, there is a good example of a hard to kill Twisteding out of the dust." 56 and the others looked down to see a strange thick creature lumbering out of the dust. It was headed for the center of the battle. Its features reminded 56 of a Bison, however, that was as far as the resemnce went. Though itsrger head and thick hairy front looked like a Bison it couldn''t be called that. The creature was twice the size of a Bison with horns like a Texans Longhorn Steer. Its fur was now gone and reced with a thick scaly, skin hide that was the same color of the suntanned ground it walked on. Also, instead of a sleek streamlined appearance, it now had three rows of spiny tes that ran along its spine along with noticeable tes that emphasized its hips and shoulder des. Its muscles were also rippling far out of proportion, as if it waspletelycking fat and ate nothing but steroids. "That Twisted is called a in Strider. As you can guess, scientists say that it is a mutated North American Bison. That thick looking hide is capable of deflecting bullets andsers from a far distance or if they are of a smaller caliber. Aiming for the eyes, mouth, and joints of those creatures and others like it, will give your best chances to kill them." Dixon exined. "The rabbit resembling creatures are known as Lagos Cutters. They were some of the first creatures to show signs of the mutation. Unfortunately, due to their short gestation times, their poption went out of control very quickly. Also, they are no longer vegetarian, as you could have guessed by their ws." "They do look terrifying." 56 remarked as he watched one such creature leaping nearly three meters at a time. "A swarm of those would be hard to deal with on the ground." "Yes, they would be hard to handle on the ground." Dixon said giving a knowing nod. "Luckily for us they only attack in groups when they are with a Hoard. Normally they arepletely solitary creatures. Now those bigger ones with the strange, elongated heads are more dangerous. They used to be of the canine variety of all types, ranging from Wolves, Labradors, Foxes and even Chihuahuas. These Twisted are voracious hunters and travel normally in packs at night. They are called Night Hounds." "Very strange appearances they have now. They almost look nothing like dogs in any way." 56 pointed out. "Yes, some Twisted creatures had a higher reaction to the nuclear mutations and lookpletely different than what they used too. Best example would be the Hoard Mother. DNA tests im that it used to be a Dairy Cow." Dixon said shaking his head as if not believing his own words. "A Dairy Cow?!" 56 shouted in disbelief and with a bit ofughter. "That''s definitely hard to imagine." He then zoomed out his binocrs as he looked over the rest of battle. "It''s too hard to see anything else moving down there in the dust. So, I guess I''ll learn more about them another time or as we start fighting." "That''s pretty much how we learned about them too. There are still many strange variations out there to be discovered. Who knows, we might even discover a new type ourselves in this fight." Dixon said thoughtfully. He checked his watch once again, but still no change. "Keep an eye out for any changes in the battle. Maybe you''ll see another type for me to exin." "Will do." 56 replied. However, his gaze had wandered away from the Twisted and he was now looking at the Cities defensive force that was quickly amassing behind the sma wall. The force wasrgely robotic, just like he had seen, studied, and fought against when at the AFR base. Instead of Infantryman being the core of the ground fighters, they had been reced by thin arm and legged humanoid robots. They almost reminded him of the Droids from ''Star Wars'', however, these darkly painted robots were more human in appearance and armor more streamlined. The blue glow of their eye sensors and weapons mounted into their arms looked very cool, especially the weapons. Being mounted into the very framework of their design prevented them from ever being dropped or disarmed. Seeing them he couldn''t help but want to take one apart and study them. Theplex functions and technology that had to of been put into them just had to be fascinating. He even wondered if they could be hacked and remotely controlled. If so, the amount of cyber hacking ideas and cyber defense to ovee would be exhrating to try and break into. His nerdy side was definitely thinking up a plethora of possibilities. The tanks and artillery appeared to also be robotic in nature, however, their basic design had not changed much in two hundred odd years. They just had a lower and slimmer profile due to theck of humans being inside or traveling in them. This citys forces didn''t appear as technologically up to date as the ones he had fought against. It was possible that they were a generation or two behind the AFR. Yet they still looked quite formidable. The sma wall had been built a good distance away from the city buildings and the forces were able to assemble in an orderly fashion to deal with the attackers. Their numbers appeared to be several thousands of ground troops, three dozen tanks and five dozen artilleries. Quite the sizable robotic force for a single city to have under itsmand. No wonder the AFR or otherrger political groups hadn''t tried attacking this ce yet. Arge series of booms sounded out at this moment, as the artillery and tanks started firing volleys of shells and incendiaries into the encroaching dust plume. Even from here 56 could hear the shrieks of creatures being struck by the bombardment. Several of these shells struck the neck and torso of the Hoard Mother, but to no avail the beast just shook itself as if annoyed and kept marching on. It seemed more irritated by the artillery shots than injured. The sight of this reaction made 56 shutter inwardly. "You are recording all this still, Orville?" 56 asked the egg-shaped robot floating alongside him. "Yes Boss 56! Everything ising in clearly." Orville chanted back. "Looks like the main forces have started to engage, so we should be joining in soon." Dixon called out to everyone. "Double check all our gear and guns are in order." "Already to go. Checked them three times already!" Tammy said sliding a magazine into her immensely customized assault rifle. "What about my ammo?" 56 asked. "Yourser rifle has ammo cartridges in that green crate behind you. You shouldn''t end up using many of the cartridges. They usuallyst a pretty long time." Sam answered checking his pouches on his Hover Bike and pulling out a grenade. "Alright, I think when we go to defend the towers just let the defense systems focus on the smaller ones and we focus mostly on therger ones like that in Strider. I''ll check on the Hoard Mother''s progress and if the defenses can''t handle the Mothers approach, we will break off and join them in the attack." Dixon said cing arge LMG like gun into his back. Its drum magazine looked as if it could hold hundreds of rounds. Seeing it 56 wanted to get one for himself. Dixon then held up his watch and watched it carefully waiting for the signal. Several minutes went by and the silence was stifling out the distant battle rumbling below. Everyone just wanted to attack. A few of the towers were now being rammed by in Striders and even more were now missing a lot of barbed wire. 56 thought he saw a Night Hound make it onto a towers defensive tform, but the robots must have shot it down immediately, because he didn''t see it there when he did a double take. "Got a message!" Dixon shouted. Everyone raised their guns and gripped the handles to their Hover Bikes in anticipation. "It says here that we are to defend towers 44-48. That is right in the middle. Let''s move!" Simultaneously all three of the Hunters pulled back on their bikes handles and sent them diving straight down. Additionally, all the other Hunters waiting in the air with them did likewise, heading for their designated locations without a single thought. The rush of the wind and the weightless feeling of falling excitedly drove up 56s adrenaline levels. It was the feeling that he craved every time he himself flew with his Armament. "Finally! A fight worth having!" 56 though as he held on tightly to the trailer safety bar. The sights and screams of the creature growing ever closer added evermore so to the excitement. As soon as they came to a jerking halt only meters above the ground and tower forty-six, 56 raised his gun at the thick of the action. Aiming right at the closest Night Hound he pulled the trigger without hesitation. "Cer-slpat!" ck blood sttered everywhere as a huge hole appeared in the Night Hounds elongated head. The body crumpled immediately onto the ground and twitched once as life left it. 56 looked curiously at theser gun in his hand before he let out a fit ofughter and took aim eagerly at the next creature. "No recoil? No sight of the bullet or its contrail? Awesome, this is going to be just likeser tag; easy, but with blood! Chapter 119: Close Encounter Chapter 119: Close Encounter The fight was unlike anything he had ever experienced or seen outside of movies. 56 fired his new weapon over and over at the seemingly never-ending Twisted creatures, each looking uglier and more fearsome than thest. The Lagos Cutters were no threat to him as the hovering trailer kept him far out of their long-wed reach, additionally the city defenses could handle them without any difficulty. It was the Night Hounds and ins Strider that gave him, and the city defenses the most trouble. The Night Hounds would try running up the towers sleek sides and bloodied piles of fallen creatures to leap up at the floating Hunters. There were several close calls for the Hunters as Twisted attacked unexpectedly from odd angles. This was because the tower defense robots and turrets didn''t target those not directly assaulting their location and provided no assistance for the human defenders. Dixon had to keep maneuvering to new positions to avoid the dangerous attacks, but still remain low enough for their ammo to remain effective. Everyone else had stay vignt too and watch out for any surprise movements from the blood thirsty creatures. The ins Strider attacking the tower directly below also wasn''t going to be stopped anytime soon. Every bullet shot at it bounced off causing little to no effect. Thesers were equally as ineffective and merely left behind noticeable smugly hit marks. Therge creature constantly charged the towers ck smooth sides, and madly crashed its massive, oversized horns into it like wreaking ball. The damage it inflicted onto the wall was not in vain, as cracks were beginning to spider along the towers once seamless sides. Another wave of artillery and tanks shells bombarded the creatures still hidden further within the dust clouds. Shrieking and moans came moring out in response, followed by a shower of earth and rock from the previously heard explosions. However, the creatures had not been perturbed by the city''s efforts. Another wave of the hideous creatures arrived out from the cloaking dust to assault the sma wall towers. "How long will we continue fighting like this? This is endless!" 56 called out over the noise of creatures and gunfire. "Until we are told to leave, or the Hoard Mother is gone." Dixon shouted over his shoulder. Dixon then pulled a pin out from a grenade and chucked it at the ins Strider as it was charging at the tower. A boom irrupted from under its hooves sending up a plume of sand and small rocks flying in every direction. The explosion sent the ins Strider tripped and tumbling headfirst into the ground and its huge horns plowed deeply into the ground. As soon as it came to a dusty halt, the ins Strider tried to stand up on shaky legs. Its mouth foamed profusely, and its cloudy red eyes darted fervently about. From this close 56 could see it in clearer detail and he could tell that this creatures behavior was extremely strange, even for a mutated creature. Almost as if its actions were seemingly not of its own choice and rather it was being driven to do so. Dixon didn''t spare a second and tossed a second grenade at the stumbling creatures head. A second dusty explosion engulfed the Twisted ines Strider. As the dust drifted away the ins Strider was found to be still alive and scrambling to collect itself. Arge portion of its leathery head was ripped off and a horn had also broken off. Dixon raised his rifle, aimed for this newly exposed area on its head and fired three consecutive shots into it. The beastly Twisted twitched twice before letting out a heavy final breath and its slobbering tongue flopped from its mouth as it copsed. Finally, it was dead. However, the battle was far from over yet. The next wave of Twisted reached the wall and were now attacking. Click, pow! Click, pow! Click, pow! 56 pulled the trigger again and again. Striking at Night Hounds in the head and torso, or at one of the two more charging ins Striders. The rattling of bullets being shot out of the turrets on the walls whizzed just overhead of the brave Hunters. The bullet streams tore through the swirling dust to burst into the Twisted and grounds around then in puffs of brilliant dark red and tan. "This is so easy, despite their numbers." 56 thought to himself. He fired into another Night Hound leaping off of a pile of corpses in a futile attempt to reach him. The bloodied body tumbled back to the ground and became another corps in the growing mound. "They arepletely incapable of reaching us or shooting back. Why have they been such a burden too humanity if this is all they amount too?" Just as he thought these things, Tammy shouted out to everyone. "There is a Land Octopus attacking!" "Land Octopus?!" 56 replied in disbelief. "That''s a strange thing to say. I can''t imagine an octopus being dangerous out here in the desert, or alive for that matter." However, looking in the direction Tammy was fighting in, sure enough the strangest creature he had seen so far was approaching. A big, dark mass was crawling t and mushy looking on ground, like a blob of putty, was the new Twisted creature. The octopus name waspletely based off its eight arms and spaghetti like appearance. Yet its size, skin and color were allpletely different. The Land Octopus was nearly ten meters in length from head to tentacle tip, which is much longer than an octopus normally appears. The creatures unnerving eyes were set atop of its bulbous head and red unblinking ahead at its destination. Its skin was no longer shinny and slippery like an octopus, but leathery and segmented. In fact, the eight arms all appeared to move like a centipede running along the ground. 56 slipped on his borrowed goggles to inspect the creature better, as it was still emerging from the thick dust. The leathery segmented arms were indeed covered in legs just like a centipede and crawling closer in the same manner. Only the end portions, a meter or more, appeared to still have suction cups of its original form. This new mutated design allowed it to travel onnd with frightening speeds. The color that it possessed was equally as amazing. Like ava flow, the Twisted creature was pitch ck on top and outlined in fluorescent red on its undersides and around the eyes. The numerous legs were like a ck pens twiddling and lunging onward. Due to its leathery appearance, the colors appeared uneven and clumsily mixed. "Quick! Get higher up or it''s going to get us!" Dixon shouted slinging his rifle over his shoulder to grab the handles of his Hover Bike. Seeing his panicked reaction, 56 dropped down on the hovering trailer and grabbed onto anything strapped down. The three of the bikes started to rise up to float above the towers, but their reaction might have been toote. The Land Octopus seemed to have noticed them and attacked! 56 watched the strange attacking up towards them. It was even more strange that it was still over fifty meters away from them. How could it be a threat to them? The Land Octopus''s eight arms all at once stretched impossibly long and thin upwards in an attempt to grab them. The hundreds of legs wriggled around on each tentacle trying to make contact with anything. One of the tentacles was faster than the rest and managed to grab Sams bike on its rear side and dug in deeply into the hard stic parts of the bike. "Shoot it!" Sam shouted and revving his Hover Bikes engine to maximum output. Even though the bike was pulling away as hard as it could, the Land Octopus held on and still remained attached to the ground. Six tentacles returned to the ground and appeared to grip deeply into the sandy ground for pulling traction. While a second tentacle reached up alongside the tentacle gripping the bike too also grab on. Slowly the bike started receding back towards the ground. The Octopus was overpowering the maic repulsion engine! Tammy saw the plight Sam was in and stopped her assent. She then took aim with her machine gun and to shoot down at the Land Octopus gripping the ground. As the bullets smashed the creature, it sunk its eyes into its bulbous head to protect them. Its leathery body seemed to have absorbed the bullets impact and still refused to let go. The sight appeared to 56 to look like rain hitting a rubber door mat, ineffective. Sam''s bike continued to fall slowly down. In desperation he pulled out aser pistol that was strapped to his leg and shot at the tentacles gripping the bike. But it was no use. The tentacles were both to strong and thin to get a proper hit on them. So, in another effort he started shooting at the parts that were being held onto. Theser tore through the metal and hard stic parts like jelly. This action suddenly caused the pulling tentacles to wrench away the gripped parts andunch the Hover Bike into the air, like a rock from a slingshot. Sam mmed on the breaks and nearly lost his pistol in the process. He was looking over his bike when the other Hunters and 56 stopped beside him. "You and your bike all right?" Dixon asked. The sounds of the gunfire and creature snarls were now much further away, so they didn''t have to shout. "Ya, I''m fine, but my bike lost two stabilizers, I think. It''s going to hard maneuvering around now, but it can still fly. I am freaking hate Land Octopus right now!" Sam replied hotly. "My machine gun feels so useless. It didn''t even hardly flinch!" Tammyined as she reloaded the weapon. 56 looked back down at the Land Octopus and other Twisted creatures assaulting the towers. The turrets and defense robots were giving all they had to fend off the unrelenting Hoard, but it was starting to be apparent that they were losing. The Land Octopus turned its attacks onto the towers. Its slithering arms reached the top of the tower with ease and grabbed three robots with one arm and smashed them into bits. It tossed the now useless robotic things over the edge and started to coil around a turret. "Hold on 56! We are going to napalm that creature." Dixon shouted. 56 did just that as the Hover bike and trailer suddenly took a nosedive towards the ground and Twisted. The wind howled around his ears and ripped at his clothes, but 56 didn''t care. The sight that unfolded next was awesome. Just as they were about to hit the ground, Dixon pulled up and simultaneously pressed a button releasing two canisters attached to the underside of the trailer. The Land Octopus didn''t see the attack until this had already happened and had no chance to retaliate. The canisters smashed into the ground alongside the Twisted and sttered their contents all over it. Then in a brilliant sh of searing me and ck smoke the liquid ignited! The Land Octopus''s arms wriggled in shock and pain as it was engulfed into mes. It released the turret and tried curling itself up to protect itself. Yet it was toote. The napalm slowly roasted the creature alive as it then started to give up its defense and swat at itself in a futile attempt of self-preservation. The Twisted creature flopped around in its death throes for minutes as ck smoke rose off of its chard body. "Now that was some else!" 56 shouted as they regrouped with Tammy and Sam. "Now are you seeing why they are so dangerous?" Dixon replied. "Definitely! No wonder humanity is struggling. They have such a wide variety of types and attacks. Being alone and on the ground would definitely spell death." 56 remarked. Just then the city artillery open fire again. A startling sensation enveloped them as they could feel the numerous artillery shells wind passed around them, nearly killing them! The unnerving feeling of their close encounter with death even startled 56. "Let''s lower our altitude and get back to the fight!" Dixon called out. The others agreed without a word. It seemed nowhere was safe. As they descended, 56 took another look at the Hoard Mother. Dozens of Hunters and artilleries were engaging the mammoth mutated creature. However, the creature moved steadily closer,pletely unfazed. The battle was only going to get harder from now on, the Hoard Mother wasnt going to be stopped! Chapter 120: Discussion Chapter 120: Discussion When Frank and Gaston arrived at the dam with Tom, they were slightly concerned. The area around the building was fenced in and rusted cars blockaded the entrances. The area was very imposing and not at all what Frank expected. "Are you sure this is where Queen lives?" Frank asked. Tom was confidently leading the way and turned around with a reassuring grin on his face. "Yes, this is the ce. She has blocked up the ce for some reason, but I am sure it''s alright." "I don''t like the look of this." Gaston grumbled in his impossibly deep voice. Frank looked at his oversizedpanion and noticed that Gaston was nervously adjusting his grip on the handle of his crushed junk hammer. The big guy was always easy to read. When Gaston felt like something was off Frank definitely chose to pay attention. More than once Gaston''s instincts had saved him out on the river and sketchy ces from many foes. "We will wait here." Frank called out to the young teen. They were just a few more steps away from reaching the southern portion of the dams fenced in area. "You go on ahead and bring Queen here. Only then will you get paid." "Fine." Tom replied giving a casual shrug. The two men watched as the boy went up to the blockade. The boy picked up a t rock and instead of throwing it over the blockade, he started beating the metal. Loud bangs echoed off the dam and could undoubtably be heard by those inside. A few moments passed when suddenly a portion of the car blockade shifted and out from behind it stepped Lisa. "Hey, what going on Tom? Is something the matter?" Lisa asked looking down quizzically at the young teen. Tom tossed the rock aside and patted his dusty hands together. "No, everything is cool. It is just that I found two guys looking for you. Theyre right over there." Lisa looked behind Tom to see Frank and Gaston watching them. The sun was brightly shining towards them, and it seemed they couldnt tell who Tom was speaking to. "Oh, this is great! Thanks Tom. I was expecting them to be showing up soon. Here." Lisa pulled out of her pants pocket and handed him a dor. "d to help out. Just remember that if you need something,e ask Grandfather and I first." Tom replied quickly folding the dor tightly into his hand. "Frank Sellers! Come on over, we got lots to discuss." Lisa called out the two men. Hearing his name and squinting in the sunlight Frank realized everything was alright and they had found Lisa. The two men quickly came over to join the others by the barricade. Before the adults had a chance to speak Tom held out an open palm towards Frank. Seeing this Frank let out augh. "Yes, I know. Here''s yourpensation." Frank said handing the two quarters to Tom. Tom pocketed them with his dor and gave a curt nod. "It''s been a pleasure." Then he headed off back towards the docks. "I am so d your back. Please let''s go inside and sit in the shade. I have a lot of questions and orders to offer you." Lisa said turning to go back inside. Frank nced at Gaston to see that he had calmed down some and his hands were still. Everything was probably going to be fine. "Alright, let''s hear what you have to offer." Frank replied and followed after Lisa. Upon entering Gaston had to stoop low to fit inside, but that was something expected to happen to the big guy. Inside Frank noticed that there were several people clearing out the area. Various sized piles of rock, trash and junk were scattered everywhere as proof of their efforts. It also looked like two people were doing some kind of physical training in the buildings shade. All these people, however, didn''t bother the two new arrivals as Lisa took them inside. There they found a messyrge room with boxes, crates and file cabs tossed about. Among all this was a rough looking white stic table and several mismatched chairs around it. Frank also noticed severalrge machines that were lined up along the center space of the room. The closest one to him had apparently been already halfway dismantled and tools were scattered around it. "Please have a seat and ignore the mess. We are doing a lot of cleaning and doing inventory of things here." Lisa said taking a seat in her own dry-rotted chair. The two followed her advice and sat down in the stic chairs. Gaston eyes the area carefully and kept his weapon ready. Lisa wasn''t bothered by this reaction though; in fact, it was a natural habit that showed Gastons reliability. "Thank you, Queen. So, I take it things proceeded to your n?" Frank said starting off. "Better than even I guessed." Lisa said rubbing her hands together excitedly. "I know I said that I needed construction tools and copper, but now I need even more items. Some of which I suspect will be harder to find." "Hmm, I''ll decide that after you tell me what they are and if I am able." Frank replied leaning forward in anticipation. "What about the electricity? Can you actually make it?" "I already have. The dam here is hydroelectric and already powering the tunnel andputers monitoring it." Lisa said smiling triumphantly. "I just need parts for repairs, maintenance and expansion. Wait one moment and I''ll get my list. It''s just upstairs and I''ll be back." "Alright." Frank replied. He was slightly surprised that she had gotten electricity so quickly. From the way she told him it was unlikely that she was lying. However, from the looks of the mess around here, he needed to see it to believe it. A minute hardly passed when Lisa returned. She had several papers in her hand. Taking them, she then spread them out onto the table in front of Frank. "This is a list of tools that I need for electrical work, welding, building and road construction. I''ll also need electric protective equipment and various PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment)." Lisa said pointing at two papers on the left. Then she pointed to three more papersying in the middle. "This is a list of the trickier stuff. I need these parts, custom made if possible, to be able to repair or rece the generators, transformers, and power lines. Same goes for those various fluids on the list too. These lists should be your priority for this order." Frank picked up the paperwork and scanned over the list quickly. Lots of the items he had seen or knew where to get. However, there were somethings that he had never even knew existed or seeing written down. This was definitely going to be a hard order to aplish. "How are you going to pay for all this? I don''t see anything around here that tells me you have the money for it." Frank said putting the paper down to look at Lisa. "It''s true, I don''t have much money, yet. But I do have a sponsor and customers willing to buy the electricity. So, money is going to be no issue soon." Lisa replied. She sat up and tapped the next paper on the tables right side. "As you see here is a contract, written by the sponsor and I, that exins the situation and transactions that are to follow. If you agree with it and sign, I assure you that it will be worth the extra effort. Also, Mr. McMathers, my sponsor, will sign it as soon as he returns. So, no need to rush the deal. Give yourself time to think things over." Frank curiously picked up the contract papers and found it was a printed document. It also appeared very legitimate and professional. Seemed to him that Queen wasn''t messing around and that the sponsor was likely from out of town. The name Mr. McMathers interested him. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn''t quite recall. Just then Willis came into the room with them. "Hey boss, I spotted the Mechsing through the trees. They should be here in a few minutes. What''s the n?" "Awesome. I''ll be right there in just a moment." Lisa said to him and stood up. "Excuse me, Mr. Sellers, but the customers are arriving, and I need to attend to them. Please take the time to read over everything." "It''s no problem." Frank replied. Then thinking to himself as he watched Lisa go, he wondered, "Mechs? Out here? What kind of customers does she have?" Then he spoke aloud to Gaston. "Tell me when those Mechs get here, please. I''ll finish up reading the contests and lists in the meantime." Gaston silently got up and lumbered towards the big sliding door to the building. From here he had a clear view of the dam road and Lisa with Willis and another. During her time building the barricades, Lisa had considered using therge metal shipping containers to block up the roads. Yet on closer inspection she had discovered that their locks were intact, and the contents had not been taken out or plundered. Inside three of the containers were four full spools of already made electrical line! It was truly fortunate that the electrical lines were still inside, and they would save a lot of time, money and effort. They could at least use the lines to start working on the power grid and conduct tests before the parts were brought to repair the dam. Until now she had left them alone, but now was the time to put one spool to use. Lisa spoke to Willis and Tayvon as she opened the doors to the closest container by the dam. "So, those Mechs are far too heavy to cross the dam. Considering that we are going to reconnect the generator to the transformer I have been working on. If it works, you two will roll this spool across the dam towards the Mechs." The two men nodded and took hold of the spools wheels to pull it. However, they soon discovered it was a lot heavier than expected. They had to really pull to get it moving, but eventually got it in front of therge sliding doors of the Powerhouse building. In the meantime, Lisa was adjusting theponents of the transformer to the best of her skills, all ording to the designs written in the old yellow manuals. Frank had stopped reading the papers and was watching her curiously as shebored. Lisa then tried flipping the switch on to test it, nothing happened. She let out a frustrated sigh and went back to work. Gillian and two new trainee pilots were the ones driving the three Mover Mechs to the dam. Dilly had left a few days prior to keep looking for thest few ck Rats hidden in town and the chance to find a fighter worth his time. Meaning Dilly wasn''t going to be helping drive the Mechs and Mr. Yates was deemed unable to fight, so training new pilots was the best course of action. Yet, Mr. Yates and a dozen other ERM troops were also apanying the Mechs for support. The trip went easily. They found the way up the cliff and encountered no dangers. The two new pilots were able to get valuable training in without much stress. Gillian too was able to get better acquainted with his Mover Mech. After marching all the previous day and this morning, everyone was relieved to finally see the tree line. Just beyond was the dam and electricity. Which was good because the red shing light on the controls was telling there was not enough power to return. This was now and all or nothing venture. If Lisa failed to get the power to them the ERM was going to end up being on theirst leg for survival. Chapter 121: Stoking a Fire Chapter 121: Stoking a Fire "How are the boarders with the Skull freaks?" Martinez addressed his lieutenants that were standing around his desk. Though they were gangsters, Martinez liked to have things be more professional and orderly than most. One such thing of order were the weekly meetings with all his lieutenants if they were avable to attend. Most of these meetings took ce on the topmost floors main office of the National Bank. The National Bank''s main office had a such spectacr view that made these mostly mundane meetings tolerable. From the lieutenant''s point of view, the vast open desert and towering cliffsidendscapes were sprawled out in view from the 180 windows; of which took up all the wall space behind the Mad Dogs Boss. Each window was joined together by an ultra-thin, ultra-strong adhesive. Creating a beautiful, almost seamless,ndscape view through the windows all around. This let them look at something other than a nk wall if the meetings had nothing to do with them and zone out for a while. "Things have gone mostly quiet." Hugo replied. "After their initial incursion, there has been no other follow up attacks. Additionally, their scouts and patrols haven''t changed routes or in numbers. It''s very odd that they would attack, lose, and then do absolutely nothing." "Perhaps we should send them a message to tell them not to joke around with us?" Martinez said sping his hand together in front of his face. He rotated in his tall ck seat in thought and continued, "We cannot just let theme in my territory, attack us, then leave as if nothing happened." "I agree boss." Hugo said giving a nod. "Let''s see. How should we do this?" Martinez murmured aloud for everyone to hear. "It would have to be something that would get those freaks attention. We can''t just annex a few blocks, that would be too easy for us. Were just that good." Several of the lieutenants chuckled. From past experiences they had mostly remained dominant in their conflicts with the Skull. Not to mention every single other gang that used to exist within The Damn was now extinct thanks to them. "No, we need to make an explosive show of ourselves and remind them why they made the peace deal in the first ce. Because we were going to crush them!" Martinez shouted and pounded his fist into the table. "So, suggestions? Or do I need to do all the thinking?" "What if we took the entire river harbor from them?" Ernest suggested. "Cut off their supplies and force them to confront us." "That would work, or we could just attack that pile of rubble they call a base and finish them off for good." Xander said casually. "That would be just reckless!" Hugo scoffed. "We might have the numbers advantage and even if we used our full gun arsenal; they have the territorial advantage and utilizing the city buildings height they''ll rain death on us from above before we even got to their base. We cannot just march blindly in on them." "Xander''s probably right. It is thest thing they would expect. Before they knew it, we would be standing on their doorstep breaking down the door. Their reinforcements would arrive toote." Rodney called out from a corner of the room. "Oh, really? Have you been out there fighting them? No, I have. I know they are a lot more difficult and trickier to handle. All you guys do isy around here ying house keep." Hugo yelled back. "That''s why I suggested we attack the docks." Ernest chimed in again. "Bring the fight to where we want it and way from the big buildings." "Exactly!" Hugo replied excitedly. "The kid at least has a head in his shoulders." "You don''t understand the entirety of what we are getting at." Xander said with an exaggerated sigh. "If we attacked their main base and took out the Head right at the start of the fight, the rest would simply fall apart. From what I have learned is that they have cells scattered around their territory led by their Hands and often act independently of each other. They could be crushed easily, one by one after the Head is gone." "As if it could be that simple." Ernest replied rolling his eyes. The room then broke out into a series of incoherent arguments, insults, and debating. It seemed that the rest of the lieutenants listening in had simr thoughts and two sides were being formed. Martinez had sat back the whole time listening. Even though he enjoyed order in objects around him, chaos was also just as prevalent. Fighting and struggling for dominance among his fellow humans had its own special moments. "p, p, p!" Martinez pped his hands together until everyone in the room calmed down. He was now standing among them and spread his arms wide as he walked. "Now here''s what we are going to do. Both ideas." Martinez looked around at the various lieutenants around him. Most seemed confused. Only Xander, Jackson, and Hugo seemed satisfied. They had been under Martinez''s control for the longest and knew that this reaction was almost expected. "First, go take over their docks and then burn them. With nowhere to go the merchants wille straight to us. Doubling our resources and starving the Skull." Martinez said this while looking at Hugo and Ernest. Then looking towards Xander and Rodney he continued. "Secondly, as soon as those fires are lit, attack straight at their main base. They will see the fires ande to quell them, leaving the trash pile those roaches live in undefended! We have the numbers, so why not do this?" "Sounds good boss!" Someone called out from the back. "I should expect so." Martinez replied proudly. "I want this n carried out soon. No more than a week from now. Hugo, change nothing along the borders. I want them clueless as to what ising. Xander get the supplies and docks ready for the influx of new boats and resources. I expect the rest of you to get your groups ready and armed before this is to happen. If anyone cks off, you will answer to me. Clear?" "Clear Boss!" Everyone in the room chanted back. "Get to it." Martinez answered while moving his hands in a shooing motion. Everyone started to leave, but Martinez seemed to have thought of something. "Jackson and Rodney stay here. I got something else to discuss with you two." The room soon emptied leaving only the three men alone. Jackson had a suspicion as to what was going to be said next. It was about Queen. "I haven''t seen Saul around. Where is he?" Martinez asked. He sat back down at his desk and turned a nob on the desktop. Jackson could feel the lovely air conditioning blow harder on his neck as he gave his reply. "Ist saw him going to the factory to speak with the Triplets." "Ah, that should exin it. That spineless fool probably got suckered by those loco gringos. I bet he''s half coked out of mind." Martinez said shaking his head. "Rodney, go get him back here. He needs to be coherent enough to get the fight going." "Sure thing. Need me to bring back a doggie bag for ya boss?" Rodney asked giving a yful smile. "Sure. Why not. I don''t want to start going cold turkey for no reason." Martinez replied. "So, Jackson, I want you to go find this Queen and see what she''s up to. I won''t stand for some female upstart making challenges on me and not be punished for it! Find her weakness, tell me, and then we can exploit it." "Right away. Do you want me to go alone or take some guys with me?" Jackson asked. "Either way, doesn''t matter. Juste back here with something we can use!" Martinez replied quickly. Hanna had been feeling better and was out of the house ying with her friends at the kids base by the stream. Finally visiting her parents graves seemed to have let some weight off her little shoulders. She was able to y along with the others and joke from time to time. At first Hanna didn''t want to show anyone her locket. Nice things were hard toe by and even though they were all friends, someone might try to steal it. It wasn''t until the second day of hering back to y, that some of the girls pointed out the green and tan pouch dangling around her neck. Hanna tried to brush off their requests to see her new jewelry, but they were persistent. Almost grudgingly, Hanna gave in to their prodding and her desire to show off. Hanna showed it only to her closest of girlfriends. The boys were definitely out of the question and some of the other girls that were a bit rougher and might try to take it werent even aware of her showing it off. The lucky close girlfriends were ir, Rachel, Anna-Beth, Rosy, Jillian and Tilly. Anna-Beth and Rosy were younger than the other five girls, but they lived on the same street as ir; so, Hanna had yed with them a lot before already. When she carefully undid the knot and uncovered the gold and tinum locket, every girl let out a squeal of excitement. They were so excited that the other girls tried to find out what themotion was about. Unwilling to let them in on Hanna''s amazing secret, they all hurried away further downstream to ogle the locket in private. "It''s so shinny!" Jillian remarked as she gently fondled the locket still around Hanna''s neck. "Even though my parents run a jewelry shop, I have never seen something so rare and detailed!" "What kind of creature is on it?" Rosy asked jumping trying to peak around the other bigger girls. "It''s a type of dragon I think." ir replied. "I saw one that looked like it in a book once." "Dragon?" Anna-Beth asked scrunching her freckled nose. "What''s that?" "We will exinter!" Rachel said patting the little girls red head. "That''s a locket, meaning there is more inside. Open it Hanna!" The other girls all prodded Hanna to open it. Hanna couldn''t help butply. Carefully she undid thetch and opened it up to revile the picture and inscription. The girls all remarked how cute and little Hanna was as a baby. "I didn''t know your birthday was on April 2nd." Rachel said resting a hand on Hanna''s shoulder. "You should have told me." "You mean us." Jillian corrected. "You never told any of us that." "Well, that''s because my parents and I made that special day to be together. Father and mother were always so busy" Hanna started to exin, but a tear started to choke her up. Seeing this, the normally quiet Tilly hugged Hanna tightly from behind. Rachel and Rosy joined in as well, hugging Hanna from the sides. ir would have joined in but after reading the inscription she had a question. "Where is Tharsis? I have read several old maps before and I don''t recall a ce like that." ir asked looking from the locket to Hanna and back. "I actually am not too sure myself." Hanna sniffed from under the hugging girls. "I moved here not long after being born, ording to my parents." "Hmm, its an odd name. Then again there''s a lot of strange ces mentioned on those maps." ir said. Then she pped her hands together. "Do you think Lisa or Sadie knows where it''s at? They both came from out of town." "That''s an interesting idea. Plus, I want to see the dam again!" Rachel replied. "Oh, you guys went to the dam? Tilly and I muste too." Jillian remarked. "Me too!" Anna-Beth and Rosy shouted at the same time. "I don''t know. It''s not that big a deal." Hanna remarked. "Aren''t you a little bit curious to where you were born at?" Rachel asked breaking from her embrace. "I guess." Hanna said giving a reluctant shrug as the other girls also let go. "Then let''s go find out from them." ir replied standing up from the dry grass they were sitting in. "The route we took before wasn''t all that dangerous and we can avoid the market area. Besides, Lisa can keep us safe." "Ya,e on Hanna! They want to see the dam too." Rachel said grabbing Hanna by the arm. "Alright, let''s go find Lisa. Might as well." Hanna said giving a sigh and standing up with the others. The others all cheered excitedly, and they immediately headed off for the creek crossing. The day was still young, and they had plenty of time. After all, what might go wrong on a simple walk in their own town? Chapter 122: Sightings Chapter 122: Sightings When Jackson and Rodney left from meeting with Martinez, they immediately parted ways. Neither of the two had much inmon and nor did they want to. Waiting outside for the two men were Rodney''s two dogs, Cooper and Zeus, and Jerry. Unlike the two lieutenants, Jerry and the two big dogs got along famously. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they were always being left alone outside together. Which was normal for the dogs, but a sad reality for Jerry. "Come on boys!" Rodney called to the two dogs. "We got to hunt down another one." Zeus let out a heavy snort from his muzzle and got up from his spot, curled up at Jerry''s side. Cooper was sitting upright on the other side of Jerry, being petted. Then hearing his masters call, Cooper licked Jerry''s hand as if to say goodbye. Jackson watched the two dogs leave his subordinate and shook his head. "You know those dogs eat people, right? How can you, one of the wimpiest guys I know, handle being friendly with them?" Jerry stood up from the banks faded red carpet floor and patted the back of his pants. "I don''t know. Guess they know I can''t fight them, and if I could, I wouldn''t. I''ve seen them rip many a mans face off to eat it and they were stronger than me in every way." "Well in any case, the boss wants us to spy on Queen and find her weaknesses. Know anyone that might take us wherever she''s at?" Jackson asked as the two of them started down the stairs towards the Banks main exit. "I know where she''s at. Saul mentioned it once when he was talking to Golem. Apparently, Sauls MFA tabloid had tracked her to the old dam." Jerry replied. "But if you still need a guy to bring along, I know of one. He''s normally a gate guard and practically a nobody, but I saw him leading Queen and some others around here once." "Hmm, alright. It might be good to bring him with us. Once I get some armed gangsters together, we''ll get the guy and see what we can find. Go ahead and find him." Jackson replied. "Got it Boss." Jerry said nodding and then the two split up. Twenty minutester the two met up at thepound walls east exit. Jackson had with him four gangsters armed with assault rifles. The rifles they carried resembled their ancestor, the M4 Carbine; but the design was now far sleeker and more streamlined to where it appeared to be all made of one 3D printed piece. They used the same caliber ammunition, 5.56mm, but were no longer gas powered and were now electrically charged. The only additional notable changes were that the barrel was now 508mm long and its effective range was doubled to 1000mpared to the old M4 Carbine. Jerry had only shown up with the guy he mentioned before. "Alright, let''s get going. Jerry, lead the way and you, what''s your name?" Jackson asked the man. "Thompson." The tall guy replied nervously. "Well Thompson, we are going to meet up with an acquaintance of yours. Queen should be happy to see you again, I''m sure." Jackson said patting the tall mans shoulder as he passed by to leave thepound. Thompson swallowed nervously and nodded in reply. Thinking to himself nervously he wondered if he was in trouble. "Are we going to go fight her? Was this because I let her and those people in here and now, they are going to teach me some horrible lesson out of this?! Why don''t I think these things through!" Thoughts like these bounced around in the tall mans head as they headed for the dam. It wasn''t until they reached sight of the dam that he inwardly felt relieved once he heard Jackson''s next order. "Hold up guys." Jackson said holding up a hand. He suspiciously eyed the piles of cars at the entrance and the covers on the inside of the barbed wire fences. "That ce looks fortified somewhat and we''re not here to fight. Let''s check out the rest of the area before we try talking with Queen." The seven men first circled around to the north side of the dams fenced in area, sticking close to the abandoned buildings. There was a decent amount of open uphill ground between them and the fences and there was no telling if anyone might be patrolling the area. Seeing all this, Jackson started to feel concerned. "Queen did mention to me that she wanted me to work for her. Seeing all this being built up makes me wonder if her words were not empty at all." Jackson thought to himself. They had now reached thekeside, north of the fence and hadn''t seen any way in. The fence had appeared to be still in defendable condition. They were about to circle back when Jerry suddenly called out. "Boss! Look across the water. What are those machines? They are huge!" "Machines?" Jackson replied curiously. He came over to where Jerry was standing on arge rock overlooking theke. Then following Jerry''s outstretched hand, he saw the machines; tall, ck with yellow stripes. "Those are Mineral Mover Mechs! We got to find out what Queen is up to. She might be more dangerous than we or the boss knew. Let hurry and see if there is a way inside on the south side. No one is to shoot first! If we start something those mechs will tear us apart!" Hanna and the other girls were having a wonderful walk through the town towards the dam. The suns brilliant rays were warm being unhindered in the cloudless sky, and the wind was coolly blowing off the river nearby. Being near midday, the streets were not that crowded with people, as most were now eating or taking naps. The town actually felt sleepy and calm around this time, which would continue to be even more so apparent with summer heat approaching. ir had a nearly perfect memory of the route Benny had taken them on before. Also, out of all the girls, ir was the only one looking out for dangerous looking people. The other girls were all obliviously chatting away andughing. ir always thought of herself as the big sister of these thoughtless children, who couldn''t survive without her attentiveness. Even though everything had gonepletely normal during the walk, ir felt like someone was watching her. However, whenever she stole a nce behind them, she saw no one suspicious. Either it was just an empty road or different people every time walking the other way. She started to wonder if she was imagining it, but like her mother told her; ''A girl must always stay suspicious.'' After an hour of casual walking, they came within sight of thest docks and a broad view of the dam. The four girls, that hadn''te this way before, were impressed seeing the dam from up close. Despite living in the town all their short lives, they had nevere out this far from home to see how big it truly was. "How are we going to get up there?! It''s practically in the sky!" Rosy shouted craning her neck upward to look at the massive wall. "We walk silly. It''s not in the sky at all and behind it is the most water you will have ever seen!" Rachel replied excitedly. "The view is even more spectacr up there though. I bet you can see your house from there." "I-It better not be scary." Jillian stammered. "If It is, we are going back right away." "Don''t worry Jillian." Hanna replied. "It''s not all that bad and you can look at other things there too. Aunt Lisa has a lot going on over there." "Hmm, if you say so." Jillian replied clutching her arms closer and eyeing the tall structure ahead. The group of girls followed ir away from the river that they had been going alongside most of the time and turned inwardly towards the buildings. The buildings quickly turned into storage units and the road steepened greatly. The littlest two girls were struggling to keep up, but the older girls were patiently waited for them to follow along. Once reaching the top everyone sat down to take a quick break. The dam was slightly obscured by the fence and some rocks. So, the girls didn''t have much to look at, making the break a short one. They were too curious to start waiting now. "How are we getting in? I am assuming that we are going in there." Jillian asked looking at the fence and metal blockade. "Yes, we are." Hanna answered. "We just need to call over to Aunt Lisa and hope she hears us." "There''s no way to knock or something less embarrassing?" Jillian asked. "I don''t think so?" Hanna replied. "I know where the door is, but not how to open it." "Well, I guess that all we can do then." Rachel said being the first to get up from the break. "Come on then. It might be fun." The rest of the girls followed her lead, and all were soon standing in front of the door. "What do we yell?" ir pointed out. "We can just start screaming random stuff." "Well, let''s just yell Lisa, until someonee to the door." Hanna suggested. "Alright. On the count of three." ir said holding up three fingers. "One, two, three!" All the girls shouted as loudly as they could Lisa''s name in unison three times. So far no one hade to the door yet. They were about to shout again when suddenly, a male voice called to them from behind. Startled they all turned to see seven grown men standing right behind them. "Well, hello there." A nicely dressed man with a grey streak in his hair said to them. "Who is this Lisa and is this the way in?" ir immediately stepped defensively in front of the two littlest girls. "Who are you!" She squeaked. "Oh, rx little girl. We mean no harm. We are just here to speak with Queen, but we don''t know how to get in to do so. We saw you all here and though you might know." The man replied giving a grin. It was then Hanna recognized the man and two others behind him. "A-are you Jackson?" She asked the man timidly. The nicely dressed man raised an eyebrow slightly surprised hearing his name. "Yes. Have we met?" Jackson replied looking at the muddy red headed girl. "Oh, I do recall you. You were with Queen that time she killed two of my men. This is good. At least now I know we are in the right ce." "Leave them alone!" A shout suddenly came out from behind the gangsters. The gangsters turned around to see several young boys shakily holding sticks and rocks. The girls peered around the gangsters to look as well. It was Derrick, Chase, Bill, Henry, Sorra, Malik and Fred. "Y-you guys better leave them alone o-or else!" Derrick nervously shouted pulling his arm back to throw a rock. Seeing the young boys, the gangsters chuckled. Kids with rocks and stick were no threat against their guns. "Should we get some target practice in boss?" One of the gangsters asked shouldering his rifle. "No! If they are here to see Queen and you idiots kill them then things will not work out well. Remember those machines?" Jackson growled and pushed down the man gun barrel. There was a ruckus and a metal screeching from behind the girls. Everyone looked its direction and saw Lisa standing in the doorway. She took one nce at the situation and immediately put on a scowl. "What is going on here? You better not have hurt them!" Lisa shouted. "Come on Jackson. I''ll just take off an arm or leg." The man retorted ignoring Lisas word and raised his gun again. He was now pointing right at Derrick. Chapter 123: Cleared (1) Chapter 123: Cleared (1) Earlier, Lisa was still fiddling around with the transformer, trying to get the electricity to convert properly and be conducted into the power line safely. Every time she would switch it on, nothing would happen. Even despite all the work she had put into it so far nothing seemed to create a current. She did have her suspicions as to why the transformer was not working correctly and kept trying. The high and low voltage coils inside were in considerably good condition, as were the bushings on the outside. They had truly little rust and the connectors were just in as a decent condition. The issue had to be with the oil and/or the oil pump inside of the transformer''s radiator. The oil was incredibly old and was most likely to be coagting somewhere. This would cause the heat being generated by the electricity to not be expelled properly. The fan on the radiator was working, but without the oil flow, it was useless. "Come on, stupid hunk of junk!" Lisa grumbled and smacked the transformers side in frustration. She then pulled back her glossy ck hair into a quick ponytailed while continuing to speak with the machine. "Just work for a little bit. That''s all I am asking!" During her time working on the transformer, Tayvon and Willis has been steadily rolling the electrical wire spool across the dams center. They both were wearing the insted rubber gloves and boots Lisa had collected from the lockers, because Lisa wanted to always have a safety-first mindset when it came to working on the dam. Though it was not as simple of a job as it seemed and took a lot of effort to move the huge spool. They eventually finished doing it without any issue and stopped at the far end of the dam. Gillian then took therge powerline wire and hooked up jumper cables, with a high voltage conversions box on it, onto the battery of his Mech. "Good work men. I take it things have gone smoothly so far. No one else has been hurt?" Gillian asked while climbing down the mechsdder. "So far so good. Lisa was right, she does have electricity inside the dam. You can see for yourself. Also, the area is defendable and in a good spot. Lisa has also gotten us a ce to sleep, so that''s not an issue either." Tayvon replied. Then as soon as Tayvon finished, Willis added, "Lisa also told us that once you hook the wire up, to not touch it again. It is apparently dangerous. Ava is fine, just a bit sore." "Well of course it is dangerous! Electricity is very unforgiving. No one should ever touch an electrical wire, especially if it is on the ground. As for everything else, let hope things around here keep working out." Gillian said taking thest step onto the ground a bit heavily. "Because these Mech are not going anywhere until they are charged." "Do you want to look around now, or once the charging starts?" Willis asked taking a cautious step away from the spool. "Hmm, lets go now. I want to see the electricity working for myself. It''s been so long since I had seen a lightbulb turned on, I might have forgotten!" Gillian replied. "Lead the way. Oh, Mr. Yates, wave to meter on if it''s charging." "Sure." Mr. Yates replied as he started to climb up the mechsdder to oversee things. Gillian and the two men had juste across the dam when Lisa came out of the Powerhouse building. Her shirt was gone, and she only had on her ck skintight suit top and jeans. She was wiping her oil mucked up hands and forearms off with an old rag and a victorious smile had been stered on her face. Seeing Lisa''s expression, Gillian knew she had good news to tell. "I just now got the transformer to turn over. That old thing needs some major maintenance, but it will hold for this job. Probably." Lisa said brightly to them. "Excellent! Let''s see how things are going on Mr. Yates end." Gillian turned and waved high overhead at his Mech. A secondter Mr. Yates appeared and waved excitedly back. The Mech was charging! "Well, that''s a huge relief!" Gillian remarked. "Looks like you are holding up your end of the deal nicely, Lisa. Excuse any doubt I have held up to you so far. You just need to be mindful of those working for you better. That climbing exercise had me worried greatly. "Hey no hard feelings. You were just doing your job and I cannot me you at all. I will surely not make them do anything like that again." Lisa replied. "Those concerns were warranted and now gone." Lisa was about to continue speaking when a noise caught her attention. "Lisa! Lisa! Lisa!" Her name was being called from the southern gate and it sounded like children. "What are they doing out here? It''s not safe in town still." Lisa thought to herself. "Nothing better be wrong." Then speaking aloud, she stepped backwards towards the gate. "I''ll be right back. Sounds like I am being called. It won''t be long." Lisa turned on her heel sharply and quickly walked towards the wall of cars and metal. Pulling the door aside she was disturbed by what she saw. Seven men had Hanna and the other girls cornered by the door and one of these men was holding a rifle up aiming at some other children further down the road. Her initial reaction would have been to weaponize her gun inside her arm and shoot, but she held back. "What''s going on? You better not have hurt them!" Lisa shouted. Jackson turned his head and saw Lisa. Immediately he once again grabbed the rifle barrel and forcibly lowered it. "I said, no! Youre an idiot that''s going to screw everything up." "Girls get inside now." Lisa murmured to them before the gangsters tried anything else. Her angry grey eyes never stopped watching the gangsters and the boys beyond them. The girls quickly filled past her and into the safety of the barricade. Now that there were less problems to attend to Lisa could focus on finding out the situation. She noticed that Jackson was stopping the man and at that moment the boys were safe. "Boys! Go away. I got it from here." Lisa yelled out loud. They must have heard her because they immediately turned and disappeared down the hillside and out of view. This left the gangsters out in the open by themselves. "Exin to me why you are here, messing around with dangerous weapons aimed at children?" Lisa growled angrily. "Speak now or things won''t go well for you." The gangsters didn''t seem to like hearing the threat and seemed a bit on edge. One of the armed men was even patting the side of his gun menacingly. Jackson, however, had no intention of letting them get out of control. "Knock it off, both of you!" Jackson said stepping in between the two sides. "I apologize, Queen, for my subordinates actions. They were only acting in the spur of the moment and not thinking clearly. No harm was caused." Lisa nced behind her at Hanna. "Is he telling the truth?" Hanna simply nodded, yes, nervously. Lisa gave a reassuring smile in return and then closed the metal door between them. Now it was only her and the gang. "Fine, Ill take your word for it. Care to exin why you''re snooping around my ce?" Lisa asked crossing her arms. "Just going on patrol." Jackson replied casually. "We couldn''t help but wonder what youre up to in there. Seems suspicious that such a fortified area is now on our turf. As for the kids, we just crossed paths by ident." "That better be the case. Well as I told you before, I am working on getting money and power. This is where I am conducting my business to get those very things." Lisa replied. Though she was speaking to him, Lisa was watching the men behind Jackson. She also checked the rest of the area and distant roof tops but saw no other people. If they really were spying on her the smart thing to do would be to have a sniper in the roofs toy cover fire or watch her. "If that is what you are iming, would you care to exin why you have Mineral Mover Mechs on the other side of the dam?" Jackson probed. "Something like those could be quite dangerous if used in a malicious way. I can''t just leave the situation as it is." "No need to worry about those mechs. They won''t be crossing over the dam anytime soon." Lisa replied passively. Though she was annoyed that the mechs had already been discovered by the gang, she didn''t show it. "Really? How can I be sure?" Jackson asked raising an eyebrow. "Because they are my customers. I am running a business here and those mechs need to be charged and I am providing it to them." Lisa exined. "I already told them they cannot cross over, because I knew that the Mad Dogs would find it threatening to them. I have no intentions of causing problems." "Customers? Don''t tell me that youre actually charging them get electricity or something! We are the only ones with electric power." Jackson scoffed. "I am." Replied Lisa holding a straight face. "Nonsense!" Jerry spoke up and took a step forward. "There are no such group on the other side that has such machines. The ck Rats would have undoubtedly used them against us if there was." "It seems youre not up to date on the situation on the eastern side. The ck Rats are defeated, and the civilians run the area now. Those Mover Mechs are being operated by apany that is going to be building a way across the river for food trade." Lisa exined telling a partial truth. She didn''t want to alert them of the existence of the East River Militia. Doing so would definitely cause problems. "The ck Rats are defeated?" Jackson asked stroking his chin in thought. "Why have we not heard of this? Let us inside and Ill find out for myself. I will determine if you''re telling the truth by asking the people with the mechs. You better let us in or we might have to force our way in." Hearing Jackson say this the gangsters tightened their grip on the rifles. They were just itching to have a fight. Lisa on the other hand, did not like that idea. However, now was not the best time to cause problems. Even though she too wanted to fight every one of them. "You, Jerry and another cane in and I''ll show you that I am indeed running a business. Those with the assault rifles will have to wait here. I don''t want them causing any more problems." Replied Lisa reluctantly. Jackson though this over for a second. Things had definitely not gone the way he had though it would. Martinez only wanted him to watch her for weaknesses to exploit, but now he was about to be invited inside her ce personally and get a close inspection of her. Though he wanted to go in with all his men, this was an opportunity he couldnt pass up. Not to mention that the guards he brought were not acting very obedient to him at all and he hated that fact. Sure, he wasnt the most popr lieutenant, but theck of respect was infuriating. "Fine. Jerry and Thompson wille with me. The rest of you, listen carefully for if I do call you. Only then are you allowed to shoot." Jackson said looking at each of the men in turn as he spoke. The riflemen nodded and rxed, though slightly disappointed. "Shall wee in now?" Jackson asked Lisa. "Uh, I guess so. Though there is a lot going on. I ask that you stay close and do not touch any wires. You will get hurt." Lisa replied after a moment of hesitation. Lisa turned and opened the door to step through. She turned and waved them on to follow. As the three gangsters approached Lisa quickly whispered to ir and Hanna. "Quick, tell the tall older guy by the dam that he needs to pretend to be a Construction Merchant and then get Sadie and the girls inside. Hurry!" The two girls nodded and hurried away, while the other girls following close behind them. Jackson and the other two came in and suspiciously looked around. Lisa closed the metal door and locked it without them noticing, just to be on the safe side. Seeing everything was nominal the gangsters followed Lisa, though they stayed on guard. As they walked, Lisa hoped that Gillian would understand the hint from the girls and not mess this up. She also hoped the girls could even find him. As they drew closer to Gillian and the others, Lisa kept a close eye on Jackson. This was going to be a very delicate conversation. Chapter 124: Cleared (2) Chapter 124: Cleared (2) Hanna and ir hurried urgently towards the Powerhouse building along with the other girls following closely behind. They had gotten into a dangerous situation without even realizing how. Seeing the guns and their friends threatened rattled their young minds. All they could think of and do was follow Lisa''s instructions and hope for the best. As for the boys outside, they had no idea what might have happened to them. It was Hanna that spotted Sadie first. Hanna pointed in Sadie''s direction as she spoke to ir. "Look, Sadie is over there! Let''s tell her what happened, get her to hide the others and find that tall older guy." "Good idea." ir replied seeing Sadie. Sadie and an exhausted Zane were at this moment doing some exercises in the buildings shade. Zane apparently was asking for another break when the group of girls swarmed the unsuspecting Sadie. They all started talking at once,pletely overwhelming Sadie by the sudden barrage of nervous girls. Seeing this, Zane immediately sat down to lean against the wall with a thankful expression. "Calm down! One at a time please." Sadie shouted and waving her arms about to calm them. The girls, still anxious, stopped talking altogether though Rachel remained a bit fidgety. Rachel ignored Sadies plea and continued bbing about what had happened to them. "There were these gangsters that showed up from nowhere just now outside and they scared us with guns. One of the gangsters pointed theirs at Derick and we thought he was going to shoot! But Lisa came, let us in, and she told us to find you and a tall older guy! Lisa said we need to hide inside somewhere, and you would tell us where to go." Hearing all this and still trying toprehend what exactly was going on, Sadie replied hesitantly. "Let''s get inside and sit down. You can tell me what happened then." "Hanna and I still need to find the tall old guy. Where is he?" ir asked as the girls were all following Sadie inside. "Gillian, I think is the one? He''s right over there at the dam." Sadie said pointing. The two girls immediately spotted him. He was surely was the eldest looking of the other people chatting around him. They then quickly ran off to speak to him, leaving the other girls in Sadie''s care. By this point Lisa had already started toe in with the three gangsters and was finishing up pointing out the area. Lisa could see that the girls were at least going in the right direction and only needed to stall for a few moments. "As you all can see the area is only fortified to keep thieves and unwanted people. Not only for me, and my employees protection, but for theirs as well. Electricity is not something to take overly lightly. I don''t have all the protective gear or solutions to have the area kept safe." Lisa exined. "Hmpf, if you say so." Jackson grumbled. He hadn''t seen anything that might be seen as a threat to the gang so far. There were no armed guards or weapons insight. Also, the number of people here was rtively low. The main issue still remained, the Mover Mechs and the constructionpany people. Were they really who Lisa said they were? Jackson didnt want to wait any longer, "Let me speak with the leader of the construction group over there. I want to be sure of their intentions and what really might have happened to the ck Rats. After that, you must prove to me that you truly have electricity." Lisa let out a sigh. "Very well. Not sure of what it is you hope to gain from this pointless investigation, but I''ll indulge you." As Lisa turned around to lead the way to Gillian, she could see the two young girls speaking with Gillian and the others. Hopefully, everything was being exined properly. Otherwise, Jackson would catch on about the ERM and the Mad Dogs would likely be an unavoidable problem. Gillian was the first to notice the two unknown girls running their direction. He though it odd that Lisa would have children in the area and didn''t quite pin her as a mother either. Yet seeing them running and looking directly at him with expectant expressions, told him that what they had to say was important. "Hey girls, what''s the hurry?" Gillian called out towards them. The others, Willis, Henry Tayvon, Ava and Wayne, all turned in unison to see whom he was speaking to. ir and Hanna nervously slowed down from their running but continued to walk quickly towards them. "We, uh, were told by Lisa to let you know that you need to pretend to be a construction worker." ir answered first while puffing lightly from the panicked run. "Ya, the Mad Dogs are here, and they are curious about what is going on here." Hanna replied quickly after ir. "Is that so?" Gillian said cautiously looking up and past the girls to see that Lisa was indeeding their way with three rough looking men. Lisa didn''t have her normal passive happy face either. "That will be all girls, I''ll take it from here." Hanna and ir nodded and hurriedly started back towards the Powerhouse building. They passed by Lisa and the gangsters, who paid them no attention. Just before the two groups met together, Gillian murmured to the volunteers around him. "Hey, go ahead and pretend youre going back to work. I''ll speak to them." The others silently agreed and dispersed to go work on something. Gillian stepping forward addressed Lisa. "So far the first of the Mechs is charging with no issue. I sure am de to finally have a ce to recharge them. Who are these gentlemen you have with you?" "These are some locals that are looking around. I think they have some questions to ask?" Lisa replied. So far it seemed that Gillian had caught on to the situation. "Yes, what are you doing with those Mineral Mover Mechs?" Jackson immediately asked. He couldn''t think up anything clever to ask and figured he''d get right to the point. "I am a construction worker and as a pilot of that Mech I need to make sure it''s charged up for work. Why, is there something the matter?" Gillian asked trying to look innocent. "I never heard of any construction groups working around this town. Why is there now and apparently on the ck Rats territory?" Jackson continued to ask. "It seems rather odd that an out of the way area such as this, suddenly has the means or funding to begin rebuilding. Who is funding this?" "Well, I am just a simple employee, but I assure you we are building a road from the eastern area of town up to this dam. It''s the only area that could connect the two sides bynd after all." Gillian replied casually putting his hands into his pants pockets. "I only heard of that gang, the ck Rats, from the locals there. The locals say that they rebelled and drove them away and reimed the town. My constructionpany was hired to build for the local government. They seem to be struggling for food and supplies. So, they want to open trade." "That doesn''t exin why you took the job, or how they could afford it." Jackson pressed again. Though his voice now sounded a bit less suspicious. Then thinking to himself he wondered, Local government? This is the first Ive heard of any government influence in town. Could the Moab City government be starting to interfere with this town? "Some rich humanitarians are funding the job, I assume." Gillian replied giving a shoulder shrug. "This town is not all that far away from Moab City, where we are from, and they probably want to look good helping the unfortunate. I am just here to get paid. I dont care about the details." Is that so. Jackson replied not sounding fully convinced and then he turned to look at Lisa. "How did you get this ce making electricity and find a way to sell it to them?" "I found this ce not long before I met you." Lisa replied. "I offered you a chance to partner up in this, but you turned me down. I just was around the eastern area and heard about the opportunity. The sr cells they had to charge the mechs malfunctioned, and I happened to offer them a solution. Besides, they will be working near the dam anyway." Jackson felt perplexed. They did seem to sound legitimate despite theck of information they gave him. There was some other stuff he felt he needed to ask and follow up on, yet now was not the best time. He had to report this incident to Martinez right away. He already had more than enough information to exin to the Boss. However, he still didn''t do what he was sent here to do in the first ce; to find a weakness of Queen''s to exploit. "Well, I guess that answers my concerns, for now." Jackson finally answered. "I also see that you are charging the mech with that power line too. I''ll be keeping any eye on this ce though. I still don''t fully trust you, Lisa, or those Mechs being here. If I find one thing out of line, you will have to face the power of the Mad Dogs. I assure you; we will win." "Don''t be so hasty now." Lisa replied calmly. "We are just simply doing business. I am happy to exin things as they go on around here." "That changes nothing." Jackson replied turning around. "Come on men, let''s get going. I think we are done here." The two silent men followed quickly behind Jackson. "Let me just follow you out." Lisa replied also following them. She did, however, secretly give Gillian a thumbs up. He replied giving a smug, quick wink. Lisa waited as the three of them walked through the metal door too lock it behind them. Jackson, however, turned to say one more thing. As he did, he spoke just soft enough that the rest of the gangsters couldn''t overhear them. "Let us make a wager, Martinez is going to set you up against three opponents and Saul will exin the detailster. If you win against the Triplets, I''ll reconsider your offer. Originally, I assumed you wanted power, as in ruling power. Now that I see you really have electricity, it''s possible that I could help make some money. Though it doesn''t seem like it, but this town has potential. The Mad Dogs just haven''t bother to exploited it yet." "I''ll take you up on that offer." Lisa replied with a tad bit of surprise at the sudden turn of his mood. "However, what if the Triplets beat me? Not that they will. What are your reasons to gain something from this bet?" "Simple. I get this dam and all the ie from it, at your expense." Jackson said giving a sly smile. "You already agreed, so no take backs!" Lisa let out a hardy bit ofughter. "Very well. That will never get to happen though. I will definitely win." After Jackson and the entire gang with him left, Lisa returned to Gillian. "Well, that was definitely unexpected." "It seemed that way." Gillian replied. "Good thing those little girls warned me. Otherwise, they would have caught on and we dont want the ERM put into danger needlessly." "That would''ve been bad indeed." Lisa replied. "Well, we are in the clear for now. So how about we let the others know everything is alright for now." "Sounds good. I was getting tired of standing around anyway." Gillian replied as the two adults headed for the Powerhouse building. Chapter 125: Proving Chapter 125: Proving "No?" n repeated a bit unsure that he had heard the Shaman correctly. "You are not going to be sending your warriors to help fight the Twisted? Why not! I thought your people reviled in ying those creatures." The creepy blue green fire crackled as a log settled and sent out a puff of glittering sparks. Hearing this noise somehow made the massive cavern even quieter. n and the rest just staired expectantly at the three ancient men, who in turn sat unmoving like statues. Though the actual wait for the reply was short, it felt awkwardly long. Then with parched voices the three Shamans never took their eyes off the odd ze in front of them while giving their reply. "That is not the issue." The Shaman on the left replied. "The issue is that we will not send our help to the Skull. In truth, we have known that a Speaker would being to us. Our runes have told us. Your Head, Daivat Bellona the Undertaker, is from a bloodline stemming from our people here in this canyon; a traitorous bloodline." "This might be true, but the prophecy says nothing about the Undertaker or the Skull." Wind Speaker pointed out, breaking his silence. "What might be the reasoning for this choice." "That may be so, that the prophecy says nothing of the sort, but it''s enough for us." The Shaman on the right replied immediately. "The Bellona bloodline is banished from here and no help will we give to that bloodline or its followers." "This is ridiculous." n scoffed standing up. He was curious about the Heads family history, but now was not the time. "I did not just cross the desert wilnds for several days, recite a stupid prophecy from memory and get a ''No'' for an answer! There has got to be a way that this can be resolved." "I am afraid not." The left Shaman replied shaking his headdress and causing the feathers to ruffle. n was about to start arguing again but was interrupted. "The towns people will likely not survive. Can you ept deaths of innocents?" Ashen One interjected. "People die all around us, every day. Who are we to not let nature take its natural course? Anyone who associates with the Skull are just as guilty as the Bellona bloodline." The right Shaman replied decisively. "We will not help in any way!" n was about to blow his top hearing this. He was so mad in fact that he just stood there with his mouth opened into a shout, but no words came out. His finger was pointed at them angrily shaking, eventually it formed into a fist and dropped to his side. The others, still sitting behind him, were equally perplexed and unsure how to proceed. n wanted to p some sense into those uncaring old men and took a step forward. Suddenly a shadow seemed to move over some candles out of the corner of n''s vision. Despite being angry he looked sideways at it. Nearly out of sight andpletely unseen, unless one looked directly at that ce, was an animal masked man holding a long rifle. A ragged cloak he was wearing had covered a candle, which was what gave him away. Looking around quickly n spotted several more guards also well hidden in the gloomy cavern. They had only just appeared when he acted aggressive towards the Shaman. Seeing this, n visibly backed down. In turn the shadowy guards disappeared into the dim darkness. "Perhaps there could be away." The center Shaman suddenly spoke out. His raspy old voice echoed slightly nearly startling everyone out of the tense stalemate. The other two Shaman simultaneously turned to look away from the blue green fire for the first time and at their ancient counterpart curiously. Their long, matted beards could even be heard rustling on their aging skin. Which was kind of unnerving and gross. However, they made no objections and the center Shaman continued. Reaching down into a leather bag at his side the center Shaman pulled out a handful of assorted items: metal bolts, carved rocks, whittled wood, and bits of fabrics. Then murmuring some inaudible words, he raised his wrinkled fist of items to his lips, kissed them and then flung them in front of himself and between the colorful fire. All three Shaman leaned forwards to view the apparent runes. Then with wordless unity the Shaman seemed to havee to an agreement and the center Shaman continued speaking. "Prove to us that your Head sent someone worthy of receiving help. We have a ce known as the Pit. In this Pit, we have our warriors battle captured Twisted for training and rites of passage. Kill one of the Twisted and we will let those impressed by your skill volunteer to return to fight the Hoard. It can be the only fair way to assist the Skull and innocent people of that town." "Why would you suggest this?" The Shaman on the right asked and followed up with a heavy cough. This can still only help the traitor. "Not for the Skull''s sake, but for the person seeking vengeance." The center Shaman replied still speaking raspy. "The Twisted are the earths curse and enemies of the Sun. Letting a bad blood feud discourage us from our calling''s is unwise. Let me show you all." The ancient center Shaman lifted a wrinkled hand up towards his neck and pulled on a leather strap tied around it. The weak sound of it snapping off could be heard as he pulled it out from behind his greasy, matted beard. Tied to this strap was a leather sewn bag. The bag was no bigger than his palm and looked like nothing all that special. Pulling the leather strap out from the bag to untie and open it, he reached inside and scooped out its contents. In the dim, oddly colored light, n couldn''t quite see what it was. Before he could ponder further though, the Shaman started chanting somethingpletely iprehensible. It sounded like nonguage n had ever heard before and more like gibberish. Stealing a nce behind himself, n saw that Wind Talker and Ashen One were watching this scene unfold with wide eyes and with their full attention. Apparently, they knew something he did not. Being servants of Lady Cassandra, they had probably encountered something simr to this. When n looked back, he was shocked by what he had been missing up until now. The items from within the bag were now floating above the blue green fire and encased in an ominous yellow glow! They appeared to be square chunks of bone, wood, and stone; all of which had strange rune like carvings etched into them. Those etchings were also glowing with the same bizarre yellow glow. The entire time they were bobbing around in the fire''s smoke, like tea leaves being stirred in water. The Shaman continued his gibberish sounding words until, without warning, he gave a shout and flung his wrinkled arms out to strike the floating etchings. The pieces scattered all across the cave floor in front of n and between the fire. Theynded in no discernible pattern or cause any kind of action. The yellow light had dissolved from around the objects, but still glowed inside the etchings themselves. The sight was actually rather very anticlimactic, yet still nothing like the runes the Shaman had used before. This was proof of their power without a doubt. "See for yourselves." The center Shaman said still sounding raspy. n looked down again at the items scattered at his feet but was utterly confused. The glowing objects and signs had no meaning to him. "What is this nonsense? They are just scattered on the floor." "No, this is a message from the spirits." Wind Talker replied quickly standing up to look at the ground with enthusiasm. Ashen One and Garth also stood up to peer at the items. "Really?" n remarked sounding unconvinced. "Read it to me then. I have no understanding of such things." "Let''s see, it says that the one seeking the prophecy''s revenge is a young woman, unaffiliated with the Skull. In fact, she is not even from the people in the Damn?!" Wind Talker said a bit surprised. "A young woman not from the Damn?" n replied. "Are you sure because that can''t be right. Lady Cassandra never said the gender of the person of prophecy." "I am sure of what I have seen and shown you." The Shaman replied. His gaze had returned to look into the mes and away from them. "Lady Cassandra has her reasons, I am sure, for not speaking on this. However, it is a young woman, that I can say for certain. Now enough of this. Garth, take them to the Pit and let them prove their worth!" It was clear now that the three Shaman now has no intentions of speaking further. The way they seemed to stair even harder into the blue green mes made it obvious. Garth gave a respectful bow and turned to leave. "Come, they have spoken." Garth murmured to the other. Ashen One and Wind Talker both gave a simr bow and followed after Garth quickly. Hemlock hadn''t said a word or moved at all the entire time all this was going on. He was just trapped in awe, fear, and excitement. Seeing the others now getting up he quickly got off the cave floor and bowed rapidly several times before scurrying after the other three. n, however, remained behind just for a moment longer. There was something he just wanted to ask. "Will I continue to have a role to y in this prophecy? Beyond that of helping bring you Sun People to fight?" n asked the three Shaman. "I kind of just want to let this all blow over. Prophecy or not, bing the strongest is all I crave." For the first time the three of them broke their solemnposure and broke out into abored chuckle. Then they, once again in unnerving unison, looked right at n and spoke. "Good luck, Speaker!" n shook his head and turned quickly to leave, as if he were both annoyed and concerned by their aged giddy expressions. "Whatever, don''t give me straight answer then. I am tired of all this fanciful mystical crap anyway. I''ll just kill that thing in the Pit and then I am out of here!" Leaving the massive cavern behind them, the guards locked the round door to the metal wall tightly behind n as soon as he was through. Again, he noticed the gun spear in their hands and couldn''t help but wonder what model the gun was. As he nced up at the imposing metal wall onest time, n felt like an ant in its presence. "How could human build something like that? I''ll never know." n though turning away to catch up with the rest. I think I find physical things far more interesting than whatever odd ritual I just witnessed was. When they left the massive cave entrance to go outside, they were nearly blinded by the afternoon light spilling in. After being in the candlelit cave tunnels for so long it took them several minutes to recover properly. During that time Snake Tooth approached n who kept blinking furiously. "Everything was fine out here. A few odd looks from the locals, but all together uneventful." Snake Tooth said while scratching his scruffy neck. "The stuff that they have on is just so strange and savage." "That''s good. At least these freaks can act somewhat civilized." n replied rubbing his eyes. "We are nearly done here. We just need to go fight a Twisted and prove to these Sun People that they shoulde help us. Going somewhere called the Pit. Hey, Garth, let''s get going to the Pit already." Garth red sideways at n with slight smirk. "Fine. We will retrieve your weapons alone and go there. Must not keep the Shamans words waiting." Chapter 126: Pit Chapter 126: Pit The Skull gangsters once again followed Garth back across the sketchyrge wooden bridge. They returned along the same route as before, passing the strange market stalls that had been carved into the high rock walls. As they were passing through the market it seemed that there were now even more people crowded onto the narrow boardwalk. Where they wereing from, n had no idea, and he didn''t have time to worry about it. Garth weaved in and out of the crowd far too quickly, like a snake in the grass, and it was hard to keep up with him. Upon returning to the first cave, where their weapons were being kept, Garth was already waiting for n and the others. In his hands was n''s trusty tactical Fireman''s hammer. "Here. Only you can have this back." Garth said holding out the weapon to n. "The rest will just have to wait." "You mean I have to do this alone? Eh, shouldn''t take long. How hard can it be to beat one measly creature?" n replied confidently taking the hammer. He gripped the handle tightly and immediately felt much more rxed. "Ha, if you think fighting a Twisted is easy, then are you in for a surprise." Garth said smiling for the first time today. "But I guess you are the type that talks by doing things. I guess I''ll wait and see if you can back up that confidence." "I will make it quick; youll see. Now lead the way to this Pit." n replied resting the hammer onto his shoulder. "Fine. It is at the southernmost penins, in the very depths of the caves. Stay close, you all don''t want to get lost." Garth said briskly leaving the cave. Everyone hurried to keep up, again. It was unclear to everyone why Garth was always rushing so far ahead of them. It was as if he was trying to lose them all in purpose. Fortunately, this time there was no market area for them to pass through and the crowds were much thinner. They once again crossed high above the river water on an old rope and wooden bridge. This bridge was shorter than the former one and headed straight for the tip of the southern penins. The afternoon wind had picked up and the gangsters nervously held on to the bridges sides. All except for n, who was still enjoying the airy feeling. This feeling would notst long. When they finished crossing, they found that the cliff side was dotted with numerous smaller caves and see-through, hollowed out portions. Clearly it was time to go underground again, a ce n hated to go in. "The Pit is near the bottom of this penins, nearer to the area were the two rivers meet. So, we won''t need to go far." Garth called back over his shoulder. However, he didn''t even bother to slow his pace as he started down a wide mouthed cave. n and the rest quickly tried to catch up, jogging as they went. Luckily the cave floor sloped gently downwards, and they were able to catch up with Garth in the oddly well-lit tunnel. There were few divergent rock tunnels illuminated by the torches lining the wall that joined up with the main corridor, however, from the foul smell they had no intentions of finding out what might be down them. asionally an ill sounding screech or moan sounded from faraway from some unknown creature or possibly human. Hemlock sped up to walk alongside n. His face gave away that he was nervous and on edge. "Bone yer, are you sure we are going to be alright? If something happened and you were injured or this is a trap, how will we escape?" "It should be fine." n replied. Though he too felt concerned. "Nothing is going to happen, and we will be out of here in no time. Just have a little faith in your leader, ok?" "What choice do I have?" Hemlock grumbled. There was a slight bend in the tunnel, and they lost sight of Garth for a moment. The sounds of a distant crowd cheering could also be heard and with every step they took, it grew louder. Coming around the bend they saw Garth standing expectantly at an entrance with a grey tarp covering it. "You follow me." Garth said pointing at n. "The rest of you go through here and watch from a seat somewhere. If there are any. Also, try to behave, you''re still being watched." "Good luck Speaker." Ashen One murmured walking past n to be the first to enter the tarp entrance. Wind Talker followed quickly behind, as did the others. As they pushed back the grey tarp to enter n could see arge crowd of people inside standing while excitedly looking down at something far below them. What it could be, well, he was soon to find out. "The entrance to the Pit is down the tunnel more. But first, to pick out a Twisted for you to fight. We will let the Beast Master choose." Garth exined as they continued walking. "Since you are trying to impress our warriors, you''ll need to fight something challenging and showy. That is if you can handle it." n normally would reply right away but being underground in an unfamiliar ce and trying to mentally prepare himself, he only nodded in reply. Reaching an area where the cave tunnel ttened out and narrowed quite a bit was where the animal smell grew even stronger. The unpleasant animalistic smell of blood, feces, and death. Also, there were now many jail-like metal doors lining the narrowing cave. From these doors small openings, an unknown creature would forcefully reach out with ws or talons and scream at them in an attempt to grab the two men as they passed. Both men ignored these idle threats and continued onwards. Sitting at a splintering, round wooden table, eating what n hoped was a steak, was a huge fat gutted man. The man chewed so loudly that n almost assumed that it was pig, not a man that was sitting there. The fat man also kept constantly dabbed a nasty cloth on his sweaty bald head, while juice dribbling down his meaty double chin unchecked. "Beast Master! I have an outside challenger thats going to fight. The Shaman say he needs to prove his worthy to receive our forces aid. Can you match him with a Twisted?" Garth called out over the sounds of creature noises and heavy chewing. Looking up quickly the Beast Master looked up at n with unsettling piercing brown eyes. He looked over n twice before returning to his meal and his double chins wobbled vigorously as he spoke and chewed. "Three doors on the left. Fight that one. I''m eating so go and y it already. Burp! For the Sun''s glory!" "For the Suns glory." Garth replied unfazed by the ill-mannered reply. He then continued past the fat man and headed for the indicated door. "Don''t mind him. He''s always like that, but he knows what he''s doing." "Are you sure? He''s not doing anything but eating." n replied following close behind. "Trust me, he''s the best at choosing what someone is capable of fighting against. Now, let see what you are being paired up with." Garth answered stopping in front of the door Beast Master picked. On the door was a simple wooden board and on it was a solid ck circle with lots of squiggling linesing off it. Garth let out a whistle upon seeing it. "Good luck! You are up against a Land Octopus." "Ive heard of those, but never see one." n remarked. "Any tips?" "I though you said you had this under control?" Garth said motioning for n to follow him. "Why do you want tips now? Are you getting cold feet?" "Pfft, of course not. It''s just that it never hurts to be prepared." n replied. "Hmm, just try not to get caught by its many arms. It will rip you in half, given the chance. Hope that helps." Garth replied casually, before pointing at another gloomy passage. "Alright, now go up these stairs and wait for the gate to open. As soon as the gate does, get ready to fight. There will be no announcement or introductions." "Got it." n answered patting the head of his hammer into his fist in anticipation. That tip wasn''t all that helpful, but he ignored Garthsckadaisical reply. Garth at this point turned to go, leaving n alone at the foot of the passage stairs. Coming from the top he could hear the excited sounds of the crowd, shing of weapons and animals screaming. He took a deep breath and started climbing up the stairs. Reaching the top, a thick metal gate blocked his path. On the other side was the Pit. Just as the name described, it was a wide sandy pit littered with bloodied and rotting animal parts, broken weapons, and uncountable red sandy stains. Surrounding the Pit was a metal dome enclosure, likely to keep Twisted out. Beyond was the crowd, hidden from sight due to the lighting only shinning onto the sandy ground from somewhere high above. In the center three men and a woman, all dressed in their crazy Sun People attire, were fighting several darkly colored Twisted. n knew these Twisted to be called Night Hounds. The fight was seemingly reaching the end stages now. The Twisted were covered in dark red, ck blood everywhere and appeared to be weakening. The Sun People, though visibly exhausted, were likely to going to win. Just as he leaned the gate to watch more, a heavy chain rattling sounded out and another metal gate crashed on the ground behind him. Turning to look at it n sighed. "Well, there''s no going back now!" The cheering crowd broke out into an excited collective shout returning him to the fight. A Sun Person warrior hadnded a death blow to thest Night Hound. Raising a bloody spear in the air, the warrior cried out excitedly back towards the formless crowd. A gate on the far side of the Pit opened and the warriors quickly jogged out. It seemed he was going to go next. n gripped his hammer tightly, but he wasn''t afraid. In fact, he was excited! "Let''s hope this Land Octopus thing is worth all the troubleing here. I want a good fight!" Just as the gate that the Sun People left from closed, his own gate started too rapidly open. Ducking low n rushed out into the Pit. He headed straight for the center, all the while eyeing the other gates to his left. One of those was where the Twisted would appear. Reaching the Pits center n stopped. Dropping his hammer on the sand he reached down to grab his shirt and took it off without hesitation. Doing so revealed his anatomically correct skeleton tattoo that covered his muscr chest and back for all to see. Now everyone would know who he was, a member of the Skull! The sound of another chain and gate rising caused him to pick back up his hammer and prepare to fight. In directly in front of him a rusting gate slowly opened all the way, but no creature came rushing out like he expected. Then he saw it! A long ck and red edged tentacle slowly rolled out from the gates dark center. It grasped the top left corner of the gateway and was soon followed by another that came out to grab the gateways bottle right corner. Soon all eight ck tentacles were spilling out and expanding out of the gateway, but no body had yet appeared. From within the eerie darkness, a single round red eye shed open to look directly at him. Then it dawned on n. The dark gateway was not due to the lighting, it was actually the Twisted''s body. The creature leering from within was humongous! Chapter 127: Mech Chapter 127: Mech When Lisa and Gillian came inside the Powerhouse building the little girls swarmed them. They bombarded Lisa with questions and concerns for the boys still outside. It took her a few moments to calm them down, assuring them that everything was alright now. "Those boys are safe now. The gangsters left them alone and the boys are now long gone." Lisa exined. "As for what was going on, they spotted those big machines on the other side of the dam and wanted to know more about them. Now let me ask you all something, why are you all here?" "We wanted to show the others the view from the dam and stuff." Rachel replied. "Also, we have some more questions to ask you." ir added. "Especially Hanna." Lisa looked over at Hanna, who nodded nervously and fiddled with the suede covered locket around her neck. Noticing the dark green and russet jewelry around Hanna''s neck for the first time, Lisa felt curious. "Well, I am happy to try and answer them." Lisa replied. "As for those that want to see the dam, I am afraid that is going to have to wait. There is a dangerous power line running across the dam to the Mechs. I don''t want anyone out there until the job is finished." The girls looked crestfallen hearing this. Especially the two littlest girls. Seeing this Lisa couldn''t help but feel bad for them. After all, they came all the way out here and ended up in a frightening situation, only to be told to wait. "Don''t worry it shouldn''t take too long and it''s not like the view is going anywhere. Until then let''s answer those questions." Lisa said trying to cheer them up. Meanwhile Sadie was listening nearby on a chair by the table. Hearing that everything was alright she decided to go back to training Zane. Zane at the moment was sitting on the bottom steps of the stairs and lookedpletely worn out. Lisa also noticed that Sadie was leaving and recalled that she was supposed to be sparring with Zane. "Sadie, let Zane rest up for now. Remember I''m going to try sparring with him and he can''t do that if he''s exhausted." Lisa called out. "Fine, I guess I can wait." Sadie said giving a sigh and turning to go back to her seat. "I just really want him to be prepared. Theres just not enough time to get him into a condition Im satisfied with. Can''t keep having Nicky be on my case all the time." "I understand but he so tired looking. Rest is important to training too." Lisa pointed out. "Thanks boss!" Zane called out giving a thankful looking grin. Sadie gave him an annoyed sideways re and he immediately averted his gaze. Lisa chuckled seeing that Sadie had such an impact on Zane. Whether it was a good thing or not, only time would tell. She then turned back her attention to the girls. "Now, what are these questions you all had to ask me?" "What''s a power line for and why is it dangerous?" Anna-Beth blurted out quickly before anyone else could reply. "Anna-Beth, couldn''t you wait for Hanna to ask her question first? That why we are here in the first ce!" ir said hugging the little girl from behind and cupping a hand over the little girls mouth yfully. Being slightly smothered by ir''s hand, Anna-Beth murmured, "Sorry." "Go ahead and ask already, Hanna." ir said still cuddling Anna-Beth. Hanna nodded and took a step closer to Lisa. At the same time, she started to carefully untie the knot at the top of the locket. "So, Mary and John took me to visit my parents grave a few days ago, because I just had too. While we were there, they gave me this locket from my parents." Hanna carefully slipped out the gold and tinum locket from the suede cloth covering. Seeing it, Lisa was slightly taken by surprise. She had not expected to see something so expensive and rare out here in this wayward town. The locket was definitely not something that local residents would own, meaning that Hanna''s parents were former rich people or thieves. Judging from how well-mannered Hanna''s behavior was, it was likely the former option. Hanna quickly opened it to proudly reveal the picture and inscription inside. "If you read here, you will see that it says, ''Tharsis Royal Hospital''. Where is that? I figured that since you traveled a lot that you might have an answer." Lisa was still admiring the lockets design but stopped hearing the strange hospital name. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply as she pondered. "Tharsis, that''s a unique name. I can''t say that I have heard of anywhere like that. At least not in America. Did your parents ever talk about where they came from?" "Not really. They mention that they used to live somewhere nice and far away, but nothing specific." Hanna replied shaking her muddy red hair. "Well, sorry I wasn''t much help." Lisa replied patting Hanna''s shoulder. "I''ll keep the name in mind and if I hear anything, you''ll know right away." "Thanks." Hanna said slightly disappointed. She then started to put the locket back into its pouch. "Now you asked, what a power line was, right?" Lisa said turning to Anna-Beth. From then on Lisa took turns answering the other girls questions. Most of the questions were simple and Lisa hadn''t any trouble answering them. However, the answers she gave seemed to only bring about more questions. The question about power line led to Lisa exining what electricity was. Then to why the machine needed it. To then exining what the machine was and how it could move with electricity. "You girls really need a formal education!" Lisa finally eximed. "So many questions about things that used to bemon knowledge. I''ll mention to Nathan about building an education program." "You mean like us going to school?" ir asked curiously. "Yes, that''s exactly it." Lisa replied. "Only the richer people can go to school in Moab City. My mom says that education is just too expensive and too far away to bother with. Besides what do I need to know other than reading, writing and my numbers?" ir asked. "Far more than you realize." Lisa replied giving a faraway look. She then went on to exin, best she could, about why school was important. Hanna, however, wasn''t all too interested at the moment. Though she wanted to learn more about school, her mind was still thinking about Tharsis. Absent minded, she wandered over towards the big doorway of the building to look around. Gillian was also here doing the same and watching the Mechs across the dam. Noticing the little girling up alongside him, Gillian decided to speak. "Good job giving me that warning earlier." "You''re wee." Hanna replied softly. Then plucking up some courage she ventured a question. "So those Mechs are machines and you, I guess, rode them here?" "That''s right. I and two others piloted them here to be recharged." Gillian answered nodding. "They look really amazing." Hanna said looking curiously at the big ck and yellow striped mechs. Her dull green eyes sparkled curiously, "I have never seen anything like them before. Are they hard to move?" Gillian let out a soft chuckle and looked down at the little girl. He immediately noticed the sparkle in her eyes and knew that look to be one that craved to know more. "Not really. From what I know, those are the easiest of Mechs to pilot. Would you like to see them up closer?" "I don''t know. Lisa said we couldn''t go across until it''s safe." Hanna replied. Though she said this she realized that she didn''t know who Gillian really was and probably shouldnt go anywhere with him. "That''s understandable. I wouldn''t even dare to touch that power line." Gillian remarked. "I am sure that Lisa will want to inspect themter. You can do it then." "Ok, thanks and goodbye." Hanna said slightly nervous, but also happy to hear that she might still get to look at those machines. She then went back to join the others who were still talking with Lisa. There was a moment where the other girls didn''t have a question to ask and Hanna decided to ask Lisa another question. "Aunt Lisa, can we go look at the Mechs after they are done charging? Gillian said I could and that you might want too as well." "That''s actually an exciting idea. Sure, we can all go look at the Mechs and the view while we''re there." Lisa replied. Hearing this the girls all broke out into a renewed excitement. "How much longer do we have to wait? It seems like it''s been long enough." Jillian asked impatiently. "Hmm, not too much longer." Lisa replied. She then turned and called out to Gillian. "What''s the ETA on that recharge?" "Mr. Yates just switched it over to the second Mech. Hopefully less than an hour." Gillian replied and turned toe back inside. An hour was slowly rolling by. The girls soon ran out of question nearly as fast as Lisa could answer them. If they had to wait any longer, they definitely would have gotten very bored. The dam and the surrounding ruined facilities were not anything children would be interested in. Lisa told Sadie to give Zane his tiger ws back, so that he could get ready to spar with Lisa after everyone had gone. Though Zane was tired he was d to not be training on the stairs anymore or doing body workouts. When Sadie brought the unique weapon and gave it back to Zane, the girls noticed and marveled at it. They all watched Zane as he performed some striking movements to pass the time while waiting. Eventually Mr. Yates informed Gillian that everything was done charging. Hearing that it was a sess, both Gillian and Lisa let out a collective sigh of relief. Each of them was d that everything had worked out. Lisa turned off the transformer and the humming electrical noise it gave off finally stopped. Tayvon and Willis had in the meantime left the other volunteers from their cleaning and started to re-roll the electrical line back onto the spool. Gillian went on ahead to the Mechs to check them over. "Alright girls we can go see the sights now." Lisa announced turning around to face them. The girls cheered and hurried outside to go to the dam. Everyone was enjoying the amazing sights of theke and of the town far below the dam. All that is except for Hanna. She had her sights set on checking out those Mechs. For the first time in forever, she was finally obsessing about something other than her parents. Hanna couldn''t quite understand why she was so interested in these big hulking machines. She assumed it was because they were something new and exciting. However, she felt a strange familiar affinity to the metal machines, like seeing an old friend after so many years. Hanna told Lisa that she was going on ahead to look at the mechs and Lisa agreed. She had her hands full keeping an eye on the other girls, especially Rachel and Anna-Beth. Those two rambunctious girls loved getting too close the dams edge. When Hanna arrived at where the Mechs were, she craned her neck back to be able to see the closest massive mechanism. The ERM troops paid her no mind and just continued toy around in the trees shade. Only Gillian noticed the little girl standing at his own Mechs foot. Hanna tentatively ced a hand on the mechs lower shin and felt the sun warmed metal glowing on her touch. "Why do I feel like I know how you work and what you do? Even though I have never seen you before." Hanna murmured under her breath. "Would you like to see the inside?" Gillian called outing towards her. "Yes, I think I do." Hanna replied without looking his way. "I think I need too." Hanna hade to find an answer, but now she had even more questions. Chapter 128: Pilot Seat Chapter 128: Pilot Seat Gillian had joined Hanna at the left foot of his Mover Mech. Hanna took a cautious step back and watched as Gillian reached up to twist a lock partway up on the mechs back leg. There was a slight hissing sound, and a heavy click noise came from higher up the Mech on its torso. Adder had appeared from the source of the loud click and was now steadily sliding down towards the ground. Hanna''s gaze was glued to the seemingly simple action. Never before had she seen something automated move before. Even if it was just adder, it was still a new experience for her. She nced at the rest of the widely structured Mech and wondered how else this machine would surprise her. "I''ll go up first and make sure you won''t identally start it up." Gillian said looking down at the timid looking girl as he stepped up onto the first step. "Don''t worry, it''s not all that dangerous when turned off and won''t move. You also don''t need to be so afraid of me either. I am a friend of Lisa''s." Hanna nodded, but stayed silent. It wasn''t that she couldn''t trust him, but the confidence he emitted reminded her too much of the Mad Dogs gangsters. There were just too many simrities in him not to be careful. However, Lisa didn''t seem too worried about him being around and even let Hanna be near him. So, Hanna figured she could trust him a little bit for now, but just a little. Gillian effortlessly climbed up thedder, reaching the cockpit near the top of the five-meter-high machine in no time. He reached inside and removed the startup sequence from the control disy and manually put on the breaks. Then he briefly checked on the power levels and error messages. The power was now at one hundred percent and was also showing that all systems were running fine; all except for a fault in a hydraulic line. Gillian then turned around with one hand holding on a rung above the cockpit entrance to wave down at Hanna. "Come on up now. It''s not going anywhere." Gillian called. Hanna took a cautious nce back at Lisa and the girls. Though Lisa was busy minding the girls, she still noticed Hanna looking her way. Lisa gave Hanna a quick thumbs up before stopping Rachel from trying to touch theke water and possibly falling in. Hanna let out a heavy sigh and started to climb thedder. Gillian had moved aside onto a maintenance ledge to allow Hanna to join alongside him. Apparently, he had also taken out a toolbox out from under the pilots seat and was shifting through it looking for a tool. When Hanna carefully made it up thedder to join him, Gillian spoke. "Now try not to press any buttons. You can go in there and sit in the chair and look around. I''ll be working on this leaky hydraulic line." "Ok!" Hanna replied a little bit more enthusiastic sounding. She then turned nimbly around to climb inside the narrow cockpit entrance. Gillian chuckle and went back to start working on the hydraulic line. "I wonder why such a little girl is so fascinated by this machine? Normally boys are into this kind of thing, but not even my other pilots looked at it the way she did." Gillian thought to himself. Hanna peaked around the cockpit before going fully inside. It was smaller than she had anticipated, but still big enough for her to stand up in. The first thing she noticed when taking the first step inside was the smell. There was nothing like it that she had experienced before, it was the smell of a fresh new leather seated car. Another new thing that she had nevere across. Despite being build long ago the interior of the cockpit retained its air and in turn the smell too. Hanna absolutely loved its aroma! She took a deep and long breath, as of savoring the smell, before finishinging inside. Turning around Hanna sat onto the thick rubbery chair. Being originally a Mech built for construction and mining, the chair was not all toofortable; nor considered luxurious by any means. Yet this didn''t seem bother Hanna one bit. She gently stroked the grippy rubber armrest and sturdy leather seat sides. This too was also a rather enjoyable experience to her, because furniture of all kinds here in town were old, rotting or worn out. Looking around, Hanna gazed at the rest of the cockpit around her. She first noticed a series of multiple-colored lights that illuminated a control panel and monitor at the center area in front of her. She wanted to press them, especially the onesbeled with words she had never seen. But she decided to obey Gillian''s instructions and not do so. Her curiosity then wandered to the three leavers that she assumed controlled the Mechs movement. Reaching out, Hanna went to grasp the closest two knobs and when she did something nearly indescribable happen to her. This iprehensible feeling was almost as if a switch had been turned on from deep in her mind and a rush of thoughts came racing into her mind unchecked. The flood of thoughts startled her, but she couldn''t stop it, nor did she feel like she wanted to. The frightening feeling was just as invigorating and enticing! She closed her eyes to better envision this new knowledge. Hanna grazed on the unexinable surge of knowledge; gears, circuits, technology, power flow, movement, and anything about this Mech was learned by her in mere seconds! Hanna now knew how to move the Mech, what to press, pull and when to do so! That two leavers in her tinny hands controlled the legs; while the third raised and lowered the bucket loader arm. To move forward, back or to make a turn, she merely would just need to pull on or lean the leavers in the intended direction and the Mech would react ordingly. The motions of the Mech were not the only things Hanna now miraculously understood, but also about the mechs systems, internal anatomy and functionality too! She could feel that the Mech was powered up and ready to break out into work mode. Also, she knew that the faulty hydraulic line Gillian mentioned was now fixed and regaining its oil pressure. How she could know this, she hadn''t the faintest bit of an idea? Somehow it seemed like the Mech was molding into a part of her mind and vice versa. This was a wonderful feeling! No longer did she feel small and insignificant like before. The molding feeling with this Mech was like growing suddenly to be a huge powerful person or gaining that confident feeling when standing in arge group of friends against a bully. It was like all her limits suddenly melted away! Hanna wanted to know more and opened her eyes. Look at right at her, ufortably close, was a face! "Gah!" Hanna shouted and let go of the leavers to raise up her hands defensively. "Ha-ha! Did I scare you? Your expression was too funny!" Rachelugheding into the cockpit with Hanna. Though the cockpit was small, the two girls had no issues while moving around inside. Seeing that the face belonged to Rachel, Hanna let out a shaky breath. "You did startle me. Don''t do that!" "Sorry, I didn''t mean too. You just looked so focused and peaceful. I didn''t want to disturb you." Rachel replied. "By the way, exactly what were you doing in here? Your hands are shaking a lot." Looking at her hands, Hanna was surprised to see that her hands were indeed shaking a good deal. A bit worried and embarrassed she quickly stuffed them under her legs to sit on them. "Nothing really and I am fine! I was just enjoying the smell in here." Rachel took a breath and nodded. "This ce really does smell neat. Never smelled this sent before. Can I sit in the chair now? ir will being up next too." "S-sure, I guess." Hanna replied getting up from the chair. Though inwardly she wanted to take another chance to find out what had just happened to her. The odd sensation was long gone, but the knowledge of the Mover Mech clearly remained fresh in her mind. She also stuffed her still unsteady hands into her pants pockets in another attempt to hide and still them. Hanna watched Rachel happily plop down into the seat and fiddled with the leavers. Hanna wanted to see if Rachel would have the same thing happen to her. Perhaps this was how someone learned to use the Mechs. However, Hanna was confused to see that Rachel didn''t seem to be affected at all. "Do you feel like something is different?" Hanna ventured. "Different?" Rachel replied looking quizzically around her. "No, but I do feel like this would be even more fun if we could move the Mech around!" Hanna put on a small smile to mask her concern. "R-right. I was thinking the same thing as well. Moving the Mech would probably be fun." "If only this seat wasn''t so far away from the leavers and buttons. Then I could really feel like I am controlling this thing." Rachel said looking around at the seat. "Oh, just press that blue left arrow button to scoot the chair forward and the yellow triangle one to raise the control panel angle to view it better." Hanna replied confidently pointing at the buttons. She said all this before even realizing what she had done. Rachel looked at Hanna questioningly, but she pressed the blue arrow button anyway. Sure enough, the seat buzzed quietly as it scooted forward. Rachel giggled as she felt the seat moving by itself under her. "How did you know that? This is so cool." "I, uh, just had a hunch." Hanna replied. She hadn''t even realized that she had answered without ever doing the action herself. Rather the knowledge of the Mechpelled her to do so. This was quite an unnerving discovery. "Let ir know she cane in too!" Rachel asked excitedly. "She has got to see how things in here move on their own." She then pressed the other button and the whole panel started to rise ande closer to her. "Alright, but it''s the electricity moving the chair forward on its tracks. The chairs not exactly moving on its own." Hanna replied while slipping behind the chair. As she said those words, Hanna realized she did it again and replied without thinking. Rachel, however, did not care to notice and was trying to decide on what button to press next. Hanna quickly stuck her head out of the cockpit and took a nervous breath of fresh air. Looking down on the sandy ground she saw Lisa speaking with Gillian and the other girls were admiring the sight of the massive Mech. ir was as the bottom of the stairs holding onto the railing and looking expectantly upwards at Hanna. Hanna waved at ir and shouted, "You can join us. There is room for three." ir nodded and started to climb up slowly. It looked like she was trying to brave her fear of heights and explore the Mech. When she reached the cockpit, ir hurried and mored inside. The three of them could indeed fit, despite a tight fit. "ir look, Hanna figured out how to move the stuff around in here!" Rachel said while pressing the blue button again. The chair buzzed and started going backwards. "Oh, that is neat!" ir remarked. "How did you find this out? Gillian asked me not to touch anything, so didn''t he tell you the same?" "I guess I got too curious and couldn''t help myself." Hanna replied nervously. "Can you touch those two leavers?" Hanna asked pointing at the two long ck leavers in between the three of them. Hanna noticed that her finger was still really shaky and quickly stuffed it back into her pocket. "Sure. Though I don''t see why." ir replied reaching out to do so. After a few moments of contact she let go. "Was something supposed to happen?" "You felt nothing different or strange?" Hanna asked holding back her anxiety. "No. Was there going to be?" ir replied looking curiously at Hanna. "N-no, perhaps I was mistaken. Don''t pay any attention to my silly idea." Hanna said giving a nervousugh. "Isn''t this Mech really cool? It''s so tall and definitely different than anything we have ever seen in town." ir wasn''t convinced by Hanna. She knew Hanna and Hanna was not one to normally lie or change a conversations topic. There was something wrong or Hanna was hiding something. Especially when she saw Hanna''s unsteady hand. Nothing ever got by her when it came to keeping an eye on her friends. However, ir decided to not point this out just yet. She was confident that Hanna would tell her best friend about it eventually. "Yes, the Mech is cool. Scoot over Rachel. I want a turn in the chair!" Chapter 129: First Step Chapter 129: First Step The three girls messed around for a while longer in the Mechs cockpit, pretending that they were controlling it and other yful ideas. ir and Rachel seemed to be carrying on the conversation as they yed, while Hanna remained absent minded. "What was going on just then?" Hanna asked to herself deep in thought. "Neither ir or Rachel said that anything strange happened to them. So why did I see all that strange information about this Mech? I don''t even know what most of those words or mechanical things bouncing around in my mind even mean!" Hanna then heard Rachel asking her a question but didn''t hear the full question. Not to be rude or alert them, Hanna shed a smile and nodded. Luckily, it seemed to have done the trick and Rachel went back to speaking with ir, about whatever they were talking about. Immediately Hanna sunk back into her thoughts, nking out the other girls conversation. She slowly slouched against the steel walled interior, which used to be the ssed-in cockpit, near the doorway and she continued thinking. "Should I ask them to try touching the Mech controls again? Or would they think I am just strange? Probably strange. Something like this never seemed to happen to anyone I know before. What am I going to do?" Hanna slowly took her hands out from her pants pockets to look at them. They appeared to have calmed down enough to not look odd, but they still were not fully settled. Lowering her hands, she was satisfied enough not to be concerned about them. It was then Hanna continued thinking. "Perhaps I could ask Lisa or Gillian about the incident? I trust Lisa enough that she might help me understand this, but Gillian? I just don''t think I have it in me. He looks so rough around the edges and like he is lived a tough gang rted life, so much that I can trust him. However, he said that he was the pilot of this Mech. Maybe only those that can be pilots have had this feeling happen to them too?" "What are you thinking about Hanna?" ir asked looking at Hanna with concern. "You haven''t said much this entire time." ir and Rachel watched Hanna expectantly for an answer, but Hanna didn''t seem to hear them at all. Hanna just continued to stare out at nothing in particr. Her dull green eyes appeared zed over and lost. Worried ir called out again. "Hanna? Are you alright? Hanna!" "Uh, what? Were you speaking to me?" Hanna quickly replied blinking quickly. She sat up off the wall and tried to appear normal. "Yes, for a while in fact." ir replied crossing her arms and taking a step around the Mechs controls panel toe closer to Hanna. ir leaned forward to look down into Hanna''s dull green eyes. "Are you sure that you are alright? Come on you can tell us; we are all friends." Hanna''s hands fidgeted nervously together as she pondered her reply. She wanted to tell them, but at the same time not say anything. However, the pressure from the two girls attention on her was too much for Hanna. "I know how to turn on the Mech and make it walk!" Hanna blurted out. "I somehow know how it all works, ok?" "We can move the Mech!" Rachel shouted gleefully from behind ir. "Tell me! I want to move this thing around." ir, however, raised an eyebrow skeptically and stood up straight with her arms still crossed. "How would you know that? Gillian told us to touch nothing. I know you said you did touch some stuff in here, but there is no way you figured out all this out." "I-I am not sure how to exin it, but it''s true. I know so much about this Mech. Watch!" Hanna replied brushing past ir. Hanna gestured for Rachel to scoot over and Rachel did just that. ir followed Hanna and stood behind the seat, squeezing in between it and the back wall. "Look, I just press this red circle button and the monitor turns on for me to view it." Hanna said preforming the action. The two girls let out a gasp of surprise as a holo-screen instantly appeared showing what the monitor disyed. Though it only showed the Mech parts conditions, power and oil pressure levels, and functionality purposes; the disy was like nothing any of the girls had ever witnessed before in their wayward town. "Electricity is making this work, right?" ir asked. "I am starting to see why Lisa finds it so important." "This apparently is not all electricity can do." Hanna replied softly. "This button closes the hatch door." Hanna then said flicking a switch on the far-left side of the panel. The door let out some air and started to close downward to the girls amazement. Then it gave a slight squeak as it sealed up. The room was darker now, but the lightsing in from the thin window slits and monitor were sufficient. "Hey! Open it back up. I don''t want to be stuck in here." ir shouted suddenly feeling a little ustrophobic. "Don''t worry it''s fine, see." Hanna answered flipping the switch again. The door let out the slight squeak again as it started to open upwards. ir let out a nervous sigh. "Let''s keep it open, please? I don''t like being in such an unfamiliar enclosed space." "That''s fine." Hanna replied. "Now watch this. When I press these middle buttons in sequence, they will turn the Mech on. But we would get into trouble when the adults figure out we did." "Awee on! I bet you are actually just making it up. The stuff you did so far could totally happen by ident. I dare you to prove it!" Rachel said shaking Hanna''s arm. "No, Hanna is right. We would get into trouble." ir replied. "Awe,e on ir. You are always too careful. You got to live a little and try something new." Rachel replied rolling her eyes. "Besides, it is the easiest way to know if Hanna is lying or not." Hanna felt a ping of annoyance hearing this. Weather it was from herself or the new knowledge bound to her, she wanted to prove herself. "F-fine, I''ll show you." Hanna quickly started pressing the buttons in sequence before ir could say otherwise. Suddenly, from behind ir, the heat exhaust fans whirred to life. This took all three of them by surprise and Rachel slipped forward off the seat. Her hand reached out to stop herself from falling and it hit the middle leaver that controlled the Mechs loader bucket. The Mech jostled upward by the sudden leaver movements, shaking them all around. "Rachel! What did you do?" ir shouted. "It''s ok. I can fix it!" Hanna shouted out hurriedly grabbing the leaver to pull it back into the ce it was before. However, she panicked, and her right arm nudged the right leaver and caused the Mechs leg to suddenly start lifting to take a step backwards! "Hanna stop this thing from moving!" ir shouted as she was now hugging onto the back of the seat for dear life. Hanna was going to do just that, but now that she had her hands on the controls, it happened again. The strange connection of Mech knowledge flowed into her yet again. This time it felt even more lifelike, rather than simple solid knowledge. The feeling was motivating her to move the Mech around instead of just learning about it. The temptation was too great, she had to move it! Hanna grasped both leg leavers and steadied them for a second and stopped the Mechs backwards momentum. Then without thinking, she pressed slowly forward with the right leaver. The Mechs leg rotated forward smoothly to take a small step forward. The sound of electricity moving the moaning metal parts all around the cockpit, mixing with the heat exhaust fans, resounded deeply into Hanna''s mind. Yet not so noticeably to the other scared girls. The Mech once again jostled momentarily as Hanna steadied the Mech after making the step and finally stopped moving. Hanna let out a gasp and a hungry smile appeared on her exhrated tan face. She was piloting a Mech and she was loving everything that had just happened! "What''s going on!?" An angry male voice shouted from just outside the open cockpit door. "You girls are in so much trouble!" Hearing this, the girls knew they were in for it! Earlier, Lisa had been trying to keep Anna-Beth and Rosy from going closer to the Mech. She kept telling them that they were too little to climb thedder. However, they constantly voiced theirints and tried pleading even more. "Come on! It''s not fair that the big girls get to y up there. We are not that little!" Anna-Beth whined. "Ya, we have climbed big rocks and trees before. So thatdder will be easy! Let us go have a turn. We''ll be careful." Rosy added impatiently. "Sorry, but it''s not my rule. It''s Mr. Gillian''s Mech and he made the rule." Lisa replied. ncing angrily at Gillian, the two littlest girls gave disappointed pouty faces at him. "Let us go up there!" Rosy shouted. "Ya, stop being a meany!" Anna-Beth added right after. Gillian chuckled and stooped down on one knee. "Sorry, but the rule is for your safety. You might be able to climb it, but if you got hurt, I would be in a lot of trouble." "Just listen to him and Aunt Lisa already!" Jillian said crossly to the two little girls. She then pointed up at the Mech and continued. "Besides that, machine thingy, is unpredictable. Just look, the door to it is closing all by itself!" Everyone looked up together to see what exactly was going on. Sure enough, the Mech door was just then closing tightly. "What are they doing?" Gillian said jumping up. "I turned it off myself. Maybe they identally touched the switch." "Shouldn''t you go stop them?" Lisa asked. Lisa ced a firm hand on Rosy''s shoulder and stopped her from sneaking past her and towards the mech. "I need to watch these little ones." Just then the door started to reopen. "Yes, of course. I am going right now." Gillian replied striding quickly towards the Mech. He was just about to start climbing thedder when the familiar sound of the heat fansing on alerted him. "What? They turned it on!" Gillian started quickly climbing up thedder to get to the bottom of the situation, when suddenly the loader bucket shot upwards! The jerking motion nearly caused Gillian to slip and he tightened his grip. Seeing this Lisa immediately became worried. "Jillian! You and Tilly get the girls across the dam, now!" Jillian didn''t say a word but grabbed Rosy''s hand and pulled her towards the dam. Tilly followed Jillian and did the same with Anna-Beth. Now that the girls were moving to safety, Lisa sprinted towards the Mech. Just as she did the Mech started to take a step backwards. Seeing this, Lisa stopped, unsure how to proceed. "I have no idea how to deal with this thing!" Lisa shouted aloud to herself. She noted that Gillian was still clinging to thedder and hoped he could figure it out. Even with all her military training, saving the out-of-control futuristic Mech was more than she could handle for the moment handle. Taking it out wouldnt be an issue, yet all she could do now was watch. Just then the Mech stopped and immediately started to go forward. However, even though Lisa hadn''t much experience with such a Mech, she could recognize that it was walking! As the Mech took its first step, it immediately came to a halt and stood bnce and still. Gillian scrabbled to start climbing thedder again at this point and was shouting angrily. Seeing the Mech had stopped now, Lisa rushed to join Gillian on thedder. But rather than climb, Lisa jumped effortlessly up to grab the rung right below Gillians foot; nearly four meters high. The two of them finished climbing and stuck their heads inside the cockpit. However, before they could yell at the girls inside, Rachel was shouting out at them. "Hanna drove the Mech! Hanna was able to make the Mech walk! She''s like a real pilot!" Hearing this the two adults were as interested as they were angry. Looking carefully at Hanna, they saw the nervous, hungry smile disyed on her face and that her hands were still gripping the leavers. The way she was acting now was nothing like Lisa had seen the little girl be before, it was almost refreshing and exciting, though a bit concerning. "Ha-ha, I guess I did walk the Mech. My bad!" Hanna remarked gleefully. Chapter 130: Making a Path Chapter 130: Making a Path "What were you thinking?" Gillian yelled pacing vigorously in front of the three young girls sitting in a row on the ground outside of the powered off Mech. "You all could have done some real damage to the machine or worse, hurt yourselves or others! Why on God''s green earth did I think it was ok to leave three juvenile girls alone in a Mech cockpit!?" The rest of the ERM troop had surrounded them and were listening in carefully. The suddenness of the Mechs movements rmed them and made them curious too. Several of them had tried piloting the Mech before and knew that even taking a steady step was not easy, but a mere 14-year-old girl had done it by chance. "We are so sorry, Mr. Gillian! It was mostly an ident." ir pleaded. "We got carried away, but nothing bad really happened." "It''s partially my fault too. I dared Hanna to do it." Rachel replied as well. "That may be, but it was still dangerous. I am sure that Lisa will reprimand you all somehow for this." Gillian said stopping his pacing to look at Lisa. "Oh, I''ll think of something." Lisa replied giving a thoughtful nod. "What I really want to know is, Hanna, how did you figure out how to turn it on. Not only that, but how did you gain control of the Mechs movements?" All eyes turned to look at Hanna. Hanna instantly felt her face get hot and she looked down at the sandy tan ground beneath her. She bit her lip while trying to think of a reply. Once again, she was conflicted as to what to say. "Should I tell them of my visions or make something up? No, there is no way I can lie now. They all saw me." Hanna thought. "Hanna? You are going to have to say something." Lisa continued prodding. "I-I figured out how to control the Mech somehow." Hanna stuttered still looking at the ground trying to find the words. "I don''t really understand at all, but when I touch the Mechs controls I could suddenly see how the Mech worked and its functions. I didn''t want to say anything because it sounds so strange." "So, was that why you were acting weird?" ir remarked. Hanna nodded. "That''s also why my hands were all shaky. When all that knowledge hit me, it was so fast and too much to try and understand. Almost like pouring water out of a bucket and into my mouth while trying to catch it all. There was so much all at once. "What is this nonsense you are talking about? Seeing knowledge and understanding how to move aplex machine just by touching it? Ridiculous!" Gillian scoffed. "Come on tell us the truth. You were messing around and pressed some buttons and identally turned it on. Or you already knew somehow." "No, Mr. Gillian, I''m not lying! That''s what happened to me honestly!" Hanna replied looking up at him while trying to sound brave but looking at the big man getting angry was intimidating. I-I thought that since I touched the controls and learned about the Mech that that''s how pilots learned. Like you." "No, we all learned through manuals and training. Just like any other person. No one learns just by touching something alone." Gillian retorted. "Is there any way you can prove this?" Lisa asked. "I have to agree with Gillian. No one learns through simply touching something. However, Ive seen stranger things." Hanna felt her heart sink. She had already tried getting Rachel and ir to do the same things as her. However, they didn''t experience the same phenomenon as she herself did. There really wasn''t any way for her to prove it. Also, her mind was turning nk and even if she wanted to try lying, she couldn''t. Then an odd set of words popped into her mind and her instincts told her that they were the right things to say. "Can you exin to me why an Electro-transfusion Reactor Core and a Hyperlink Converter connect together to be able to produce the energy to power a simple Mech frame without overloading the system?" Hanna asked with a straight face. "I don''t understand the whole concept, even though I know where those parts are in that Mech and how they move in a right interchange to better conserve energy." Everyone was silent. ir and Rachel sat still with their mouths open starring at Hanna. They had never heard such wordse out of her mouth before. Much less in real life. Lisa didn''t know what those parts were, other than in a past debriefing after her awakening from cryogenic sleep; that they were essential to a Mech and robots power systems. It struck her as extremely odd the Hanna would know those words. Gillian crossed his arms and looked down at the little girl. "You could have read that before. It''s written in my manual that describes the Mech. Tell me where those parts are at." "Under the cockpit on the left chest portion, designated to be just like a humans heart, is where the Electro-transfusion Reactor Core is. Along with the Hyperlink Converter both are located under the casing that separates them from the gears that control the chestndscape rotation and the legs 360 Degree Motion Motors." Hanna replied sincerely right away. "Interesting" Gillian mumbled as his angry expression faded. "The hydraulic line that I worked on, is it fixed?" "Yes, the oil pressure has stabilized back to the desired 28 to 32 psi range." Hanna replied nodding. However, Gillian didn''t give a reply, and Hanna started to feel even more nervous. "W-was that right?" "Come with me. I want to see this with my own eyes." Gillian said motioning for her to get up and follow him. "You too Lisa. I want to know for sure what''s going on." "Alright. I do find this incident to be remarkably interesting." Lisa replied looking at Hanna sharply. "Girls, go join the others and wait in the tree''s shade." "O-ok." ir stuttered. She was still unable to believe what she had witnessed Hanna saying. Never in her life had Hanna ever talked about such things, nor did she herself ever read about those Mech parts. Hanna was a smart girl, but not that kind of nerdy smart. Most of all, the look in Hanna''s dull green eyes had changed once again. No longer were they filled with the sadness of her parents death or inklings of revenge. Nor did they return to the timid, happy, and yful eyes from before their murders. Now they had hints of desire, knowledge, and adventure wandering in her lively eyes. Her friend was now changing again into someone she didnt recognize. For the time being ir would have to be patient and speak with Hannater to know more. There was no way her best friend was hiding such a big secret from her. So, she just had to wait find out! In no time ir and Rachel quickly joined Jillian and the others in the shade to wait and they tried their best to exin what happened to Hanna. Gillian marched towards the Mech with Hanna following closely behind. The Mech hade to a stop out in the open area between the dam and wooded area. It was still facing the dam, as were the other two ck and yellow striped Mechs. Lisa was watching Hanna carefully from behind as she followed. Lisa carefully thought to herself along the way. "First she asked me where Tharsis was. Then the normally reserved girl asked to climb into a Mech she has never seen before. Only to somehow manage to get it turned on by herself, moves it, and ims to understand the entire Mech by touch alone? There has to be something go on." Then Lisas thoughts wandered back to the murder of Hannas parents and the strange valuable locket with her parents picture inside. "Very strange. Now it seems like that maybe her parents were not randomly killed by gangsters for money from the AFR. If what Hanna says is true, maybe her parents were connected to something much deeper. Eh, perhaps not. I do like to create conspiracy theories for no reason. The AFR were apparently after the Dams ns and Mr. Marshal just happened to know of them. I''ll just keep this to myself for the time being. Hanna has enough to think about for now." Though it was just her own fantasy''s running wild, Lisa could not help but wonder if her conspiracy might be true. Stranger things had also happened in her own time that she couldn''t exin during battles, like a sudden inspiration about how to take on an impossible task or an idiot creating a smart n that tacticians overlooked. So perhaps this was one of those cases manifesting in Hanna. "We are going to see how well you can perform driving the Mech." Gillian announced as he started climbing the Mechsdder. "If you truly know how this Mech works, then showing me how will convince me." "I-I can try." Hanna replied turning around at the foot of thedder to nce at Lisa. "Go right ahead. I''ll be with you." Lisa replied giving a calming smile. Hanna nodded sheepishly and then followed Gillian up thedder. There wasn''t any room for Lisa to fit inside the cockpit with the other two. So, she ended up hanging on tightly to the rungs outside of the doorway. However, she could see mostly everything that was going on inside. "Go ahead, turn on the Mech." Gillian said to Hanna now sitting in the chair. "Ok." Hanna replied reaching out to start pressing the middle buttons in the correct startup sequence and immediately got the heat exhaust fans running. If Gillian was surprised, he didn''t show it. "Alright, now take hold of the controls and rotate the Mech so we are facing the woods." Hanna nodded, but before grabbing the control leavers she hesitated as worry crept in. "What if the flow of knowledge doesn''te or something else happens?" However, she shook her head as if clearing her mind and grabbed the Mechs leg control leavers. The strange flow of knowledge appeared and her connection with the Mech returned! Hanna finally knew that she wasn''t imagining it for sure. The feeling of wanting to move increased so much that her nervousness disappeared, and that same hungry smile appeared on her face. Carefully Hanna pushed forward on the right leaver, while pulling back slightly on the left leaver. This caused the left leg to stay rooted in ce while the right moved forward. In the seconds that followed the Mech started to pivot and rotate slowly to face the woods. "Now, see the area we came through before?" Gillian asked pointing through the open cockpit door. "Go into that path and pick up a fallen tree in the loader bucket and move it out of the path." "Understood." Hanna replied. Her nervous voice was gone, and an eager sounding voice seemed to be taking over. Lisa was already impressed by little Hanna. After being with Hanna for well over a month or two, seeing this sudden and exciting change was amazing. Hanna no longer looked like the lonely, sad kid from before. If things kept going on like this Hanna''s future might end up a bright one. Hanna felt amazing! With every motion of the Mech it felt as if they were projected as her own. The power of the Mech coursed within her and she knew that the Mech was enjoying the sensation of doing what it was created to do: Work. Arriving at the shoddy, broken tree littered pathway, Hanna stopped and leaned the Mech forward. Being short and sitting down in the seat, little Hanna couldn''t see the ground where the trees might be. So, leaning the Mech forward to peer through the doorway was the only way to do so. Finding a good-sized evergreen tree, Hanna stood the Mech back upright and grabbed the third leaver. Then, as if she had done so a thousand times before, Hanna guided the loader bucket under the evergreen trees trunk, closer to the root ball for bnce. Then scooping up the tree and little of the ground underneath, Hanna cradled the tree in the bucket. Puffs of tan dirt and dust cascaded off the root ball and back onto the ground as Hanna rotated the Mech, the same way as before, to face the woods. Then lowering the loader bucket, the tree slowly tumbled out of it and thudded heavily onto the sandy ground. "There I did it. Now what?" Hanna asked looking up at Gillian. Gillian let out a sigh and broke out into a big grin. "What''s next? Well Lisa, I know her punishment now. She is going to work for me as a Mech Pilot and help build the pathway!" Lisa was taken aback by his revtion. "What? No, Hanna is not going to do that." Hanna looked at Lisa with her dull green eyes filled with anticipation. "Please? I feel like I was born to sit in this seat!" Lisa finally let out a sigh seeing her enthusiasm and nodded. "Fine. I''ll work things out with the Weathers." Then thinking about her silly conspiracy Lisa thought to herself. "Perhaps you were born for this?" Chapter 131: On the Move Chapter 131: On the Move Assistant Officer Caswell felt like he had made the correct choice. After Queen had gone into the eastern part of town and only appeared to have been meeting with the locals; he felt relieved that he didn''t involve Special Officer Hawkins after all. Even on the next day when Lisa appeared to be leaving the town with a few others, Caswell didn''t immediately report it as a concern either. Both days he only submitted a daily report to Hawkins mentioning her movements as non-threatening and nominal. At the time Special Officer Hawkins was still preparing for the mission to track 56. When he read the reports, Hawkins dismissed them. From what he understood of that town was that even though the militia had beaten away the gang in that area, they were still nothing more than a useless rabble. Mere desert bound folk that couldn''t threaten anyone, especially not the AFR military forces. There was one thing that did catch Caswell by surprise. The Mechs that originally were stored away, by the militia, were now marching out of the town, eastward, and he had no idea as to why. The Osprey drone watched their movements over the course of the day, from just below a single wispy cloud floating above the town. It wasn''t until the Mechs andpany turned back towards the town, but now on the topside of the cliff, that Caswell figured out a likely reason. Caswell was watching from over the shoulder of the Osprey drone''s pilot as the Mechs were seen on screen, now powering up at the dam. They could see Queen messing around with some children that they noticed hanging around her from time to time. While everyone else by the Mechs were justying around, doing nothing. It was a rather boring experience and Caswell decided to start up a conversation. "I believe I know the situation for the Mechs deployment." Caswell said to the Osprey''s drone pilot. "Queen has been upying the dam and as we know the dam is hydroelectric. Queen must have gotten it running and offered her services to the militia to power the Mechs. Likely she met up with one of their members or heard of them someway. As to what they intend to do with those Mechs, I don''t know just yet. Doubt it is anything special. These nobodies can''t do anything anyway." "Perhaps they intend to try and take over the rest of town?" The Osprey Pilot replied slightly tapping the controls to the drone with one hand to correct its course. Flying this particr drone was not at all difficult and he could afford to bex. "Not likely." Caswell replied tapping his chin. "Even with those big machines on their side there is now way to get them to cross over the river. I suspect that the dam is incapable of being able to support their weight. Even if they could cross over, the Mad Dogs gang out gun and out man the militia six to one. We will only need to wait and find out to make a better guess." "I see. Well, if you''re right, nothing we could do about it anyway. The Special Officer is gone, and those of us left here at the base are not much more than a skeleton force." The Osprey pilot replied. "Hey, at least this outpost is nice and quiet. Imagine being stationed on the Texas Coalition boarder or the northern military advancement line, trying to take over Calgary and Vancouver in former Canada." Caswell said with a grin. "That would definitely not be a nice little pic. I''d rather be out here anyway. The desert might be hot, but it''s a nice dry heat." "Eh, I like the cold better. I miss growing up in Maine. I''d take snow over sand any day." The Pilot replied shaking his head. Just then something unexpected happened on the video feed. It appeared that one of the Mechs had suddenly gone out of control and was iling around oddly. "What is going on?" The Pilot called out and he sat up to take up the controls with both hands. Caswell grabbed onto the back of the seat as he leaned forward to get a better view of the situation. The Mech shuddered for a moment then took one lumbering step forward beforeing to a stop. They could see a man clinging to thedder of the Mech and shaking his hand angrily up at the cockpit. Momentster, three children came climbing down from within the Mech. "Well, that was interesting. It looked like those bumpkins let some kids mess around with the Mech." The Pilot chuckled seeing that the issue was resolved. "Completely ridiculous. There is no way that could ever happen in a proper military. Like I said before, they are nobodies." Caswell replied with a sigh. "Just for the hell of it, zoom in on those kids. I wonder how old they are." The Pilot tapped a fewmands on the screen and the video footage zoomed in on the three girls being reprimanded by Gillian at the moment. They looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. "They really are just kids." The Pilot remarked. "I guess so. Well let''s get back to watching over" Caswell started to say, but something caught his eye. One of the girls appeared to have gotten up and had started following the man. Additionally, Queen was going with them and all were headed back for the Mech. What caught his attention most of all was the girls appearance. She looked kind of familiar. After looking at her for a few moments Caswell remembered that girl was on the list of people that were to have been killed by the gangsters. Along with collecting the data of the dam, the family that knew the information was to have been eliminated ording to themands they were issued. He didn''t know why they had to be killed, but the fact that she was alive might be important. The missions details from back then werecking in the report they submitted but it passed anyway, and he hadnt given it much thought until now. "Get a picture of that girls face. I think that Special Officer Hawkins needs to know about her. She''s not supposed to be alive and I hope that she won''t be a problem." Caswell ordered. Special Officer Hawkins was watching the battle rage outside of the city continue to unfold on screen. The Moab City defense and Hunters nsmen were doing well in this fight. Not a single tower hade close to being breached and thousands of Twisted monsters had been in. However, it was still far from over. "Wouldn''t it be something if a Twisted took out 56 for us. It would save us a lot of trouble and work." A soldier said to another soldier across the room from Hawkins. Hawkins overheard them and decided to let it pass. He kind of felt the same way. Though he was still extremely excited to be included into the secretive Operation Chess mission, he remained attentive to watching this battle. His mind multitasked to think of the variety of missions that he would possibly be put on was limitless! His career was sure to have a positive turn. 56 and the other Hunters with him were returning to the battle after a brief break when another soldier approached the Special Officer from the back of the room. "Sir, you have a message from home base. It''s from the Assistant Officer,beled important." The soldier said quietly, as if to not alert anyone. "Let''s see it then." Hawkins replied turning towards the soldiers workstation. The two went back to the work area and the soldier pulled up the notification. Hawkins scanned the message quickly and looked carefully at the attachment image. His brow furrowed deeply seeing the little girl on screen. Thinking to himself Hawkins felt disappointed in himself. "This is not good. It seems that a little error has appeared." "Add this image and report, to my inbox. I need to re-evaluate itter." Hawkins order the soldier. "Yes Sir." The soldier replied promptly clicking on the information. Hawkins then slowly turned around in thought as he headed back to monitor 56. "That girl should be dead. In that mission prior to Queens interference, there were three additional targets added onto the data collection mission. She was undoubtedly one of them. Not too sure why they had to be killed, but they all werebeled as a requirement for the mission. Did the Mad Dogs leader lie to me and let the girl live?" Just then another soldier called out from the right side of the room to him. "Sir, you have a calling from the Moab City Mayors Office!" "Answer it and give it to me." Hawkins replied turning to quickly walk towards the soldier and phone. Taking it, he then carried the mobile phone into the mostly empty and quieter hallway. "Hello, this is Special Officer Hawkins replying. What can I do for you?" "Ah, Special Officer. d we can finally speak to you. I am Mayor Cameron Bakersfield. I was notified that you were now the one in charge of your countrys temporary operations in my city. Is this correct?" Mayor Bakersfield replied with a friendly tone. "Yes, this is correct. I am indeed running the operation here. What can I do for you sir?" Hawkins replied. He took a nce at the two guards guarding the operations room and turned to walk away from them and further down the hall. In the meantime, the mayor continued the conversation. "I am just calling to inform you that we are going to be deploying our means of repelling the Horde Mother and that any forces you might have in the area will be needing to pull back. There is no need for us to cause any idental injuries to your country''s forces." "I appreciate the warning, but we have no living forces deployed in the City at this time. So, no need to worry about that." Hawkins replied. "May I ask though, why tell me that you''re going to be attacking?" "Two reasons. One, that no international incident may ur. The second is that your country might see that, though we are an independent city state, we are more than capable of protecting ourselves from any powerful force." Mayor Bakersfield said calmly in reply. "I trust that you will be giving a good report to your superior on how we conducted ourselves against the Twisted and that the same means can be done again." Hawkins smiled; he knew this game. In the face of a stronger and more numerous opponents, it was a smart move to have shown disys of force to deter arger country or power from attacking a smaller one. If the n to take out the Horde Mother worked it could definitely end up used against the AFR, if they ever tried to invade Moab. "That is good to know." Hawkins replied immediately. "I will be sure to do that." "Excellent. Thank you for epting my call. I am sure we will speak again. Good day." Mayor Bakersfield said and then he ended the call. "Well, looks like I''ll have to deal with that girlter. Things are getting interesting and she can wait." Hawkins said to himself and turned to return back to the operations room. "I will be sure to ensure that you, little girl, will not be another blotch on my personal record and to return you with your family soon. The same goes for you, Queen. I am going to get you soon without a doubt!" Chapter 132: Assistant Chapter 132: Assistant Olivia Green was not at all happy with her new assignment. For years she worked for the River to Gulf Shipping Co. all the way from the lowest dock worker, to be a crew chief and then painstakingly proved herself to be capable of being an Assistant North Regional Tradesman. There were only eight other Assistants in the entirepany, and she was only one of two women. The only positions higher than hers now were four Head Tradesman, thirty-two Board of Tradesmen positions and the sole owner, Mr. Cline. If this order had note from Mr. Cline himself, she would have argued fervently. To travel and trade anywhere north of Moab City, by boat, was considered to be an entirely useless endeavor. There was nothing out here but empty towns and a dead end in the desert at the foot of a dam. In most of thepanys opinion and her own, only desperate traders and vagabonds traveled out here. Now Olivia was going exactly to the ce she never would have bothered to be. The town at that dead end dam. After leaving the Moab City docks with four small t-bottomed barges and a collective crew of ten river sailors, the trip went by rather quickly. Not even a day and a half of boat travel had gone bye, by the time she caught sight of the ruined tall downtown buildings of this wayward ce poking above the Colorado rivers steep cliffs. After rounding the rivers next bend and going down a long umonly seen straight portion of the river, she saw it. That stupid dam. "Get ready to dock. We are going to be pulling in on the port side. Just past the wreaked bridge." Olivia shouted to the crew on deck, before rying the same message over the radio to the other three vessels. "This is one big crap hole we got sent to. Right Herman?" "Yes Captain. I''ve seen cigarette trays better looking." Herman, a tall redneck looking man, replied. His American southern ent was even stronger than usual when he was making a joke. "We are just here to get scrap metal, or are we hauling off the whole dang rusty town?" "I wish." Olivia replied with a snorted of disgust. "We are just going to make contact with some local militia types, get the metal and pay them so we can get out of here. This ce has no other value." "Couldn''t agree more captain." Herman replied topping his raggedy truckers hat to wipe away at some sweat. The four boats drifted slowly up alongside the ragged looking wooden docks. The boats fresh ck paint and pretty white lettering appearedpletely out of ce next to the splintering, sunbeaten docks. Olivia stepped off the barge with a huff and grumbled inaudibly under her breath as she could feel the timbers sinking slightly under her weight. "Can this dock evenst another day? I already hate this ce even more." Olivia muttered as she watched as three men with green arm bands approached the docking boats. Olivia assumed that they were the ones she was supposed to meet with. "Hello there. You must be the Assistant from River to Gulf Shipping Co. So very happy to be working with you." The young man at the center of the three said giving a warm wee. "My name is Nathan Dees; I am the Mayor and leader of the East River Militia." "I bet you are." Olivia thought inwardly. Then she broke out into a bright white smile, which was a stark contrastpared to her very dark skinplexion. "Hello there, Mayor Dees. I am so d to do business with you. So, let us not waste any time and get this job underway." Olivia was a trader by heart. No matter what the situation or mood, she could always perform well and get the job done. "That''s simply fine with me. Please right this way. We have three piles already gathered and ready to be loaded." Nathan said gesturing in the general direction. Olivia joined the three men as they walked around a pile of old pallets and crates. In the meantime, Herman and the rest of the crew were busy securing the boats and preparing to make way for the loading process. A few curious locals were already starting to gather to view the new arrivals. "Before we get started let me introduce these two with me." Nathan said to Olivia. "The big guy is Anthony, my assistant. The other is our Vice Mayor, Mr. nagan." "Its a pleasure to have you." Mr. nagan said extending a hand out to her. While Anthony only gave a timid wave with his massive palm. Olivia shook Mr. nagan''s hand. "Thanks." Rounding the old and rotting objects on the dock, the four of them came into view of the piles of metal. Olivia was taken aback by the sights she now witnessed. Dozens of people were still slowly working as they dragged, carted, or carried more metal objects towards the three piles. Their appearance was woefully bad. Most of the men were unshaven, bone thin in appearance and many had nk, lifeless expressions as they worked. The women were in no better condition either, with messy hair, dirty skin and equally dull expressions as the men had. Olivia noted that many of them wore nearly no makeup or bright clothes, adding to the deprivation of this town. It was clear that this town was still badly suffering from the apocalypses of the past. Not only the condition of the people baffled her but the piles of metal themselves. Olivia had expected that there would only be enough metal to fill up the boats once and maybe only send one more back if any remained. But her assumption waspletely wrong. By what she could now see it was going to take her and crew at least ten or more trips for all four boats to carry everything away! Yet the people were still bringing more. "How desperate are these people? To continue working in such a terrible state. Why won''t they just move and be rid of this horrible ce?" Olivia thought to herself. Though she already knew the answer. There was nowhere they could even go. With no money, jobs, or connections; moving to a bigger city would hardly change their living conditions. Even in Moab City many refugees and poor folk still permeated the lower streets and infested the slums. "Impressive work gentlemen." Olivia remarked pointing at the metal piles, instead of giving her true thoughts. "I can see why my boss agreed to purchase these metals. There is quite a substantial amount." Olivia lifted up her left wrist to tap on a small sleek ck and silver device strapped to it. When she did a holographic screen appeared from the device and with a rapid sequence of finger taps, she pulled up the deal discussed between Mrs. Smithy and Mr. Cline. Nathan was intrigued seeing such a futuristic device. Being in this electronic free town all his life, Nathan couldn''t help but marvel at the sight of such devices when outsiders brought one in. From the ease and speed the device pulled up the contract, he wished he had something like it to help him with his paperwork. Olivia rotated her arm so that Nathan and the others could view what was being disyed. "As you can see here, this is the price River to Gulf Shipping Co., or RGS, is willing and agreed on to pay. In my opinion this is indeed a very standard payout for scrapping." Mr. nagan unfolded a letter from his jacket and nced over it quickly. The letter was the written deal that was discussed at Mrs. Smithy''s meeting with the rich men and saw that the prices were indeed the same. Satisfied he put it away and nodded to Nathan. "Very good. I see that the deal is agreeable for both sides after all. Now we can move on with loading the metal and discussing how the payments are to be made." Nathan said quickly tearing his eyes off the fancy wrist device to look at Olivia. "I assume that chip transfer is out of the question?" Olivia said ncing around the area. "There seem to be nowhere that has Wi-Fi or inte ess here." "Yes, I am afraid this is the case. At the moment we don''t have electricity, much less inte. However, cash or a trade for items to be brought back here are also just as good." Nathan replied. "You see there are items such as food, medicine and other essentials that we wish to purchase from RGS to bring here to us. After you take the metal, rather than giving us money, we give you a list of things we wish to buy and deduct it from what you owe for the metal." "Yes, Mr. Cline mentioned that this was a possible method. I am most willing to do this. Actually, this won''t be the first time Ive used this method. Though not on this scale." Olivia said thoughtfully. "Who came up with this idea, might I ask? Was it another merchant trading around here?" "Umm, in a sense." Nathan replied. "A woman name Lisa came to us and your boss, Mr. Cline and some others, and offered some rather lucrative business deals. This metal trade deal was actually thanks to Lisa and wouldn''t be possible without her. Not only that, but she is also going to be the person repairing the dam to produce electricity!" "Really?" Olivia replied raising an eyebrow. She then eyed the dam skeptically. "That old thing is actually capable of something like that? What does she n on doing with the electricity?" "For now, to get the town running." Nathan replied. "Lisa also mentioned that other investors would be very interested in opening up businesses around here once the electricity is running. ording to Lisa and our Treasurer, Mrs. Smithy, we can offer cheaperbor than other areas for the potential investors to open up business here." "Very interesting. I would like to meet this Lisa. She sounds like she is very capable. Using both electricity and connections to some rich merchants to get this town to be productive." Said Olivia tapping her chin. "But I need to focus on the now. How are we going to load these piles of metal? I don''t see any kind of work vehicles around or cars for that matter." "Well, um, we are going to have to do it all by hand." Nathan replied reluctantly. "Like I said, we have no electricity." "What?! Are you serious, by hand!" Olivia said suppressing a shout. She nearly lost herposure and revealed her normally hostile attitude. "That''s going to take forever. My crew will not be happy about this." "I understand, but there is nothing else we can do." Nathan said shrugging. "We will just have to do it the hard way. Our townspeople are very hardy, and it won''t take too long, I hope." "It better not!" Olivia thought. Just then a fly buzzed by her face to dance on her lips before nearly going into her mouth! Sputtering at this unpleasant encounter she continued to fume inwardly. "This ce just keeps getting worse in my opinion. I can''t wait to leave this crap hole!" Chapter 133: Helping Chapter 133: Helping Lisa was feeling a bit guilty after agreeing to Hannas plea. Hanna wanted to work with Gillian inside the Mech quite badly and yet it was her own responsibility to keep Hanna safe. She couldnt help but think of what John and Mary going to say about all this? They were undoubtedly going to try and refuse; after all, Hanna is still an underaged young teen. However, now was not the time to dwell on these thoughts. She was now in the middle of sparring with Zane. Zane had been shing and jabbing at her countless times with his Tigger ws and each time been repelled by the absent-minded Lisa. The two of them had been going at it, outside in the Powerhouse buildings afternoon shade, for nearly twenty minutes. Everyone, except for Hanna and Mr. Yates, were watching the two spar. Hanna and Mr. Yates were having a more in-depth discussion as to what really might have happened with the strange connection Hanna experienced and what Hanna actually understood about the Mech. Lisa wished she could be listening in on the two of them, but Zane needed equal attention. As the spar continued, Lisa could easily tell that Zane still needed extensive training. His strikes were slow, directionally sloppy and his movements were often wasted; expending extra energy that could be used to fuel additional attacks or deal with counters. Since Zane was fully human, Lisa understood that he needed to learn the importance of energy conservation and that he needed to clearly work on his stamina. Zane felt nervous and awkward the whole time they sparred. He had seen how Lisa had fought before and knew that if she wanted to, Lisa could take him out in one swing. Lisa''s speed was far greater than his own, even after removing those annoyingly heavy training weights Sadie made him put on. He tried keeping his distance and threw out wide shes and asionally used an upper cut. However, from all the training he had undergone with Sadie, even he could tell that his movements were sluggish byparison. "Come on Zane. You have hardly made me take any steps backwards to avoid your attacks." Lisa jeered while effortlessly knocking Zane''s right jab away from her. Zane stumbled forward as the expected impact of his attack was not felt hitting her properly and being mixed with him being tired, added even more stumbling. Seeing his bent form and exposed back, Lisa pushed down on it with her free hand and pushed him t to the ground at her feet. Lisa let out a sigh and shook her head. "Take a break. Unlike your opponents, they will not let you rest. You need to work on attacking me seriously or you won''t be able to when the timees." Zaneplied and stayedying on the cool cracked asphalt for the time being. "What is with these women around here?" Zane thought as he tried to catch his breath. "I thought it was just Sadie that was the devil, but Lisa is just as bad! The intensity of her skills and power is even more terrifying up close." "Here Zane, I got some water for you." Sadie saiding towards him with a cup of water. Zane grunted as he sat up onto his knees to gratefully take the water. "From what I saw, you are definitely going to need more work." Sadie continued speaking while watching Zane drink. "We can work on getting your stance and footwork properly adjusted. Since you are using Tiger ws, your attacks should more closely resemble boxing mixed with arcing strikes and shes. So far you have only been merely iling around and asionally making a proper strike, though not at the best of moments." "That''s why I can block and dodge you so easily." Lisa added listening in. "Your actions are too wide and slow. Which leaves you open for counters and faster, more direct, attacks from your opponent." "Exactly." Sadie said nodding with agreement. "Your stamina and strength wille in time, but your stances need to be fixed now. I have some videos saved on my tabloid that maybe can be of use. I''ll show them to youter and we can work from there. Until then rest." "Alright." Zane said putting the now empty cup down from his wet lips. Brushing back his dark brown hair off his brow, Zane got up to follow Sadie and Lisa back towards the building. Those that were watching started to disperse or talk among themselves. "Lisa, what are we going to do about food? There is almost nothing left to eat. Everything we brought and you already had, is gone." Wayne said leaving the others anding her way. Following behind him was Eva, who was mostly recovered from the climbing injury and only had a faded bruise now. "Did you check all the traps that were set in the woods?" Lisa asked stopping to speak to them. "Yes, and only one had a rabbit in it. I think the area has already been hunted too much. We either need to go farther upriver to set traps or find a new way to collect food." Wayne continued. "It''s too bad we can''t go to the market or docks and buy food. With nothing to trade with it just won''t be possible." Eva added. "Not entirely true just yet." Lisa replied smugly. "All the rabbit and squirrel pelts Ive saved up until now can be traded for food. Perhaps enough food for a few days. However, in the meantime let''s try finding another means of getting food. I suggest fishing theke or some area of the river." "Fishing?" Wayne replied scratching his head. "Isn''t that going to be hard to do? If we could fish the river the ERM wouldn''t need to be so pressed for food. It''s just that there are no fishing gear ors that we can use any more." "For now, yes. But I might know where to look." Lisa said pointing south. "Outside the southern gate there are plenty of storage units that look to be almost entirely un-looted. There has got to be items in there we can use to fish with or maybe trade for fishing gear." "Really? The storage units here are untouched?" Eva remarked. "On our side of the river there probably isn''t a single door in town that has been broken, picked or opened." "I guess the people here aren''t that desperate." Lisa said giving a shrug. "In any case, let this be your teams next priority. After the Mechs and crew are settled in on the other side, then we can go search the units." "Sounds good boss." Wayne replied. "Until then, Eva, get the pelts ready to carry. We will go to the market tomorrow and find a trader." Lisa said turning to leave. "Wayne, let''s get the other guys ready to finish up cleaning the area up and clear out some of the junk in the Powerhouse building." "On it." The two replied and hurried off to do their tasks. Lisa then turned her attention to the six girls still chatting about all that had gone on today. A lot had happened, and a lot of questions had been made, rather than answered. Lisa approached them and sheathed her foldable dull ck de once again and ced it back on to the maic belt on her waist. Seeing Lisaing to join them ir was the first to approach. "Lisa, can you exin exactly what''s going on with Hanna? We tried asking her more about it, but Hanna doesn''t seem to know either. I tried listening to Mr. Yates and Hanna conversation, but the words they are using arepletely unknown to me." ir asked with her voice filled with concern. Hearing ir ask this the other girls all quieted down to hear Lisa''s reply. Taking a quick nce past the girls Lisa could still see Hanna chatting with a very excited Mr. Yates. Lisa cleared her throat and tried to give a proper reply. "Well, my guess is that Hanna found a way to learn from that Mech and for some reason Hanna knows how that big machine works now. I never heard of something exactly like that ever happening before. However, there are some amazing people out there in the world that have some crazy and odd talents. Perhaps Hanna is one of those special people." Lisa could still see the doubt and confusing look on ir''s face. "Don''t worry about her too much, she''s a strong girl." Lisa continued. "Instead of worrying, you should feel excited for her! These past few weeks have been hard on her and now something strange happened that turned out to be a good thing for Hanna, and so now is a turning point. Look, Hanna is smiling and acting like she has found something new she likes. Perhaps you all should try supporting her and try doing your best to learn about what Hanna is going through. You all are her friends, right?" ir looked back at Hanna and thought for a moment. She saw Hanna grinning as she appeared to be exining something to Mr. Yates. Inwardly she felt kind of guilty for not wanting to help Hanna as her friend in the first ce. "You know what, you are right! I should help her." ir finally said. "Ya, after seeing her drive that Mech, it kinda of made me want to learn to drive one too. I can''t let Hanna have all the fun!" Rachel added. "I should try to learn about those technical things she knows too." ir said sounding more confident. "After all, I do like learning new things from books and I think they mentioned a manual that has all those things. I want to learn more too!" "I want to help Hanna too!" Rosy shouted. "Me too!" Anna-Beth added jumping around. The other two girls, Jillian and Tilly, didn''t say anything, but their facial expressions said that they wanted too as well. "That''s great to hear!" Lisa replied giving a grin. "First, we need find out if your parents will even allow you all to do this. I can even guess that they don''t even know you are here. I also now must vouch for Hanna for the Weathers to let here and work on the Mech. If she can''t do it than all of you definitely can''t help her properly either. However, before all that, I need to make sure that you all get home safely before dark. Wouldn''t want there to be more scary gangsters waiting around outside to cause you trouble." The girls calmed down hearing about their parents and the gangsters. It seemed to them that helping Hanna out might possibly end up being kind of difficult. Especially if their parents said no. "Don''t worry Lisa. I''lle and help ask them to let Hannae." ir replied. "Your right though. We do need to get home soon. Come on girls let''s get ready to go." Chapter 134: Convinced Chapter 134: Convinced That evening Lisa took all the girls back across town to their homes. Fortunately, nothing troubled them along the way, and they arrived at their homes in a timely manner, which didn''t cause any parents to worry. In fact, some of the children normally often arrived home before their parents did. By the time they arrived back at Hanna''s cal-de-sac, only ir remained with them. ir had been mostly silent the entire time. She had been trying toe up with a way to speak with Hanna about what to do next. Hanna had been speaking with Lisa mostly and ir couldn''t find a good moment to ask. She simply listened as the two talked about the knowledge of the Mech, how Hanna felt having this new knowledge and how to convince John and Mary to let her work on the Mech. The three of them approached Richard and Joan''s house. From the road, in the dimming evening light, they could see the glow of the fire inside the garage. The sounds of conversation were also a giveaway that everyone living in the cal-de-sac was getting ready for their group dinner. "Hey, there she is!" Mary called out as Hanna entered the garage. Following right behind her came Lisa and ir. "Oh, you brought Lisa and a friend too. Well, isn''t this a delightful surprise. Come on in!" "What brings you back here? Don''t tell me there was another Twisted sighting." John called out as the threete arrivals sat down with them. "No, thankfully not this time." Lisa replied. "However, something odd did happen. Now this is going to be hard to exin and it is going to take a while, so go ahead and start eating. Hanna and I have something important to tell you." Over the next half hour, Lisa exined the events that took ce with the East River Militia and the incident with Hanna and the Mech. There were times she would stop and ask Hanna to exin certain parts in her own words and experience. Time to time one of the adults would pose a question, but other than that, they listened carefully. "So that brings us to ourst question." Lisa said taking a big sigh, now that the story wasing to a close. "Garret wants Hanna to be a Pilot for the Mech and help build the pathway connecting the two sides of town." "Please can I?" Hanna added. There was a moment of silence as the adults took in all this new information. Of course, it sounded made up and ludicrous buting from these normally serious women it seemed rather legitimate. By now the sun had long ago fallen off the edge of the horizon and the dwindling twilight outside added to the anxiety of everyone waiting or the Weathers reply. In the end it was John that ended the silence. "No." John stated firmly. "Hanna, you are two young to be out there with strangers. Much less operating arge piece of machinery." "But I want to!" Hanna replied, she could feel her heart sinking slightly. "I have never felt that kind of freeing feeling before. It''s like the more I do it, the more I understand." "That doesn''t matter. You are probably just imagining all of those feelings." John replied un-swayed. "Even if you did in fact drive and operate the Mech, I think that you just got lucky and think you understand it." "I didn''t get lucky!" Hanna replied showing a rare angry moment. "What I felt and know is real!" John shook his head and looked towards Lisa with a cross expression. "Why are you encouraging her? You ought to know better than to add to this foolery. We have no idea who these people really are or what their true intentions are. Yet you want little Hanna to work with these people?" "Well, I understand your concern. I too was against the idea at first. If it wasn''t for me actually seeing her move and operate the Mech myself, I would have said the same thing." Lisa replied. "As for the ERM, they seem trustworthy for now." "You might trust them, but I cant. I wont change my mind and I still don''t want her to do this. I won''t let her be in potential danger." John said giving a shrug. "But Mr. John I" Hanna started to say but was immediately cut off. "I said no and that''s final!" John shouted. Hanna closed her mouth as his furious yell stopped her words immediately, then the tears started to show. Until this moment, John had always been rather mild when dealing with Hanna. Especially considering that her parents had died not long before, but it now seemed that the time hade to an end. He had started acting like her true guardian. Mary would asionally vouch for Hanna''s behalf, but not this time. Mary apparently was paying close attention to stirring the pot still sitting on the mes. With the room returning into an awkward silence, and it was now that ir feltpelled to speak. At first, she was nervous, but the more she spoke the boulder she became. "Um, excuse me? I-I know that you all don''t really know me, but I know Hanna. We have been friends forever and I can say for a fact that she has changed." John nced disapprovingly at ir but said nothing. The rest of the room was also watching her now. The nervousness inside ir grew, but she suppressed it and pressed on. "H-Hanna was always the quiet gentle type. She wouldn''t meanly argue or talk bad about anyone, no matter what they did. Then her parents died. That is when I first saw her change in a major way. The looks she gave me were so full of pain and anger, something I never dreamed she could express. I didn''t know what to do or say. When she wanted to go to the gangsters ce, I thought she was going to get herself into trouble, but things worked out." ir paused, but no one interrupted. Taking a shaky breath ir continued. "Then this whole Mech thing happened. When she first got in the Mech, I knew that something was different. It wasn''t until I saw the look in her eyes had changed again when she finished Mr. Gillians test and Mr. Yates confirmed her knowledge was legitimate. They no longer looked sad, but like they wanted more! Like there was a chance at life beyond the death of Mr. and Mrs. Marshal. I think you should let her do it." When ir finished Johns face appeared unmoved, though silent. Hanna however, jumped up from her seat and hugged ir tightly. "I had no idea you were watching me that much. Thank you!" Hanna whispered. Then she turned to John once again. "Please Mr. John, I never asked you for much, but this is something I feel is right. Almost as if this strange feeling is something I was meant to have. As if I was born to be in a Mechs seat!" John still sat stone faced in his seat with his arms crossed. It seemed that their words were falling on deaf ears. The other adults had also remained silent and that they too were not going to do anything. Meanwhile, the two girls looked pleadingly back at him. "John, if you really want to give Hanna a chance,e and supervise her." Lisa said breaking up the deadlock. "She''s not going to stay young forever and this ce doesn''t have much to offer bright young lives in terms of a future. Perhaps this is a chance for Hanna to grow and find her ce in the world. Trust me, this world is so much bigger than a single town." Dear. Mary spoke up and looked up from the stirring the pot. She is starting to sound more like Rond every day. I dont think we will be able to stop her from doing things much longer. John looked down at the floor and gave a heavy exhale. "If you can promise me, Hanna, that if anything bad is done to you, you must tell me right away. I will let you only be near a Mech when I am around." "Really!?" Hanna said letting go of ir to stand up. "Yes, but if you try sneaking away to be with them, or going to Lisa''s ce without my knowledge, then you will never go anywhere near a Mech." John replied. "Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, crystal clear!" Hanna replied nodding as her muddy red hair bounced excitedly around her beaming, bright smile. John sat back in his seat with a look of tired reluctance and slightly still disapproving. Mary leaned up to whisper into his ear. "I think you made the right choice. Weren''t there not times when Rond kept trying to do things when everyone kept telling him no, no matter what the circumstances." "Yes, there were." John replied softly as he watched Hanna and ir now talking excitedly. "That''s what is also worrisome to me. He often got so wrapped up in those ideas that he would put himself needlessly into danger. I can''t let her do the same." "I think you can teach her to know better and think things through with a level head. Just give it time. I am sure things will work out." Mary said patting his shoulder. "I hope I am up to it." John murmured. Lisa and ir left the garage not too muchter. She had to get ir back home before it became toote. ir luckily didn''t live far away, and it wouldnt take long for them to get there. However, before ir left Lisa to go home, she stopped on the sidewalk leading to the front door and looked back at Lisa with a concerned look. "Miss Lisa, I know that I said that I wanted Hanna to work on the Mech, but that wasn''t all of it." ir started off. "I want to help her beyond my words alone. Is it possible for me to work on the Mech with her?" Lisa looked down at ir in the pale moon light that was spilling all around them. Its light illuminated the tall young girl and made her bright blond hair all the more regal. Even in the pale darkness she could clearly see the look of determination written on ir''s face. "It''s possible. I am sure that there are many ways to support her. Though I am unsure about you being a pilot, but maybe you could use your smarts to help her." "How?" ir replied. "Remember that Gillian said that there was a manual for the Mech?" Lisa asked. ir nodded and so Lisa continued. "Well maybe you can read it and learn about the Mech for Hanna. She said that many of the parts in her knowledge she did not understand. Maybe you can figure that out for her? Not every person can do everything on their own, not even me. Maybe bing even more of a leader can you help Hanna and the other children." "That''s actually a great idea!" ir said nodding thoughtfully. "I do love learning from books and this would be a wonderful way to help Hanna. I''ll do it. Thank you!" Then after saying that ir waved goodbye and went to enter her home. Chapter 135: Sober Up Chapter 135: Sober Up Rodney absolutely hateding to the Mad Dogs secret factory. Not because of the triplets or anyone else that worked there, per-say, but because that he was alwaysing here to do work. Whether it be to hunt down escaping ''employees'' or to do transportation guard duties, he was never here to have fun. Besides with there being so many drugs around, Zeus and Cooper were unable to go inside the building or factory without a mask on their muzzles. The drugs and serums would ruin the dogs far faster than it would a human. "Alright boys, you know the drill. Stay out here until I get back. Hopefully, I won''t be long." Rodney said to the two big dogs. The three of them were outside of the main gate to the golf course mansion and the guards had already recognized Rodney by sight and they were already quickly opening the gate for him. The two dogs obediently sat down on the dusty road to wait and eyed Rodney carefully as he left them. Rodney went into the beer covered and foul party smelling building with a slight bit of disgust clearly disyed on his face. As he made his way inwards, the sheer amounts of cans, trash and sticky residue on the floor made the ce nearly unbearable. Even though he enjoyed parties and drinking as much as the next guy, this was going too far. "Would it kill these guys to get someone to clean this ce?" Rodney mutter kicking a can out of his way with a dusty cowboy boot. The sounds ofughter and banging music was not quite so loud today. There must be a select crowd here at this time, considering it was nearing the end of the week. Rodney grudgingly started to make his way in that direction. Where the noise was, undoubtably so were the triplets and hopefully Saul too. Entering the room, he was recognized by a few regrs that called out to him to join them, but Rodney reluctantly refused. Scanning the crowd through vape, blunt, and cigarette smoke, he soon spotted one of the triplets. As he got closer, Rodney could see that it was Sean drinking some dark drink from a crystal ss. Sean appeared to be absentmindedly watching the crowd, or more likely, drugged up and watching the hallucinations dance around him. "Sean. Sean!" Rodney called out to the big Irish ginger. Luckily, the music level was lower than normal and a shout from this far away in the room could still be heard. Sean gave a light jolt hearing his name and nced around until he saw Rodneying his way. "What does the bosses dog want now? Has another escapee got out again?" "No, that''s not it this time." Rodney replied as he came to a stop in front of therger man. "I came to get Saul and you three brothers. Your fight with Queen is nearly about to go down. Saul needs to be there to get things going and be clear headed for when the fight starts. Where is he?" Sean shook his head and looked around with a zed expression. "Well, uh, I think youre talking about that dude that called himself our manager, right?" "Ya, you three better not have broken the guy." Rodney said crossing his arms. "Naw, it''s just I ain''t seen him for a while." Sean replied taking a sip from the ss. "Try looking in the next room. Conor was messing around with himst I saw." "Alright, thanks. Oh, and try to sober up. You guys might actually need to be somewhat prepared for this fight." Rodney replied walking past the big ginger. "Eh, whatever." Sean muttered while taking another sip. Rodney entered the next room and the smell of stale beer filling the air grew worse. However, Connor and Patrick were here sitting on some ugly red couches along with some rather alluring lookingdies, apparently trying to score. Yet Saul still wasn''t with them. "Hey guys. Sorry to bother you, but the boss sent me here." Rodney saiding halfway across the room towards them. He knew that keeping a safe distance from these guys was always the right choice. "Ah, screw off Rodney!" Patrick replied crossly. He was pulling a woman close for a kiss when Rodney interrupted. "Can''t you see that we are busy?" "What now?" Connor snarled. He bulled his way upward and knocked one of thedies off hisp and couch to the floor, but he didn''t care. It was clear they were just like objects to him. Connor took a menacing step closer to look down at Rodney. "The boss sent you. Why?" "I came to get Saul and get you three ready for the fight with Queen." Rodney replied seeming unmoved by the big mans aggression. "Where is he at?" Conor shook his head as he gave an angry smile. "Ha, is that all? That sorry excuse for a man is in that closet." Rodney looked at the door Conor was pointing at. Conor shook his head again, scoffed, and lumbered back to sit on the couch. The closet door didn''t even have a knob on it. Just an empty hole remained. Curious, Rodney pulled open the door and felt some resistance as it drug heavily across the nasty stained and sticky carpet. Inside he found a very messed up Saul. Saul was curled up into the fetal position, shirt and shoeless. He had a ck eye and was not moving. At first Rodney thought he might be dead but tossed out that idea when he saw Saul take abored breath. "What did you guys do to him?" Rodney called out. "Nothing much." Connor replied. "Gave him some meth and then made him run the gauntlet a few times. All that damage was from the partygoers, not from us, this time. Honestly, that guy was not all that tough. He passed out after only three attempts." "If you say so." Rodney sighed. "Come on Saul, get up!" Rodney nudged Sauls ribcage with the point of his cowboy boot, but Saul didn''t budge. "Come on you piece of crap, move! Boss Martinez needs you ready to work." Rodney gripped while prodding Saul again, this time more forcefully. This time Saul seemed to hear him. Saul unrolled from the fetal position and peered up at Rodney through squinted bloodshot eyes. It was like he was looking up at the sun instead of Rodney''s face and cowboy hat. Saul murmured something unintelligible and then closed his eyes again, passed out. "Geez, this guy is toasted." Rodney said. "You know that not everyone can handle as much of those drugs as you three, right?" "Ehh, they all are just pushovers." Patrick replied tugging one of the women closer to him. "Just get him out of here. He''s cramping up my style." Rodney sighed. He did not want to carry Saul or touch him. Saul looked like a sweaty, grimy mess and absolutely dead weight. s, he had to move the man. Rodney picked up the half awake, limp Saul by under his arms. Then bending low, Rodney hoisted Saul up onto his shoulders and back. Adjusting Saul so that he bnced evenly, Rodney head for the exit. Before he left though, Rodney stopped next to Sean once again. "Remember, Sean, you and your brothers need to be at the Arena for the fight tomorrow! Be ready to fight too, Queen is actually going to be a difficult opponent." Rodney shouted over the now increasing music. "Fine, fine." Sean replied swaying slightly to the music. "Just to be sure, here. Put this in your pocket." Rodney quickly reached into his pocket and handed Sean a sheet of paper. On it was a reminder for the fight. Rodney had done this before with the difficult triplets in the past and it worked then. Sean took it and shoved it, unfolded, into his pocket. "We will be there" Sean murmured. Once back outside, Zeus and Cooper happily waged their tails seeing their master returning. They got up from the dusty pathway to follow on either side of Rodney. Saul was still uselessly draped on top of Rodney and the dogs curiously sniffed the hands and bare feet which were swaying about lifelessly. Rodney grumbled to them as they walked. "Come on boys. Let''s get this guy back to base. I can''t stand how much of a pushover and how easy to fold this so called, Best Manager, is. Pew! This guy smells like he pooed himself too!" Lisa, on the following morning, was prepping her weapons and skintight body suit for the uing fight. Everyone had already gone out of the Powerhouses sleeping areas to scrape together thest of the food for breakfast. So, she was currently alone as she looked over her things carefully. The dull ck de of her foldable sword was starting to appear a bit duller than usual. Perhaps it was high time that she started looking for some polish. Then she looked at her body suit and noticed that it too was getting dirty and a bit shabby. Though the body suit was made of densely packed Ker fibers, ceramic, and other sci-fi like shock absorbent materials; there was still plenty of strong cloth holding it together. From the body odor smelling from it, Lisa knew that it needed to be washed badly! She was surprised that no one had yet mentioned anything about the smell either. Whether or not they were being nice, they should have at least said something. "I''ll have to wash it thoroughly after the fight." Lisa said speaking to herself. "I have been wearing you for far too long! One of the first things Im going to get one the power is working better is a washer and dryer." "Lisa?" Sadie''s voice called up from the bottom of the stairs. "Ya?" Lisa called back putting her head through the suit to wear it again. She then started to put the rest of the various items back on or away forter. Sadie came up the rest of the stairs and joined Lisa in the room. "Well, everything is eaten, and we are without even crumbs now. Are we going to sell the animal furs before we go to the fight? Can''t have you fighting on an empty stomach, now can we?" "Yes, we are going to do that. We should have plenty of time to do so. Besides, afterwards we are going to need toe up with more permanent solutions to the food issue." Lisa replied adjusting the tight body suit over her torso snuggly. Though she wasnt proud of their size, her breasts were not so big that they felt constrained being under the tight suit all the time. "Alright. Oh, what if we looked for a refrigerator?" Sadie said pping her hands together. "It seems odd that you have electricity, but really haven''t been using it for ourselves yet." "Your right, I really haven''t used it that much." Lisa said with a lightugh. "We probably should start to do that anyways." "Good, now I can actually drink cold water. Not that lukewarm stuff we have been drinking. It just doesn''t taste right at all." Sadie said while making a sour face. "Let me just grab something from my coffin and I follow you out." Lisa replied getting herst boot tied. Lisa quickly got up and unlocked the coffin to reach inside. "Oh no, Sadie! We have a new problem." "What is it?" Sadie asked curiously. Lisa stood up to disy a white object in her hand. Then giving a dark and serious expression, Lisa exined the new dire situation. "We are down to ourst roll of toilet paper! Let''s win this fight already, so we can have the money to buy more immediately! I cannot survive without toilet paper!" Chapter 136: Small Trade Chapter 136: Small Trade Lisa soon came down from the bedroom with her shy MFA getup on, sword in hand and the polished coffin strapped to her back. The grim expression and airs she gave off were ones of urgency and excitement. Things had been kind of physically dull to hertely and Lisa was feeling the need for a fight to get her heart pounding again. Seeing Lisa now in full fight mode made everyone waiting, either inside the Powerhouse or on the outside, take her excited energy as a bit intimidating and dangerous. "Everyone else ready to go?" Sadie called out to the others while peeking out from behind Lisa''s coffin with a smile. Hearing her voice seemed to break the uneasy tension. "I think so?" Wayne replied. "Eva and Willis, do you two have the pelts?" "We do." Eva replied while Willis lifted up a bag of tanned furs. Due to Lisa''s efforts and decent snare making skills, there was around forty rabbit and squirrel skins inside. "Good. Now Tayvon and Henry, you guys are going to do what we nned?" Wayne asked looking over at the two men. "Yep, going to start checking out those storage units for anything useful. We''ll start with the ones we find that are unlocked already." Tayvon replied. "We can save the locked ones forter, just in case we do find something really good and can''t move it all on our own." Henry added. "Sounds like you guys are settling in good with this assignment." Lisa said walking past them and into the parking lot. "Don''t forget to make sure to look for fishing gear and anyone that might be snooping around the area. We don''t want another gang incident to happen." "Understood boss." Henry replied. "I was thinking of looking for a weapon while I was at it too. I think you are right Lisa; things can get dangerous pretty quick." Tayvon said referring to the Mad Dogs arrival earlier. "Sounds great. Make sure you find something you feelfortable handling and swinging. Don''t just look for something cool, looks are not everything. Functionality and effectiveness is everything." Lisa advised and Tayvon nodded back in reply. "What about the workers on the other side of the dam? Will they be alright without us being nearby?" Zane asked eyeing the area. He was subconsciously still anxious about being around former enemies, especially since they hadn''t reconciled yet. "They should be fine." Lisa replied sensing his thought process. "They are going to be working on the path between the dam and the way down the cliff side. They will be too upied with clearing the trees, rocks and training the pilots. As long as they don''t cause any incident with the Mad Dogs, all will be fine." "So, after we sell the pelts what are we to do next?" Eva asked. "Well, let''s start by walking towards the market area and talk along the way. I don''t exactly have a lot of extra time." Lisa replied urgently crossing the parking lot. Following Lisa out of the fenced in dam area, Tayvon and Henry split off from the others to head down the hill for the storage units. The others stuck with Lisa as they listened to the rest of what she had to say. Though they had to wait a bit longer for her explication. The hill was too steep to hold a conversation and keep up with Lisa''s rapid pace. Only after they reached the bottom did Lisa continue speaking. "So, after we sell the pelts and hopefully get a good trade or cash, I need you Eva and Willis to go back and join up with the other two. I am sure that it will take them a long time to check on things there. They may also need help carrying items if they find something useful. Wayne, you are going toe with us. I think you are going to need to report on what you see to Nathan or Gillianter on." Lisa exined. "Where exactly are we going too?" Wayne asked a bit curious. "I know you have a fight to be in, but not too sure why you are actually fighting?" "I''ll tell you in a little bit." Lisa said looking further down the street. "We are alreadying up on the market area and I don''t want our conversation overheard." Sure enough, the sides of the trash littered streets and sidewalks were now being lined with small, stuffy stalls selling various and seemingly random items. The three volunteers marveled at this seemingly poor market area. To Lisa this ce was on the low end of what a market should look like and not all that impressive. However, to the others this was a massive differencepared to their own markets feeble ware options. "Look at all the stalls and people too!" Willis remarked stopping to gaze at the intersection they had been passing through. "I didn''t think we would see such a crowd on this side of the river. The ck Rats never would let this many people gather in the same ce." Wayne said looking around curiously alongside Willis. Perhaps on lookout for any gangsters that might try breaking up the market crowd. "There are so many things for sale! Oh, look at the number of clothing options!" Eva said speeding ahead of the group to look at a stall selling t-shirts and various other articles of clothing. Lisa sighed inwardly. Back in her day, two hundred years ago, this ce would have been considered at best a third world market. It was still hard for her to believe that she was still the former and now destroyed USA. Malls, retail stores, super centers and organized Farmers Markets had seemingly long be extinct. Seeing Eva and the others being so excited by this run-down and desperate ce reminded her of the depravity that many people had now been growing up in. "Come on now, let''s not linger too long. We still have work to do." Lisa called out to everyone. "You can look at things on your way back, after we sell the pelts." Grudgingly Eva left the clothing stall to join back up with Lisa and the other two men did the same. Though Zane had not been to this market area yet, he wasn''t all that much impressed like the others were. After being in the Mad Dogspound, seeing the heavily crowded arena and richly adorned illegal properties market, this ce wasn''t all that special in the slightest. "That jerk Ernest was unfortunately right, we do seem like a bunch of bumpkins." Zane grumbled to himself. Lisa waited for everyone to regroup and while doing so, she took a moment to scan the area. Now that the early morning crowd had apparently dissipated somewhat and noontime was not that far off, some of the vendors were already packing up. She even spotted a store owner flipping around a closed sign on his buildings door. The early closures weren''t because of ack of costumers or products, but because of the impending summer heat that was forcing the early end to the local market. Everyone used this hot midday break event as nap time Then as luck would have it, Lisa spotted a likely ce to sell the pelts. There was a heavily bearded man sitting at his stall that wasbeled "Animal Products: Buy, Sell, Trade". The mans stall was still in the morning cast shade, so he wasn''t packing up just yet like the others across the street were. All around him, still on disy, were various skins, salted meats and bone carvings or hooks. It seemed to her that he either had a lot of goods to sell or things had been slow today. "Follow me." Lisa called to the others as she started weaving through the sparse crowd towards the stall. The others tried to keep up, but Lisa arrived much sooner. "Hello there, what can I do for you?" The man replied heartily. On closer inspection Lisa could now see that the man was roughly in his fifties. "Good morning, I wasing here to sell or trade animal pelts. Are you interested?" Lisa asked getting right to the point. "Perhaps. What kind of pelts and I''ll need to see their conditions." The man replied scratching at three scarred marks on his nose. "I have around forty rabbit and squirrel pelts. They are all freshly killed and sun dried, ranging from about three weeks ago." Lisa borated just as Willis was quickly walking up alongside of her. "Here, have a look and see what you think." Willis felt Lisa''s elbow jab at his arm as she spoke. He caught on and responded by cing the bag of pelts onto the stalls table. The man stood up from his three-legged stool and opened the bag. He took out a few pelts from the top andid them out onto the open parts of the table. Then carefully he inspected the furs, the cuts in the fur and the dried leathery portion underneath. Lisa watched the man carefully. There were many tradesmen and merchants that would act like they were doing some kind of examination of a product, but in reality, they were throwing on an act to mark down the price by saying the exam was bad and the product quality was poor. Lisa had to be sure that the man was actually legitimately looking them over or instead trying to pull an easy buy off her. The man nodded seeming satisfied with what he did. "Well, the furs are in ok condition and looks like your skinning was pretty spot on. Saw very few scuff marks or punctures. However, since they were only sun dried, it is going to be more work for me to re-tan them. I also don''t have much cash on me either. So, I can only trade items for the pelts." Lisa thought for a moment before replying. "To bad I couldn''t just sell these outright for cash, but perhaps a trade might work out. This guys analysis seemed to have been a proper one. I don''t think he''s lying." Then she spoke aloud to the man. "Very well, but what I am looking for you might not have. Yet I''ll ask anyway. Do you have toilet paper?" The man let out a heartyugh and his teeth shown bright yellow through his thick brown beard. "Toilet paper? Now that is an unusual request for a trade. I don''t have any I am afraid, but I know who might." Lisa perked up hearing this and the man turned over to his left and shouted at the stall next to him. "Hey Liz? You got toilet paper still?" An old grey-haireddy leaned back from her own stall to lean on the wall behind her to call back. "Ya Tusk, I got one twelve pack and a few singles. Why?" "I''ll trade you four rabbit skins for the twelve pack." Tusk replied patting a rabbit skin on the table. "Eh, make it six and you got a deal!" Liz countered showing off a witty toothless grin. "Deal." Tusk replied turning back to speak with Lisa. "So, I''ll take this bag for that twelve pack." Lisa sighed, the deal was mostly fair, but she didn''t want to only get twelve rolls for forty small skins. "If you give me a few of your bone fishing hooks, I can agree to that." Tusk rubbed his beard and took another look inside the bag. He inhaled sharply, "Fine, but I''m being nice this time. From now on bring your stuff to me and I can at least give you a fair trade. No one else in town can do that." "That will be just fine with me." Lisa replied giving a smile. "You have been more than fair." Tusk handed some small bone carved hooks to Lisa and then handed her six rabbit skins. "Here, give these to Liz and get your toilet paper." "Thanks!" Lisa replied taking the skins and turned to go. Then she spoke to the others following silently behind. "Alright, Eva and Willis you two can go on back now. The rest of us are going to meet up with Benny and Hanna. Hopefully, John let theme on out here. We still need her to properly ID the remaining gangsters." "Sounds good to me." Sadie remarked. "I really hope those triplets are not in a good fighting mood today. Three on one is never an easy fight! Though I am confident in you." Chapter 137: McMathers Chapter 137: McMathers McMathers entered amand into his personal luxury hover ships control system and set it into auto pilot mode. Minimizing the disyed holo-projection of the controls McMathers then sat back into a plush white captains chair with a sigh andid his canefortably across his knees. The already airborne hover ship then started gliding seamlessly towards its destination. "This old body won''t be getting any younger." McMathers muttered to no one. "However, I can go on for another twenty years if I feel like it, he-he! JEB, bring me some wine." "Understood, Master McMathers." A human like, monotonous robotic voice replied. Then from behind McMathers came rolling next to his chair, on a singlerge round polished brass orb, was a humanoid robot dressed from the waistline up in a butlers uniform. The robot, JEB, was carrying a bottle of wine and ss perfectly bnced on a spotless silver tray. "I take it the meetings went well?" JEB asked as he went to pour the fine red wine into a crystal ss. "They went well enough." McMathers replied taking the half full ss from JEB. "Take a note, ''When dealing with the metal smiths on east side Moab, don''t offer them a smoke.'' Now add the note to their profile. JEBs yellow eyes lit up yellow twice hearing themand start and upon finishing recording the note. "Taskpleted." JEB replied still in the monotonous male voice. "Added to: Eastern Metal Moab files. Is there anything else to add or that I may get for you?" "No, that will be all." McMathers replied absentmindedly sipping on the winess. JEB then started rolling noiselessly away on his big brass colored ball and back to his ce to wait for his masters nextmand. "Ah, crap! I knew I felt something wasn''t right." McMathers shouted angrily. McMathers then grumpily leaned forward and reached under his expensive white suit and around to his back hip. Then he pulled out the source of his difort, a pure silver .50cal Desert Eagle pistol. Casually he tossed the big, gorgeously engraved pistol onto a t ck square on the wall next to him. The ck square was apparently maic, and the gun sharply snapped onto it, like a spider clinging on its web. "That''s better." McMathers grumbled sifting deeper into his chair. He then went back to silently starring out of the front window that sleekly sloped downwards from overhead all the way to the pointed cone tip of his ship. Watching the parched, canyon dominated earth glide silently by far below was one of the few pleasures that he enjoyed while being alone. There were very few times now, it seemed, that he could enjoy himself in sce like this. There was just so much going on in his business. McMathers luxury hover ship was far superior to most others of its kind. The astral projection cells on the ships undersides were updated with the best aerial stealth tech that he could get his hands on. Even some of the worlds military''s own tech paled inparison. Its radar deflection was also nothing to scoff at either and if satellites still orbited around the earth, you could bet he had away to hide from them too. From within the ship no one could guess that it possessed all these capabilities. The ships interior was spotless white, and all the trim was shinny chrome colored in design. Though only able to carry no more than ten passengers at a time, the hover ship was quite spacious. A person would be able to walk around freely as the ship cruised at speeds faster than sound, without any resistance from inertia. The maic fields created by the hover ship not only repulsed the ship away from the ground but neutralized the inertia too. Today he was going to return to that wayward town, The Damn, and work on his new pet project. Dealing with the bureaucracy of Moab City, managing underground tradeworking, stuffy politics from multiple governments and unrelenting business opponents were really starting to get to the aging man. The Damn was just starting to show signs of promise to him and it all started with that duo, Zane and Lisa. They sparked some interest in the old mans mind and after hearing how Lisa was nning to build up the town, an idea slowly came together. Why not setup a branch of his operations out there? The town was secluded with no existing government influences, it has workers seeking job opportunities and hopefully someone that could work well for him, Lisa. It already seemed like she was capable of working in his line of work as a ck market merchant! Now he only just needed to find a way to convince or force her to work for him. At first, he thought of using her need for cash to put her into debt and then have her work it off. Then he realized that that was too small a n. Just getting one or twopetent workers was not going to be enough to fulfill his ambitions. There was a better option. That East River Militia would likely fill those needs and Lisa would be his way inside. Just then the crumbing town of The Damn came into view. McMathers sat up in his seat and smiled ominously. The nose of the hover ship tilted forward and started to float high above the town to rotate clockwise around the towns perimeter. He then let out a snicker as he spoke aloud to himself, "I''ll build up my own trade city, like Moab, to produce all my products and be the most powerful ck market merchant in the world. All those little, poor, useless people below will be cogs of my empire!" He reached out his wrinkled, open hand and at the towns crumbing structures and pretended to clutch it tightly. This town will soon be mine! After thanking Liz for agreeing to be a part of her trade, Lisa and the other three headed away from the market. They were hopefully going to meet up with Benny and Hanna not too far from the Mad Dogspound wall. As they all were in a hurry, no one spoke along the way. Not that they could try speaking anyway, as Lisa''s walking pace was nearly at jogging speeds. Rounding thest turn, Lisa was relieved to see that Hanna and Benny were already waiting on them. However, John was also with them. Lisa really hoped that John wasn''t still too worked up about the conversation they hadst night. Thankfully, he didn''t seem to appear all that upset and was casually leaning on a rusting blue car. "Sorry we arete." Lisa called out to them. "No worries. We just got here moments ago." John called back. "I am going to do the same asst time and stake out the entrance. I can''t leave Hanna alone it seems for anything anymore." "That''s probably a good idea anyway. Things might get difficult in there, but nothing I couldnt handle." Lisa replied stopping to wait for the othersgging behind her to catch up. Benny and Hanna came along side Lisa and John. "Do you have my disguise?" Hanna asked. "Yes, here you go." Lisa replied. Then quickly reaching into her leather jackets pocket she pulled out the mask and took off her Yankees hat as well to give to Hanna. At the same moment everyone else caught up. "Well, now that we are all here, let''s go." The slightlyrger group then headed for thepounds entrance. As they came closer, Lisa recognized a tall man once again on gate guard duty, Thompson. Thompson also quickly recognized her too and immediately appeared physically nervous. Lisa noticed his easy-to-read expression and decided to smooth things over. "Hey there Thompson, seems like we are seeing a lot of each othertely. Did you decide to bet on my fight again today?" Thompson''s shoulders rxed and his face un-stiffened. "Y-Yes, to both statements. I hope you do win because I put everything down on you. Those betting numbers are ridiculous!" "Oh really?" Lisa said eyeing Zane. "Sounds like a good opportunity." Zane understood her look right away and gave a thumbs up. He was definitely going to earn even more insane amounts of money now and all Lisa had to do was win. He could hardly wait to start betting. "Well, I know you guys came before and things worked out fine. So, I am going to be trusting and let you all in again. Just don''t screw this up for me." Thompson said looking over the group. "Thanks." Lisa said letting everyone go in first as the other guards opened it. "Oh, and sorry for showing up like we did at your ce." Thompson said before Lisa entered. "It''s fine. You were just doing your job and no harm was done. Water under the bridge." Lisa replied patting him heavily on the shoulder as she went by. Thompson was too much of an open guy, kind guy and was nothing like a gangster would typically be like. Lisa was getting the feeling that many of the other gang members might be like him. Perhaps they were originally people of this town and Lisa knew she could figure out a way to use this information to her advantage, somehow. Wayne naturally was in awe of the area, but Lisa decided to let him be. Exining the ce every time to every neer was just getting old. Instead, she started off towards the Warehouse Arena''s entrance. The crowds were already starting to form up in the illegal market area and around the kiosks and arena hallway. "Alright Zane, you know what to do." Lisa exined taking out the cash rolled up neatly in her pocket. "Either find the same rich men as before or try your luck and find someone new. However, if the betting numbers at the betting booths are really that good, ce the bets there." "You can count on me!" Zane replied taking the money carefully. "Did you also bring my weapons this time too?" "Yes, I did. The Tiger ws are in my coffin right now. Sadie, you said he could do some sparring hereter as well?" Lisa asked. "Yep, in the facilities at the back of the arena. Rickshaw can hopefully give him pointers that I missed." Sadie replied pushing her sses back up her nose. "Well, that''s good. Alright, let us get going then." Lisa said starting forward. "Queen! There you all are." A mans voice called out from the crowd. They turned to see that it was McMathersing their way. He had a friendly smile on his wrinkled face and a bit of pep in his old step. His cane tapped heavily on the pathway was he approached. "I wish you luck in the fight." McMathers continued saying as he joined them. "I also hope my new betting man will be participating again as well?" "Sure am, sir." Zane said giving a curt nod. "Good, good. Now I don''t want to hold you up so let''s walk and talk. I have to speak with you about that agreement we had." McMathers said as the group slowly made their way through the crowd. "Ah yes, Frank Sellers has agreed to the contract and things were not changed." Lisa replied. "It seems you know exactly the right prices to offer. Also, things with the dam and ERM are going smoothly. It won''t be long before things will be well underway." "Excellent to hear! I will be sure to speak with you more about this and the ERM after you win the fight. I will leave you to go prepare yourself. I see no need to rush things as they are now. I will also get the contract copies from you after the fight. Win for us!" McMathers stated turning to go towards the same hall and booth as before. The rest of the crowd was moving into the Arena stands along with Lisa and the others. "Take care!" Lisa called back. Then she turned to look at the restored arena stage and chain-link fence in the arena''s middle. She took in a heavy breath and let it out slowly. She could feel her excitement growing now. "Time to get things going and fight three on one!" Chapter 138: No Guilty Feelings Chapter 138: No Guilty Feelings Saul was in no proper mood to manage the triplets anymore. His head pounded heavily, memories were still aplete blur from thest few days and now he was being forced to be in a noisy arena with the people he hade to fear. The triplets terrified him! From what he could recall, there were times when they would force him to do insane stunts, like the gauntlet, streaking and other embarrassing actions. Then if that wasn''t all bad enough, Martinez was very upset that things had gone badly already. Jackson had neglected to find anything noteworthy to use against Queen that Saul could exploit and instead discovered a new possible threat towards the gang! Martinez still hadn''t gotten over this frustrating incident when Rodney plopped the disheveled and worse for wear Saul into his office. Infuriated that everything was not going as he nned, Martinez was now continuing to take it out on poor battered Saul, even up until the moments before the fight with Queen. Both men were speaking in the hallway, just outside the entrance to the Arena, while the triplets were already taking their ces on the benches closest to the stage. Anyone sitting by the entrance and listening carefully enough might even have heard the conversation taking ce inside. Martinez''s voice was like a foghorn berating Saul when he was especially mad, and asionally, he would speak Spanish when the anger was consuming his thought process. "I want you to get those Irish thugs to finish that woman off and I don''t care what they do topete the job!" Martinez shouted into Sauls face. "I have enough to worry about with the uing battle with the Skull and other matters. So, get rid of this impudent Queen." "Of course, Boss! I will make sure that she doesn''t make it off that stage alive." Saul replied in a raspy dry voice. Apparently, he had been shouting so much to be heard over the ridiculously loud music at the mansion that his voice was nearly gone. "You better." Martinez snarled. Then he leaned forward to ce a tightly griped hand onto Sauls shoulder. "Because if you lose the fight, you are going to have to put a bullet in her skull personally or else!" Saul gulped visibly and fear twinkled in his bruised eyes. "I-I understand Boss! She won''t stand a chance against them anyway." "You better hope so. Now get out of my sight Eres un intil pedazo de basura!" Martinez hissed viscously shoving him away. Nearly falling backwards, Saul scuttled quickly down the hall and into the lower arena. Here there was no sce to be found. Conor tossed a heavy arm around Saul and pulled him close onto the bench they were sitting on. "Awe, did daddy yell at you? Maybe you could ask us to help you out next time. Ha-ha, here." Connor said shoving something small in Sauls hand. "This should calm your nerves some." Saul looked down and saw a small clear bag with a white substance inside. Inwardly he groaned, "I don''t want to see this stuff ever again!" "You better take it. Otherwise, I''ll have to help you." Conor prodded. "I''ll do itter." Saul whimpered replying with a nervous tone. "We need to meet up with the announcer to discuss the terms." "Ah, you can go do that yourself. We got nothing to add to thisme fight. I heard that this Queen is still in the 20th tier of the Shadow League. So, it''s going to be an in and out fight, if it''s even going to be called a fight. This whole thing ispletelyughable." Conor scoffed. "I don''t even see her yet." Patrick added sitting back down onto the bench. "You think she realized who we were and got too scared?" "Probably. I''d give up too if I had to fight someone with a face as ugly as yours." Sean chortled nudging Patrick''s arm. "Shut up you idiot! We got the same looking face. Youre just as ugly!" Patrick replied nudging his brother back even harder. "No, I got better looks. My eyes aren''t as far apart as yours do." Sean countered shoving Patrick who in turn nearly slipped off the bench. The two of them then broke out into a childish frenzy of pushing and shoving. "I guess I''ll go then?" Saul muttered turning to go. "Saul, you better finish that bag before you get back. Understand?" Conor called out over the noisy crowd growing in the stands and his brothers antics. "Knock it off you two! You''re embarrassing us." Saul nodded fearfully, unable to say another word. Speaking with that huge intimating Irish man had made his mouth run dry and hands to shake madly. Then he realized that maybe the reason Conor gave him the bag of drugs was because he was getting addicted now. The shaking could be because his withdrawals were taking affect. Saul hurried away towards the announcers table. Here all he needed to do was officially sign the triplets in, turn in their current record and wait for the opponents manager to see if there were any additional changes or bets for this fight. However, Saul was more worried about the small baggie he had hastily stuffed into his back pocket, then being focused on his job. "This is not good. Maybe I am addicted." Saul cursed to himself. Then he shook his head to clear it. "No, that''s not it. I am just recovering still. That is it, I just need to rest after this fight." "Alright boss, I am going to have a look around. Maybe find someone good to bet against." Zane announced turning to break away from the group, but he stopped and turned back around nearly immediately. "But I do have a question." "Go on ahead, Benny and Hanna. We will catch up in a second." Lisa said to them and then she focused onto Zane. "What questions?" "Well, why didn''t you just buy the toilet paper instead of trading with the pelts? I know you needed to get rid of them eventually and that it costed you nothing, but still." Zane asked. "Simple. If I suddenly took out a wad of cash in that market setting do you think anyone watching us would leave us alone? You ought to understand this, after all being in a gang you probably extorted stuff from others?" Lisa replied. "I can''t deny that." Zane said giving an indifferent shrug. "The other reason is that in a ce like this, money is power, and I need more. That is why you, my lucky man, is going to make more, much more. One day I hope to show you how money is really supposed to be used. Now if that is all, go on." Lisa said waving him away. "Ok." Zane replied feeling a bit silly. After all, one of his jobs used to be to observe anyone that might have things useful for the gang to exploit. After leaving Lisa he wandered around the hallway and the illegal property market for a while looking for anyone that might be interested in betting against him. After a time, he came to a conclusion, that everyone was betting at the Betting Booths. The odds were just too good to pass up. At the booths there was already arge group of patrons of both wealthy dressed men and women cing their bets. Straining to see the TV through the bustling people, Saul spotted the fights betting ratio. It was 30:9 with Lisa being the expected underdog. Then he saw the reasons for why the ratio was set as so. Clover Cutters: Conor, Sean, and Patrick. Shadow League Tier 5, with 7 wins and 0 loses all. Queen, Shadow League Tier 20, with 5 wins and 0 loses. Note: In case of Queens total victory, due to the rules the fighter will advance one win into Tier 19. Zane could make out random people shouting their betting prices and the numbers were enough to make him sick. "I''ll bet thirty thousand on the Clover Cutters!" One man shouted. "I''ll put twenty thousand on Queen!" Another shouted. Taking another look around him and listening to the conversations around him, Zane decided to go against Lisa''s betting choice. He was going to bet at the booth. No one around him was going to try betting against him for a thousand dors. "The only question I got to find out now is, ''Where do they keep all this money?''." Zane thought as he started weaving his way through the crowd towards the front and ce his bet. "If Boss Lisa really wants to make some money, maybe she''d be up to robbing this ce. If these guys are tossing around cash numbers like it is nothing, then we could score big time! I just hope she not aplete softy and is against stealing." "So, is there anything any of you want to add, betting wise, to the match?" The Announcer asked looking between Sadie, Lisa, and Saul. "Nothing from me." Saul replied grumpily. "Me either." Sadie replied as well. "I do." Lisa said not even taking her eyes off Sauls bruised face. "If I win, Saul, you have to confess to a certain incident that you were involved inst month." "What incident?" Saul asked slightly confused by the odd request. "There was a family that was killed in the Maple Valley Police station. I need you to admit you were a part of it." Lisa replied tly. "Killed in a police station?" Saul muttered. Then he recalled the time that they killed that ex-cop for some blueprint ns. "What if I don''t have anything to say about that time?" "I don''t think youre going to have a choice." Lisa said coldly. "I must know." "I would ask you why it matters to you, but I''ll save you the effort. It doesn''t matter anyway. I have no regrets about whatever happened then. Fine, if you''re so interested Queen, I''ll tell you if you win." Saul replied shrugging. Upon hearing the agreement between them the Announcer wrote down the agreement. "Is that all?" He asked ncing up at them. "Ya, that''s all." Lisa replied. "Good. You can return to your areas and prepare for entry into the stage. Your fight is third on the list." The Announcer exined. Saul nodded and silently turned to go. Lisa, however, had clearly heard what Saul said. It was clear to her now that he indeed was there when Hanna''s parents were killed. After all he had said it himself, he had no regrets as to what happened. He knew. Then she spotted something white sticking out from Sauls back pocket. Instantly she knew what it was, drugs. She might do a lot of things for money, but one of the things she would never sell, do, or allow in her sight would be drugs. Her uncle and two cousins had overdosed on heroin, way back in time, before her joining the military. The incidents made her mother so depressed for years that Lisa vowed never to indulge drugs in any way. Lisa narrowed her eyes angrily as Saul walked away. "Saul, you will get what''sing to you soon. Then your boss is going to be next. Once I set out to do a job, I finish it!" Saul let out a sigh. "d that''s over with. I wonder why she''s so interested in that particr time? I didn''t think that there was anyone that cared about that family anyway. Wait, how does she even know that we killed them!? Did someone see us do it?" Saul stopped to turn and look over his shoulder at Queen. She was just now sitting down at her assigned bench with Sadie and there were already two others that were with them. He had seen the old man and girl before when Golem fought Queen the first time. When he looked closer at the masked little girl that feeling a familiarity hit him again. "Where did I see you at?" Saul wondered. Then he noticed her muddy red hair and knew that the answer was on the tip of his tongue. Subconsciously his hand wandered to his back pocket and touched the bag. Realizing what he had done shocked him, and he was once again distracted away from Hanna. "Crap! Maybe I really am addicted after all." Chapter 139: 3 vs 1 Chapter 139: 3 vs 1 Wayne had been silent the entire time since they all had entered into the Mad Dogspound. At first, he was worried that this might be a trap, but after entering and seeing that no one approached them, he rxed slightly. Moreover, he had never imagined that an area in the same town that he had lived in most of his life, was so richly decorated and beautiful. Especially once they entered the Warehouse Arena lobby. Wayne couldnt help but wonder, Why was there such a difference between the two sides of the river? Howe they had to suffer while here the Mad Dogs prospered. Lisa had told him to prepare a report to give to the ERM, but what should it be about? How much poorer and ill equipped they werepared to the Mad Dogs? Or that by just looking at the guards around this Arena alone, the ERM was also out gunned and less organized. Taking on the Mad Dogs would make their fight with the ck Rats look like childs y. After walking around the Arena while taking in the vast numbers of people, guards and sheer obvious differences in living conditions, Wayne joined back up with the group sitting on the benches. He was feeling rather disheartened and a bit depressed. This was a lot to take in. He knew that Lisa was going to fight, but not in the heart of the enemys base and that they were far superior in everything. When Wayne sat down, he found that he was right next to Hanna. Looking down at the little muddy red headed girl, all covered up with her Yankees hat and mask disguise, he couldn''t help but wonder, "How was such a child able to move that Mech about? I''ll never understand. Also, why is she here and covered up like that? Is she actually someone important?" Hanna noticed Wayne ncing her way and felt slightly self-conscious. "Um, Wayne, right? Is there any reason why youre looking at me?" "No, not at all! My name is indeed Wayne." Wayne replied feeling silly that he was caught. "I was just wondering why you were here. This just doesn''t seem like a ce for kids." "I''m not a kid." Hanna replied lowering her mask some to speak less hindered. "Lisa is helping me out. All that I need to do is point out the people responsible. Lisa said she can handle the rest." "Responsible for what?" Wayne asked. "I-I don''t really want to talk about it." Hanna said looking down at the concrete floor and her mask slipped back up over her mouth. "It''s kind of personal and depressing." Apparently, he seemed to have struck a nerve. Wayne saw a twinge of pain appear in the little girls pale green eyes and figured that it was best if he didn''t pry too much. The look she had given was something he had seen in others before. Something painful had happened to her and it was never fixed. "Ok, I won''t ask further." Wayne replied. "Ladies and gentlemen!" The Announcer''s voice suddenly sounded out on the inte and slightly startled Wayne, who had never experienced such an asion. "We will now be starting our first event shortly. Please get your bets cast and back into your seats soon. The public Match Fighter Association fight between Chad the Chopper and Ray the Demonic will be starting momentarily." Wayne was so surprised by the events that soon followed, that he didn''t dare speak. The first fight between the two afore mentioned was a fierce bloody fight. The two opponents were unarmed and fought tooth and nail until one of them was rendered unconscious. The Announcer had exined that they were fighting over some disagreement with a woman and that it was extremely personal. So, one could imagine how passionate and violent the fight had to of been. The next fight was nearly the same as before, but with weapons, a long cleaver and a steel mace. The fight was not as long as before and yet just as brutal. However, it was not the fight that disturbed both Hanna and Wayne, but the people in the stands all around them. "Chop his arm off and beat him with it, Chad!" "Smash his skull! I got money on that finisher move!" "Why won''t you just kill him already?!" Hanna shuddered hearing their blood lust. When Lisa fought Golem before, she was so preupied with the fight and Martinez that she didn''t listen to them at all. Now that she was actually hearing them it made her very sad and sick to her stomach knowing that people wished to watch others preform such violence. Wayne was no different, he too hadn''t even heard such a nasty conversation, not even from the ck Rats gangsters. Now he was understanding why Lisa had said that the rest of the world was dangerous. He was thinking that it might be a good idea to arm himself after all. Unable to watch any further, Hanna turned away from the stage and cautiously scanned the crowd. Now that she was back in here, she first checked the booths for the men responsible for killing her parents. Her assumption was correct, and Martinez was proudly standing behind the wall of the same booth as before. Hanna felt her back and neck tingle with an ufortable chill. Seeing the smiling murder looking coldly down at the fight before him, struck fear into her heart once again. She couldn''t pry her gaze away from him. Yet the longer she did, the more her fear and anger grew. shes of memory jumped in her mind as she remembered Martinez''s grim smile as he shot her father, over and over. The way he effortlessly raised a gun to her mothers head and shot her brains out without even flinching the tiniest bit. Hanna could not, no, she must not look away. Wayne had been watching the second fight with truly little enthusiasm. "How is this anything anyone would want to see? It''s barbaric." Taking a nce at Lisa and Sadie, he was relieved to see that they were not enjoying it as the crowd did. They were looking at a tabloid and apparently discussing how to deal with her own fight. Then he stole a nce at Hanna. After all this kid was probably getting scared by what was happening on stage. What he saw, however, was not something a child should ever disy on their face. All Wayne could see, between the ck hat and mask, were Hanna''s eyes. They told him everything he needed to know. Hanna had a deep angry expression tightly molded into her tanned young face. She was nearly trembling with her unfathomable emotions and doing her upmost to stayposed. From under her angry furrowed brow, tears brimmed her reddening eyes. Those pale green eyes, however, were not looking at the fighters, but beyond them. Following her gaze, Wayne scanned the Arena''s stands across from them. There was nothing that really stood out to him, until he spied several rough looking men in arge booth. They looked nothing like the richly dressed crowd. They all were standing there grim faced, arms crossed and watching everything below them like hawks. Looking back at Hanna, he wondered even more about this already unique girl. He didn''t know what was going on, but he wanted to find out. Maybe even help her if necessary. A kid like her shouldnt have to suffer. "Alright, I am up next." Lisa shouted over the crowds foul jeers. Hearing her voice seemed to shake Hanna out of her death re and Wayne shook his head to refocus himself. "Wayne, pay attention to how I fight these guys. Gillian and Nathan have concerns about an uing opponent I will face in the near future. I want you to witness that those concerns are unnecessary." Wayne nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Shouting seemed pointless with the crowd being so worked up. Lisa then knelt in front of Hanna too ce a soft, but heavy hand onto her shoulder. "I made a deal with Saul, that if, no, when I win that he is going to confess that he was a part of the murders. It''s going to be up to you to decide what to do with him. Since he didn''t kill or harm your parents in front of you, I will do what you ask." Hanna felt nervous and terrified hearing this. Not only was it a lot of pressure, but now it seemed that Lisa was almost cing a mans life into her small hands. To punish him, let him go and forgive, or to even kill Saul. How could she make such a choice? Unsure how to respond Hanna only gave a small, muffled reply, "Ok." Lisa patted Hanna''s arm and stood back up with a slight smile. "I know you''re a brave and smart girl. I trust you will pick the right choice." "What is that choice?" Hanna wanted to scream, but she bit her lip and held back. She may be fourteen, but she was growing up fast. She knew she had to decide on her own, for her parents sake. Lisa turned to look up at the stage just as the fight ended. The crowd cheered, while many booed. However, the group cared not what the oue was. Lisa was about to go out there and do the same. Hanna looked up at the tall, strong back of Lisa walking away from her. Her skintight grey hexagon patterned suit perfectly outlined Lisa''s toned muscles and feminine slender curves. Her long ck hair was coiled up tightly in a cute bun above her neckline. A hand rested on the hilt of her copsible katana, bothfortably and at the ready. Lastly, her tall redced boots made her overall stature both powerful and just oozed the sight of a female leader. Hanna felt in her heart that this was the woman she wanted to be. Fearless and strong. "And now! For the highlighted fight of the evening, our most anticipated fighter takes on yet another impossible challenge." The Announcers voice boomed out throughout the Arena. "Taking on her third Match against normally unheard of far higher Tiers, that defy not only her chances, but the MFA rules as well. I give you Queen!!" Queen felt the heat of a spotlight swing onto her and she quickly tossed on a smile as she headed for the stage gate entrance. The Announcer driveled on about Queens stats and chances as she entered the fenced in stage. Her attention was locked directly at her hulking foes, the redheaded Irish Triplets, also known as the Clover Cutters. They were undoubtably bigger than she expected, but size was only that. If they are like anything Golem was, then she surely has her work cut out for herself tonight. The Triplets were doing the exact same thing. All three pairs of eyes looked back at Queen with mixed expressions and none of them were nice. Queen saw Connor raise a hand to his lips, kiss it and then jokingly blew it towards her. The other two brothersughed seeing him do this. Queen rolled her eyes and then casually drew her katana off from its maic strip. She opened it to only half length and then pointed it back at them, while drawing a line across her own neck with the other hand. This stopped the tripletsughter and they now held serious expressions. Clearly, they didn''t like her as much now. They soon joined her on stage, all armed with matching huge double des axes. The only protection they had on were forearm and shin guards. Besides that, they only wore jeans and ck shirts with the Mad Dogs logo painted on them in red. "I am going to enjoy myself in killing you." Connor said looking down at the fearlessdy. Then he smirked and continued. "Though I would rather see what''s under that suit." "Ya looking sexy, Queen!" Patrick added. Just give up now ande back to our ce for a good time! Sean asked coaxingly. Lisa spat onto the ground between them. "You all are discussing creeps! I was thinking about sparring your lives tonight, but now? I''m not going too, even if you try to give up." "As if." Connor replied twirling his axe. The other two nodded in agreement and then reading themselves, waited for the referee to start the match. Chapter 140: Dodge or Die Chapter 140: Dodge or Die Queen looked the triplets over quickly before the referee readied himself. Their physical appearances were seemingly in top condition. The triplets muscles were cut and toned, countenances looked to be in good spirits, and they clearly knew how to fight based their readied stances and stature. They were undoubtably among the top members of the Mad Dog gang in terms of fighting capabilities. Queens dull ck de was ready at half length, while waiting so eagerly for the contact of their double-sided axes. The axes were splendidly polished and stage lighting glinted brightly off them. As the triplets twirled the axes in anticipation of the fight toe, the light asionally shined into her eyes like a disco ball. Likely that was the intentional effect. Shouting vehemently, the referee broke the standoff. "Begin!" Queen had taken a standing side-on stance with the katana pointed upwards ready to deal with any angle of attack, but it was the triplets that took the initiative and moved first. Splitting into three directions they covered the distance on stage quickly, as the triplets tried to surround her. Queen saw this and instinctively half stepped backwards closer to the chain link fence, preventing them from getting directly behind her. "Hmph, looks like you guys aren''tplete idiots." Queen thought looking swiftly between the three Clover Clippers. Sean was waiting on Queen''s right, Patrick on the left, while Connor was alreadying straight at her head on. Connor wasted no time and swung down at her in a chopping motion, aiming to rip her in two. Queen saw the tant killing attempt and effortlessly dodged to the right. Right to where Sean was expecting her to go. He too swung his readied axe horizontally, aimed at her middle to chop her in half. Queens''s dodging momentum had already carried her right towards him and couldnt change her path of motion in time. Raising her katana, Queen blocked the heavy blow. In turn, the strike forced her to stay still for just a moment, and in that moment, Patrick saw his chance. Queens''s back was open as he was already approaching from around Connor, then giving a victorious grin, he shed at her exposed behind. The crowd saw this all happening with bated breath, and they could tell Queen was sorely in trouble. Half the crowd was chanting eagerly in favor of the triplets, while the rest waited breathlessly. Wayne too held his breath along with them and he nearly looked away, but the expected hit never happened! Queen pushed off Sean''s axe with her katana and Patrick''s own axe ended up hitting nothing but air. Connor had by now already recovered from his miss and Queen was once again exposed and off bnce. The push had sent her careening backwards from Patricks angle of attack. Though he was unable to swing his axe at her effectively from such a close range, and knowing this, Connor stuck out his foot and tripped Queen. She fell back heavily on her back, only to see that all three axes were following down right after her! "Pa-Ting!" The vibration of metal on metal reverberated sharply into the Arena. Queen had blocked all three axes at once! However, only two of them were being blocked by her katana. The third axe was being blocked by the de hidden in Queens redced boot bottom! She had kicked outwards and caught an axe with such speed and precision that it took everyone by surprise. "Advanced Armament: Stage One!" Queen whispered. Once again that restless energy filled her cybeic limbs. Then giving an unexpected heave, she pressed upward on the back of her own katana with her free hand and sent the axes soaring off her. In doing so, she also pushed off the third axe with her foot and rolled, head-over-heels, to get back up and out of the triplets encirclement. They were taken by surprise by her sudden power surge and this let Queen regain her standing side-on stance. "Oh! Looks like this won''t be over as quick as we thought!" Patrick called out while resting his axe confidently on one shoulder. "Indeed." Connor replied watching Queen carefully. Queen now saw that Sean was behind his two brothers and that this was a chance to counterattack. shing a quick smile, Queen spoke. "I''m not going to go and die to a simple attack like that. Now watch!" Queen shot forward and stabbed outwards in a blur of motion at Connors chest. Connor, however, was prepared to deal with a straightforward attack. He raised his axe like a shield and Queens de nced harmlessly off it. Just as she nned! The de flicked off towards the right at Patrick without a loss in momentum. The ncing de sliced cleanly through the back of Patrick''s axe holding arm, slicing off ayer of his flesh. If he hadn''t been resting his axe on his shoulder this attack wouldn''t have been possible. He let out a yelp in pain and Queen jumped backwards as he reached reactively out at her. Queennded at a stop just under a meter away from the chain link fence at her back. Connor growled and gave a quick swing at her, but Queen simply jumped backwards to create some distance between them, forcing her to lean against the fence. Sean saw that his brother was hurt and quickly took his ce instead. Patrick clutched his arm and took a few steps back. Blood dropped in severalrge globs as he did. "Patrick, wrap that up. It''s just a flesh wound." Connor shouted. "Let''s get her!" Sean snarled ring at Queen. "Scissor attack brother?" "Yes. Let''s go!" Connor replied. The two brothers grabbed their axes with both hands and held them angled sideways next to them. Then they charged at the waiting Queen. They sprinted at her towards each side of her, yet Queen remained unmoved on the fence. The two brothers then swung their axes simultaneously right at her chest and middle, like scissors cutting at a straw. The simple but dangerous attack would have felled any other person in that unable to retreat position. The fence was too close and either side was blocked by the attackers. Yet Queen was not any other person. "Pa-ting!" Once again defying the odds, Queen blocked Connors axe with her own de and Sean''s axe was being blocked by the de hidden in her redced knee boots. Queen now stood locked into a Crane stance as the two brothers pressed heavily onto her still pressing unrelentingly from both sides. "Well, you two sure are strong. I''ll give you that much." Queen grunted holding them at bay. "We are just getting started!" Connor replied with a maniacal grin. Then he suddenly pulled back from her throwing off her bnce as all the pressure wasing from Sean now. Queen stumbled and hopped on one foot across the stage as Sean continued to press onto her foots de. Connor quickly ran alongside them and jabbed repeatedly at her with the pointed end of his axes handle. Queen tried grabbing at it with her free hand to push it aside, but the axe end found its mark and hit her left shoulder. The blow left a bloodied smear in her shoulder as Queen was knocked over yet again onto the stages middle. The blow also freed Seans axe from her boot de, but as the axe slid off Queens boot, he almost identally hit Connor. This was extremely lucky for Queen. Connor already was rearing back to chop down at her as she fell. However, he was instead forced to phase backwards or be hit by Sean. "Watch it!" Connor shouted angrily. "I was just about to finish her!" "My bad bro!" Sean replied regaining control of his axe. "Hurry, she is getting up." Connor called looking past Sean. Queen could feel that her shoulder was hurt as she scrambled up, but the damage was not too deep. When she fell to the ground she had clutched at the wound and feeling it carefully, she found it had been easily stopped by her military grade skin suit. The damage to her seemed to have only broke her skin. However, the energy sources in the cores of her prosthetics only needed a few moments to get going properly. Stage One was always the slowest to active and all she had been doing before was stalling for time. Now she was powered up! "Lucky shot, but can you do that again?" Queen called out as she jumped up from the stage. Suddenly she charged again right at Connor, like a bolt from an arrow. Her movements appeared to have doubled! This time Connor was not expecting her to move this fast and he couldn''t react in time. Queen shed him across the chest sending a ssh of red onto the stage. Sean tried to hit her in response, but his axe whooshed right over her head as she dodged low to slide on stage on her knees. Already at the ground level, Queen made a sweeping kick at Connors leg as he was still reeling back from being shed. This time it was him who fell to the ground. "Hold still you b****!" Sean yelled swinging down at her. His de was useless as it then sunk into to stage, but at least it forced Queen to move away from Connor. Stopping any shot of her attacking him again for the moment. Queen jumped up from dodging Sean''s swing and flew forward at Sean to perform a front kick right into his chest. Sean lost grip of his axe and staggered backwards at the impact. He smashed into the chain link fence and flopped onto the ground with his arms up to defend himself. As soon as shended from front kicking Sean, Queen returned her attack towards Connor. This time she stabbed downward at him in an attempt to skewer him. He hadn''t recovered from the sh or trip yet and was helplessly watching the deing for him! "Pa-ting, thunk!" Queens de burrowed into the stage just beside Connors chest. Patrick had rejoined the fray at just thest second, saving his brother. Abandoning her katana, Queen jumped back as Patrick swung a right hook at her. He was outraged at her now after being wounded so soon in the fight. Though in pain, Connor too attacked at Queen with both feet kicking up at her. The kicks forced her to take another step back and let Patrick have time to prep for another axe swing. He charged at her and threw a series of shes and swings aiming every shot to kill. Queen, now unarmed, could only move backwards, duck, dodge and sidestep the onught. In the meantime, Sean had already gotten up from the front kick. Patting off his chest he let out augh and spoke to Connor. "Ha-ha, that didn''t hurt one bit. Let''s have another go! Right bro?" "Shut up! Let''s make her suffer for cutting me. I''ll have every limb chopped off before she dies!" Connor snarled with a painful expression. "Chill bro, well get her. Look Patrick is beating her good." Sean replied wrenching his axe out from the dusty stage floor. Indeed, Patrick was seemingly beating her back, but he had yet tond a single blow. Queen nimbly dodged a chop aimed for her head, however, this time she stepped forward, rather than back. Grabbing his right arm, Queen twisted it and kicked the back of Patrick''s knee, knocking him down onto it. Then she wrenched that same arm behind his back and pulled sharply up! "Pop!" The sound of his shoulder dislocating was heard over the crowdsmotion by his brothers. Patrick yelled and tried grabbing at her with his other hand. Yet Queen reacted next by kicking him hard into his ribs. The kick was so unnaturally strong that it sent him tumbling toward his brothers. "Come on boys! That the best you got?" Queen taunted. ying with you guys is not very fun. Then some of the crowd started chanting, "Queen, Queen, Queen!" Connor looked down at his groaning brother Patrick and then at Sean. "I have had it! I am tired of looking like a fool. Let''s use our new product now for a test run." "Are you sure?" Sean replied making sure Queen wasn''ting for a follow up attack. "I thought we were going to save it for when we challenged the Boss?" "Ah, screw that! He won''t be able to stop us anyway, even if he knows." Connor retorted. He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ck, palm sized metal case. Queen saw it and felt curious. "What''s he up too?" Rather than try to stop him, she promptly looked for her sword. Unfortunately, her katana was behind the three men, still nted into the stage. Patrick still somehow held onto his axe after being kicked and he struggled to get up, but a twinge of pain from his dislocated arm sent copsing again. Sean saw this and lifted him upward and the two moved behind Connor to recover. "Let''s see how you handle this!" Connor shouted at Queen while opening the lid of the ck case to reveal a blue looking gel pill. "Queen, don''t stand there! Stop him before he eats that!" Sadie shouted. "That''s their Inducement!" Queen then realized toote that her curiosity had now gotten her into trouble. Connor was already ingesting the mysterious blue gel pill! Chapter 141: Bulky Chapter 141: Bulky Connor swallowed the ominous blue pill in a single gulp. Giving a satisfied sigh and smiling at Queen with a wild look, Connor prepared for its affects. In response, Queen then took up her Ap Kubi stance and prepared for what her opponent might do next. "Let''s see what you can do to entertain us next!" Connor stated menacingly. He then shoved the ck metal case into Sean''s chest. "Hurry up and dope up. This is turning out fun." "Easy for you to say." Patrick called out in pain as his dislocated shouldery uselessly by his side. "Hold still." Seanined to Patrick while handing him the ck case. "Now grit your teeth." Sean then grabbed the useless arm with one hand under Patrick''s armpit and the other by his neck to hold him in ce. Then Sean gave a quick jolting shove. Patrick groaned and cursed between his teeth as he grimaced in pain. His brothers actions had relocated the shoulder letting him return to the fight. "That won''t happen again. I''ll destroy her!" Patrick growled opening the ck case. He then took out a blue pill and swallowed it. "Let''s see what color you are on the inside!" Connor shouted and charged at Queen with renewed confidence. Queen was ready for him. She was expecting a change like Golems Inducement change, but this didn''t seem the same. Connor looked the same as he did before. It seemed that not all Inducements were simr and varied in activation speed. Connor swung swiftly down at her with his axe, and to Queen, the des approaching edge seemed slow. Her Stage One Advanced Armament let her reactions feel to be nearly instantaneous. She pped at the overhead axes side with a sideways open palm and it past by her and to take out a chunk of stage in a dusty plum. Using the motion of the palm p, Queen spun around and struck at Connors side with a spinning back fist. The feeling of her impact was solid, and she could hear his breath escaping from him. Connor staggered backwards as Queen was about to follow up with a jab to his head. However, something was off. Connor wasn''t looking like a winded man should, and an enthusiastic grin was stered on to his face. Queens jab stopped warily midway, but she might have been toote. Swinging with one hand, Connors axe came flying back up at Queen from the ground. The ck shinny de crashed into Queen as she attempted to retract her right arm to try and block the sudden swing. The heavy axe smashed into her outstretched arm, hard, sending her spinning away across the stage. The crowd erupted into a shout of amazement at the sudden turn of events. The Triplets had finallynded a critical hit to Queen. Sadie was on her feet now and she was worriedly gripping the fence to see if Queen was indeed in danger. Hanna looked on wide eyed and her shocked, fearful expression was covered by the mask. Everyone was surprised though, not because of the strike, but that no blood wasing from Queen! Queen knew she had been hit and that she didn''t take it well. Luckily, she felt no pain yet. Weather due to the adrenaline in her or that it only hit the prosthetic arm armor. Coming to a standstill and lying on stage, Queen grasped the area that was hit, and her heart sank. That same area was the part that had been previously damaged back when she fought the Twisted and was once again messed up. The metal armor on her arm hadn''t been punctured, but it was caved in instead. A long caved-in section ran nearly ten centimeters horizontally along her arm and bits of skin colored paint was chipped away. Clinching her fist, she was annoyed to see that her pinky finger was now immobilized and would not close. Some circuits or wires were definitely broken or pinched. However, she had no time to figure out what to do. Connor was already bearing down onto her. He chopped at her while aiming for her injured arm again or to decapitate her. Stepping back to avoid the strike, Queen quickly backpedaled across the stage as Connor chased after her. As this was going on, Patrick got back up on his feet to shout, "I wanna get her first Connor! Then tossing aside the ck case, he ran for his tossed axe. "Hey! Would it kill you to hand me the case? I need to take one too!" Seanined watching the case slide away from him into the stages middle. He then started towards it, just as Queen had started backpedaling away from Connors assault. Sean was about to reach down and grab the case when Queen, unintentionally, kicked it further away on stage. "Seriously?" Sean yelled and struck out at her with his fist. However, she was already out of reach and Connor rushed past Sean in his pursuit. Sean jumped back to avoid being bullied out of the way by his brother. He shook his head and the started for case, now even further away. Patrick had regained his axe and was rushing to join back up with Connor. He could see that Queen was being hard pressed and she didn''t seem to be paying him any attention. Queen was rotating to the right, back to where she had originality started the fight. Instantly he saw what her intentions were. Queen was trying to get her sword back. He knew he had to hurry and charged towards the fallen sword to stop her from getting. Sean was kneeling forward and was just about to pick up the ck metal case. His hand now hovered right above it. Then, in a brown blur, something struck it and the case went spinning rapidly away, again! Sean yelled in protest and looked up to see the cause, which ended up being Patrick running by to get the sword! The case was kicked away, this time towards the edge of the stage at the opposite end. Queen caught sight of Patrick running behind her from her peripheral vision and moaned inwardly. "Crap! He is going to beat me there. I got to do something about Connor or I''m in trouble!" Queen dodged another sh and this time stepped forward past the de to get closer to Connor. Just as she did with Patrick before. Only this time she sent a punch right into Connors kidney area. Connor grunted reactively and came to a stop. Just as he did so, Queen sent out another left uppercut aimed at his chin. The blow nced off his lower chin as Connor leaned his head back, dampening the power of the punch. Taking another step back, he felt the heavy pressure of Queens elbow sinking into his gut. Doubling over and looking downward, the next thing he saw was Queens kneeing up for his head. Closing his eyes, Connor was nailed by her knee. He fell back tond on his butt and saw stars spinning about. Fortunately for Connor, Patrick came to save him before Queen could have another chance to hit him. Patrick did so by yelling angrily at Queen getting her attention and as she looked at him, Patrick threw Queens own katana like a spear! Caught off guard by her own sword being thrown at her, Queen leaned forward to duck the sword being aimed at her head. It passed harmlessly by and missed herpletely; yet it struck something further beyond. The edge of the ck metal case Sean was chasing! Sean watched in anger and disbelief as Queens katana struck the case and set it skittering away back into the middle of the stage. Giving loud frustrated sigh, Sean continued his fruitless pursuit. Some of the patrons in the crowd, that noticed the actions of Sean and the case, let out a ripple ofughter around the arena. Benny was also one of those that noticed andughed. He even called out to a nearby person and tried to start a bet on whether or not it would happen again. Patrick was careful this time. After missing with the katana, he made sure to not get to close to Queen and get pummeled again. However, striking at Queen from a distance with his axe was proving to be just as useless. She easily avoided him and stayed out of range. Meanwhile, Connors starry vision cleared, and he could feel the pill in his stomach pumping energy into his body. The Inducement was working now. Standing up he could feel his muscles straining and tightening, like chains holding something heavy in ce. "Oh ya! Now that''s the stuff!" Connor yelled. Slowly his already huge body started to swell. His bulky, muscly body started to be chiseled even further and his blood vessels bulged grossly out from his reddening skin. The whole transformation resembled Hulk changing from Bruce Banner, only without the clothes ripping off him. His once pale Irish skin now looked very reddish and a lot like a ripe tomato. "Get out of my way Patrick! She''s going to get it now!" Connor yelled way louder than any normal humans voice should. His voice bellowed out so much that it even made the nearby crowd cover their ears. Patrick knew without looking what was going on. Giving a disappointing look at Queen he jumped off to the side. Connor came thudding towards Queen with steps pounding so heavily that she could feel himing at her through the floor itself. Raising his axe, and now an unexpected full half meter taller than before, Connor shed down at Queen in a diagonal arc. The shiny ck axe was like a sh of lightning in the stage light. Queen jumped away, but not without being clipped on her leg by the axes handle. Being hit like a baseball, shended on her hands and knees beforeing to a stop several meters away. As Queen tossed a ck strand of loose hair from her brow; she spotted a massive, clinched fist rocketing down at her! Rolling aside the red fist crashed into the stage causing dust and debris to scatter everywhere. Just as Golem had struck at her, Connors fist left a hole and cracks could be seen spidering out from it. Letting go of his buried axe, he immediately followed up with another overpower m at Queen still on the ground. Queen kept rolling away as fast as she could avoiding the insanely powerful attacks. All the while Connor wasughing like a maniac. "You like my power?" Connor yelled out with an unfamiliar deep voice that could be heard all throughout the arena like a megaphone. "This is our special Power Pill that we had made in ourboratories. Originally it was going to be used by all our gang members, but we thought it would be best if only we three used it. With these Power Pills we will take over this ce and run it ourselves!" "Is this guy for real?" Martinez scoffed as he watched overhead from the booth. With him were Xander, Jackson, Ernest and the hippy Branch. "It would seem so." Xander coolly replied. "They are idiots to think that I wouldn''t be watching them working in the methbs. I told you that they didn''t cancel the experiments on those pills. It seemed that it was sessful in the end." "As if! If you call that a sess, powering up to swell up like a red muscr balloon, then you got to be making a joke!" Martinez said with a fit of mockughter. "You think that those three numbskulls could beat my ability with those pills? The pills look to be not even able to reach A ss Inducement Level." "No, Boss. Though stronger now, they wouldn''tst a minute against you." Xander replied crossing his arms. "You would crush them like a can under a truck tire. Just as you will Queen if she survives." Chapter 142: Three Angry Tomatoes Chapter 142: Three Angry Tomatoes Queen needed to regain her footing in this fight, the ploy she had disyed was unbing of her skill. Being constantly pushed back, knocked down and getting disarmed so early in the fight made her look horribly pathetic. Her fight with Golem had gone much better than with these three Irish fools. However, she had no time to think about these things. Connor was pounding away at her so furiously, all she could do was roll away on the ground like a stupid tire, meaning thinking was out of the question. "Ching!" Queen smashed her back into the stage fence,ing to an abrupt stop. Her vision was spinning, but she could still make out Connors footing right for her face! Queen desperately raised her arms up to block the kick. Connors foot pounded into her hard like an ox stomping at a sack of grain. Heughed maniacally as he kept stomping on the cornered Queen. "What a wasted effort it ended up being, drawn out from ourfortable mansion to fight you! Simply was not worth it." Connorughed looking down at Queen. "It looks like all the talk about you being dangerous was just hot air! Ha-ha!" "Gah! Looks like it was useless for me to take the Power pill as well." Patrick shouted as the pills effects took hold. Then he too lumbered heavily towards the pinned down Queen. "Let me join you anyway. I have to repay her for dislocating my arm!" The pills strange Inducement ability also caused their skin, being very pale as Irish tend to appear, to continue darkening increasingly red. A lot like a tomatoes skin ripening overtime. Just like his brother, Patrick''s body had swelled unnaturally, causing his muscles to expand tightly against his reddened skin and gnarly blue blood vessels had nearlye bursting out of him. "Awe, it''s over now?" Sean moaned turning away from his so far fruitless pursuit of the ck metal case to watch his brothers beat on Queen. "I wanted to at least try it out." Through the gaps in her defense, she could see Patrick was closing in on her. It was now Queen found her chance to think curled up in this hopeless fetal position. Her prosthetic arms and legs were enough to absorb the heavy kicks raining down on her and protect her face from major damages. Yet it was strange, as she looked at Patrick Queen noticed that everything around him looked hazy. "Why is it so dusty in here?" Queen thought absorbing another hit from Connor. Looking at the destroyed stage flooring she continued in though, "Was this caused by Connors punches breaking up the stage? Hmm, if so, I have an idea. I can''t justy here acting all pathetic, might as well try it." The crowd was quickly getting bored. They were expecting something far more exciting. Not to watch a nameless start up Match Fighter get pummeled by her three seniors in this dangerous sport. Their feelings were being vocalized now by boos and trash talk. "Come on! Get up and fight Queen. You''re wasting my bets!" "I knew she had only won by a fluke! I never should have bet on her!" "End this farce! It''s all been rigged!" "Smash that trash! Boo!" Benny and Wayne were sitting on the edges of their seats. Both were anxious and enthralled by the fight going on before them. They paid no mind to those around them. Sadie was gripping the fence and desperately calling out for Queen to fight back and get up. She could not hear anything anyone was saying. The crowds jeers continued, however, and Hanna alone just couldn''t stand it. They were being so mean and cruel towards her. They didn''t seem to see her as a human being but an object to bet on. This was an eye-opening asion to the young girl. Until now she had thought that the gangsters were the only cruel ones, but now seemingly regr people were doing the same as those gangsters. Humans are cruel by nature. "This world truly is a horrible ce. Where is thepassion my parents taught me? Don''t they have any?" Hanna sobbed in thought anxiously watching Queen curled up on the floor. "If only I could do something to help! But what can I do? I''m so little and useless." However, Hanna''s thoughts were suddenly distracted by what happened on stage next. The boos from the crowd turned over into cheers. Queen had started her counterattack. Queen waited until Patrick was just about to join in beating her with Connor. Connor''s back foot was now close within her reach, taking note of this, Queen made her move just as he raised his other foot for another stomp. In a sudden burst of motion, Queen lurched outward and sent a punch aimed at Connors ankle. Caught by surprise and unable to avoid the attack, the blow to his ankle knocked Connors foot off the floor to lose his bnce and tumbling down. Then without waiting a second, Queen sprang up from the floor like some four-legged beast and leapt straight at the fallen man. She mounted on top of his chest and went to start throwing punches. Connor defensively tried grabbing her arms as she struck down at him and tossed his head about to avoid the swings. Patrick was unsure how to react now that the tables had turned. He wanted to grab Queen and rip her off his brother, but at the same time, if he did that Connor was going to throw a fit andin that he had embarrassed himself by getting helped. So, he ended up just shuffling awkwardly around the two grappling Fighters waiting for a solution to present itself. Connor was clearly therger of the two and Queen was struggling to keep her mount on him. He kept tossing his hips and torso upward to knock her off and tackle her down instead, much like a bull trying to toss its rider off. Queen fumbled desperately to free her arms up from his grasps and strike at Connor, while at the same time avoid being hit back by him. Her focus was mainly on Connor, so Patrick''s indecisiveness worked out into her favor. She pressed hard downward at Connors red and muscle strained face with her right hand. Then his grasp on her slipped up and she found her chance. Throwing her right shoulder forwards and elbow down, Queennded a blow to his head. Her elbow immediately broke the skin right above his left eye, causing a mini red river to spew out from him. Invigorated by the hit, Queen threw out another one, striking him again in the jaw. Bleeding, gasping for air and clearly angry, Connor fought back and threw his own punches at Queens sides and face. Using his left hand to try and stop her ground and pound attacks, his right hand did all the attacking. Yet this wasn''t working. Queen leaned heavily forward and tried pinning his head on to the stage and block his breathing. Seeing this, Patrick had to intervene. He roughly grabbed Queen by her left arm and long hair and yanked her off Connor. He lifted her high above himself and prepared to smash her like a sledgehammer. His bulging red arm muscles looked like fiery hot bars of molten iron, powerful and dangerous. As soon as Queen was being torn off Connor, she immediately focused her attacks onto Patrick. As so as she reached max height above Patrick, Queen kicked straight down and booted him across the side of his face. His neck bent down awkwardly as Queens boot struck. Stunned, Patrick faltered and rxed his swinging movements. Feeling him loosen up, Queen strangled his arm and twisted her weight towards the stage behind Patrick''s back. The momentum caused the two of them to copse onto the stage like a chopped tree. Queen had braced for impact and was ready for her next move uponnding. Grasping his wrist, she pulled back hard onto his arm while pinning his arm at the shoulder with her interlocked feet. She had him in an arm bar now! Sean was startled to see his two brothers quickly fall in these sudden turns of events. He started to take a few steps towards them to help, but then remembered that he needed the Power pill to get stronger. As he was now, fighting the infuriated Queen would be unwise. Queen felt a slight popping jolt and heard Patrick once again scream out in pain. She had broken his elbow now! On the other hand, Connor had recovered and though bleeding and one eye blocked by wet blood, he hurriedly got up to fight. Seeing Queen breaking Patrick''s arm on the ground, he sped both hands together and went to smash Queens exposed head! At thest second Queen flicked her head aside and he smashed a hole into the stage, yet again, just behind her. Arge plum of tan dust rose up from the nasty two-handed attack. Inwardly she smiled. "Yes, keep doing just that!" Queen then let go of the wailing reinjured Patrick and quickly got into her feet. Looking at Connor standing up from his Donkey Kong like smashing attack, she could also see out of her side vision that Sean was going for the ck case. She instantly got worried. "I got to stop him! Two of these guys are hard enough for me to deal with." Queen thought. Dashing away from Connor she sprinted at impossible speeds at Sean. "Get back here!" Connor yelled giving chase. Sean had finally grabbed the case! He opened the lid and was about to swallow thest pill. Then, pow! Queen mmed right into his back like a pro Rugby yer tackling a newbie to the game. The blue power pill went flying high into the dusty air. The two copsed in a tangled mess onto the stage to then rollover once. Sean had the wind knocked out of him and his mouth opened agape trying breath. Just as he tried desperately sucking in air, the Power pill came falling back down towards him. "Ack! Gah!" Sean sputtered as itnded right into the back of his throat! Queen failed to stop him. Now all three were going to be powered up! "You wench! Take this!" Connor bellowed out in his foghorn voice. Being unable to attack Queen with his axe or risk hitting Sean, this time he grabbed Queen by her legs and with an inhuman like massive burst of strength, chucked Queen like a rag doll. She went flying across the stage and into the fence on the opposite side with a painful looking impact. "You are going to suffer before you die!" Patrick wailed clutching his once again damaged arm. "Gah, I-I nearly choked to death!" Sean sputtered. "Im mad now." "Quick, lets get her before she gets up!" Connor yelled charging for the fallen and crumpled Queen. These three angry tomatoes now seemed to have the upper hand over the course of this Match and were closing in on Queen being full of excitement. However, Queen was not done yet. Not only was she far from being tired and beaten, but Connor made a mistake throwing her here. She hadnded right on top of where her katanay! Chapter 143: Ketchup Chapter 143: Ketchup Queen stood up and tossed her long loosened ck hair out of her face. A confident smirk was now stered onto her face as she raised up her dull ck sword. The three charging triplets were not worried seeing her rising back up to face them and they continued to charge headlong at her, like three angry red bulls. Connor and Patrick were the first to reach Queen with their axes at the ready. Sean was still impatiently waiting for the pill to take effect, but he was doing his best to keep up with his brothers speed. Connor leapt high and held his axe above himself with both hands, all with the intention of smashing her to bits! Closing thest of the distance in a sh, he struck down hard at Queen and arge cloud of dust flew up on impact, missing entirely. Just as she was hoping. Dodging the obvious attack easily in her Advanced Armament: Stage 1, Queen moved off to the right of the massive ck axe. As she did, Queen jabbed out at Connors left arm, piercing it with ease. Connor yelled and pulled away to let go of the axe briefly. Seeing this Patrick tried repeating the same attack as his brother, jumping high and shing at Queen. Only this time with more of a chopping angle. Queen dodged yet again, only this time she was unable to counterattack like before due to the smart decision to attack at that angle and she was forced to jump further away. Another plume of dust sted upward as Patrick''s axe struck the floor taking out arge chunk. The chipped portion of the flooring went spinning harmlessly across the stage, but the show of power awed the crowd to no end. Without waiting a second, Patrick followed through his swing to sh at Queen, who in turn,ughed as she lightly slipped further across the stage unharmed. Patrick then called out to his brother in this brief pause in the fight. "You alright? She is too fast for these kinds of attacks. We need a n!" "Shut up!" Connor yelled wrenching his axe free. Flexing his wounded hand Connor grimaced angrily finding no major damage was done. "We don''t need a n. You know what, give me your axe. I''ll show you how to handle her." But she is to fast now and Patrick retorted, but his words fell on deaf ears. Connor pushed Patrick aside ignoring his protests and took the axe in his other hand. Queen stood waiting for them just steps away and didn''t seem the least bit concerned about the huge red maning at her with dual axes. Her confident grey eyes stared unwavering at her opponent. "That''s right big boy,e on and show me what you got." Queen taunted curling her lips with excitement. Then she unted her skills by spinning the de around in her hand before taking the stand-on stance once again. Connor spit in her direction and started swing haymakers at her with the axes. The big, shinny, ck axes streaked viciously at Queen, every one of the strikes were filled with the intention to kill. Queen stepped back in rapid half steps while parrying the axes skillfully with the dull edge of her katana. She struck at the axes in a way that caused them to shoot downwards and to strike the ground. This caused even more dust to float about on stage as huge chunks of the stage were being destroyed without a second thought. Her n was now in motion, and ever so easily. "What is she doing?" Wayne called out to Sadie. Sadie had let go of the fence and seemed less tense now that Queen was armed once again. Though the speed of which the fight had now reached was more than she had expected. "S-she''s doing an idea that I suggested. A three on one situation is never a good thing to fight. So how to beat those odds? Just wait and see." Sadie replied crossing her arms while never taking her nervous gaze off the fight. Queen was holding off Connor easily and just to rub it in, she started deflecting his attacks one handed! The hatred and frustration held on his face was clear to all. Queen had gotten into his head and all he was doing now was blindly fighting her. "Come on, is that all you got?" Queen continued taunting giving anotherugh. "Shut up already!" Connor grunted not letting up his attack. Chunks of flooring scattered in every direction, sparks flew off of the two opponents weapons on every hit, and tan dust rose inrge, choaking plumes, all the while slowly covering up the Arena Stage from view. Queen continued back pedaling across the stage, being sure to circle away from the other two brother. If the Arena had been any smaller fighting like this would have been difficult, but the stage was exceptionally long and wide. The dust, however, was now finally starting to make seeing on stage difficult and even the crowd took notice. Connors deflected strikes only continued to add to their inability to see. The crowd was getting annoyed. The fight was getting good now and the dust nearly blocked everyones view. Even those on the front rows knew not of what was going on. All they could hear was the sound of Connors yelling and the sound of metal on metal followed but the crunching smash of the axes hitting the stage. "What''s going on? Its getting murky on stage. Did someone turn on a fog machine?" "Really? That''s kind of cool." "Wait, I can''t see all the fighters now. Get that dust out of here!" Where are the staff at? We cant see! Indeed, now only Patrick could be seen standing unarmed at the far end of the stage, which just so happened to be the least cloudy. The ominous sounds of metal to metal and heavy booms could be heard, like thunderstorms rumbling in the distance. Patrick didnt know what to do now, both Connor and Sean were out of sight and he was disarmed. Smashing his fist into the fence knowing all he could do now was wait. "Getting tired yet?" Queen asked knocking aside another swing from Connor. She was hardly even struggling at the moment, even after all that had happened during the entire fight. "N-not yet! I''m going to rip you apart." Connor replied with a growl dripping with sweat. His red body now resembled a boiling hot dogs. "Better end this now anyway." Queen suddenly said knocking away his next blow into the air above them. Then grabbing her de by the hilt with both hands, she sent it careening downwards aiming for his exposed head. "Cha-ping!" Out from the dust another axe intercepted Queens attack, saving Connor from defeat. Queens sword was knocked back behind her and she stepped back to avoid a follow up swing from the next brother. "Did you forget about me? Ha-ha!" Sean shouted. He had caught up with the two fighting and was now bulging up as well. Unlike the other two, he hadn''t received any injuries yet and waspletely fresh and ready to fight. "My turn, bro!" Queen sighed as if annoyed and continued her retreat through the growing dust cloud. Sean was hot on her heals. Sean thrashed his axe at her with far more speed and energy than his brothers had, they were exhausted. If it weren''t for Queens prosthetics, she too would be tired by now, but this was not the case. She waspletely prepared to take him on. The two dashed through the dust, des shing, and the chipped flooring underfoot flew off in every direction. Those sitting on the front rows soon saw that it looked like the two were nearly even as they asional immerged into to sight. What was clear though was that neither had been hurt yet. Connor stayed behind and let the two get away so that he could catch his breath for a moment. "Youre going down!" Sean shouted smashing down at Queen. However, Queen didn''t deflect the attack this time, but blocked its pointed tip with her de and held it in ce. "I think this is good enough." Queen said calmly lowering her de so that Sean and she were looking face to face. "It''s time to end this farce of a fight. You guys ended up being a letdown. I still only had to use Stage One." "What?" Sean replied both angry and confused. Suddenly, Queen dipped to her left so that her swords point pointed down and caused Sean''s axe to crash to the ground next to her. Then continuing to spin left, Queen stepped behind Sean and sliced at his defenseless backside. The de struck deeply into him, sttering the blood across the ruined stage. Sean arched in pain as he screamed. However, Queen was not done. As Sean was turning around to throw a swing at her with a balled up free hand, Queen had expected this and had already ducked low. As soon as his left hand swung over her, she struck upwards with her de; neatly slicing off Sean''s arm at the elbow! Sean screamed in pure agony and dropped his axe to clutch at his severed arm. Blood sprayed and dripped in globs, unhindered to pool around his feet. The Power pill not only gave the users more strength, but it seemed to also increase blood pressure. This spelled the end for him. Queen raised her dull ck de once again, her face cold as ice and then struck. Sean looked up in terrified shock at Queen and tried to speak, presumably for mercy. Queen didn''t hesitate. The sword sliced cleanly across his neck, leaving a red waterfall behind. Sean was defeated. Queen flicked the blood off her de and turned to peer into the still thickly billowing dust. "That''s one. Now, where are the others?" "Sean? Where is she? Damn dust!" Connors voice called out from her left. "Ah, there you are." Queen said casual turning to walk his way. Streaks of stage light beamed down in uneven columns through the dust as she started make her way to him. "Patrick are you still there? You see Queen or Sean? It''s too quiet." Connor continued. "No, I can''t see a thing! This dust is too thick." Patrick called back. "Give me my axe back. I can''t fight without it." "And there is Patrick." Queen spoke aloud ncing his way through the swirling dust, before continuing onwards, He''s no threat. Connor is the one I want right now." "Hey, it''s thinning up near the back. Meet me there." Patrick shouted out. Queen chuckled. "That idiot. Tell me what youre doing next why don''t you." Connor was having no luck in his search. The dust he had help make was just too thick to see through. If that wasn''t enough, he also couldn''t hear anything. The crowd was booing and jeering too much for him to figure out what was going on. Hearing his brothers calling, he decided to go that way. "Going somewhere?" A woman''s voice called immediately from behind. In a sh he turned around swinging his right-handed axe. However, she was not there. All that remained was swirling dust and light beams crashing through the slowly thinning, thick smoke. It was an eerie ce, not like any fight he had been in before. "When I get my hands on you, I am going to make you beg for mercy. Then I am going to have some fun with that tight looking body of yours, before letting you die slowly!" Connor shouted menacingly into the dust patters and shadows around him. He nervously looked around him while backing up. As he did, he stepped on some loose bits of stage and nearly fell backwards. Connor dropped to one knee to keep from falling. As soon as he did and looked up, Queen was standing right in front of him! Like a ghost from some horror movie, she was right up in his face! "Queen!" Connor shouted and reactively swung his axe at her, but it was toote. Queen was already sinking her de right into his neck, slowly pressing down further into his chest cavity! Bubbling sounds rose from his overflowing mouth as he red angrily up at his killer. In onest ditch effort he swung his axe up at her, but it flew way off target and went spinning harmlessly into the swirling dust beyond. Silence returned to the bloodied stage as Connors body slumped over. "I really don''t want to kill people, but it''s guys like you that make me change my mind." Queen sighed heading for the back of the stage. Only one was left and her de was still wet. "Hey look!" Someone in the stands shouted. "I see Patrick and he''s unarmed. Where are the others at?" "Did he win? I don''t hear anything." Another called back. "Wait! I see something." A woman shouted out pointing past Patrick. "It''s Queen!" Patrick was rubbing his injuries scanning the clearing dust in front of him. It had been a few moments since he hadst heard Connor yell out ''Queen'' and this eerie silence was very much unlike him. He was about to call out when he heard the crowd calling out Queens name. "Don''t tell me she beat them?!" Patrick moaned. Then he readied himself, though unarmed, he wasn''t going down easy. "Well, well. There was three now there''s one." Queen said sauntering out from the dust clouds to his right like a wraith. "Let''s get this over with. I''m starting to get thirsty." "Where are my brothers?" Patrick growled. "Dead. I turned those ugly tomatoes into ketchup. Do you want to join them?" Queen replied stopping a few meters away. Just then someone from the Arena''s staff finally turned on arge ground fan. Slowly the dust blew off the stage revealing the bloodied remains of the two other Clover Clippers. The referee, long forgotten during the fight, was frantically searching for the fighters in the dust and seeing the remaining two, hurried to watch over them. The crowd exploded into a cacophony of excitement, the betting odds were blown, yet another upset win by Queen! "You wench! You killed them!" Patrick yelled. His whole body was shaking with anger. He balled his fist, then blinded by rage, charged headlong at Queen. "I win!" Queen shouted. Then she lunged one step forward and shed downward at the charging, swollen red man. Her sword flicked out to reach its full length and then came crashing right at his middle. His skull split, chest chopped, and torso severed, all cleanly right down the middle. His body sshed into its own blood and guts behind Queens feet. It was over, she had overwhelmingly beaten the odds to win yet again! Chapter 144: Admittance Chapter 144: Admittance Saul couldn''t tell if he was d, sad, or terrified that the triplets were now dead. He was d that those torturers finally got what wasing to them. Yet still sad that he had lost another Match Fight, three strong fighters and let down Boss Martinez. In the end he finally settled on terrified. There was no telling what the Boss was going to do with him now that another thing had gone wrong. Also, that silly confession bet with Queen too. Not that it was going to matter, he himself was now going to have to kill Queen now. The crowd, from all sides, were throwing trash, food and insults at him. Uncounted bets were lost due to his continued ipetence. Saul didnt care about them. Their threats and words meant nothing to him. Without looking up, he knew that Martinez was cursing his name and probably screaming about killing him. That was more frightening than any crowd member or anyone could ever be. Saul reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag of drugs. He had half a mind to toss it away, but he wanted to use it so badly. Saul started to ponder too himself, "After I deal with Queen will I take it. Yes, I can use this as my reward and then never take drugs again. That will work." A half full cup crashed onto the back of his head, stopping his thoughts. Not even giving the one that tossed it a nce, he then stuffed the bag back into his pocket and started towards Sadie and the others. They were eagerly waiting for Queen who was now leaving the Arena''s stage. Wayne couldn''t believe what he had seen just happen before him. Everything had happened so fast and unlike anything he could have dreamed of! Queen had killed them all and with such bloody violence! Looking back at Hanna he was slightly relieved that he wasn''t the only one disgusted. Hanna was looking a bit pale and had lowered her gaze away from the stage. The state of the triplets was surely beyond mortifying for her little soul. It was fortunate that the dust blocked the worst of the bloody parts. Even though all this was displeasing to him, it was also good news. Surely now his report was going to convince the Mayor that Lisa could handle herself against the Crescent Moon. Hanna, however, was not looking away from the gruesome stage, but because of what Aunt Lisa told her. She was going to have to make a decision of what to do next based on what Saul confessed too. This was not good! She still had no idea what to do. "Lisa! You did it!" Sadie and Benny cheered together in unison. They were overjoyed by her victory, because in turn, it was theirs too. "I can''t believe my n worked." Sadie continued jumping up and down on her heels. "It was sost second and I thought they wouldn''t fight that recklessly at first." "No, it yed out the way you guessed." Lisa replied giving a grin seeing her enthusiasm. "Those idiots keeps hitting the ground a lot with those axes. Just like in their past fight, lots of dust was eventually kicked up. Using it to split them up was a good n." "Thanks. If the fight were anywhere else, my idea wouldn''t have worked." Sadie replied pressing her slipping red sses back up her nose. "What did work the best though was all of my bets!" Benny added with a bellowingugh. "I think we tripled what we didst time. That''s including my own money!" "Seriously! That''s even better than I hoped." Lisa remarked looking at the thick handfuls of bills in the old mans hands. He had wasted no time at all collecting the winnings from stunned fans and patrons. Then she saw Sauling around the ruined stage towards them. "Let''s get it counted up soon, but first we need to deal with Saul." Hanna overheard this and quickly straightened up to look nervously in his direction. "I have to decide what to do with him. What might that be!" She thought nervously thinking of scenarios that mighte to pass. I wish I had more time! Hanna continued think these thoughts as she watched the mane closer. His battered face, tired eyes and exhausted stature didn''t give off a dangerous feeling. In fact, his very being looked downright pathetic. There were even liquids dripping off his wrinkled cloths and a piece of gum stuck in his disheveled hair. "Perhaps he''s not so bad after all. Maybe he was just there by chance?" Hanna thought hopefully. Saul stopped just a few steps away before speaking. "How about we go into the hall? It''s too noisy here." "Fine by me. Come on." Lisa said looking at Hanna. Hanna nodded knowingly and got up to follow the two grownups stiffly. Lisa then called back, "Sadie, Benny and Wayne can you guys find out where Zane went off too? I didn''t see him anywhere around the Arena yet." "Sure, no problem." Sadie replied giving an excited thumbs up. "I bet he''s made a ton of money to from his bets likest time." Benny replied tucking a loose bill back into his pocket. Lisa and Hanna followed Saul into the tunnel leading to the locker rooms and offices. So far it was empty, and they wouldn''t be interrupted. Saul turned around and crossed his arms as he leaned heavily on the tunnel wall, giving off a slightly uncaring vibe. "So, go ahead and ask away. I agreed to the bet." Saul said to Lisa, though he was curious as to why the little girl was with them. "I want you to confess that you were indeed partly responsible for killing the cop and his familyst month." Lisa replied tly. "Fine." Saul sighed rolling his eyes. "I''ll admit that I was there, but I didn''t kill or harm them. It was just my job to figure out when they were vulnerable and to pick out the guys capable of doing the job to capture them. I spent around two days watching that family to figure it all out." "You were stalking us!" Hanna suddenly blurted out. "You couldn''t just leave us alone? I don''t care why you were there, but you could have left us alone!" "Us?" Saul said raising an eyebrow. Then his cid face turned to look concerned and he got off the wall. "Wait, that hair. You are that cops daughter! How did you survive the dogs? I saw the blood. Oh no, once the boss learns of this, I am dead for sure!" Saul started to hastily try and pass by the two women, but Lisa''s firm hand grabbed his arm and pushed him back. "Not so fast." Lisa growled. "I can''t let you do that. Hanna, you shouldn''t have said all that. Now things are a bitplicated. You need to make a decision about what to do with him, now." "W-What are you talking about? Let me go!" Saul replied nervously. Things had been getting worse for him at every turn and now was no exception. Hanna was mad. She originally was going to make him promise not toe near her again and leave town, but after learning that he was the one that came up with the n to capture her family, she didn''t know what to think. Hearing Lisa''s voice, she clenched her fist tightly. "Beat him up." Hanna answered nearly above a whisper. Then louder, "I want all you guys to pay for what you did, but I don''t think killing ispletely the right thing to do. So, Lisa can you just beat him up, as much as you can?" "This little girls heart is in the right ce, but what she just revealed her identity and that has put her in danger." Lisa thought inwardly. "If Saul tells Martinez about Hanna than he will probably try finishing the job. I don''t know what deal they made with that AFR Lieutenant, but it''s probably one they would probably want to keep. Hopefully, this beating will do the trick, but I''ll probably take care of him myselfter." "Very well. I will do just that." Lisa replied giving the little girl a grin. Then she held on tightly to Saul''s wrist and her expression darkened. "But not here. There are cameras and witnesses. You''reing with me to outside thepound." Hearing this Saul gave a gulp and started visibly to shake again. Thinking to himself, "Who really is this woman? I saw no connections with her and the cop family before. Why does she care so much? I don''t want to find out what is in store for me by then and get beat up. Hehe, good thing the boss said I can kill her. The gun on my back wille in handy soon. As soon as she goes to hit me, I''ll st her and the kid! That will surely get the boss to forgive me, no doubt!" McMathers had watched the fight with great interest and was memorizing every detail. He was confident that this fight was good enough to sway his rivals attention and get Crescent Moon to fight Queen. All he had to do now was make the call. "Return and end recording." McMathers said softly speaking into the t screened watch around his right wrist. A few secondster a small brass colored orb with a camera lens embedded into its center, flew into his booth from above the still dusty stage area. The orb noiselessly floated into his opened palm and it powered off uponnding. Pressing a button on the orbs back, turned on its Bluetooth connection as McMathers spoke again into his wristwatch. "Upload previous video and send to Spindle." The screen flickered on and a loading bar quickly filled up on screen and in seconds a ''Sent'' notification popped up. The video of Queen''s fight was now being sent to his elusive rival. "Now lets go see how my new project is doing. I wouldn''t want her to mess things up and make my ns harder than intended." McMathers chuckled getting up to leave. A satisfied look had settled onto his aging face, things were indeed going well for him. On the receiving end of McMathers message, far away in an unknown room high above the brightly lit bustling city below, a phone screen lit up on a desk. This illuminated the eerie dark room and drew the attention of a shadowy slim figure. A bony hand with long yellowed nails slowly reached over and scooped it up. The yellowed nail tapped noisily on the ss screen as it selected the message box and opened McMathers message and immediately the video started ying. "Hmm, McMathers wants to challenge me again?" A feminine sounding male voice squeaked out. "That old man is such a pain, always trying to beat me, the illustrious Spindle. Ho-ho, a new Shadow fighter beat four Mountain League members so far? Interesting, I guess I''ll y along with him." A pair of yellow cat eyes looked up from the phones screen and out into the dimly lit room in front of him in thought. "Another game of cat and mouse is sure to help me pass the time. Wouldn''t you agree?" Spindle thenzily looked down beneath him where a man was on all fours pretending to be Spindles chair. The man had only his underwear on and looked to be rather embarrassed or turned on, it was hard to tell I the near darkness. "Yes sir. I am sure you will find satisfaction." The man replied without moving. "I hope it does. Now I think your punishment is not quite done yet. You did a real mess up on yourst job, letting it show up to my client five minuteste." Spindle said getting up from his naked human seat. "I am truly sorry." The man replied remaining in ce on all fours. "I should hope so." Spindle prattled. As he walked across the room the man saw that Spindle had a pair of fuzzy white cat ears and a lively white cat tail was following behind him. The man then looked away as Spindle spun around with his robe flowing around him and continued speaking, "Now here,p up this milk and once gone, you can go." Spindle ced a kittens bowl of milk onto the floor a few paces from the man. Giving an understanding nod the nearly naked man crawled like an animal over to the milk and startedpping it up with his tongue. Spindle gave a heartless smile and started purring; he was enjoying this! Chapter 145: Not Cash Chapter 145: Not Cash Before Lisas fight had started, Zane had ced his thousand dors bet at the betting booth and then stood off to one side of the hall. He watched the tellers carefully as they dealt with other patrons. If he was going to figure out where the cash was being stored, he was going to need to follow his own bet money. This was because after watching for a few moments, Zane noticed something odd. Most of those doing the betting never handed over a single bill to ce their bets. All they did was extend their wrists and one of the three tellers working at the booths would wave a small wand like device over their wrists two times. If all went well, a green light would light up and the patron moved on. If the light was red the patron usually got angry and asked for a rescan. If it failed again, they would end up leaving looking embarrassed. Zane was disappointed seeing this, because using Digital money from Chip transfers was all done all online and he had never learned how to utilize this process because of the townsck of power. "If they are chip betting, where''s the physical money? How am I supposed to find out where they keep their stash if no one else is going to use Paper money?" Zane worried to himself. Rumbling down the crowded hallway everyone could hear the announcement for the Clover Clippers versus Queen. The anticipated fight was starting soon. At this moment, the crowds surrounding the betting booths started to dissipate towards the Arena. It wasn''t long before Zane was thest person standing alone in the hallway. Seeing he was exposed, Zane slipped behind a building support beam half sunk into the wall. "Finally. Now let''s see where they take the money." Zane thought keeping an eye on the teller that he had given his bet too. The beam provided just enough cover to keep from being seen by the three tellers that were in the booth. Zane waited five minutes before he saw the tellers make a move. Fortunately, the booth appeared to have no immediate exit and the tellers would have toe out into the hallway to leave. The tellers took their time packing up what money they had received. They ced the cash into a marked safe box and then onto a silver-colored hand cart. The sounds of the crowds cheers made it sound like the fight was getting quite exciting. Zane wished he could be there to see it, but the possibility of getting an easy cash grab was more tempting. He had done simr scout and heist missions before for the ck Rats and so far, this felt no different. The tellers pushed the cart across the wide tile hallway towards a double door passageway that led further into the warehouse. Zane also noted that the bank building was in this direction too. Perhaps there was a connection between the two buildings? Even if there was no way to steal the money, this was still good intel. The first teller, wearing a blue vertically striped shirt, used an electronic badge to unlock the double doors. Then the second teller, with a yellow vertical striped shirt, continued pushing the cart and moved into the passage. The third andrgest teller, with a red vertical striped shirt, followed closely behind. Once the other two had entered, the blue striped teller let go of the door to follow. Zane had to hurry! If he were to keep up with them, he had to make his move before the door closed and locked or all was lost. Taking off his shoe rapidly, Zane then quickly threw it, like a bowling ball, across the smooth tile flooring of the hallway at the closing door. The shoe slipped soundlessly across the polished and smooth white tile floor, like a ghost on ice. At first Zane thought he had made the toss too weak and it looked like his shoe was going to stop short. Then, just as the shoe stopped moving, the door closed with a soft thump. Right onto the toes of the shoes edge! "Whew!" Zane sighed. Then taking a quick nce down each end of the hallway, Zane saw that no one was watching him, and the hallway waspletely empty. Satisfied he then hurried across and opened the door to peek inside. He could see that the smaller passage was carpeted blue and that it bent sharply to the left. As he peeked, Zane also saw that the three tellers were just now disappearing around the turn. There were no signs of anyone else being inside. Slipping on his shoe Zane quietly closed the door and hurried after the tellers. Thankfully, the carpet muffled his hurried steps and he soon caught up with them. The passage was quite bare, with only a few potted fake nts lining the way. Zane dared only advance when they were three nts ahead, and even then, he felt far too exposed. Luckily the three tellers were not paying much attention behind them and were talking casually with each other the entire time. The passage took onest turn to the right and Zane waited a few seconds after they turned it to approach the turn himself. Peeking carefully with one eye, Zane saw that the blue shirted teller had unlocked another double door and they all were going inside. From what Zane could see was that beyond these doors was apletely different looking interior from the Warehouse Arena. As the door closed, Zane took advantage of the carpeting to rush forward and stop the door from closing all the way. This time on the other side of the door there seemed to be lots of people walking by. It was not going to be easy sneaking around inside without raising suspicion. However, Zane had a choice: turn back now and lose this chase or risk it. Looking through the doors crack, he saw arge open lobby with red carpeting going down its middle and up some stairs circling upwards opposite from him. Darkly polish oak walks and furniture were everywhere. Immediately he recognized therge room as the entrance to a bank. Remarkably simr to the single bank on the former ck Rats side. Looking carefully at the people passing by Zane thought carefully. "They all look like Mad Dogs gangsters based on their markings. If I go in and they ask who I am, then I am screwed. But I could blend in as one of them. After all, I used to be gangster and I know I can act the part." Then he saw that the three tellers were now turning right again and out of his sight. Taking a deep breath Zane decided to risk it and opened the door as casually as he could. Stepping inside, no one took immediate notice of him. Luckily, security wascking on the banks inside at this spot. Walking briskly in the direction of the three tellers, Zane passed by several gangsters, but none paid any attention to him. "If you act like you are part of the ce and moving with a purpose, almost no one will mess with you." Zane confidentially mused in his thoughts. He soon caught up within sight of the tellers and saw that they were approaching an areabeled on the wall, ''Safe and Lock Boxes''. Zane had to be careful now, this was probably where the Mad Dogs kept their spoils and likely guarded it tightly. Sure enough, as he followed, Zane saw several armed guards with guns of all kind loitering about. The tellers were now speaking with a tall guard, armed with a shot gun, standing outside of a metal barred gate. Beyond was arge round door to the safe and doors, Zane assumed, that lead to the lock boxes. This was as far as he was going to get. The tall guard had let the three tellers inside as Zane continued closer. Just before reaching the tall guard, Zane saw that this area was at a cross section with another hallway. A stroke of luck! Turning to the right Zane headed for the corner wall closest to the metal gate. Then he casually leaned up against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. He was going to pretend to be waiting for someone, while doing his best to listen in on the three tellers conversations. The tall guard eyed him a moment, but he didn''t leave his post. Zane must have been convincing enough or not suspicious yet. "Hey, so I''m still kind of new to this job." The yellow striped teller said to the others. "But what else is in here besides money? Gold and jewelry, I bet." "Pretty much." The big green striped teller grunted. "The only other stuff in here are money data sticks and special information rted to the gang and assets. Right?" "Ya, that''s right." The blue stripped teller replied as he fiddled with the lock to the Lock Box room they were standing outside of. "There is also, in the room behind us, all the deeds collected from most of the properties here in town. I know because I used to sort them out before I started working the Teller job." "Interesting. I never would have thought about keeping deeds." The yellow striped teller replied. "Neither would I." Zane agreed in his mind. "Why does the boss even keep them? It''s not like we need to prove that we control the area." The yellow striped teller continued. "True enough, but you never know when something legal mighte in handy. I hear that some properties can sell for millions, depending on who you sell the deed too or what the property''s buildings might do." The blue striped teller continued. Then he got the door open. "Ill tell you more inside." That was all Zane figured that he was going to hear. So, giving a loud sigh, he got up and off from leaning on the wall. The he looked at the tall guard and gave a sheepish grin. "Well, looks like my buddy is runningte. Better find out what keeping him." It was better to strike up a conversation and look like you were just innocent, rather than just walk away all sketchy like. The guard would probably take notice and try stopping Zane. As it turned out, Zane''s conversation starter seemed to do the trick. The guard merely rolled his eyes at Zane and didn''t reply. Zane headed back down the way he hade and on entering the lobby realized that he couldn''t return to the passageway. He was going to have to leave out the banks front and re-enter the Warehouse Arena. It was a lot longer of a walk and he didnt know the right route to take. Hopefully, no one would notice him entering the same building twice and never exiting. "Maybe I can catch thest of Lisa''s fight too!" Zane murmured quickening his pace towards the exit. Yet Zane had already been spotted long ago! Security, under Xander''s orders, had been keeping an eye on him since he had entered the Warehouse with Queen. Being marked on the yellow list, a guard had been tracking him independently on the monitors. Everything Zane had done had been seen! Chapter 146: Freezing Strike Chapter 146: Freezing Strike 56 and the others lowered their altitude to hover just above the blue sma wall and out of the artillery''s trajectory. When they did, they were immediately thrown back into the battle against the second wave of Twisted. Round after round was poured into the seemingly endless fray of monsters. "How many are there of these things?! There has got to be a limit to their numbers." 56 shouted to Dixon while reloading. "There is, but not while the Hoard Mother still lives." Dixon called back of his shoulder. Just then Dixon''s watch started beeping with an iing message. Dixon pulled his hover bike upwards to answer the call without worry of being attacked from below. Being on the back of the hover trailer in tow, 56 was able to overhear what the call was about. The announcement was being issued out in a male robotic voice. "Attention all Group Two personnel. If your zone is under control or defenses are capable of being held in fewer numbers, we need your assistance. Moab Cities mayor, Cameron Bakersfield, has granted authorization of the use of its special weapon. We need additional defense during its transportation to engage the Hoard Mother. The weapons will be moving on the ground on three mobile artillery trucks. Objective: Keep all Twisted away from the trucks as best as possible. The trucks will be driven by robotic AI drivers, so use of all weaponry is authorized. This is a direct order by the Leader of Hunters n Lodge 117, Eric Andre." Just as the order was issued the re of rm horns sounded out from their right. ncing that way 56 saw that on the right two towers beyond the area that were defending, had red revolving lights going off on their tops. Looking behind the sma wall, he could also see that the robotic city forces had split formation and were amassing behind the wall. They seemed to be waiting for something. "Are we going to join up with them?" 56 asked. Dixon gave a thoughtful expression as he looked down below at Tammy and Sam, as well as the turrets still firing on the oing masses of creatures. At the moment, there were norger Twisted attacking the towers and things seemed less pressing than before. There also now seemed to be fewer creaturesing out of the heavy dust clouds below. "I think we can. With the special weapon going by right next to our zone, we can easily return here if something were to happen." Dixon replied. Then he shouted down to his two partners, "Sam, Tammy! You two hold things here. 56 and I are going to assist the forces getting ready to advance on the Hoard Mother. I trust you two can handle it?" "We got it boss!" Tammy replied giving a light cackle. "Ke-ke-ke! These things aren''t so tough now." "As long as they don''t touch my bike again, we can handle it." Sam also replied while patting his bike handle. "Good." Dixon said giving them a thumbs up. Then he turned to 56. "Are you sure you''re up for this? After all you are just here for the ride. Civilians don''t need to participate and risk themselves." Dixon started to turn his hover bike and trailer towards the gathering point. They could see that the robotic foot soldiers were forming into two columns of ten abreast. In the distance the Hoar Mother loomed ever closer and 56 eagerly wanted to see how the two sides would face off against each other. "Nonsense, I am clearly capable. Besides, I think you underestimate me." 56 said giving a mock hurt look. "I''ll let you in on a secret. I used to be in the military." "Oh really?" Dixon said raising an eyebrow. "I guess that would exin your shooting prowess. Not many can fire that weapon urately and remain calm seeing these monstrous sights." The two of them were one of the few Hunters that that started to congregate above the blue sma wall. In total there was approximately sixty that showed up. Below them AI driven tanks had now started joining up amongst the robotic foot soldiers. From this distance 56 could now get a better look at them. Though the robotic forces looked extremely dangerous, being a technology expert operative cyborg, 56 recognized them with ease. Firstly, they were not the most recent of models of this era. They were at least two generations behind those that the Cyborg Unit fought against. However, they were not to be taken lightly just because they were slightly outdated. Each unit carriedser light machine guns, which reced their right arms entirely. While on their left arm was a sizable carbon steel and tungsten molded thick de, running from their elbow joint to half a meter past their hand. "Are you still recording this Orville?" 56 murmured to his nearby floatingpanion. "Rodger boss. I am recording the cities defenses." Orville chirped back. Orville hovered further away from the trailers edge and zoomed in on them. The robotic soldiers were then confirmed by Orville to be Infantry ss American Droid Series 18, or ICADS 18. The ICADS 18 stood at a height of two meters, weighing 220 kilograms, without weapons, and had ck sr paint providing indefinite energy to the unit. They had a sleek, watertight appearance to their humanoid form that showed they were indeed amphibious too. These particr ICADS has a blue energy glow in their eyes and disying systems. ICADS are generally independent fighting units that only need a fewmands and prompts to engage targets. Their facial recognition software is so fast in differentiating between civilian and militants that it is even better than a human. It is not too hard to see why they reced so many humans on the front lines. The downside of ICADS is their EMP resistance is only mid-tier and hacking is quitemon. Fortunately, each ICADS unit must be independently hacked, otherwise the robotic forces would have been scrapped decades ago. 56''s attention was turned away from the robots when one of the Hunters called out. "Look, I think those are the special weapons trucks. They are huge!" 56 looked towards the back of the robotic forces and saw threerge green trucks driving out from the city and onto the dust tan ground. As they came closer, he saw that they were modified rocket artillery vehicles. Instead of multiple rocketsunching tubes they now only had fourrge ones. However, their size and appearance werent all that impressive. In fact, the AI tanks looked far more threatening. "How is that supposed to take down the Hoard Mother?" 56 thought to himself. Just as he thought this, every Hunter simultaneously received another message from the Hunter Leader. Again, it was delivered in the male robotic voice. "Hunters you are to provide aerial suppression and once again stop thergest Twisted from hitting the special weapons. The first two trucks contain the special weapons. Unlike conventional rockets, these specially made projectiles contain Liquid Nitrogen. Any rupture of the projectiles would destroy the artillery trucks and surrounding area. Additionally, the fire uracy of these Liquid Nitrogen rockets is still not within eptable parameters. Meaning they will need to be escorted within closebat reach of the Hoard Mother." Hearing this sent a murmur through the Hunters. It was clear that no one wanted to be nearer to that creature than they need too. 56 on the other hand, was fascinated. Someone called out from the Hunters, mirroring 56''s own thoughts. "Liquid Nitrogen rockets? Do they n to freeze to death that giant Hoard Mother?" Then the message continued. "The third truck has tungsten tipped rocket rods. Once the Liquid Nitrogen freezes key locations, the tungsten rods will beunched in an arched pattern to build up kic energy and destroy the frozen locations. The impact will be strong enough to break the internal structure of the Twisted and prevent it from healing itself. Once this happens a collective bombardment from AI Tanks and city defense artillery will ravage the exposed areas. This, we assume, will be enough to destroy the Hoard Mother for good. I now wish you luck and safety." 56 pondered this for a second before he understood the concept. "They are basically using the ''Rods of God'' project from my time! This time utilizing the freezing temperatures, reaching close to -210C before being solid, to freeze the creature; then break it with the rods like ss on concrete. The kic buildup of the original Rods of God could burrow a hundred meters into the ground. So, I guess this would be a smaller scale of that. A sure-fire way to strike deep into the Twisted. What a rather interesting idea." Just then the rm sounded loudly from below them once again. In unison every ICADS 18 pointed their guns forward and prepared to fight. Then a females announcer voice was being broadcast out on the speakers from the sma towers to the immediate area. "Attention! The sma Wall will now be temporarily lowered. Please prepare to engage the iing Twisted. All personnel stop any Twisted from entering the area. Lowering the Wall in 20 19 18" "Here we go 56!" Dixon shouted pressing down on his hover bikes handles. The bike and trailer dipped down and headed for the far-left side of the glowing wall. Here the Twisted must have sensed themotion and were starting to swarm the area. asionally an impatient Logos Cutter or Night Hound would luge at the sma and instantly be melted away. "3 2 1 Lowering sma Wall!" Thedy announcer shouted. As quickly as flipping a light switch, the blue wall suddenly disappeared. As it did, the Twisted swarmed unhindered into the city outer limits and towards the ICADS and AI tanks on the ground. In turn, the ICADS 18 broke out into a hail of gunfire. Firing in unison, the blueser projectiles ravaged the charging Twisted and the ICADS uniformly started slowly marching forward. Hunters flittered back and forth in the air firing down from their hover vehicles, deal a fair amount of damage to any ins Strider or Land Octopus. However, the Twisted were just too many! Just as 56 was thinking they were going be overrun, the AI Tanks and artillery open fire. A wall of explosive power irrupted from further ahead on the battlefield. A secondary explosion happened a split secondter and napalm was deployed by a second barrage from the AI Tanks. This effectively hindered any Twisted reinforcements for the meantime. By now the ICADS 18s and any remaining Twisted had engaged into closebat. The ICADS had now broken formation and were engaging the Twisted in a myriad of independent battles. The Logos Cutters, though many in numbers, were unable to chew and cut down the solid built, sleek robots and fell easily to the robots des or squashed underfoot. The Night Hounds fared better, and many were able to puncture the ICADS armor, but very few ICADS actually fell to these attacks. Hunters easily finished off the remaining burning Twisted that had been trying to break through the wall of mes. The Twisted were soon routed and the entire robotic attack unit and special weapons were now past the sma wall and in front of the dwindling wall of napalm mes. "sma wall closing in 10 9 8" The announcerdy called out. There was no turning back now. Next stop, the Hoard Mother. Chapter 147: Artillery Chapter 147: Artillery The Hunters were charged with crossing over the napalm smoke and using irs, mark out where the Twisted were fewest. Then the AI tanks would follow the Hunters towards the marked directions to dampen the mes using their treads. The ICADS would follow immediately after, nking the special weapons artillery trucks. In this military procession, not a single weapon had stopped firing at the Hoard. 56 watched all this robotic verse monster warfare unfold from the slightly ufortable trailer bed while floating towards the ck wall of billowing smoke. After passing by, he saw that there was no obvious direction that could be considered to have the fewest Twisted. The napalm fire and smoke had attracted every Twisted with in sight. Twisted had fully surrounded the perimeter of the mes screeching and bellowing with malicious intent. Momentster the Hunters came to the same conclusion as 56. However, they had to advance. So, a green ir wasunched dead center of the weakening napalm mes. AI tanks quickly advanced three abreast, plowing through the smoke and then into the crowding Twisted creatures. Many creatures were unable to dodge the sudden appearance of the speeding tanks and were crushed. While other Twisted mored up on top of the tanks and tried attacking them. They stabbed, thrashed, and gnawed at every tank part they could reach. Yet the armor easily held up to their attacks and the tanks rolled onwards. Hunters took their time picking off Twisted attacking the tanks from above. asionally a ins Strider would charge out from the dusty clouds and plow into a vanguard AI tank. Their horns would puncture the tanks at times; however, this would only happen because the AI tanks sensors were being overloaded by the sheer number of heat signature targets. In response to being hit, the tanks immediately locked on to the ins Stride and fired. From point nk range there was not a single Twisted that could withstand a tanks attack. Once the ICADS 18s joined in the attack, the first responding Twisted were quickly subdued. "These ICADS are quite impressive. Though not quite as strong as the AFR forces. Still,pared to human soldiers, one ICADS 18 is worth ten soldiers." 56 thought looking down the barrel of his longser rifle. He watched as an ICADS 18 singlehandedly split a Night Hound in half with its tungsten/ carbon steel sword. While simultaneously shooting at a pack of Logos Cutters charging at its feet. It''s reactionary time and uracy were nothing to scoff at. The citys attack force didn''t have to travel far through the dust and swarming Twisted, just close enough tounch the special weapons. The Hoard Mother had been steadily advancing on the city the whole battle and now it was only two kilometers away from the sma wall. The entire time the Hoard Mother had been advancing the first group of Hunters had been fruitlessly attacking it. All they had to show for their efforts was a single eye of the Hoard Mother that was severely damaged and bleeding dark ckish blood. Once again Dixon received another message on his wristwatch. "Attention to all Hunters. Pull back from the Hoard another and prepare for impact. The cities artillery will be doing mass bombardments until the special weapons are ready. You have one minute." 56 looked towards the Hoard Mother to see the dozens of Hunters darting frantically around the creatures massive swaying head and neck. From this distance it was hard to see why they were fighting in such an odd manner. At first, he thought it was because of the asional artillery strikes, but those were mainly striking the Hoard Mothers back and legs. 56 raised his rifle to look through the scope. He was slightly surprised by what he saw, Logos Cutters had been clinging to the body of the Hoard Mother. They could be seening out from the shimmering brown hairs of the mammoth Twisted Mother, like fleas on a dog. Then as the Hunters drew close, the Logos Cutters would kamikaze themselves and try leaping onto them. "These actions are clearly not normal for any creature to do. The Hoard Mother has to be controlling them somehow." 56 thought to himself. Then he spoke to Orville. "Orville, be sure to record how the weapons attack and affect the Twisted. It mighte in handyter." "Rodger Boss 56!" Orville cheerily replied. Hearing the message, the Hunters readily retreated from their skirmish with the Logos Cutters and the Hoard Mother to regroup with the assault forces. The Hoard Mother, however, seemed too careless about whether or not the Hunters were there fighting it. Yet when it saw where the humans were retreating too, and that arge number of its prey was getting dangerously close, the Hoard Mother swayed its bus sized head to give a low toned rumbling response. At first 56 and the Hunters thought it was going to attack them. But rather after the rumble stopped the Hoard Mother looked back towards the city and continued marching. The odd response confused many of the Hunters but seeing that there was no iing attack returned to firing on the Twisted still assaulting the tanks and ICADS. Below, the special weapons artillery were gearing up for a strike. They were now moments away from the strike zone. The ICADS and AI Tanks were easily holding off any Twisted and it seemed that they would strike soon without a single Twisted being able to stop them thus far. Several nonbatant robots were quickly rushing around the Liquid Nitrogen rockets, double checking the liquid and that the temperature was not rising. If the heat was too high, then the freezing wouldn''t work, and the n failed. It seemed to 56 that it was going to take some time to figure this problem out to be used more practically against moving targets. That is when another nerve-racking sounding from the Hoard Mother''s direction came. Everyone looked curiously to see four monstrous new Twisted typesing closer wading through the dust. The dust had kept them obscured until now and this was not good for the attacking force. They were nothing like those Twisted they had encountered before. "Are those Devils Kodiak?" Dixon shouted in shock. "Devils Kodiak? Are those some mutant bears?" 56 asked re-raising his rifle scope to look at them. "That''s what they used to be, but their only simrity now is their face and teeth. Look and you''ll understand." Dixon replied. He then started fervently tapping away at his wristwatch. "I have got to report these. Even if we take out the Mother, these beasts would still be a horrible thing to deal with and we Hunters cant handle them. I have dealt with one before from Hover Bike and was forced to retreat. It''s not something I want to face again." 56 adjusted the scope and brought the new Twisted into his view. This new Twisted was about three to four timesrger than any bear alive. Standing at approximately six and a half meters the Demon Kodiak was in its own right a monster. No wonder Dixon seemed worried by them. He too didn''t feel inclined to face one either. Just as Dixon said, only the head and long canine teeth still resembled a bears, along with some patches of brown matted fur. Where there was no fur, only ckish scarlet leathery skin remained. Covering most of their backs, the Demon Kodiak''s had porcupine quills that looked to be easily at the most two meters in length. Its front legs were squatted inwardly, like a frog legs and the back legs were now bentpletely out of its once natural shape. Instead of running it also hoped like a frog and caused depressions in the ground in its wake. A strange sight to be sure, but entirely capable of destroying anything it mightnd on. "Can''t the AI tanks handle them?" 56 asked looking away from the Twisted. "Probably not, to be honest." Dixon replied while focusing solely on his watch. "That''s why I am reporting them so our reinforcements can be authorized to be deployed." "Reinforcements? What kind of reinforcements cane all the way out here and handle those beasts if tanks can''t?" 56 asked scratching his head. "I thought you said you were in the military? Don''t you know about Military Mechs?" Dixon asked pressing one final button before looking over at 56. "It was a long time ago." 56 said giving a shrug. "But go ahead and enlighten me." "Military Mechs are just as they sound. Gundam Humanoid giant robots created to fight. Though now the A.I.''s control many Military Mechs, they still can''tpare to human piloted Mechs." Dixon exined. "Basically, it''s like the pilot inside the Mech bes arger version of themselves to fight. Using the electromaic field flight capability''s and Advanced Electro-transfusion Reactor Cores and other Core variants, they can move the huge Mechs in spite of gravitational restrictions to move just as their human selves can. The Mechs are only as good as the technology and physical skill of the pilot inside." "You sure know a lot about them." 56 said repressing his excitement. These sounded just like the machines he had read about fromics and anime. "Did you ever pilot them?" "Me? No, but I am the mechanic for our group. Tammy is our pilot and Sam is the technical expert." Dixon replied with a bit of pride in his voice. 56 was about to ask more about the Military Mechs when suddenly a horn sounded from below them. The Special Weapons were now ready, and they had to redouble their efforts to keep the Twisted out from the firing process. The best news they had so far was that it now looked like the Demon Kodiak''s were going to be arriving toote to stop them. The unsuspecting Hoard Mother was broadsided and made for an easy target. 56 was watching with great fascination now and Orville was impatiently bobbing around waiting for everything to unfold for him to record. Without warning the two Liquid Nitrogen artillery trucksunched their entire payload. All eight rockets wereunched out one after the other, like bats out of hell, and went screaming towards the Hoard Mothers side. The Hoard Mother turned to see what was going on, but by now it was toote. "Ka-boom!" All eight rockets struck home! At first the explosions were fiery and shook the Hoard Mother violently, nearly knocking it over. The body of the Twisted was hit near the base of the neck, middle set of legs, three spots on its torso and once near the base of its three tails. Unlike the former artillery strikes, this one visibly hurt the Twisted. However, that was not all that happened. The liquid nitrogen had sshed onto its thick outer skin and appeared to be spreading deeply into its flesh. The Hoard Mother appeared to be in great pain and writhed in anguish. Its nearly imprable skin was no match for the far below zero cold of Liquid Nitrogen! Then it was now the third artillery''s turn to strike. The eight tungsten tipped rockets were aimed high into the air to provide the right arch to build up kic energy as it returned to strike its targets. Then it fired them all at once with blinding speeds that couldn''t be followed by the human eye. The impact took much longer to strike than the Liquid Nitrogen rockets. In fact, the wait felt like ages! It was fortunate that the Hoard Mother was in too much pain to move, otherwise, the tungsten rockets would have likely missed. "Ka-boom! Crash!" The tungsten rockets struck the frozen areas of the Hoard Mother with nearly three times the power of the former rockets. The impact drove the titanic sized Twisted crumpling to its knees, followed by a massive plum of dust whoosh out from the shockwave of the impact. Even from this fair distance the crashing and tinkling noises, of which immediately followed the tungsten rocket strikes, was the sound of the deeply frozen areas of its body breaking like ss. This exposed the insides of the creature and left behind irreparable damage to its body. This now proved that a Twisted Hoard Mother was going to be defeated without using a nuclear bomb or poisons! "All Hunters advance! Use your Armadillo armor buster bombs to destroy it from the inside!" An urgent message ryed to every Hunter. "A follow up artillery strike will happen before you arrive to further break up the frozen flesh. Additionally, the Demon Kodiak''s will be engaged by the Military Mech forces. They have been approved forbat." "That was amazing! Let''s go Dixon! We can''t waste a moment!" 56 shouted, but his urging was unneeded as Dixon was already turning the elerator to the hover bike forward. There was no need to tell Dixon twice. This was going to be the highlight of his career, if not life! Chapter 148: Spread Chapter 148: Spread 56 held on to the trailers side with great excitement. Joining up with the Hunters n had been the best decision he had made on his trip too Moab City. Fighting insane monsters and dodging the AFR capture efforts had been the rush he had been missing. After the Cyborg Units rebellion things had been rather dry. Trying to secretly manage rebel forces, gather support and resources, it just was not all that appealing to him. The Hunters closed in quickly onto the fallen and mortally wounded Hoard Mother moaning and crumpled on the sandy, dust strewn earth. From above they witnessed something odd, it looked to 56 like the Twisted were ants running in a mass counterclockwise rotation as they tried to protect their Hoard Mother. Twisted of all kinds, many he hadnt yet seen before, were swarming around her into an attempt to protect her, but they couldn''t stop those approaching from the air. Even the stic Land Octopus''s couldn''t use their long arms to swat away the approaching humans. "Everyone, get your Armadillo armor buster bombs ready!" One of the older looking Hunters shouted over the sound of whizzing air and hover bikes. "We need to do this now or the healing capacity of the Hoard Mother will eventually overpower the liquid nitrogen wounds!" Hearing this 56 lifted his rifle with one hand to zoom in on thergest wound on the Hoard Mother''s back. The ghastly hole was several dozen meters across and look unfathomably deep. Spine and cracked ribs stood out brightly white in contrast to the wreaked green intestines and freezer burned red flesh. However, at the very edges of the hole, 56 could barely make out the skin of the Twisted slowly repairing itself! "This creature is incredible!" 56 thought in shock. "I have never heard of anything capable of self-repairing like this. This thing is even more dangerous than anything I have evere across." "Grab that satchel tied in the middle of the trailer." Dixon shouted over his shoulder. "Get the bombs unpacked. I will tell you how to arm them. Then once we arrive at the hole on its neck, drop them." "Got it!" 56 replied tossing his thoughts aside. In just under two minutes Dixon had taught 56 how the bombs worked, and they were now hovering high over the Hoard Mother''s lower neck. Three dozen other Hunters had also gathered above the exposed back wound, and the other wounded areas had just as many Hunters gathering there too. The sound of a mournful wounded rumbling wasing from the creature and everyone could feel it vibrating in their chests. The feeling could be described like that of a heavy base at a concert pounding away. The swarming Twisted anxiously gathered below on the ground, while others mored on top of their Mother and each other to try and grab at the attacking humans. However, it was all in vain. The humans were just out of their reach or to mobile to catch. "Get ready! At my mark!" The old Hunter bellowed. Though over the rumblings from the Hoard Mother he sounded kilometers away. "3 2 1 DROP!" In unison everyone let go of their Armadillo armor buster bombs. The bombs were no bigger than a cantaloupe, but from what Dixon said, each bomb was equivalent to one ton of TNT! At that same exact moment, the Hoard Mother started to struggle and raise her colossal head. The impossibly long scaly neck rose up from the parched earth, exposing the great depressing it had created in the ground. To the on looking Hunters horror, the hole they were aiming for moved! Not all the bombs were going to go in! Unable to do anything, due to all the Twisted, the Hunters could only watch. Yet not for long. The Hoard Mother swung its thought defying head around towards them to defend herself. All five of her remaining red eyes burned with anger and pain. Her mouths were agape and ready to swallow all these humans in one go! Seeing hering their way, the Hunters started to flee and fly higher to escape. However, the Hoard Mothers size deceived the Hunters. She came far faster than anticipated! In a powerful whoosh of wind and power her head smashed into the ranks of the slowest to react Hunters, swallowing five teams whole all at once into her cavernous double mouths! 56 looked on in awe at the sight of the creatures massive scaly neck whizzing by below him. He was lucky Dixon was a better flyer than the rest. The Hoard Mother missed them by mere meters. This was a once in a lifetime experience. Luckily, Orville was there to film it all too. Yet this feeling wouldn''tst long, she was now swirling around to attack them again! Twisting around, like a winding garden hose, the double mouths filled with dinner te sized teeth came rising up at them with malicious intent. She was gaining on them too! Dixon had turned the power peddle forward to its max, but it was no use. 56 tightened his grip as the hover trailers angle slowly rose close to 90! For the first time in this battle, he was nervous. As the flock of desperate Hunters fled, one of them suddenly lost power in their hover bike. With a wretched scream of terror, the hapless Hunter spiraled down to disappear into the dark gapping maw bellow. Then the Hoard Mother was just about to start swallowing other when abruptly the bombs went off! With a jolt and a mournful wailing scream, the Hoard Mother''s head lurched to a stop and started to fall back down. 56 turned around hearing the exploding and watch the destruction of the behemoth Twisted. Every artillery strike chasm was now aze with great balls of fire, like miniature volcanoes erupting. This sight was oddly extremely far away even though the huge body of the Hoard Mother made this scene seem so much closer. The Hunters now found that they were far higher than they realized. 56 had to lower his green tinted goggles to see what was going on below better, as did the others. Zooming in, specifically on the hole on her neck, 56 saw that indeed many bombs had missed and had leveled any Twisted on the ground near them. The Hoard Mother''s neck was now nearly severed from her body. Uncounted gallons of ck blood flowed out of her in torrents. Chunks of flesh and blood were still falling all around her from the explosions. The other holes had quadrupled in size and depth, there was no chance of surviving such an attack. The Hoard Mother''s head, and neck dropped like a bag of bricks, sending up onest great plum of choaking dust. Secondster the loud sound of its head thudding reached them. "That was insane!" Dixon gasped. The air was extremely thin now and the chilly wind ripped around them. Dixon looked down at his bikes dial curiously. "It chased us up over two kilometers! That neck was like the Land Octopus''s and just kept stretching. There is no telling how far that thing could have reached. We would have died anyway if the bombs hadn''t saved us!" "No way! Two kilometers?!" 56 said giving a whistle. Then thinking to himself, "I have greatly underestimated the Twisted. This has to be reported back to the leaders immediately!" Then something caught his eye, there was still movement. The Hoard Mother''s head was rising again! This time it only rose slowly and weakly, only reaching a few meters above the pummeled desert. Blood dripped from her mouths and she let out onest moaning effort. That is when something horrible happened. All the stress had driven her to finally give this onest push, causing her to push out her pulsating egg sacks! She was going toy her eggs, meaning now there was going to be even more Hoard Mother''s! The huge green sacks rolled out, like floppy jell-o balls, and then burst! Green acidic fluids spilled out across the sands, casting up hot steaming clouds. Then from each eggs ooze, several meter''s across figures started to rise. The babies! "We need to stop them from hatching!" 56 shouted. "They might not be as strong as their mother, so we need to end them now!" Everyone was stuck in disbelief; they were too awestruck by what they were witnessing to respond promptly. Hearing 56, they slowly shook off this feeling and then swooped down to attack this new threat. "I''ll report this to the Leader and Hunters nwork immediately. Everyone needs to know about this!" Dixon shouted traveling a bit slower than the rest to type on his wristwatch. By the time he and 56 reached the ground to engage the new Hoard Mother spawn, they found nothing but chaos. Hunters were swirling all around the chaotic remaining Twisted while trying to find the baby''s, but those newborns must have had the ability to control the Twisted already and were now hiding among them. Suddenly, a series of high pitch calls came rumbling out from all directions. At these sounds the entire Twisted hoard started to fracture into smaller groups. The groups then slowly started to scatter in every direction away from the city. The baby Hoard Mothers were controlling the Twisted to form new hordes of their own. 56 scanned intently into the group of Twisted closest to him. It was traveling northbound towards the river. The swarming motions of Twisted creatures of all kinds, along with the rising dust, made it impossible to see anything clearly. Then arge ins Strider stumbled on a lumpy rock and 56 saw a sh of white. The baby Hoard Mother skin hadn''t been tanned by the sun or stained by the dust, making it stand out easily once seen. "I see one!" 56 shouted pointing in the direction of northbound mini hoard. "Do we have anything to shoot it down with? Or another bomb?" "Unfortunately, no. I don''t think we have anything on us that we can take it down with!" Dixon replied turning to fly overhead the indicated Twisted. He then stroked his beard in thought. "However, Tammy''s Mech would probably be able to do the trick. If that tungsten tipped rocket could deal that much damage, then so should her Mech''s de. We can easily get Liquid Nitrogen too." Then he turned around and pointed to the back of the hover trailer. "In that green pouch there should be tracking darts. Once you see that baby Hoard Mother shoot it and hopefully it will stick." "Alright." 56 replied taking the cartridge out from hisser rifle. Then he carefully climbed over to the green pouch and pulled out threerge red feathered darts. They were easilyrger than his hand and the tip looked extremely sharp. "These them?" "Yep. Load your gun and get ready. Tell me if it sticks. If not, we need to shoot one of the stronger Twisted. That way no other Hunter squad can steal our target easily from us." Dixon said slowing down to hover over the very middle of the retreating hoard. 56 quickly loaded an empty cartridge and put it into his gun. This time he took off the goggles and decided to use just the rifle''s scope. From this range it wouldn''t be too difficult to hit such arge target. The baby Hoard Mother looked to be about the size of a small pickup truck. Carefully he scanned the area below, squinting through the swirling dust and roving creatures. Then he finally saw it, the light skinned baby. There wasn''t much time shoot, so as soon as he put the crosshairs on its back he fired! The red dart whizzed through the air and struck its target right in the middle of its back. The Twisted Hoard Mother gave a bleating yelp and other Twisted thrust themselves closer to it too block 56''s view. However, he had seen enough. The dart held fast! "That got it!" 56 called out. "Want me to shoot another at a big Twisted?" "That''s not a bad idea." Dixon replied. 56 turned back and quickly shot at arge, scarred nes Strider that looked quite sturdy. The second dart stuck as well. Seeing that was all they could do, they turned back towards the city. "Let''s go watch Tammy and the other Mech pilots fight those Devils Kodiak Twisted. I am sure that it is going to be quite the show. Mech battles are the best! Not to mention safer for us two." Dixon replied withughter. "Sounds good to me. They aren''t traveling too fast, so catching up won''t be a problem." 56 said taking a cautious nce back at the small, retreating horde. What the two didn''t know was that that very hoard was going right for The Damn and right towards Lisa! Chapter 149: Yes, Im a Cyborg Chapter 149: Yes, I''m a Cyborg Lisa tugged at Sauls arm roughly as everyone headed for the exit. Sadie and Wayne were not sure as to what was going on, but figured it had something to do with the bet the two had made. Hanna tried to exin to Benny what had gone on, but her words wouldn''t work to well due to her anger and nervousness. She only could tell him that Saul was a bad guy and one of those gangsters responsible for what happened to her parents. Wayne, however, was too excited to go with the others or care what Lisas intentions with Saul were. As it was his job to report back to the ERM he took out a pen and pad from his pocket excitedly. Excusing himself, Wayne sat down in an empty seat in the Warehouse Arena lobby and immediately got to writing while the fight was still fresh in his mind. The rest of the group was now quickly making their way out of the Warehouse Arena, but not without being watched. Xander and Martinez were watching from their booth. Before Saul disappeared down the hallway, he looked up at them and subtly gave a thumbs up. Martinez understood and gave a serious nod in reply. "Should I keep an eye on them? That foolish man might not be able to pull it off." Xander''s voice grated softly in Martinez''s ear. "Do as you please. It makes no difference if he kills her or not." Martinez replied turning to leave. "As you say." Xander replied taking out his tabloid to open the cameras. Then entering a fewmands, he set it so the cameras would track Sauls movements automatically. "I''ll be taking my leave as well." Jackson said getting up from his seat. His mind was thinking about what to do next, because Queen had won her bet and now, so he was going to have to figure out how to deal with her ns for him. However, if her ns were not going to be fruitful for him, there was no way he would go along with her. She needed leverage on him, and he needed to counter it. "I''ll stay here." Ernest said propping up his feet on the railing in front of him. "I read the fight list and another fighter of Sadie''s is going to fightter. I want to see how that country hick does." "Guess the oue by yourself." Branch replied taking a long draw from his questionable cigar. "I wanna go outside and look at the clouds. All that dust was wicked to look at." "What a weirdo." Ernest murmured watching the out-of-date dressed hippy leave. Lisa and the rest were almost out of the Arena''s entrance when Zane called out to them. He was just arriving from his little side quest. "Hey guys! Looks like you won already. Guess what I found out." Then he noticed Saul. "What''s he doing here?" "I''ll exinter." Lisa replied gruffly. She eyed him suspiciously seeing he was already outside. "I hope you made some money off those bets." "Ah, that''s right! I need to go get the rewards before my fight starts. I''ll be right back." Zane replied hurriedly turning to go inside. The snappy way Lisa had replied to him was rather scary and was d to put some distance between them for a moment. "I''ll go with you Zane!" Sadie called out as she tried to follow along with him. "We need to go over our strategy." Lisa tugged onto Saul''s forearm again and they headed for the security blind spot on the side of the Warehouse. They stopped near the shed and bushes that the children snuck out from before. Benny and Hanna stood back from the two as Lisa prepared to handle Saul. Benny opted to keep a look out for anyone watching, while Hanna looked on angrily. Lisa tossed Saul aggressively against the building''s walls and he slumped down a bit winded. "Come on. You don''t really have to do this." Saul pleaded. "I still don''t understand why you''re so upset about that incident. You didn''t even know them. Why are you going to such lengths?" "Why?" Lisa replied cocking her head to one side in mock though. She looked down at the already beaten man withzy cold grey eyes, there was no shred of care in them, and answered. "Do I need a reason? It was wrong, what you all did. Shouldn''t there be justice?" Then she remembered something he said before. "Since I won, I get the deed to the dam. Where is it?" "I lied about that. I don''t even know if it exists." Saul replied rubbing his arm where she had grabbed him. "Seriously!?" Lisa hissed suppressing a shout while cocking her arm back for a punch. "I-I could give you money instead. Uh, real cash too!" Saul stammered raiding a hand defensively. However, he could tell that this woman clearly wasn''t going to be swayed. His other hand had already slowly started to drift behind him. Going under his shirt, Saul caressed the rough grip of the pistol. "Let''s get this over with." Lisa said giving a slight sneer. She then started to reach down to grab the man when Saul suddenly broke into a grin. "Yes, let''s get this over with." Saul said pulling the gun slowly from his pants in anticipation for the right moment. Hanna had been watching all this unfold and noticed the gun as his shirt lifted slightly up. She immediately tried to warn Lisa. "Look out, hes got a gun!" At Hannas warning, Saul flicked out the gun from behind him. Aiming right at Lisa''s head, he fired! "Pow!" The deafening thud of gun firing echoed harshly off the Warehouse building andpounds metal wall. Hanna clenched her eyes shut just as everything happen. Everything was deathly silent. "Please! Not Aunt Lisa too! I can''t lose another person I care about!" Hanna screamed in her mind. "What the hell!" Saul shouted out, but he was immediately cut off. Lisa''s hand was now tightly wrapping around his neck. Lisa was alive! Hearing him speak, Hanna opened her eyes to see Lisa''s deployed arm shield! The opened up prosthetic arm looked shockingly different than before and resembled nothing like a humans body part. Hanna was now just as confused as she was overjoyed to see her Aunt Lisa alive. Saul had shot at such close range, urately aiming at Lisa''s skull, that there should have been no way he could''ve missed. Yet in the blink of an eye Lisa, seeing the gun and hearing Hanna''s screams, instinctively activated her forearm shield! The prosthetic arm was designed to deploy faster than bullets, no matter the distance! The pistol bullet was no threat to her. She was now done giving this man another chance, those chances were all used up. Hanna''s request to leave him alive was no longer an option in Lisas mind. Lisa knocked away the gun as she effortlessly lifted Saul up by his neck. Saul struggled to free himself, gurgling for breath. However, it was useless. Lisa''s grip was just too strong. Benny had been looking away during all this. When the gun shot sted out behind him, he threw himself t. Then remembering Hanna, he spun around to protect her. When he did, Benny saw that Lisa was alright and grabbing Saul. Unfortunately, Lisa''s prosthetic shield arm had already closed back up. Hanna was the only one to witness what truly happened. Lisa looked away from the strangling man in her grip to speak with Hanna. "See, bad guys will always be bad. Sometimes it is better just to end them right away. Otherwise worms like him will keep squirming around and making our lives harder." Sauls already mangled face grew ever redder as his legs dangled furiously above the ground as Lisa strangled him. No matter what he did, Lisa would not budge. He tried wing at her arms, kicking at her body or head and shaking violently about to free himself. All this was in vain. After a few moments of struggle, Saul was dead. Hanna looked away as thest of his life was squeezed out of him. The faces he made were far too unsettling. However, she was oddly d. Lisa was safe and another murder was dead. "Should I really feel d about this?" Hanna thought. "It''s not right, but it feels right." "What just happened?" Benny asked after getting up slow and confused. "I heard the gun shot and turned to find you killing that man." "He pulled a gun on me but missed." Lisa replied dropping the lifeless body. The body crumpled awkwardly at her feet, but she paid it no mind and casually stepped over it to join up with the other two. Not exactly proud of the creature Ive be, but I just did what needed to be done. Just then guards came running around buildings corner, looking for the source of the gun shot. Thinking fast, Lisa grabbed the pistolying on the ground. Turning to the rushing guards, she started waving towards them. "Hurry! They killed Saul!" Lisa shouted going towards them. Her voice sounded uncharacteristically worried, and her expression looked equally so. She was acting just like any other woman might act after a gun shot. The first three guards rushed up to her and pointed their guns at her unsure how to handle the situation. After all she had the gun in her hand. Two other guards hurried by and went up to Sauls body. One other slower guard arrive and took aim at Benny, who promptly raised his hands feigning innocence. The two gangster guards looked over the body. One of them turned and shouted out. "He''s dead!" "What happened? Who shot and why is that guy dead over there?" One of the guards pointing at Lisa snarled. "We were suddenly attacked by three masked people." Lisa replied still pretending to be afraid. "They went right for Saul. He was going to pee before we were going to talk. So, we all had our backs turned. I heard a strange scuffling noise and turned around to see him being strangled by the three men. I took out my gun and shot but missed." Lisa held out her swiped pistol to the guards. They quickly took it from her and looked inside to see that one bullet was indeed missing. Then the same guard called out to the two others checking Sauls body. "How did he die?" "Looks like he was strangled. There is no blood or bullet hole." The two other guards replied leaving the body. "Hmm, so where are they now?" The lead guard asked still suspicious. Theres no one else around here. "They ran towards those bushes and disappeared. That all I know." Lisa replied lying without hesitation. "Go, check it out." The lead guard said nodding at the other two in the direction of the bush with his gun barrel. The two guards cautiously headed for the bushes, guns at the ready. They poked around for a moment but found nothing. "Are you sure you are not lying?" The lead guard asked still training his gun at Lisa. "I am telling the truth, honest." Lisa replied. Hanna caught on to what Lisa was trying to do. She plucked up some courage and spoke, "M-maybe there is a hidden door or something?" "I doubt it." The lead guard said eyeing the masked little girl. "Check anyway." Secondster one of the guards called out from the bushes. "I found a hole in the wall! It''s just big enough to have someone crawl through. I think they are telling the truth." "Hmm, fine. It seems you''re telling the truth. Go ahead and go. We got this." The lead guard said lowing his gun. The three ''bystanders'' quickly left the area. More guards and curious onlookers were now starting to show up. It was best that they left as soon as possible and not draw any more attention to themselves. "That was close." Benny sighed sounding relieved. "How did you two know to do that?" "Lucky guesses." Lisa replied giving Hanna a sly wink. Then stopping on the other side of the growing crowd, Lisa leaned close to Hanna. "I''ll tell you more about my secretter. For now, just know I am part cyborg. Both my arms and legs. This will be our little secret together now." Hanna nodded and looked up at the tall woman with a new perspective. A lot of things were starting to make sense. The way she moved, jumped, and fought wouldnt be possible for such a pretty and slim woman to perform naturally. Hanna just had to know more. Aunt Lisa was getting even cooler now! Chapter 150: Lucky Start Chapter 150: Lucky Start After Zane and Sadie split up from the others to deal with Saul, they had some difficulty getting through the crowd leaving the Arena. The crowd was either going into the illegal marketing area, iming a lounge seat, or leaving the building altogether. It wasnt until they made it to the betting booths that they were able to get a break. Where are they all going? Zane asked turning back to see Sadie clumsily bouncing off random people in the crowd. Sorry, excuse me. Sorry. Sorry! Sadie kept repeating over and over as she tried scooting around them with little luck. Upon hearing Zane, she answered while still struggling towards him, The Arena had most of its flooring destroyed during the fight with the Clover Cutters and Queen. The staff are fixing it all now for thest fights and there was a call for a short break. Hopefully, everyonees backter, but it is not likely. You should have seen how much dust was on stage, it was so thick no one could see her beat them! I wish I could have too. Zane said with a bit of regret as Sadie finally joined him by the booth. What do you mean by If theye back? Well, thest few fights for today are not all that high ranking or likely to be exciting. Not many fights can top Queenss victory. Sadie said pointing up at the TV above to booth workers. See all of them are low ranking Shadow League fighters or new fighters, like you. Most patrons around here wont give them a second thought. Thats kind of a letdown, but a good thing too. Zane replied scratching the back of his head. The two of them got in line together to collect the bet winnings and Sadie asked, What do you mean? Well, I want to be as popr as Queens fights are but having so many people watching me is stressful. Thats understandable. Sadie said nodding knowingly. I get the same way on the sidelines but once the fight starts, I dont even notice them watching anymore. Next. Ady booth worker called to them and as they approached, she continued speaking in a rushed manner. Name, how much and form of collection? Uh, Zane, I bet one thousand on Queen winning and cash. Zane answered. Tapping on a tabloid on the desk she pulled up the information, confirmed it and pointed next to her with a thumb. Get your winnings from the next guy over. Next! The male booth workers attitude wasnt all that different from thedies. He grumbled something under his breath about having to work here and handed, or rather tossed, Zane a small briefcase. Zane took it unsure how to respond, but the man had already turned to go work elsewhere without another word. Shrugging, Zane and Sadie left for the Arena. Real ray of sunshine, isnt he? Zane said to Sadie jokingly. Indeed. Sadie answered suppressing a smile. How much did you win for Lisa? Zane and her then rounded the corner and entered the Arena. Staff were seen hurriedly recing the stage flooring and sweeping up loose debris as they then headed for an open isle in the stands to sit. Where the bodies of the three fallen brothers went, was unclear. Not that it mattered to them. Lets see. Zane replied as they sat down. He started to exin aloud as he opened the briefcase, The betting ratio was 30:9 so that should be $30,000 dors? Thirty thousand! Sadie remarked wide eyed. Zane opened the briefcase full and revealed ten stacks of bound bills strapped down to the bottom of the case by a posh ck band. Tentatively Zane slipped out one of the stacks and counted each bill with his thumb. Three thousand! Zane murmured. Its all here! This is a fortune. I didnt realize betting was so profitable. I feel like I wasted my time here by just stayed huddled up in the office all this time. Sadie said softly not taking her eyes off the money. Wait, is it alright for us to have all this cash out in the open? They both looked quickly around them to see if anyone was watching them. Zane also stuffed the stack of bills back into the case and shut the lid. He then handed it to Sadie. Here. You carry it. I am feeling to tempted holding onto it right now. Zane cleared his throat to distract himself from all that money. Lisa is not someone I want to cross at all, and I need to get ready for my fight, right? Oh, yes, I still need to exin our strategy. Luckily, there is one fight before ours, so we have time. Sadie replied taking off her backpack to try and fit the briefcase inside the already stuffy backpack. Sadie and Zane spent the next half hour talking about what his options were. Their opponent, Watt, was also a newer fighter with only two fight previous. Watt preferred to fight using a Bo-staff and had beat both previous fighters by keeping up a steady pace of midrange attacks and holding them help off at a distance until the moment presented itself. Watt was a careful, patient fighter from the footage Sadie presented. It seemed that Watts manager, Shawn was doing a good job at training Watt to use his reach advantage to win. As they were discussing how to get in close to attack Watt and end the fight quickly, Lisa, Hanna and John returned from dealing with Zane. All three of them looked tense but not enough to seem like there was a problem. You ready for your fight, Zane? Lisa asked as they sat down alongside Zane and Sadie. I hope so. Zane answered. Suddenly, the Announcers voice boomed out into the Arena. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Stage has been repaired and the next fight willmence shortly. Please get your bets ced and im your seats. Well, I have seen your progress up until now. So, this guy shouldnt be a problem for you. Lisa said casually propping her heavy redced booths up onto the seat in front of her. Remember that staying confident in yourself is key to winning any fight. Ill keep that in mind. Zane replied. The fight that started next wasnt very exciting as Sadie guessed. The two men on stage were fighting barehanded and spent most of the time grappling on the ground. There were hardly any boxing or martial arts skills being used and the crowd was restlessly quiet. In the end the winner choked out his opponent with a rear naked neck hold and won after nearly ten minutes. Now it was Zanes turn. The Announcer droned on to the waning crowd about the two newer fighters as Sadie gave Zane a little bit of advice. Listen Zane, make sure you keep your head moving at all times and keep your ws up. Get him to make the mistake and get close to you once youre inside his guard can you win easily. Also, you dont have to kill him to win either. Wounding him is also fine. Got it. Zane answered tightening the straps of his Tigger ws around his wrists. Stepping into the Arenas stage Zane felt small. The Arena was so much bigger being in the middle of it with all eyes fixated onto him. The heat from the lighting was unexpectedly hot and Zane could immediately feel the sweat appear on his back. Flexing his hands to open and close a few times he tried to calm himself. Looking at his opponent for the first time, Zane was relieved. Watt wasnt some hulking monster like the triplets or Golem were, but rather he was a young shaved headed man wearing a gray Buddhist monks robe. With his Bo-staff in hand, Watt looked very much like a typical monk might. I got this in the bag. Zane mused to himself. Hes scrawny and I know Ive been in more fights than he has. Ill show him what a former gangster is made of. The referee stood in between them as he exined the rule once more. Zane didnt hear a single word the referee said as his focus remained solely on Watt, who in return, red equally back. Begin! The referee shouted in unison to the starting bell breaking Zanes focus. The two inexperienced Fighters rushed at each other and shed weapons at the center of the stage with a metallic ping. Immediately, Zane was put at a disadvantage. Watt proceeded to swing and jab repeatedly at Zanes head and torso forcing Zane to retreat to stay out of range. Zane struck out at the Bo-staff and tried knocking it away to step in for an attack, but Watt utilized the staffs length well. Watt simply twirled the staff around to attack with the other end and they cycle of attacks continued unrelenting. Zane could hear Sadie calling out for him to keep staying mobile and change his path of retreat. He was getting closer to the fence and this was right were Watt wanted him. Here Watt could tire Zane out from defending until Zane exposed himself for a final blow. All while staying easily out of range from Zanes weapon. Zane knew this, yet there was not much for him to do but keep blocking with his Tiger ws and dodging. From his peripherals Zane could see that he was nearly at the fence. In a fit of desperation, Zane blocked a downward rap at him from Watts staff and then using his other w, mped down on the Bo-staff and held it still. Annoyed at being caught and unable to move, Watt tried to wriggle free and tugged at the staff with both hands. Feeling this, Zane pulled at the staff and the tried kicking at Watts undefended stomach. Watt was however, just barely out of reach and Zanes foot seeded in only touching the monks robe. Then giving a sharp tug Watt freed his staff from Zane''s grip and took a step back. Zane too took a step back and found he had no more room to retreat, the fence was now at his back. Unperturbed by his unfavorable position, Zane stuck out his tongue mockingly at Watt and egged him on with one hand. Is that all you got? You havent even hit me once yet. Watt sneered and taking both hands slipped down the staff to hold it at the end like a bat. Ill end this quickly then. Then rearing back Watt went to swing at Zane''s head. Zane saw the attacking and ducked low to avoid the swing. The Bo-staff hurled sideways at Zane with unwavering speed to try and knock Zane''s head clean off! Pa-ting! Thwack. Watt had done the unthinkable! Just as Zane ducked, the Bo-staff struck the fence to hit a support pole. Then bouncing off the pole the staff rebounded and struck Watt squarely in the jaw. This happened so fast Watt had no chance to react. Watt immediately crumbled unconscious, knocked out by his own weapon! Match over! The referee yelled running forward before Zane could strike at Watt lying t on his back on the stage floor. Zane''s luck hadnt run out yet! He had won his first Match Fighter Association match withoutnding a single strike or receiving one. Well, that was a waste of my time! Ernest yawned. He then got up from his red cushioned seat and stretched. Zane ispletely a crap fighter and a letdown. Why did I bother watching this country bumkin anyway? Im going to go train, because when we cross paths next, Ill take you out in one throw. Chapter 151: Watch Your Step Chapter 151: Watch Your Step Xander was furious hearing the news of Saul''s death. Not because Saul was dead, but because it happened on thepounds premise in an area that was not under his surveince. Something had gone wrong with the auto camera tracking ording to his tabloid and now there were no witnesses! Queen was in the clear for the moment, but he knew for sure that she did it. He just needed proof. Standing at the scene of Saul''s death, Xander looked around with a critical eye. This area was well out of everyone''s normal traveling routes, so it was easy to see why there were no witnesses. However, it was odd that the cameras, that he himself set up, had such an obvious blind spot. He had been careful to check for this exact issue, so why did it happen here? Did Queen set this up beforehand? As he continued to look around, Xander went over what his guards had told him. Queen and the other two, they were unimpressionable, imed that three attackers killed Saul and fled into the bushes after Queen shot once at them. Looking up at the rotating camera he shook his head in disbelief. There was no way three assants made it across thewn, killed Saul and then ran back in a panic without the camera catching the slightest glimpse of them. Walking over to the bushes, he roughly parted them and looked around. Sure enough, there was indeed a hole in the metal wall and a loose panel to cover it. However, this meter high and over a half meter wide hole was far too small for any adult to pass through easily. Moreover, why did Queen only shoot once at three men? Also, when did she get a gun? Things just didn''t seem right. Turning away from the bushes in disgust, Xander called out to the three guards that had arrived here first at the scene. "How could you believe that an adult could fit through here? Which one of those three told you such an idiotic thing?" All three of the first responding guards stopped working and looked nervously at him. Then the youngest of the three stepped forward to answer. "Uh, it was the little girl that mentioned the hole being there." "Yeah, and Queen told us that it was in the bushes." Another one chimed in. "What an obvious set up! Gah, I am surrounded by idiots!" Xander shouted as he kicked at the bushes and started to stomp away. "Get this body out of here and next time don''t let anyone leave a scene like that before I get here. If you do, you won''t be let off alive!" The three guards gulped audibly and nodded fervently. "We understand perfectly, Lieutenant Xander! We won''t let it happen again." "Hmpf." Xander grunted as he left them and the continued to gripe to himself the rest of the way back to the Arena. "I am going to get to the bottom of this. What exactly is she ying at and nning on doing next? Queen you are permanently on my red list!" A smug look spread across his handsome face and he then proceeded to brush back his pale blond hair, "Perhaps Rickshaw can do something about this? Even if I can''t yet directly confront her and with the suspicious death of a MFA manager, Rickshaw can suspend her from fighting. That might make her slip up somehow." "You did it!" Sadie cried out as Zane left the Arena stage. Zane had a relieved and excited expression on his face, but he was probably more confused that it ended in such an odd way. Shrugging Zane replied, "Thanks. I guess you were right, Sadie. His reactions were slower than most others. He couldnt even beat himself." "See, just follow my guidance and you can''t go wrong." Sadie replied crossing her arms triumphantly across her chest. "It was just odd that this own weapon knocked him out. There wasn''t any bloodshed either." Zane said taking off his tiger ws. "A win is a win." Lisa said while putting on her coffin in preparation to go. "Come on let''s get going, the sooner the better. Things might not go to well for us if we stay much longer." Heading Lisas word and without giving any questions, the group quickly headed for the exit once again. The illegal property market was as crowded as ever as they passed by. Richly dressed people and droves of assistants bustled hurriedly around the posh white tiled lobby. After Zane''s fight ended there was another simr ranked fight that was to follow. Thus, most of the patrons were more interested in buying and selling thing than watching another low interest fight. The little group didn''t get far through thisrge crowd though, before they spotted trouble. Waiting at the main exit were three people they didn''t want toe across. Jackson, Nicky, and Xander. All three of them looked equally annoyed at seeing one another too. They didn''t seem to be having any conversations either, just angrily ncing at each other. Nicky was the first to see theming her way and started towards them, leaving the two men alone. Nicky had a smirky look as she walked close alongside Sadie. "Lucky win. However, he is not all that good as I guessed. You''ll have losses sooning your way soon. Goodbye." Sadie looked down and wanted to let it go, but Zane overheard Nicky. "You''re just jealous. I don''t n on loosing anytime soon!" "Whatever!" Nicky replied rolling her eyes at him. Then she disappeared smirking while being swallowed up into the crowd. Jackson and Xander blocked the exit and waited until Lisa was standing in front of them before they spoke. From their serious expressions, Lisa could tell she wasn''t going be able to brush them off. "Looks like youre in some trouble. Saul is dead and I know you had something to do with it." Xander said speaking calmly, though the tone was definitely hostile. Sadie inhaled sharply. "Saul is dead? When?" Xander ignored her concern, as did Lisa. The two gazed at each other observantly. Neither showed having any signs of backing down or emotion. "I have no idea what you mean. I told the guards what happened already. You should know I had nothing to do with that." Lisa replied casually, still ying on her bluff. "Time will tell." Xander snorted. Then looking past Lisa, Xander nodded in that direction. "Herees Rickshaw. I am sure you won''t like what he has to say." A faint smile parted on his lips upon saying this. Both Sadie and Lisa turned to look curiously at the old manager approaching from behind. Rickshaw had a serious, glum expression and a bit disappointed lingered in his eyes too. "Sadie, I am going to have to suspend Queen for a while. At least until the circumstances of Saul''s death is understood." Rickshaw said handing her a pink slip. "Are you serious?" Sadie said taking the paper to look it over. "But she''s on a hot streak! Letting her stop now would be a bad move." "My hands are tied. You know the rules. A Match Fighter can''t kill a Manager." Rickshaw replied giving a mater-of-fact shrug. Even if there is no proof, the suspicion is enough for me. "Well, this won''t do!" A voice called out from behind everyoneing from the crowd. An older man with grey hair and a cane in hand, came up to them. It was McMathers and an unusually dressed tubby man was with him. The two joined the growing group crowding the Warehouse Arena entrance. "I have just been speaking with the Announcer here, Mr. Davos, about Queens potential next matchup. It would be such a shame to put a stop to such a lucrative fight." McMathers continued and the tubby man, Mr. Davos, stepped up to speak as well. "Indeed! A fight between Queen and the Crescent Moon of Moab City would sure to be thergest fight and ie that this Arena has ever seen! How you got Spindle to agree to this arrangement is beyond me." Mr. Davos then turned to look at Rickshaw. "Are you sure you can''t reconsider?" "I am not sure that I can, unfortunately." Rickshaw replied scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Queen was seen first at the crime scene and no other culprit was captured or seen on camera. Despite no evidence, as of yet, Queen is under suspicion and must be banned until a solution is found." Jackson took a nce at Xander while Rickshaw was talking and saw that Xander had a faint confident aurora about him. "I bet you had something to do with this, Xander." Jackson thought in disgust. "I lost my bet with Queen, so its best if I respect that and help out now. Besides helping her just to spite you would be worth it anyways." Jackson cleared his throat and spoke. "Excuse me, Rickshaw, but looking at this from my financial stance for the gang, we aim to lose more from this. If Queen is banned and can''t fight, then your employees might not have anywhere to stay." "What are you saying?" Rickshaw said turning to look at Jackson, as did everyone else listening in. This was a rather bold statement considering the MFA workers had been stationed here for some time. "ording to thest ie report, the gang has had a decrease in ie due to a potential uing conflict with the Skull. The number of patronsing to this location has also dropped by fifteen percent." Jackson replied. "We spent a lot on supplies and as you can see behind you in the market, our newer fights aren''t getting a lot of attention. Thus, our budget needs to be bnced out. To solve this, I might have to resort to having the MFA staff find lodging elsewhere in town or that you all start paying rent." "Are you serious? That is not what the contract would allow. Staff lodging, food and amodations are avable to us in exchange for holding the nned MFA fights here." Rickshaw retorted. "Why can''t you just increase production at that factory of yours?" "Factory?" Murmured Lisa perking up curiously hearing this. "I hadn''t heard of this before. Curious." "I am sure you knew this, but Queen just killed all three overseers of the factory: the former Triplets. Finding someone to rece them and increase production at the same time is not possible. I don''t have any influence in that department anyway. I''m just pointing out what I might have to do to keep this gang running efficiently as possible. What happens with the MFA staff is not my main concern." "How ridiculous! I will speak with Martinez myself about this insult." Rickshaw replied shaking a finger in Jackson''s face. Jackson sighed and took out a cigarette from his coat pocket. "Look, don''t be mad at me. Xander is to me for not having his security system and guards fail to not monitor the area. This whole incident could have been solved already if not for that." "What?!" Xander shouted, surprised by the sudden dig at him. Though they were definitely not friendly with each other, this betrayal was unnecessary. "I''ll have you know that the camera angle was tampered with! I have my guards right now checking the footage to see who moved the camera. We will soon see if Queen or these others are responsible!" Just then a guard with dark sunsses and a red marked armband came up to them. He approached Xander before making his report. "Lieutenant Xander, we checked the footage and unfortunately the culprit is not who we expected." "What? Go on then, tells us! Who was it?" Xander replied sounding very agitated. "Well, uh, it was a w-woodpecker, sir." The guard stammered in reply. "A f****** bird!" Xander shouted in disbelief. "Y-yes sir. The woodpecker knocked over the camera''s alignment two months ago." The guard replied taking a timid step back. "Well, it looks like Queen is going to stay innocent after all." Jackson said giving a light chuckle at seeing his nemesis''s displeasure. Letting out a puff of his cigarette smoke he continued, "Rickshaw, you have to reconsider the ban now. It seems there won''t be an answer unless someonees forward and gives their ount." Rickshaw sighed heavily. "I have to uphold the rules or it''s my job on the line. So, here''s what I suggest, Queen is banned from any official fights until Crescent Moones to fight her. When is this going to happen?" McMathers cleared his throat. "Spindle said that he could be avable in a month, but sooner if need be. He can get impatient easily." "So, a month-long suspension it is." Rickshaw said turning to look at Sadie and Xander. "This should be enough time to satisfy the both of you, right?" "Yes. This will be eptable. Right Queen?" Sadie replied. "I can wait that long. Xander won''t find anything against me anyway. It was those three guys that showed up out of nowhere that are to me." Lisa said indifferently. "This is fine, but I''ll find out what happened for sure. You better watch your step around me Queen! Get out of my way, I''m going to check the footage myself!" Xander shouted while pushing his guard aside and headed for the security center. "Well d that''s settled." McMathers replied. Then he reached out to hand Sadie a business card. "Here my information, youngdy. Contact me if things change around here." "I will. Thank you." Sadie said taking the card. McMathers gave a curt nod and headed off towards the illegal market leaning heavily on his cane. "Mr. Davos, we need to talk. Come with me." Rickshaw grumbled and left Lisa''s group and Jackson behind. "Let''s go outside." Jackson said gesturing out the door. "We have more to talk about I''m sure." "Yes, we do." Lisa replied dly stepping out from the lobby. Chapter 152: Considering a Switch Chapter 152: Considering a Switch Leaving the Arena behind Lisa felt relieved, disappointed and perplexed all at the same time. She had won the bet with Jackson, but lost the permission to freely fight in the MFA, and yet still helped Hanna take care of another killer; but now what? What would be her next best move to further reach her goals? It almost felt like she was running towards the future with no real ns. It seemed now was the time to make some. While her group and Jackson were heading towards the fountain near the front middle of thepound, Lisa pondered what to speak with Jackson about. How could she get Jackson to join her and stay out of further suspicion? It seemed that Xander is going to be a tricky one to deal with. Thankfully, it seemed that Jackson and Xander were not on good terms, but would that be helpful for her? Benny walked alongside Lisa and leaned close towards her. "Lisa?" "Yeah?" Lisa answered softly pushing her thoughts aside. Benny cupped a hand near his mouth to continue speaking in hushed tones. "I think we should split up. I''ll take Hanna, Sadie and Wayne out of here and meet up with John outside. You can meet up with uster at the dam." "That should be fine." Lisa replied softly. "Things are definitely not at all stable right now. Getting them away is for the best. I''ll think of some excuse to get you guys to leave." "Alright." Benny said with a nod and slowing his pace to get next to Hanna. Once they reached the fountain area, Jackson stopped to speak. "Here should be fine. There''s not many people around here, so we can speak freely." "Sounds fine to me." Lisa replied looking around at the nicely decorated fountain and shrubbery. Then taking a seat on the fountain pools edge, she gestured towards the group. "We all don''t need to be present to talk. How about the others go ahead on home and Zane and I can stay to chat? They don''t have much to offer at the moment anyway." Jackson took a nce at the four others standing beside Lisa. Straightening his ck suit jacket to sit down, he replied, "Sure, that''s fine with me. The conversation is between you and I after all." Sighing inwardly, Jackson thought to himself, "I''d rather not let them all leave, but I''m by myself. Queen alone is more than I can handle. Besides, this area is for sure under heavy surveince, so she wouldn''t dare pull anything. I just need to know her ns for now." "Thanks." Lisa replied and looked at Benny giving a nod. "I''ll see you all soon. Make sure the others are doing fine with their tasks if you can, Wayne" "Will do!" Wayne replied oblivious to the event that had taken ce during the time he was writing his report down. Lisa and Jackson waited for them to go before speaking again. No one bothered them as they left thepound safely. Zane stood behind Lisa with his arms crossed and nced around at the asional person walking nearby. It never hurts to be on alert was one thing he had learned being a gang lieutenant. "So, let me get this straight." Jackson started off, clearing his throat. "You want to gain money, for why, I don''t know. However, you want to do it through the MFA and by fighting Boss Martinez. Care to exin to me why him? Why here? With your skills arger city, like Moab, would have been better to go fighting in." "That''s easy to exin." Lisa replied right away. "I just happened toe along in this town and finding the dam, I knew I had an opportunity to make a stable ie. The dam needs repairs and the only way to make a lot of money here is to fight. Sure, I could go to a bigger city, but that would leave the dam easy to be stolen from me. So, I can''t leave." Jackson thought to himself for a moment as he eyed the slim woman sitting alongside him. "Hmm, seem about right. Especially now that we know of the dams ability to make electricity, we would probably end up taking it if the boss wanted too." Then he spoke aloud. "Even if you get that dam working and electricity produced, how is that going to be worth the struggle. Sr power is the dominant source of energy around here and even in thergest of cities. It would be hard topete against them." "A fair observation." Lisa replied swinging her loosened ck hair over her shoulder. She then took off her coffin at this point and set it heavily onto the stone block pathway with a notable thud. "I don''t intend onpeting against other energypanies at all. In fact, this town could end up being the only ce I supply for." "Then how are you going to make any money then?" Jackson asked curiously. "This town ispletely poor, and we don''t need any more power here." Zane was thinking the same thing as he was listening in. Yet he didnt quite know Lisas full n either. So, he elected to stay quiet for now. Lisa grinned hearing this line of questioning. Her normally sleepy gray eyes twinkled with a bit of excitement and expectation. "This town clearly used to be a decently sized industrial town from some of the observations Ive done. There are a lot of factories and production buildings on the eastern side of town and some areas here on our side. If I can get them powered up, loaded with workers and start opening trade, I could rake in so much cash!" "It''s an idea to be sure. But to be clear, you do realize that that''s not going to be possible." Jackson said with a serious look on his face. Then absentmindedly pushing back a loose strand of white hair to join the rest of hisbed ck hair, he continued. "There are nearly less than a few thousand people in town. Most of which are half starved citizens or gangsters. You couldn''t get them to actually work on anything. Who would you even sell to and what are the products? Most merchants already have connections and established trade routes. Where are you going to find anyone or anywhere that would be willing to buy from this god forgotten town? Besides, you don''t own any of these ces and you''re even acting as a Squatter being at the dam. What if someonees along iming they own the dam? What then?" Lisa''s gleeful expression didn''t falter. In fact, she hoped he might mention these questions. "First, the citizens need a job to get ie. I might not have much, but it is undoubtedly more than them. After getting in contact with the other side, via those construction Mech workers, I found that they are desperately in need of money to buy food. They will be the first to work for me in no time." "Secondly, as for the merchants, I am surprised you hadn''t done this already. This verypound already has plenty of merchants and rich peopleing and going all the time. Finding anyone willing to work alongside me won''t be an issue. I even already have several such friends willing to work with me. The products will, for now, be what they want to make, but in time I will be controlling what gets made here and where it''s going." Jackson was about to speak, but Lisa held up her hand and continued. "How? You might ask. That is simple, I get the deeds that are tucked away in your very own bank, wipe off the dust collecting on them and put them to use. With the deeds I could even sell the ones I don''t want to any merchants or back to the towns people. You and your boss have been cking in your exploitation of those deeds. I can put them to better use! Even if you were to steal the idea, I am already ahead in the nning and connections." Lisa stopped for a moment to wait for Jackson to think all this over. There was indeed more she could exin in further detail, but it is best not to tell all her ideas to someone that is not yet on board. Jackson was perplexed. Her n was easy to visually imagine, but not so easy to actually carryout. There was a lot going on in her idea, but not at all impossible. However, he had to ask more questions. "Why tell me all this? I could steal your idea and do it myself. With the manpower at my disposal your lead wouldnt matter. I don''t know how you learned about the deeds being in our possession, but I could keep them for myself." "Oh, you won''t do such a thing." Lisa replied waving him off. "Oh? Why''s that?" Jackson replied raising an eyebrow. "Because of your leash, you silly Mad Dog." Lisa said with a light chuckle. "Martinez hasn''t thought of this at all it seems. I also now know that you gangsters have a factory yourselves. My guess, since you''re gangsters, it''s something illegal like weapons or drugs." Jackson held a stony expression. That factory wasn''t supposed to be known by many others outside the gang. Rickshaw let it slip earlier and she clearly was paying attention. That factory was the sole reason that the gang was out here. To make drugs and serums out of the jurisdiction of authorities and sell it in mass. "I''ll take your silence as a yes." Lisa continued after the moments pause. "As for why I am telling you this is because you handle the money around here. I need you for two reasons. Mainly to work for me doing the same as you are now and to help me control the gang." "What? Don''t tell me you''re still going on about trying to take us over?" Jackson said raising his voice but holding back from shouting. "You are not one of us and could never tell us what to do!" "That might be the case, for now. I dont think you sense the weak threads holding the gang together." Lisa replied putting a finger to her thin lips to tap them in mock thought. "What do you mean, ''for now''?" Jackson asked hotly. This womans attitude was getting a bit to sassy for her own good. Lisa, being unbothered by his reactions, continued, "I have been around here enough to tell that a lot of your gangsters actually were once people of this town. I believe that once they have an opportunity to earn more elsewhere or finally have someone better to follow, they will give up being gangsters. That would probably cause a civil war in the gang and I need your help to make that not happen. Back me when I take out Martinez and your position will be secure. Additionally, you will have more work by making me even more money by managing the funds for my n andpanies. You, in turn, will profit greatly as well." Jackson was silent. This seemed too good, too high spirited and too risky. There was a lot of risk involved going against Martinez who he knew was a force not to be taken lightly. He hadn''t much reason to sever ties with the gang either. Yet, this was also too tempting to let go entirely. "What if you lose to Martinez? I won''t be putting myself at risk for you just to kick the bucket and I lose everything!" Jackson asked. "Nothing." Lisa said tly giving a shrug. "You only need to support me if I win. If I lose, then that''s that. You keep going on like usual and if I''m dead, you can even steal my n for the dam." "Still, what is stopping me from doing all this without you?" Jackson asked again. Though his tone was starting to sound different, more interested. "Because you are not the leader type and Martinez seems too dumb to make this work." Lisa replied. Then she smiles in thought, "Now to get him hooked with this idea." "I could also try getting any other Mad Dog lieutenant to support me too. That fellow, Xander, might not like me yet, but he seems like the type that could see the benefit in this for him." This seemed to strike a nerve in Jackson. He looked at her with a darkened stare for a moment before asking, "What''s the second thing you wanted me to do? Im not agreeing to anything, mind you." "Easy." Lisa answered as a smirk yed on her face. "Give me the deed to the dam and that will be a sign that you agreed to support me." Chapter 153: On Hold Chapter 153: On Hold Jackson was very unsure how he was to answer her. He had been loyal to the Mad Dogs and Martinez for years. Things had gone well during thest few years as the town was mostly subdued, his position was good and his job in with the gang continued to be easy. Why would he mess all this up to support some random woman that just showed up? Greed. Ambition. Opportunity. These were likely reasons. Yet not quite enough to fully sway him. "I''ll think this over." Jackson finally replied standing up. He patted off the bottom of his pants and looked down at Lisa calmly looking back up at him. Though things, from my viewpoint, dont look like they will pan out as you say. Lisa held his gaze confidently as the two looked at each other. Jackson took a deep look into her gray eyes and he could see that they were not the eyes of a wistful person. There was something in there lurking, holding back, just ready to explode at any moment. This woman was ambitious or reckless, it was hard to be sure. "I haven''t any reason to betray Martinez." Jackson continued looking away from her steely eyes, "However, if he were truly gone, I would be interested to see how things y out. You were right, I am not a leader type, but others here would be. I find letting others work while I benefit from them, suites me best. As for getting you the deed, that is also up for consideration. It would be like giving you an unneeded win." "I''ll take that answer as a good sign. There of course is no need to rush in this decision." Lisa replied waving her hand dismissively in front of her face. Though Lisa showed no signs of emotion, aside from a calm smile, she was getting impatient. It had been far too long since she promised to help Hanna get revenge and her ns to make money had been put on hold for this reason. Now that two people were taken care of, it was time to finish the rest of the job. Only once Hanna was helped, the gang in her control, and the dam running; this town would soon be the center of her ambitions. If Jackson wasn''t willing to help smooth things over she was going to have to improvise. Standing up to face Jackson, Lisa extended her hand for a handshake. "I hope to hear from you soon. Who knows, something or someone might happen along that could screw up the offer." "Don''t say something that warrants a red g." Jackson replied giving a mock smile. Then he took her hand to return the shake. Suddenly his smile faded into a look of confusion. "Is your hand alright? Feels like the bottom is oddly ridged." The two looked down at Lisa''s hand. Seeing it, Lisa realizes her mistake. She hadn''t fixed her busted-up hand and arm armor yet! Her pinky was still stuck and awkwardly sticking outpletely straight. Quickly she stuck her hand into her pants pocket before her secret was exposed. "Yeah, my hand is fine. I''m just feeling a bit tense still from the fight." Lisa answered suppressing her voice from giving him any indication that there was an issue. She had to continue keeping her prosthetic limbs secret for as long as she could to hold the advantage. "If you say so." Jackson replied, though not fully convinced. "Goodbye." The three then split and Lisa turned to Zane as they too left the fountain. "Now tell me, how did youe across these deeds?" Zane exined best he could to her about the little adventure he had taken into the bank. When he finished exining, the two of them were now at thepounds exit. Lisa, though a bit worried he might have caused more trouble than it was worth, was pleased he was able to find out the information about the deeds. It also made her curious as to what else the gang might have tucked away in their vaults. "As long as you weren''t caught, good job." Lisa sighed as he finished. "However, if you were caught, I couldn''t guarantee that I could help you. There is only one of me. This isn''t like the ck Rats where a bunch of people can fight. You need to be extra careful from now on." "I''ll do better, boss. But I am the best information finder from the gang. I just can''t help myself when I see an opportunity to find stuff out." Zane replied patting his chest. Then turning towards the exit, he asked. "So, what''s our next move? That Jackson didnt seem to take your offer and from what you said there is a lot to do still." "You could try training better!" A cocky male voice called out from behind them. The two recognized the annoying voice and turning around they confirmed its owner. The voice belonged to Ernest. Ernest continued speaking to them while stilling forward, "That was the luckiest win I''ve seen in a while. However, it was just as I thought, you''re not all that good. A guy like Watt should have been beaten in a single attack. Like this!" A silver streak shed out from Ernest, so fast Zane couldn''t react just like before! "Thap!" Lisa reacted immediately and caught the streak tightly between two fingers. Another throwing knife. She signed and looked at Ernest with mock disappointment. "Really? Using the same trick twice in front of me. Try being a little more interesting kid." "You...!" Zane stuttered and started flush, but Lisa cut him off. "Listen, if you keep this up, you''re going to have real problems on your hands. Leave us alone or else." Lisa said while tossing the throwing knife aside into a decorative bush. "Pfft, or else what?" Ernest replied rolling his eyes. "You think just because you beat a couple of high-ranking MFA types, that you scare me? Those guys were ultimately trash too." "Boss, let me fight this guy!" Zane whispered harshly from behind Lisa. He still had his tiger ws on and looked rearing for a fight. "This punk has screwed with me enough!" "Not yet." Lisa murmured in reply, never looking away from Ernest. The kid has some skill, and it would be unwise for you to look away from him too. His attacks were quite dangerous and urate. If she hadn''t been here, Zane would have died twice over, and he hatted knowing this fact. Zane made a sour expression and stepped back to re at Ernest. Ernest ignored Zane and smirked at Lisa. "I''ll let you two country fools go. But this is thest time you''ll know my knives will being at you. Queen, you better watch your back." Lisa looked unfazed by Ernest''s threat. She had heard countless people in military school, on training grounds and even out on the battlefield say simr things. She had ovee each and every one of them. Why should this brat bother her? Lisa''s silent gray eyed stare remained icy cold as she looked down at the smirking kid gangster. She was at least a full head taller than him andbined with her own threatening ready to fight aurora, started to pressure him. Ernest''s smirk visibly faltered. This probably wasn''t the reaction he was expecting. "Hmpf, get lost." Ernest huffed and sharply turned to leave. "Come on Zane, let''s go find something more worth our time." Lisa said just loud enough for Ernest to hear. He flinched and balled his fists but continued leaving. Sometimeter the two returned back to the dam. Benny and Sadie were the only ones that were there at the moment. Benny exined that Hanna went back home with John for a while. The rest were apparently still out searching the storage units. The reason they were go so long was either they had found nothing or something good. Lisa wanted to check on them and use that time to further examine her damage arm and finger. Leaving Benny to count the money he had won and letting Sadie start exining to Zane what the next training regime would entail, Lisa headed off down the hill to the storage units. She took her coffin along as well. Inside was the tool and hopefully the right parts to repair the damages. Arriving at the closest set of storage units on the left side of the red roofed buildings, which were also within view of the river, Lisa found that the locks here were already busted off. It seemed that the search team had been doing their job well. Coming up to the first unit, Lisa was disappointed to find it waspletely empty. There wasn''t even a single empty cardboard box inside. Going inside anyway Lisa un-shouldered her coffin, unlocked it, and took out the box of assorted wires and tech chips. Then taking off her leather jacket she inspected the smashed in arm armor. The spot where the axe had struck her was dented in no more than four centimeters. Though small it was still deep enough to pinch the wires underneath. Reaching into the wires box, Lisa shuffled around for a unique tool specially designed to remove the military cyborg armor. While she did that, Lisa grumbled inwardly. "Looks like I underestimated the strength of those Inducements. This armor can take on midrange caliber bullets without puncturing mepletely. Yet those triplets were doped up enough to harm me. I''ll have to stop ying around from now on. The futures techniques sure are different." Finding the tool, Lisa lifted it from the wires to reveal an elongated palm sized ck egg. Lisa took hold of it carefully as the tool was an incredibly special device that could help or harm her. Inside the ck shell of this egg was a rotating metal ion ma and electro-vibration inhibitors. The inhibitors would vibrate at a frequency so fast and high that whenbined with the rotating ion ma the device would peel away metal. Very much like peeling an orange skin off the fruit. Since the device wasn''t big it was only able to affect metal that it made direct contact with. The frequency was also preset to vibrate at a level only capable of affecting Lisa''s specially designed prosthetics. Therefore, the reason she had to grasp it carefully. If she activated it the wrong way, she''d risk ripping off her own fingertips! Only the ends of this ck egg were safe to hold, and each end had to be squeezed to activate, but the danger was enough for her not to trust the mechanism. The way to peel back the metal was to pinch the egg on the ends with thumb and pointer fingers, to then roll across the indicated metal, no matter what the condition, just like one would operate a lint roller. Thus, exposing the unaffected wiring of the prosthetic safely and without further damaging the internals. Lisa did all this with ease. This was not the first time, nor would it be thest. The small hum of the elongated egg buzzed gently in her hand. Contrary to what one might think, the metal did not make any terrible groaning, scrapping or screeching sounds at all. It sounded and looked just like wet, uncooked bread dough being ripped and rolled up. The rolled-up metal curled loosely above Lisa''s hand in the process; like an ocean wave barreling. Turning off the egg device, Lisa put it back onto the pile of wires. The exposed area was now from the front of her bicep to wrap around past the opposite side of the arm. Looking around carefully on the inside of her exposed upper arm, Lisa saw that two wires were crimped and a thin coupling, no more the two millimeters thick, was snapped in two. "Crap!" Lisa groaned. "I can fix these wires easy, but that coupling is going to be an issue. I''ll need a small soldering tool that''s typically used onputers, but I don''t have mine anymore. Where to get one?" Lisa though to herself of where she might find one while in the meantime, she also repaired the two crimped wires. Fixing the first one, she noticed that her pinky immediately returned to normal, and its stiffness rxed to look natural. Flexing and clenching her hand a few times it seemed that the wire was for mobility. However, the speed of the pinky closing was half that of the rest of her fingers. This meant that the other was for speed. Fixing it and repeating the former test proved her assumption. "Wait, I think I know where one might be." Lisa answered aloud to herself. "That kid, Tom, from the docks had something like it on his work desk. I hope the kid can keep a secret, because judging from the angle I need to reach he''s going to have to help fix it too." Chapter 154: Tentacles Chapter 154: Tentacles n, the Bone yer, gulped heavily seeing the Twisted creature''s single blood red eye leering at him from the gate entrance. Its crackled ck and red underlined tentacles slowly continued to roll out from the gates dark center as if they were unending. Still grasping the gate on all sides, the eight ck tentacles were kept spilling out of the gateway until its humongous body had appeared after nearly a full menacing minute. The Land Octopus''s entire length looked to take up one fifth of the entire fighting ground! "Great! Just an easy monster to deal with. No biggie." n mused to himself. n''s feet shuffled sideways as he surveyed his new foe. His thin shoes filled up easily in the sandy pit and he could feel every odd bone, weapon and stone that was hidden within. Surrounding the Pit was the metal dome enclosure and the cheering sounded beyond it sound almost too muffled. Stealing a quick nce, he saw that in between the metal was smudged, clear bulletproof ss. However, he didn''t have any time to waste looking away now. The Land Octopus emitted an unsettling gurgling grinding noise from below its body, where its mouth was, and the tips of its tentacles wriggled violently. It''s two massive red eyes, sticking out on the sides of its bulbus head, seemed to see every nook and cranny of the Pit. There was nowhere to hide. Seeing n standing still and alone, its body lurched slowly forward towards the center of the Pit. Thinking it had easy prey, the Land Octopus sent out a single tentacle out towards the single human. n sneered seeing the ck coiling tentacle snaking towards him like spilled oil. Then he gripped his tactical hammer tightly and shouted, "You''re underestimating me? I''ll show you that that''s a mistake!" Taking the initiative, n took two steps forward and sent his hammer flying in a downward arcing swing at the creatures arm. Sand flew up in every direction at the hammers impact, smashing the tentacle''s tip. Like someone stubbing their toe on a table leg, the Land Octopus reeled back and moaned as it waved its injured arm in the air. "Ha! You didn''t like that, did you." n said as he smirked at the creature. However, all he ended up doing was enrage the creature! Making an angry sounding gurgle, the Twisted sent out four tentacles to attack n in unison. As they flew at the human, the tentacles turned ridged, and the tips grew visibly taught. The second special skill of this creature was being unleashed! n saw these ck and red edged ''spears''ing at him with blurring speed and swung his hammer upward. The swing struck the fastest tentacle knocking it away and over his head. Then ricocheting off that tentacle, n flung the hammer down and sideways catching a tentacle aimed at his middle and sent it crashing into another aiming at his thigh. Both struck the ground harmlessly, yet the fourth tentacle stabbed right into n''s left shoulder! Stumbling back from the attack, n quickly retreated to gain some distance and clutched at the wound. Meanwhile, the Land Octopus''s arms softened and wriggled back towards itself. Unlike n the Octopus was unharmed in the initial strikes. It then started to creep across the sandy ground towards its prey menacingly. n touched the hole in his arm and muttered, "My arm just finished healing there too. What a pain." Wiggling his fingers and lifting the hammer some, n found that the damage was not as bad as the pain. He could still fight just well enough. Then he noticed the creatures advancing movement and saw that it was trying to corner him against the back wall of the Pit. "Hmm, not all that dumb, are you?" n called out to the Twisted. "Looks like four tentacles for attacking and four for supporting. It''s got to be hard holding all that weight." Dashing to the right, n made a break for safety along the wall and back out into the more open fighting grounds. Reacting swiftly, the Land Octopus sent out another barrage of hardened spear like tentacles. Ducking, weaving, and jumping, n nimbly avoided the repeated stabs from the creature. If he had tried blocking or countering, then he would probably have been blocked off from his escape route. The creatures size greatly affected how fast it truly moved, it was dangerously fast! Getting a fair distance away at the opposite end of the Pit, n stopped to look over the creature. "There just had to be a weakness and fighting off those tentacles is just not going to be enough." The Land Octopus has finished turning around and was now moving back towards him. n couldn''t see anything that looked like an obvious weakness, its body looked far too tough and arms just as imprable. n then felt his foot brush against something long and hard buried in the coarse sand. Looking down he saw that it was a half a spear shaft. "Oh, duh. The answer is right here." n said reaching down to scoop up the spear. "Most everything has the same weakness, it''s eyes." The Land Octopus was past halfway across the Pit now and its two front tentacles were starting to raise up for another strike. n, however, wasn''t going to let it. Now it was his time to shine! "Take this!" n shouted and chucked the spear right at the creatures right huge, bulging red eye. The Twisted saw everything. It knew what this human was up to. Seeing the spear flying at it, the Land Octopus struck out at the weapon and effortlessly swatted it away! "Uh, well that''s not good." n said unable to believe what he just saw. He felt like a kid tossing a pillow at an adult. Completely powerless. Letting out a mocking gurgle, the Twistedunched another attack. Again, four tentacles stabbed out at n. However, this time n had more distance to react. Jumping to one side he deflected one tentacle with his hammer and the other three smashed into the metal framework of the Pits stone hued walls. Then in response to its failed strike the Land Octopus tugged angrily at the metal it had struck. With a loud metallic crack, the metal framing broke and came flying back at the creature. Then n noticed something from this odd moment. The tentacles had first struck at him in a solid state, but now, because the tentacles had be soft to pull on the metal, they became stic. The metal flew right at the creatures body and struck it squarely in between the eyes. However, the Land Octopus knew this was going to happen and had hardened its body to take the blow. As expected, the metal fragments bounced off and there was no damage done to the imposing monster. When it did this, n also noted that the creatures movements stopped entirely. It couldn''t solidify its bodypletely independently like its arms could. A solid defense in exchange for ack of mobility. An idea started to form in n mind upon this discovery. Looking around at his feet he spotted another spear. This time the shaft was in better condition and its tip looked very sharp. Only it was now closer to the Twisted. "Alright, round two it is!" This time n decided to use his Inducement! The feeling of its power quickly coursed through his body and his confidence also boosted. Feeling this way made him feel like he could do anything and no one or thing could stop him in this state! Throwing caution to the wind, n made a desperate charge for the spear. The Twisted saw this and reacted by sending out two tentacles to intercept n. They struck out from above like whips to smash this human to bits. n threw himself forward into a roll, dodging the first swing and sending a shower of sand sshing about from his impact. Then jumping up onto one knee and raising his hammer, n blocked the second blow. Gasping for breath, it felt to n like a car had just tried to run him over as he took the blow head on. His body was pushed back, leaving deep skid marks in the blood-stained sand. However, he did not fall or feel threatened. The two tentacles softened and pulled back up into the air above him, readying for another strike. Forcing himself to move onwards n ran for the spear again. Just as he did, a third tentacle came flying straight at his chest! Throwing up his tactical hammer, n smacked sideways at the tentacle which resulted in making contact with the weapons handle. Then pushing away from him, n forced the tentacle to miss him and the handle and tentacle ground against each other violently while he kept on running forwards. The creature seemed confused as its strength failed to knock the human aside. The two tentacles above floated as if unsure how to move to attack the human fending off its other arm. It was all n needed. Giving another hard shove, he pushed the hardened tentacle aside and grabbed the spear. Then he looked up at the creatures big red eyes and smiled. It was all over now. Gripping the spear and hammer tightly, n turned and ran away! The onlooking crowds boos were obvious to him as n fled. The creature was alsopletely confused by this sudden change in attitude. Yet seeing its prey running made it confident. The two tentacles hovering above were sent crashing down to crush him and end this farce. n saw this obvious attacking and ran in a zig zag pattern. Each blow from the tentacles sent up huge plums of dust as they missed their target. This further frustrated the creature. It gave another unhappy grinding noise andshed out furiously at the human still fleeing. As if it truly was angry that its easy meal wasn''t going to be just an easy meal. Yet, n kept right on escaping. Reaching the metal and stone wall, n stopped and turned to face the creature and shouted to egg-on the Twisted. "Come on! Get me!" It worked. Just like before the Twistedshed out with four tentacles. Again, n jumped aside, and all four tentacles burrowed deeply into the wall. Grabbing onto another chunk of metal, the Land Octopus wrenched it free from the wall as its tentacle returned to its stic state. The metal shot back at creatures head once again and it braced itself for impact. Just as n nned! Frozen in ce it was unable to react. n''s spear was already flying right at its all-seeing eye! The Twisted was unable to move as it then watched the spear burrow into its own eye, and its vision turned ck! The Land Octopus screamed an awkward gurgling noise and lost itsposure releasing its hardened skin technique fully. The metal smacked hard into its softened head, right between the eyes. The force of the impact knocked it backwards and its weight was too much to hold. As the stunned Twisted crashed with a boom into the sand, n was already charging at it. He went straight for its wounded eye. ck blood gushed out from around the spear hole and the shaft was still sticking part way out from the eye. Tentacles pped about uselessly as the creature continued writhing in pain, unable to react properly. Then jumping up at the bleeding eye, that was still a few meters above the ground, n cocked back his hammer to swing. Giving a mighty surge of strength, he hammered smashing right at the butt end of the spear. "Thunk, squish!" The spear was sent burrowing deeper through the eye and it lodged deep within the creatures brain. A fountain of ck blood erupted from the once red eye and the creature let out onest screech. Then all tentacles flopped lifeless to the sandy ground in unison. He had nailed it to death! Sucking in a huge breath, n raised is hammer high in triumph and yelled, "For the Skull!" Chapter 155: Northbound Chapter 155: Northbound "For the Skull!" n could faintly hear his victory cry being echoed back by his men through the thick Pit''s ss and it was made even more muffled by the cheers of excitementing from the Sun People. Yet he heard them all the same and patted his tattooed torso proudly. The pride of hispatriots was short lived, however. A sudden rattle of chains sounded out from his left and looking that way he saw a gate was opening. Taking onest look at the monstrosity he had just killed; n shook his head amazed. While walking briskly too the exit, he mused to himself, "Was that Twisted really all that much of a threat? Sure, it had formidable power and speed, but its weak points were so obvious. The Skull can handle them easily on our own without these crazy peoples help." Picking up his shirt and shaking off the gritty sand he was d that this was all over. He then walked through the gate and took onest look at the oozing Twistedying in the sand. "Do we need that person of prophecy?" "Well done. You did better than I expected." Garth saiding towards him down the carved canyon rock tunnel. Behind him were n''s giddy subordinates. They quickly gathered around him and started patting him heavily on his back. n tried to brush them off, as it was a bit embarrassing, but the kept on their congrattions. "Ahem!" Garth coughed loudly. "I don''t think we should be wasting time. We need to hear what the Shaman have to say. Follow me." "Get off me. My arm is still injured" n said pushing one man off him. The rest of the men back off, still smiling and followed after Garth as n continued, "Come on guys, its not like I did that much. Let''s get the rest of this meeting out of the way. I feel like if we stay here any longer, they''ll make me do something else ridiculous. Besides, being underground so much today has been making me sick." "We hear you, boss." Sharp Tooth said hardily. "Those Sun People should have gotten the message and be willing to fight with us." By now many of the Sun People were also starting to leave the Pit too. The tunnel was starting to get cramped as so many people were leaving at once further adding to the difficulty of keeping up with the speedy Garth. The group had to hurry at almost a jog as they followed Garth back out of the tunnel and back into the warm, waning sunlight. The sun was getting low now and evening colors were painting thendscape beautifully. The tan stony earth had begun to glow gold as sandstone formations atop the surrounding cliffs drew cookie cutter shadows out of the sunlight. The deep blue sky was streaked with ming orange clouds, while the yellow sun sunk ever lower behind them to only enrich the colors. Opposite of the failing sun, a half-moon had already risen high above the rim of the eastern river cliff and its silver body glowed brightly. If not for the urgency of their meeting, n would have wanted to gaze longer at this sight. The Shaman were waiting on the other side of the river, meaning they had to cross the wooden bridge once again. Most of the people leaving the tunnels from the Pit were also joining them as they crossed. n and the rest of the men were nervously holding onto the two hand-width thick railing rope as the rush of people joined them. It didn''t seem like the bridge would be able to hold so many people and might break at any time. Garthughed looking at the scared outsiders. "Rx! The bridge was designed to sway and hold more weight than this. It gets inspected weekly by our best people." "That''s still notforting." Sharp Tooth griped. By chance n looked down between the wood beams and blinked twice to be sure he saw things correctly. Expecting there to be only darkness to be below, n was amazed to see that there were glowing jewels below him. Looking this time over the railing, n saw that the riverbanks were lined with thousands of torches and zigzagging lines of fire traveled up the cliff sides marking the pathways to the top. River boat lights dazzled the waters wind wrinkled surface as they traveled up and down this inky surface. The cliffs looked to be a live with all the activities still going on in the deepening darkness below. A light cooling breeze wafted by his head and he had to pull back his bangs to keep looking. "Come on Speaker, you don''t want to get left behind." Ashen One said tapping his shoulder. He and Wind Talker were bringing up the rear of the group. "I''ming." n replied looking away from the unique sight. This time, however, they didn''t have to go back into the cave. The Shaman were already waiting for them at the entrance to the cave sitting on river reed woven mats. A sizable gathering of oundishly dressed Sun People had also gathered with them. n took note that there were peoples of all nationalities that seemed to call themselves Sun People and that all were dressed equally as crazy as the next. n scanned over them carefully but failed to see any of those mysterious animal masked figures that guarded the Shaman. However, he suspected that he could feel that they were watching him closely. "Well, it seems that you are capable after all, Speaker." The center Shaman croaked as the Skull group arrived in front of them. "We will agree to help you after all." "However," the left Shaman interrupted. "Only those that wish to volunteer will be going. We will not force anyone to go." "Why are these guys so stingy?" Sharp Tooth murmured behind n. "That is understandable." n replied to the three ancient men while ignoring Sharp Tooth''sment. "After all I am unsure as to what will be provided aspensation anyway. Both Lady Cassandra and the Head failed to tell me this detail." He then looked at Wind Talker and Ashen One, just in case they knew the answer. They both simply shook their heads ''no''. n sighed and guessed in his mind that the Sun People wouldnt aid them for free and he was probably going to make something up to offer them. Whatever that might end up being, he was going to put all the pressure to fulfill that payment on the Undertaker as a light revenge for making him go to such lengths to make this deal. "That''s nothing to be concerned about." The right Shaman replied waving at a moth that fluttered too close to his face. "We will take all the skins, bones, and organs from the Twisted we kill. They are more valuable to us than the money that you could sell them for." "Twisted bodies are valuable?" n asked curiously. Though now he was disappointed he could do his revenge n. "To the outsiders the Twisted have been used for experiments, creating Inducements and in medical studies. However, we know that all that is in vain. The mutated minions of the Darkness can only bring about evil and not be used as a cure to what ails mankind." The center Shaman exined. "In fact, your Inducement is derived from a Twisted, Speaker." n felt a lump form in his throat as he thought in wonder. "How did he guess that? I said nothing about having an Inducement. Only I and the two doctors in Moab City that did my procedure, know about the Inducements details. These mystical types are just too odd for my liking." "But enough about that." The center Shaman continued. "Are there any present that wish to go to the aid of the Skull? Someone must lead our side along the way." There was a moment of silence as no one immediately answered. mes flickered in the dying wind and the sounds of distant workers was all that could be heard. It wasn''t looking like anyone was interested in fighting. "Really? No one wants to fight the Twisted?" n said sharply, breaking the silence. "I thought you guys reveled in killing those creatures. Perhaps all the rumors I heard were just that?" Pressing his Bison skull tighter onto his head, Garth stepped forward. "I will lead the Sun People. Hearing this outsider speak ill of us is not right. Besides doing nothing but patrols is getting old. There hasn''t been any Twisted nearbytely anyway. Unless there is another that wishes to lead, we will meet at dock twelve by morning." There was no reply from the surrounding Sun People, only indiscriminate murmurs and annoyed stares directed at n. It seemed that hisments hadn''t gone over to well. Rather than stoke up their desire to fight, it might have driven them away. "Well then, Speaker, it seems that we havee to the end of our discussion of the matter." The left Shaman said pping a hand on his knotted knee. "You all must be gone by midday tomorrow. Outsiders are never going to stay here longer than two days as is our custom, apart from the sick and injured." Then all three Shaman in unison gave a modest salute with a fist pressed into the open vertical hand of the other. "We now bid you all farewell." The right Shaman said. "May the Sun warm you journey." The left Shaman added. n was about to give a simr farewell in reply but stopped seeing the center Shaman was looking at him intently. n was frozen by what was said next. With a strange knowing twinkle in his eye he said, "No matter how far and high you fly away, be sure to always protect the Chosen One. You are in for a long journey." n and the other members of the Skull had a rather sleepless night. Garth had them sleep in a cave carved out near dock twelve. The cave had not been amodated with any bedding or item to rest on. They were forced to sleep on the sandy ground again, just like the rest of their journey. When the morning light started to illuminate the depths of the canyon, the sound of workers at the docks had woken them up long before. Dock workers anywhere in the world always worked the most oundish hours, and it was always an inconvenience to others, but the jobs must get done. Coming groggily out from the cave, n rubbed his eyes and headed for the riverside. He sshed some of its murky water onto his face to wake up. Standing up, he nearly jumped out of his skin! Garth was standing right next to him. "Were did youe from?" n growled. "I just got here." Garth replied nonchntly. Then he pointed behind n with his long metal spear. "Get the others, we are leaving soon." "Alright. It is going to be such a pain walking along the river again. I was hoping we could have slept better." n replied turning around to go back. "Oh, we are not walking." Garth replied sounding amused. "How are we getting back then?" n said turning around with a questioningly look. "I told everyone to meet up at dock twelve for a reason." Garth said giving a light grin. "We will be taking one of the Sun People''s barges back. At best we can be there in less than two days." "Seriously!" n replied perking up. "If we''re taking a barge, how many people volunteered toe?" Garth scratched his chin. "Hmm, I want to say two hundred and fifty or more." "Two hundred and fifty!" n repeated unable to believe his ears. This was far more than he ever anticipated. When he got back to the Damn, the rest of the Skull was in for a big surprise! Everyone was surely going to stop calling him Oath Breaker now. He couldn''t wait to show off his sess now. If what the Sun Peoples reputation was equal to their actual skills, the Twisted were going be in for quite the surprise. Chapter 156: Dock Child Chapter 156: Dock Child Lisa closed her damaged arm with the ck egg device and the bicep armor was easily ttened and smoothed back into ce, as if there was no damage at all from the procedure or injury. Her arm''s skin now lookedpletely normal, even her skin-colored paint was unaffected. She also took a moment to do the same smoothing process with the dented area on her shoulder from when the Twisted hit her. Then collecting everything and putting it neatly away into her coffin, she was ready to go find Tom. As she headed down the row of red roofed storage units, Lisa looked out for the others searching the area. Dozens of door locks had been broken by the team, but simrly like the unit she was in before, the units were already emptied. "Well, this is unfortunate." Lisa sighed aloud walking by the empty units. "I was hoping that there would be something inside some of them. Even junk would be better to find than nothingness. It''s odd though. They said they would save the locked units forst. I wonder why they are opening them now?" After passing a pile of rotting pallets, Lisa spotted a familiar white glow of something shoved against the wall. Stopping she staired intrigued by the pale bones of some long dead human. This permanent resident looked to have been shot through the sternum as Lisa traced the hole with her forefinger. As she did so she mused to herself, Hmm, this area doesnt seem to be all that inviting. Then standing she looked at a huge leafless bush nearby and saw another simrly discarded pile of bones. I wonder, did Hanna wander this way after escaping the dogs? It seems to match up with her story. She then took a moment to scan the roads leading to and from the area and surmised that this area was far from any residential area and that the gang probably used this ce as an execution ground. It wasnt all that umon for any gang to have such a favored location. Lisa shrugged and continued along a few of the units until, passing by a pathway between two sets of units, leading to the next row beyond, Lisa heard somemotion. Changed her direction and going through the pathway, Lisa decided to check it out. Just as she expected, Willis, Tayvon, Eva and Henry were rummaging around in an opened unit. Unlike most of the others, this one had stuff inside. In the roadway between the rows of units was a small boat trailer and the trailers aluminum frame looked brand new, as did the tires. It also looked like the team hadid plywood on the trailers center to create a way to carry stuff on it like a makeshift cart. On this modified cart were several undiscernible objects, some were wrapped in tarps, still boxed up or piled in a mixed fashion. Eva was keeping watch outside while the rest were working, and Lisa waved to her as they spotted each other at the same moment. "Eva, I''m back. How''s things going on here." Eva seemed to rx slightly and called back as Lisa came up to join her. "It''s been alright. As you might have noticed, we haven''t found much at all. This is only the second row we have checked too. We ran into a small problem." "Oh, what happened?" Lisa asked stopping next to the boat trailer. Hearing the conversation outside, the men came out to join them. Each one carried a box out with them. Willis had heard Lisa''s question and answered it as he came out. "There were some sketchy guys hanging around the far side of these units. They didn''t have any Mad Dog symbols on them, so I''m not sure if they were locals or not." He then set the box down and continued. "What made them sketchy was that as we watched them, out of sight of course, they kept pointing at the dam and eyeing it." "That''s not all." Tayvon added. "They were loading simrly marked and sized boxes into a unit too. We didn''t see exactly what the boxs said or potentially were. From our hiding spot it was too far away. They were working there for a while and it wasn''t until Eva and Henry joined up with us did we then start searching the units." So, I take it they are gone now? Lisa asked curiously. Eva watched them while we looked at the first row of units and they left an hour ago. They seemed warry but not because of us. Henry replied. "That''s good to know. It is better not to get found out anyway. Especially when you don''t know the situation. Good work though." Lisa then pointed at the boat trailer. "So, what have you guys found?" Eva pointed at the disordered pile at the front. "This is all copper wires and electrical junk. We know that copper is a good trade item to outsiders, so we made sure to collect any." "Hmm, from the looks of it, all this stuff is useless to us anyway." Lisa said turning over a broken piece of a tscreen TV. "Then under this tarp we found some really nice clothes." Henry said while lifting the tarp. Underneath was a mound of assorted jackets, dresses, socks, jeans, purses, and random essories. "Eva told us what was worth keeping and to cover them up." "That was because clothes are hard to get shipped into town." Eva exined. "If anyone saw these, they would definitely try to steal them from us." "Why are clothes so hard to get?" Lisa asked. "Because most clothes nowadays are made of cotton and cottones from the southern parts of the US." Eva replied. "As you know that area is under a lot of fighting between the AFR and Texas Coalition. So, getting the cotton shipped out here to Utah is hard enough, but finding a textile factory willing to ship this far north of Moab City is even harder." "I see." Lisa replied. She didnt know about the conflict between the two factions in great enough detail to understand the rtions they had with surrounding territories and wilnds. In fact, there was still a lot of current events that she had no knowledge of and that was something she needed to change. "Lastly, we didn''t find any fishing poles or tackle like you wanted." Tayvon said while patting arge wooden box. "But we found something that might be better." Lifting off the wooden lid Tayvon revealed a huge fishing. Its green nylon strings were neatly wrapped up and it looked to have been used only a few times. The appeared to be several dozen meters wide once it was taken out, judging from the size alone. How something like this had ended up so far away from an ocean vessel was anyone''s guess. "Awesome! This would be great to somehow use to use in the river. The townspeople could probably use the food." Lisa said stroking the. "Our thoughts exactly." Tayvon replied. "Fish are normally only caught on special asions by the hunters. Migrating fish don''t make it up this far north and any other species are few and far between." "So, was this trailer in a unit too? Its so clean." Lisa asked. "It was. The trailer and were the only things inside." Tayvon answered. "Well keep up the search. You guys seem to have everything under control." Lisa said looking around at everyone. "There''s some stuff I need to do at the docks. So, I''ll be back before long." "Alright. You need one of us toe with you?" Willis asked. "No. I''ll be fine on my own." Lisa replied while giving a wave goodbye. Walking away she heard Henry speaking. "Well, back to work. Let''s check inside these boxes first." Lisa wasing up to the old dock side shack, Ulster''s Shop, and found that it''s deteriorating, sun beaten, and wind worn wood somehow had a homely feeling to it. There was a customer exiting the shop as she entered anding inside, she found the old man beaming at her. "Your back! This is good news. A new and returning costumer is hard toe by." He saiding around the counter to speak with her. His cane taped heavily as he did. Then he asked, "So what can this old coot do for you today?" "I actually came to see your grandson, Tom." Lisa replied. "I have some possible work for him." "Oh? This is a rare asion indeed." The old man said stroking the top of his head. "No one hardly ever has Tom do work for them. Unfortunately, he''s at home right now." "I see. When will he be back?" Lisa asked. "Right now." A voice called from the back room as Tom came out to join them. "What do you want with me?" Tom asked suspiciously. "I wanted to know if you had a small soldering tool, specifically one used onputer parts." Lisa replied ignoring his skepticism. "I do." Tom replied. "Why?" "Need your help to fix a broken thin coupling. It''s in a very delicate position and I can''t reach it easily on my own to make the repairs correctly." Lisa said leaning down to speak softly, just in case someone else might overhear outside. "I will pay you extra to keep this device a secret from everyone. The part I need fixing is extremely important to me." Tom didn''t know what to say. Lisa''s expression was telling him that she wasn''t joking around. He normally kept to himself and didn''t get confronted like this very often. He looked up at his grandfather for advice, who in turn shrugged. "It''s up to you. You are the expert with technology now. My hands are just too shaky to even try." He replied holding up a wobbling, wrinkled hand. "I taught you enough and youre a smart boy. I know you can do it." Tom sighed and crossed his arms. "Fine. I''ll take a look at it, then I''ll make the decision." "Once I show you though you cannot speak about this to anyone. Even if you don''t work on it, it must be kept secret. That goes for you too, Mr. Ulster." Lisa said sternly. "Very well. I see no problem with keeping my mouth shut. If you pay, you have my word. Customers confidentiality." The old man replied bobbing his head. "Come over to my work bench and show me the device." Tom said going towards the tool covered bench at the far end of the dimly lit room. "Can you make sure no onees in?" Lisa asked the old man. "Sure. It won''t be much of a problem to close early. I''ll even sit out on the step to be doubly careful." Mr. Ulster said limping towards the front door. Tom had cleared off one half of the bench and ced an old looking car battery onto it. Connected to it was a converter and a small soldering tool was already to go. "Go ahead and put it up here and I''ll see what I can do." Tom said patting the bench. Lisa slid off her coffin and started to unlock it. Tom was curiously watching her but didn''t ask anything. Lisa then carefully took out the ck egg device. Seeing it Tom asked, "Is that it? Doesn''t look broken or special to me." "No, this is just to open up the area where the broken part is." Lisa replied closing the coffin door. Then she reached over and grabbed a nearby short stool and pulled it over to sit on. She took off her jacket and ced her forearm onto the table. Tom raised any eyebrow seeing this. Lisa turned on the egg device and started rolling it across her arm. Toms eyes widened brightly as he saw the presumed flesh getting peeled back to reveal the metal armor and circuits hidden inside. Leaning eagerly forward, he watched everything she did with great interest. He was more excited than grossed out by what Lisa did, especially seeing that there was wires and technicalponents inside. "So, youre a cyborg?! Ive never met one." Tom asked not taking his eyes of her peeled back skin and the hole created. "Shh, not so loud." Lisa replied softly. "Yes, I am a cyborg. I needed these arms for fighting and got this one injured." Then she pointed at the broken coupling. "See, right here." Tom took one look at the cracked coupling and nodded. "Sure, no problem. I can see why you came to me. It is in a hard spot for you to reach. I built severalputers on my own and repaired lots of ships navigation systems before. Though your arm is way moreplex, I can still fix that coupling easy." "Alright then, let''s see you do that." Lisa said d to see the boy so enthusiastic. "Just be sure not to damage anything inside or let anything get in there." "Don''t worry, I know what I''m doing." Tom said putting on some heavily tinted goggle like sses. Then he picked up his soldering tool and a small stick of tin. Though Lisa couldnt watch the job being performed due to the dangerous light of the soldering tool, she could tell he was doing well. Tom worked quietly and quickly and the whole job took less than two minutes. Tom pushed up his goggles onto his forehead and taped a finger gently onto the repaired coupling. The tin stick had been melted only slightly on to the coupling and refused the two split parts. The job looked very smooth, and Lisa couldn''t see any drip marks. "That should do it. It really wasn''t hard at all." Tom said looking up at Lisa. "Excellent work. I was right to pick you." Lisa replied flexing her hand and arm. Everything was normal. Then picking up the ck egg device, Lisa started to recover her exposed arm. "Now let''s talk pay and about making you my temporary repairman." Chapter 157: Tom Chapter 157: Tom "You want to hire me? To be your temporary repairman?" Tom asked a bit taken back. "I''m just a kid, why would you want me to work on something so important as your personal prosthetic''s?" "Because I see potential. Not many kids are interested in working with technology, much less knowing how to repair delicate equipment." Lisa said while finishing up closing her exposed forearm. "I''m not sure" Tom said hesitantly thinking it over. "I don''t know what grandfather would say about this either. I need to help him around here and any boats that need their system''s repaired too. I just can''t leave with you." "Ha-ha, you won''t need to go anywhere." Lisa said smiling. "You just need to be willing toe fix me up when I need you too. Or if there is something else technical, I need your help with. Tom scratched the back of his head roughly in thought. The offer was decent but knowing that she was a Match Fighter also made it potentially dangerous for him. He had heard from traveling merchants that a Fighters team members asionally ended up being targeted by rivals to get them to forfeit. Lisa could see the uncertainty written all over the young teens face. "Tell you what, you won''t be an official member. How about I pay you by the job? Like a handyman." Tom looked up at the tall woman smiling confidently down at him. He couldnt help but wonder, "Why is she so persistent? Am I really that good?" "If you can''t decide than that''s just fine." Lisa said getting up from the short stool. "I can alwayse backter for a proper answer. I am sure you want to talk it out with you grandfather." Lisa then got down on one knee and opened her coffin again. "Let''s see, I think this will be enough to pay for both the repair and hush money." Lisa stood up and extended her arm out to Tom. In her hand was a rolled wad of cash. Tom took it carefully and took off the rubber band to count it with unbelieving hands. Both the offer and now this mass of money made him speechless. In the meantime, Lisa put back the ck egg device and locked up the coffin, before putting it back on to go. "There is two hundred dors in here?!" Tom said with a shocked voice. "Yep, one hundred for the repair and fifty for you and your grandfather. That should be more than enough, right?" Lisa asked in a convincing tone. "Y-ya!" Tom said looking down in awe at therge sum in his hands. "Good. I''ll see you soon sometime." Lisa said turning to go to the door. She knocked once before leaving and opened it inwardly. The old man Ulster was just then turning around to see what the knock was about. "Ah, miss. I take it that everything was taken care of? That was rather quick." The old man said scooting to one side of step. "That''s because he did a good job." Lisa replied stepping past him and onto the rickety dockside. "He probably needs to talk with you and your pay is with him as well." "That''s great to hear. I hope you enjoy the rest of your afternoon." The old man replied grinning. "You as well." Lisa replied giving a small wave before turning to go. Lisa walked slowly back down the dock towards the dam in thought. "So now what to do? I can''t technically get into any MFA fights, so I got more time to work on the dam now. I need Mr. Sellers to hurry up and get my supplies so I can fix everything up. I guess I could also go check out what those sketchy guys were up to and what they are storing. Or perhaps stake them outter and just help my volunteers finish checking out the units." Then Lisa rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger in realization. "Ugh, then there is the whole thing with Hanna. I still don''t understand what''s going on with those odd things that''s happened to her with the Mech. Not to mention we practically have no food left and I need to stock up. So much random stuff to do" Lisa continued walking in silence towards the dam. The sounds of the gentle river wavespping the rocks and dock pilings was soothing to her. In the distance the muffled noise of workers unloading and loading ships could also be heard. The afternoon sun was warm on her cheeks and a light breeze was blowing off the river making the whole experience feel nice. "Ah, I guess I could try and take this afternoon off." Lisa murmured aloud to herself. "It feels like all I have done is run around here with not much of a goal in mind." She was just now a few meters away from where her turn was to go towards the dam while just across from this turn there was a barge that was just now preparing to dock. Walking onwards, Lisa watched absentmindedly as two crew mates hoped overboard onto the dock. They each had a mooring line with a bowline tied on each end. Taking these lines, they expertly tossed them onto the bord nearest to them, then headed on towards the next bord while other crewmen still onboard threw more lines to them. Lisa was impressed by the river men''s skill in quickly securing the boat. They clearly were well ustomed to their job. Getting closer, Lisa couldn''t help but overhear the conversations that wereing from the barge. "Come on get the gangway pulled out already." An annoyed female voice called out. "I don''t want have to stay in this crap hole town longer than we need to." "Aye Captain." A man with a deep southern ent replied. The woman continued speaking as the gangway was lowered and rapidly tied down. "I want to hurry up and find out more about that woman and get back to work right away. The longer those dirty people in the other side of the river take, the longer we got to smell them." The gangway was now secure, and the female captain stomped heavily across it. She was dressed in a long brown coat that was only draped across her shoulders and under the coat was a in buttoned white cored shirt. Here long dark tan pants and matching shin high boots made her overall appearance look very much like a boat captain might. It looked like she and Lisa were about to cross paths when what the captain said next caught Lisa''s attention. "What was that woman''s name again, Herman? The one working on the dam?" She asked the tall slender man following behind her. "I recall it was Lisa." Herman answered while pushing the brim of his truckers hat up. "Right, Lisa." The female captain replied stepping onto the dock. "Let''s find her and ask those questions and get back across the river." Just as the womans second foot stepped on the dock, the nk had a weak spot and her heel fell through. Unable to react quick enough the female captain fell forward with her arms out to catch herself. However, she nevernded. A pair of strong arms had caught her. Lisa easily stood the woman upright and ced her onto the deck safely away from the rotted nk. "Thank you!" The female captain sighed in relief. "At least someone around here can do something right. If only this ce wasn''t a dump!" "Uh, you are wee, I guess." Lisa replied. "Now what do you want to ask me?" "Ask you?" The female captain replied in a huff brushing back her curly brown hair. "I wasn''t going to ask you anything. Are you alright in the head?" Then she noticed how much taller the woman that caught her was and took a nervous step away. Seeing this Lisa let out a small chuckle. "I am perfectly sane. It''s just you were going to ask Lisa something, right?" Lisa asked. "Yes, what of it?" The woman asked as Herman joined her on the dock. "Well, you can save your searching, because I am Lisa." Lisa said pointing at herself. "Uh? You are joking with me, right?" The woman askedpletely unconvinced. "I am not." Lisa replied holding back a bit ofughter. "Ask me what you know about Lisa and I''ll prove myself." "Fine, what is Lisa working on and what is the name of my boss of whom she is affiliated with." The woman replied crossing her arms and giving an exaggerated expression. "I am working on getting the dam running to produce electricity. As for who your boss might be, well, it must be Mr. Cline. He''s the only merchant that I have worked with that runs arge shippingpany that can employ a crew and boat your size." Lisa replied right away. "Well, I guess it is you." The woman replied reaching a handout for a shake. "My apologies, Miss Lisa. I didn''t expect to actually find you so fast or in this way. My name is Olivia Green, Assistant North Regional Tradesman for River to Gulf Shipping Co. I know thats a mouth full, so just call me Olivia." "No worries, I would have also been suspicious myself." Lisa replied grinning and taking Olivia''s hand. "Now what can I do for you, Olivia? I assume you just came to ask me something important." "More or less." Olivia replied giving a shrug. "I just came from the ERM, they are going to be taking forever to load my other barges and upon hearing that you are going to be getting electricity working again, I had to find out more to pass the time. I also heard you have other merchants willing to invest here as well." "Well, for starters, getting power back to the people is my first priority." Lisa replied. "As for those merchants, yes at least three will be looking into adding their business to these parts if I am sessful." "Do you trade in anything?" Olivia asked abruptly, as if Lisa answered her question but wanted to speed things up. "Uh, not yet. However, I might have something to trade withter on." Lisa replied a bit taken back by her abruptness. "I will potentially have some storage units of merchandise to sell to someone. If I get it, will you be interested in looking at it?" "Perhaps." Olivia answered pragmatically. "Show me and if I can resell it, I''ll buy it. I dont let much pass me up and I am always willing to trade. I didnt get my position by sitting around." "Very well. I''ll cross the river with a sample and find you." Lisa answered. "Can I ask why you were going to ask me all this?" "Simple, I was forced to work here and those poor ERM folks aren''t going to be making mypany much money. So, I want to expand the potential earnings from these excursions to this dead-end town. You sounded like a capable woman that is willing to work." Olivia said matter-of-factly. "Sounds reasonable. I too want to earn money, so I''ll do what I can. I''ll also make you change your mind about the ERM. Eventually they will be making quite the profit from their efforts." Lisa said while rubbing her hands together as if to show off her insight. "Pfft, those half-starved people aren''t going to make a dime off of crap sheet metal. They will need to do a lot better than that to impress me." Olivia replied rolling her eyes. "Well anyways, I will talk with youter then, Miss Lisa." Then turning around promptly Olivias long coat fluttered following after her as she went to get on the barge. "Come on Herman, it stinks even more over on this side. Must be the wind blowing this way." Lisa too turned to leave and chuckle to herself. "What an odd random encounter. She seems like quite the charmer. Well now I know what to do next, raid those storage units!" Chapter 158: New Cargo Chapter 158: New Cargo Leaving that interesting dockside meeting with Olivia, Lisa decided that she would checkout what was being kept in the storage units right away. There were many possible ideas bouncing around in her head as to what it could be. Though it all depended on who those people were that are using the units. "Smuggled products, contraband, stolen things from citizens or maybe the gangsters weapons supply line? Drugs? Saul had drugs on him and there was mention of a factory. I hope that that is not all that is in there." Lisa thought while walking with excited strides. "Drugs are easy to sell, but it''s the ethics that I don''t agree with. They ruin lives and I don''t want anything to do with ruining life like that. If I were to end or ruin a life a fair fight is the best way, that way they would also have the chance to do the same to me. Drugs just end up leaving everyone a soulless husk." "It probably is drugs though." Lisa surmised rounding the next corner to see the red roofed storage units sprawled out on the rising hill. From this angle she couldn''t see any other person nearby, nor her crew working on the opposite end of the units. "Perfect. Now let''s see they said those sketchy people were around there." Lisa stopped in front of unit number 29 M. It lookedpletely normalpared with the other units. All except for the locks. In fact, there were three fist sized key locks attached to three dead bolts. One bolt lock was on each side of the door and one at the bottom center. The fact that there was such tight securitypared to the other units made it too obvious. Yet there was no easy way getting past these without leaving traces of her tampering with them. If the contents inside was indeed something worthwhile, it would be wise not to tip off the owners that its location was discovered. Lisa then looked for any other way inside the unit that would be less conspicuous and found that along the right side of unit 29 M at the passageway running between it and 30 M, there was a side door. Lady Luck smiled on her again, this side entrance looked unused by those sketchy people. This was due to theck of footprints in the sand that the wind had piled up by the door and the long dead body of some unlucky person was crumpled in a fetal position at the foot of the door. Coming up to the side door and gingerly stepping over the body, Lisa was pleased to see that it had just a single simple door lock on it. "I should be able to pick this one." Lisa murmured while slipping off her coffin. Unlocking her coffin and still talking to herself, Lisa searched for any small picks she might still have tucked away in her box of electronic parts. "If I can break in here without a trace, then those sketchy guys won''t be on the lookout for me. Also, if they are sure everything is fine, I can stake them out and figure out where they are getting the goods from. Then I can work out the details from there." Finding a suitable tool, Lisa went to work on the lock. Gently she prodded the locks mechanism to push up on the pins to unlock the door. She hovered her ear closely to the lock listening to any indication that the pins were being pressed upward and staying in ce. After two minutes of fiddling, Lisa heard the gratifying ''Click'' of the lock turning. "Whew, I''m getting rusty. Probably haven''t done that in two hundred years." Lisa then chuckled at her own joke. Putting the pick tool away and closing her coffin, Lisa grabbed rusting the handle firmly. "Now, please let these items be something good!" Pushing in, Lisa entered the unit. Naturally, it was dark inside. Probably the only light provided would have been the sun lighting from the main doorway. It was no wonder that the sketchy people were doing their work in broad daylight. Lisa couldn''t see anything for several seconds while her eyes adjusted to the minimal lighting in from the small side door. During that time, she thought of something. "If they have toe here during the day, does that mean that whatever is stored here might be mmable? Oh, please let it be ammo or guns!" She took a deep breath through her nose. Sure enough, there was no smoke smell. Only the smell of dry stale air and dust. Unfortunately, there was also no smell of gunpowder either. By now her eyes had nearly adjusted to the darkness and she could make out arge, orderly pile of boxes near her. Carefully stepping towards it, Lisa reached up and plucked off the topmost cardboard box. Interestingly enough the box was heavier than she would have guessed. A good sign. Then turning to face the sun light spilling through the dusty doorway rays, Lisa looked at abel on the top of the box. It said: Serum XXI, shipping to Moab City, Silver Block. On the lid was also a stamp of the Mad Dogs'' snarling wolf. "So, the gangsters are responsible for these boxes. This makes things a little bit easier for me. Let''s have a look." Lisa said wetting her dry lips in anticipation. Taking a finger, she easily broke the tape and lifted the ps. Inside was ayer of Styrofoam acting as motion buffer. Carefully lifting the Styrofoam lid, Lisa revealed its contents and was delighted. There were forty vials of a pale red liquid all carefully packed and separated by an additionalyer of Styrofoam designed in a grid like formation. Tentatively Lisa picked up one of the ss vials carefully to look at it in the light. The pale red color floating around inside reminded her of watered-down blood. There was nothing else inside this box that could further aid her in figuring out what these vials of Serum XXI were. Then she turned around and grabbed another box, opened it, and found that it carried the exact same Serum as before. "Looks like I am going to have to stakeout the unit and find out from those guys after all." Lisa said putting the curious vial back into the box. "I also better put these back where I got them. Don''t want to make things look suspicious." Lisa, once finished up looking around in the darkness and finding nothing else worth investigating, relocked the door from the inside and left the unit. Before leaving, Lisa made sure to smooth out her tracks in the sand with some dry grass, never can one be too careful. She then headed straight to where her crew was probably still working. Crossing the storage units grounds, she found they indeed were still there. Coming closer, Lisa saw that they had found more clothes, but nothing else seemed added to the boat trailer now turned cart. "Hey guys. I am back!" Lisa called out. "That was faster than I thought." Eva called back putting a pile of empty stic bins down. "We haven''t done much sense you left." "That''s fine. How much daytime do we have left?" Lisa asked looking towards the mountain. There was at least a palms width of time before the sun reached the mountains top. "What do you have in mind?" Henry asked as he and the others came out from the unit each carrying more articles of clothing, jeans, and shorts to be exact. "Well, we need food badly. I am sure you guys are as hungry as I am." Lisa replied. "Starving." Tayvon said patting his stomach. Then as if to emphasize the fact, his stomach gurgled violently. "Thought so." Lisa answered giving a chuckle while looking at the piles of clothes. "Wayne, you and two others try trading for food with the cloths we can''t use. Thene back by darkness''s arrival or if you get rid of everything you take." "Already on it, boss." Wayne replied. "That pile on the right is already piled with stuff too small or baggy for us." "Good." Lisa said nodding with satisfaction. "I''ll pull the cart back and I want whoeveres with me to start preparing the. I want to try catching at least one fish from the river. Maybe we can get lucky and have enough to share with Gillian and the others working on the road. I am sure they would appreciate the extra supplies." Once everyone was set, they split up once again and went on to carry out their orders. Wayne went with Eva and Henry to trade clothes, while Tayvon and Willis followed after Lisa. As the two young men looked over the, they couldn''t help but voice their disapproval of the idea for fishing to Lisa. "Are we sure this is worth the trouble boss?" Willis asked walking alongside the trailer and picking at the. "There''s never been anyone sessful enough catching fish. Won''t we be wasting our time?" "Besides, my momma said that those fish probably got radiation in them and aren''t safe to eat." Tayvon added. "I can''t rule out the radiation, but the river water we drink probably has radiation in it anyway. If that hasn''t killed us yet, then we should be just fine for now." Lisa answered as they started up the steep hill towards the dam. "As for how the fishing goes, we can try at the foot of the dam first. Like you two guessed we might not get anything, just like everyone before us. But what about above the dam? I''ve noticed that no one ever goes up to theke. Fish probably haven''t been in disturbed for years and are plentiful." "Perhaps." Tayvon replied rubbing his chin. "I can''t even recall thest time I had fish anyway. Better be good." "Are you sure that''s a good idea? Thatke might be haunted." Willis said tucking the partially prepared back in the box. "What, haunted?" Lisa said looking at him curiously. "What makes you say that?" "Rumors have it that theke is guarded by a ghostly creature that has been patrolling the shores for decades. A shadowy being that stalks anyone that ventured into its forest near theke side, guarding it adamantly for some reason. No one has seen it directly, but a few foragers and hunters imed to have been struck from behind only to turn and see nothing was there. Others have been scratched on their heads or cheeks, only to keep seeing nothing around them. All the oldies on our side of the river have told us this story since were kids." Willis answered as they reached the car wall, and he unlocked the door for Lisa. Lisa pulled the trailer the rest of the way inside andughed a bit. "That''s just silly. I have been at this dam for a while now and I haven''t seen anything like that. Probably just a legend made up around a campfire." "I hope so." Willis said giving a shrug. "However, if that ghost shows up I will be out of there in no time!" "In any case, unlike ghosts, we still need to eat. So, we are going to fish theke eventually anyway." Lisa saiding to a stop outside the powerhouse building. "Let''s unload all this stuff we are going to keep and get this trailer put way in the Powerhouse buildings forklift garage. I think we should head on down to the foot of the dam before it gets to dark and try there first. I wanna eat some good meat, so let hurry!" Chapter 159: Fishy Fish (1) Chapter 159: Fishy Fish (1) After everything was unloaded from the boat trailer and it was stored away in the empty forklift garage, Lisa and the others were ready to go fishing. Lisa had left her coffin in her room and in its ce, she carried the box with the. Seeing that they all were leaving and curious as to what was going on, Sadie also decided to join them. "So, Lisa, while you all were out, Gillian saw that I hade back and wanted to give you an update on their progress." Sadie chattered as the group headed for the river below the dam. "Oh? I hope everything is going well." Lisa replied ncing upwards at the far end of the dam. "He said that they are halfway done clearing out the forest path of trees and bushes. They are doing fine on supplies and the workers are in good spirits. He also asked if you had any ns to use the wood they had cut down." Sadie answered. "Hmm, I hadn''t given it much thought. Maybe after I inspect the wood, Gillian and I can see if any merchants are interested in buying wood." Lisa said mulling it over. Or perhaps use them as future power line poles. "We could use the wood to rebuild our towns buildings that were damaged in the battle." Willis said listening in. "That''s a good idea too, but we don''t have a sawmill to cut and treat the wood." Tayvon retorted shaking his head. "Yes, that is a good point, Tayvon." Lisa said thoughtfully. "Maybe in the future we could build one or get apany to build a mill out here." "But that all depends on whether or not we get the dam working correctly, right?" Willis asked. "Exactly. I sure hope Mr. Sellers will hurry up and brings the equipment we need." Lisa said with a sigh. Just then they arrived at the rivers docks and turning left they headed for the end of the of the dock closest to the dam. As they approached, they marveled at the sheer magnitude of how wide and tall the dam truly was. From the rotting wood dock, they had to crane their necks all the way back just to see the top ridge of the dam. Between them and the foot of the massive dam, there was about sixty meters of water. This area of river water was moving much slower than the rest of the river. The only sound to be heard was the distant muffle of the single pipe spillway rumbling at the base of the dam. It was here where Lisa noticed that it could potentially be a good spot to try fishing. She had seen this spot from above on the dam one morning while taking a walk. Due to the slow water, Lisa could see a sandy bottom poking up through the riverbed. "Alright, this is the n." Lisa announced setting the down with a thud. "This particr is called a seine. I will use it to drag across the bottom of the river and corral the fish closer to the bank to where we can gather them easier. Tayvon, you will stand here on the docks corner closest to the river. You will anchor the here and keep an eye out to see if we do catch any fish." "Wouldn''t you need me to help with pulling the or something? We don''t have any boats to carry the out far too." Tayvon pointed out. "True, we don''t have any boats, but I had already seen that this area isn''t very deep and mostly walkable. Of course, having one or two boats would be great, but we have to make do with what we have." Lisa replied. "As for you helping to pull, it''s not necessary. You are to lookout for any catfish that might be too big for this to handle. I don''t want it to get ripped apart on our first try." "Alright then, I guess that makes sense." Tayvon replied. "What am I supposed to do?" Willis asked. "If you''re pulling the and Tayvon is on the dock, there doesn''t seem like there''s anything for me to do." "You actually have two jobs." Lisa said holding up two fingers. "Firstly, take as many fist sized rocks from the shore as you can and pile them up here on the dock. Then start throwing them into the center of the river further downstream. Then every other throw, shorten the distance you throw, so that the fish will be scared by themotion and swim upstream to this spot here." "Wouldn''t that just scare them away instead?" Asked Willis scratching his head. "It could, but chances are that they will go for the shallows instead." Lisa replied. "I''m not an expert fisherman, so if this doesn''t work then we will know for sure what we did wrong." "Ok, but what''s the second thing I am to do?" Willis asked. "After I reach the deepest point of the river that I can wade, Ill start corralling the fish and youll need to stop throwing rocks and make some three-pronged spears from any branches you can find." Lisa answered as she started to pull out the from its box. "Like I said before, I don''t want anything big destroying the. We don''t have any supplies to repair the nylonting." "Got it. I cant think of anything else to add." Willis answered with a nod. Then turning towards the shore, he said, "I''ll start getting those rocks ready." Lisa then turned to Sadie who had been listening in on the conversation and started to ask her something but was quickly cut short. "Can you?" "Nope! This job sounds too messy and hard for me. I''ll just watch from the shade over there." Sadie said pointing at a tree on the bank. "If you insist." Lisa replied giving a chuckle. After all Sadie was still very much a city girl. Lisa then started unrolling the slowly out from the box. At the''s bottom edge there were half kilogram weights every fifteen centimeters to keep the on the bottom. There were also foam floats on the top edge of the, equally as spaced out as the weights, to keep the on the surface and upright in the water. The holes themselves were eight centimeters in height and four in length, allowing small fish to easily pass through while keeping only thergest and meatiest of fish in the. "Onest thing, Tayvon." Lisa said right before getting off the dock and into the river. "Be sure to also check on the as ites out of the box. If it bes twisted or caught somewhere, shout for me to stop and then fix it." "Understood." Tayvon replied. Lisa then took a small step forward and dropped into the dark waters below. As she expected, the river here only came up to her knees. The river bottom was mostly coarse sand andrge, smooth, algae strewn rocks. Holding onto both the top and bottom ropes of the, Lisa held them above the water and looked up at Willis. "Go ahead and start throwing those rocks. I am set down here." Lisa called. Willis nodded and started chucking rocks out into the river to the right of where Lisa intended to wade. After a few moments, Lisa then started walking with careful swishing steps out into the river. The water was still cold and murky, but nothing to worry about. As she continued walking, Lisa kept the above water as best as she could. She wanted to be sure that the rocks wouldn''t tear the as it dragged. Every rock she stumbled across she felt it through her shoe to see if it was safe. After feeling her sixthrge rock, Lisa was satisfied that no rocks in the river would be harmful to the. They all were nearlypletely smoothed down by the years of flowing water. Lisa dropped the lower portion of the with a big ssh as the weights dropped instantly to the bottom. By now she was twenty meters from the dock and the river had only reached up above her hips. "Alright guys, how''s the looking?" "Looking good, boss!" Tayvon called back. "Looks like only a third of the has been pulled out." That''s good! Willis, go ahead and get those spears ready." Lisa shouted. Willis waved back in reply and hoped off the dock and back onto shore. Lisa then started shuffling carefully towards the dam. She could feel the heavy straining of the being dragged on the bottom and the pull of the current. However, this wasn''t enough to stop her in the slightest. "Lisa, you have pulled out most of the. Better turn to shore now!" Tayvon called to Lisa minutester. Lisa had already covered fifty meters and was starting to think the same thing until his call confirmed her thoughts. Fortunately, there were only two or three deep dips in the river bottom that might have caused the water to go over her head but stepping around them wasn''t that hard to do. The entire way the bottom was only sand andrge rocks. She was truly lucky that there was no mud. Turning, Lisa headed swiftly towards the shore. By now any fish that might be in the would realize something was amiss and try swimming around the. She had to reach the shore before they crossed in front of her and escape. Lisa felt a bit tired for once as she reached the shoreline. Though her prosthetic arms and legs did most of the work, her shoulders and hips were very much still human, well mostly. Willis and Tayvon also joined up with her on the shore, three-pronged spears in hand. "Alright, get ready to stab at anything that moves in the water." Lisa instructed while still dripping wet. "I''ll pull the in slowly. If you do spear any fish, wacky it in the head with a rock to stun it. Then toss it high on the bank behind us." They both nodded and looked eagerly at the brown waters glistening in front of them. Lisa gently pulled the top and bottom ropes of the in unison and piled it up behind her feet. Nothing happened for a long time. All three of them anxiously waited for what seemed like forever. Not a single fin appeared, nor was there any ssh of water to be heard. The bulgings center was now only five meters from the rivers edge and Lisa couldn''t feel anything hitting the either. She was about to announce their failure when she felt something faintly jiggle the. It didn''t feel like a rock catching the weight either. Her eyes lit up excitedly. "Get ready boys! I feel something!" Just as she called out, a Carp suddenly leaped out of the water. Its shimmering silver sides sparkled brightly in the afternoon sun light. Then crashing onto the rivers surface immediately caused a dozen other fish followed its example. Bass, Carp, Catfish, Brim, and other fish seemingly boiled the waters inside the in their attempts to escape. Tayvon and Willisughed excitedly as they stabbed out at the glittering fish. Lisa had to hold back her own excitement to keep pulling in the carefully. She really wanted to join them, but she had to do her part. Luckily, her metal prosthetic hands could handle all the ropes strain, otherwise her skin would have been shredded by now. The was nearly on shore when thergest of the fish were now in panic mode. Carp were clearly the best jumpers and many of them effortlessly sailed over the top of the to escape. The two guys tried to stop their escape, but the fish were to many and fast. Bass and catfish were also able to do the same thing. Seeing this, Lisa hurriedly pulled at the to bring it in before they all escaped. She could hear the ropes straining at the weight of their catch. What looked like a hundred fish were now floundering desperately in the as Lisa tugged at it towards the shore closest to the other end of the on the dock. "Quickly! Get that end undone, Tayvon." Lisa shouted. "Willis, help me hold the center of the closed!" Tossing their three-pronged spears aside, they hurried to help Lisa. In moments, the was pulled entirely halfway up the shore. In it was an astoundinglyrge number of fish. "I thought you guys said that there weren''t many fish in the river?" Lisa said with a huge grin on her face. Willis shook his head in disbelief. "I guess we were wrong!" Tayvon let out a fit ofughter holding up a meter long catfish. "What are we going to do with all these fish? We can''t eat them all!" "Let''s have a huge fish fry and get as many people involved as we can." Lisa said also picking up a sizable bass. "This is a cause for celebration! Today many people are going to feel full! Hmm, and full people are willing to listen to proposals too." Chapter 160: Fishy Fishy (2) Chapter 160: Fishy Fishy (2) "Fish fry?" Tayvon said questioningly. "What''s that supposed to be?" "It''s like a big pic where friends and families get together to enjoy eating fish. It''s kind of self-exnatory." Lisa said grabbing a fish that hade out of the and tried flopping towards the water. pping a heavy palm on it she continued, "First, we need to get these fish taken care of. The meat will spoil soon after the fish die, and we don''t have any freezers to store them. Cooking them will make themst a bit longer." "Wow, you guys caught so many! I was getting worried I might not have a full meal for a long time. I can''t imagine how you all can go so long without a proper meal! Or even just eating a small handful once or twice a day is just too cruel." Sadie called out to them as she made her way daintily across the riverbank rocks. "And you are right, Lisa, we do need a freezer!" "Ah, that would nice. Saving meat for ater meal." Tayvon answered giving a sigh. "Our parents talked about how food was kept cold and that it couldst for weeks. I guess that since we don''t have electricity running from the dam just yet there''s no other way to preserve these fish." "There could be a way." Willis remarked. "I have seen crewmen from merchant vessels eating something called ''canned smoked fish''. The hunters do something simr with deer meat to, but it is too expensive for me to buy. So, I never tried it." Lisa tapped her chin in though while speaking. "Interesting, now that you say that Willis, we could try smoking these fish. I have never done it myself, but my uncle worked at a Smoked Salmon factory. I might be able to recall what they did, and we could replicate it." "Oh, that might be fun to try." Tayvon said picking up a fist sized catfish. "I might not look like the type, but I love to cook." Lisa then shook off her thoughts of smoking fish and looked at Sadie. Sadie was admiring arge carp Tayvon was pulling out from the halfway submerged. "Sadie, can you go get the others? They should be at either the dam or if they are still in the market area, bring them back here to carry all these fish." "Awe, I was having fun watching, but ok." Sadie replied tentatively poking at Tayvons carp''s side. It wriggled furiously at her provocation and sttered slimy river water all across her mouth and shirt! Sadie squeaked in response, "Eww!" The three otherughed hardly as Sadie quickly backed away from being hit by the fish and wiped at the slime on her face. Even though she was embarrassed, Sadie was also holding back an annoyed chuckle. "That was so gross! I''m going now. I''ve had enough of fish until it''s time to eat!" With saying that, Sadie quickly turned away in a huff and started for the dock. The others had calmed down fromughing now and went back to keeping anymore fish from escaping. "Tayvon, help me get a small pool dug into the bank. For now, we can keep the fish alive long enough in the water without losing them." Lisa said getting up. She then ced a heavy rock on one end of the to keep the fish from rolling the back into the water. "Willis, keep those fish in check for now." "You got it, boss!" Willis replied as he lunged at a bluegill squeezing out from a hole in theting. Unfortunately, it escaped and instantly disappeared into the murky river. Grumbling to himself, Willis looked over the huge and another small fish escaped into the water with a resounding ssh. "I guess this is going to be harder than I thought." After an hour when by did Sadie finally return and with her were the other three volunteers. Unfortunately, they were still carrying everything the set out with from before. However, that didn''t matter at this time. Cloths can be sold at any time. How many fish did you guys catch? Henry asked while jumping down from the dock. Lisa proudly pointed at a water hole that her and Tayvon had dugout in the meantime. Nearly all the fish they managed to catch were in there. "Take a look for yourself. We hit the jackpot!" After Wayne, Eva and Henry got over their excitement, Lisa exined their next step. "As you guys can see this hole is too small and the fish to many. We need to cook as many of these as possible tonight and eat them. So, Wayne, go get the ERM guys working on the road and get them to meet up at the Powerhouse for the fish fry." "I won''t wait a second longer, because I know they will be thrilled to join us." Wayne said shouting over his shoulder. He was already jogging off excitedly before Lisa had even finished speaking. "Tell them to bring firewood too!" Lisa shouted. Wayne waved backwards, signaling he heard her, hopefully. As for the rest of us, we got to carry and prepare these fish. I''ll carry a load of fish and the back up to the dam." Lisa exined while shouldering thes box. They had rerolled the after finishing the hole and Lisa was pleased to see that it had taken nearly no damage so far. "All of you will probably make a few trips to carry all the fish. Sadie and Eva, you guys know how to prepare fish, right?" "Of course." Sadie replied giving a nod. "I learned how in Home Cooking ss." "I do too." Eva added. "Good, as soon as you get up there get to work." Lisa replied. "Use whatever you need." "You''re not helping us?" Eva asked. "Not at first." Lisa said turning towards the water hole. "I am going to get a few more people to join us for this fish fry." "Oh, you mean like Hanna, John and the others." Sadie guessed. "That would be a great idea." "Yes, them. But Hanna''s friends and their families too if I can." Lisa said picking up a three-pronged stick. She started grabbing a few fish that were struggling at the waters top and collected them first. She then stuck the stick through their gill openings and stacked each one on top the other. This made carrying multiple fish much easier. Sadie and the others followed Lisa''s lead, but Sadie looked a bit confused by what Lisa had said. "Why would we invite Hanna''s friends families? We never met them before, and we don''t have any reason to share." "Yes, we never met them, but this is a good opportunity." Lisa answered while putting thest fish on her stick. "The children told me about some of the things that the parents do here in town. If I n on taking over things here and providing electric power the town, making connections now would be a smart move. Investing in rtionships is a good way to keep customers and potential partners." Sadie seemed to be satisfied by her answer. "That makes sense. You sure think ahead when ites to getting money making chances." "That might be true, but also because being greedy never helped anyone before. I am sure everyone in town is hungry. If this town is to get fixed, we all need to pitch in." Lisa said with a slightly serious tone. Then she and Tayvon had already finished collecting what they could and turned to go. "See you all in a little bit!" Sadie watched her go curiously and Eva leaned over to her to speak. "Lisa seems really motivated to help everyone out. If I recall, she is not even from around here. Do you know why she''s so keen on helping us?" "Not really." Sadie said shaking her head no before going back to helping collect fish. "Lisa is a strange person. She is far too strong and seems to have a goal in mind, though simply making money to be rich doesn''t sound right. I think she has a mysterious n, and we just haven''t been told what it is yet." "Hmm, well, as long as it benefits us and everyone is happy, I''ll dly go along with her n." Eva said excitedly. "I agree with Eva." Willis said holding four heavyden sticks of fish. "Ever since we volunteered to help her, things have only gotten better for us. It''s also clear to see that with electricity sooning to town, the possibilities are limitless!" "I too want to see what she really is up to." Henry said getting up from the water hole holding two sticks of fish in one hand. In the other hand was a massive wriggling catfish that was nearly as long as his own arm. "It seems we all are in agreement." Sadie said holding her meager single stick of heavy fish. "We help Lisa out until we know more." Lisa hurried away from the powerhouse towards the quiet cul-de-sac. Daylight was not going tost more than three hours and she didn''t want to inconvenience everyone by keeping them upte. When she arrived, Lisa found Benny sitting in his chair on his front porch keeping an eye on everything as usual. Benny, after hearing her offer to join in with the fish fry, was absolutely ecstatic. Opportunities like this were rare and even more so from a friend. Benny quickly told Lisa where the others were working and that he would go tell Hanna and her friends ying by the creek about the meal himself. In less than an hour there was arge crowd of people gathered in the cul-de-sac. All the residents of the cul-de-sac were present and ready to go. The rest were all some of Hanna''s friends families; ir, Sorra, Malik, Fred, Rachel, Derrick, Jillian, Tilly, and Chases parent were the ones present. "Are you really going to be inviting us out for free food? Or is this just some scam?" A very tall, thickly statured man with a big ck beard asked. Taking one look at him, Lisa could guess that it was probably Fred''s father, they looked just alike. Lisa smiled pleasantly and replied. "Yes, I am inviting you all for free." Lisa then went on to introduce herself and exin the situation. In her introduction, Lisa mentioned that she was a merchant working on getting the town rebuilt. This raised some skeptical looks, but no one questioned her outright. She also left out the part about electricity for the moment, at least until she got to know everyone better. Her exnation of what was going on seemed to have sufficed and no one left the street to go home. It also helped that John vouched for her. John seemed to be well known by everyone and considered trustworthy. That, and the opportunity for free food was a great motivator anyway. Lisa led the way and Hanna was right alongside her. Hanna was too excited to stay calm and bombed Lisa with questions. "How did you get the fish? Will Mr. Gillian and the others be there to? Will this be a regr event?" "Give me a chance to answer you!" Lisa pleaded with augh. "But before I do that, I am going to invite just one more family to join us." "Who?" Hanna asked curiously. "The Ulster family, they work down near the docks by the dam." Lisa answered. "Oh? You are acquainted with the Ulster family." The voice of Fred''s father boomed out behind them. "That''s a rather umon connection. Not many associates themselves with the Ulster''s. Why is that? Lisa asked turning to look back at him. Because they arent known for being trustworthy when ites to the so called legitimate trading the do. Freds father replied. Chapter 161: Authors Notice Chapter 161: Authors Notice Thank you all for reading this far! I am overwhelmed by how well the book has been received thus far. Originally chapter 160 was thest chapter I wrote before bing contracted. That being said, everything from here on out is never seen before content!!! So, to all you returning readers I am truly d for your continued support and now you won''t have to wait any longer for the story to continue. It took far to long for me to get caught up with the editing, (sigh). Also, since these are newer chapters, please point out my errors, inconsistencies, and odd sentences if youe across any. These chapters will not have undergone the same editing steps as the older chapters. Please forgive me for my blunders and the ones that I have still missed. If you do wish to point them out, doing so in a paragraphment would be best. When fixing the marked errors, those paragraphments can be removed, while chapterments I am unable to do so. But don''t stop that from leaving chapterments! I love reading what you all are saying. Additionally, I have been averaging 2,000 words per chapter and this amount may drop to 1,800 words average due to time constraints of me working full time. This also means my chapter publishing rate may decrease, but my goal will be to never go below three chapters a week. This has been one of the most fun hobbies I have ever done and I hope to continue doing so for a long time. On the bright side, the chapter will be cheaper to buy in return! There is still a lot of content left to cover in this story and I have, in my head, figured out what is toe in the next 150 chapters or so. Trust me, there is lots of Action, Mechs, and Monsters toe. As for Romance, please keep waiting. I had decided to have a bit of romance added into Lisa''s backstory chapters, of which I n on being 20 or likely more uninterrupted chapters. This backstory segment will bring about the revtion of a particr character that will influence the story greatly and reveal how Lisa became a cyborg, but I''ll shut up and refrain from spoiler! This also won''t be the only mention of Romance either, other characters will have fuzzy feelings too! This is all I can say without spoilers, again. Some of you may have been wondering, "When does all this ck-market stuffe into the story? You have hardly done anything rted to the title, Author." Please be patient, I have been sprinkling clues as to what Lisa will be doing in the ck market and how it ys into a more major role in the storyline. There are a lot of ck-market stuff in the town that I have not yet mentioned in the story either. I will also be increasing the sci-fi aspect a bit more in future chapters, so be ready for some big words and tech! Again, that is all I can say without giving spoilers, geez this is hard! Thank you all for your support up to this point! Please keep those VOTES and COMMENTSing! Lastly, if there is something you think will happen in the story, let me know in thements below on this chapter! I want to hear more from you guys! Who knows, maybe your idea will be incorporated into the story?! Thank you all again! KyleSullivanJr Chapter 161: Fishy Fishy (3) Chapter 161: Fishy Fishy (3) "What do you mean?" Lisa asked looking at him curiously. Is there something wrong with the items they sell? Though its only my spection from some rumors I heard. Freds father answered giving a shrug. The son and daughter-inw of Mr. Ulster are likely river raiders that steal from ships in Moab City and store them back here in town. I also heard Mr. Ulster himself used to participate until he got injured. They arent the most trustworthy acting people from the docks either. Which only make the rumors even more believable. That is an interesting rumor. Lisa answered. I will keep that in mind, but a rumor is a rumor. I am going to invite them along regardless, because there is just too many fish and I want as much of it gone as possible. Fair enough. Franks father replied. Lisa told John to finish leading the way to the dam and how to open the gate. Then leaving the group she split off to go invite the Ulsters. The warning Franks father gave her was not all that umon in any post-apocalyptic town like this one. Trust was a hard thing to earn and even the slightest reason to doubt someone was enough to ostracize them from anymunity. However, if the rumor were true, Lisa was excited to find someone that could potentially be of use to her. If the Serum was being shipped out by boat, then it might be easier to steal it away from the town and pin the me on someone other than herself. Though using people as her scapegoat wasnt her style, it would be a temporary solution and as long as they were never caught, then there was no harm done. After returning to the Ulsters shop Lisa found the old man sitting on a crate watching the few rusty river boats floating by. His eyes held a faraway look and they looked almost sad. As if they were longing for something that was no longer within reach. Not wanting to startle the aged man, Lisa coughed once as she approached. Mr. Ulster, how are you doing? Hmm, oh, hello again. Mr. Ulster replied turning to look at her as he blinked twice to focus back on reality. I wasnt expecting to see you back so soon. Is there a problem? No, no problem. In fact, I have two things to ask you. Lisa answereding to stand next to him. That so? Let here them then. Mr. Ulster replied. I understand that from some rumors your son and daughter-inw are raiding ships on the river. Now, before you get worried, I have no intention of ming them but instead maybe hire them. Lisa said keeping her voice low. Hmm, and if this rumor were true, not that it is, what would you want with them? Mr. Ulster replied stroking his thinning grey hairs on his head and keeping a straight face. Just a small heist job, nothing potentially dangerous either. But of course, if the rumors are false than pay no attention to me. Lisa responded nonchntly. Very well. Mr. Ulster replied giving a small grin. What was the second thing you wanted to ask? Do you and Tom want to join me and some others for a fish fry? Lisa said pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. You see, I and my employees managed to get lucky and catch a huge number of fish today from the river. So many that we cant eat them all and I dont want them to spoil. Theres already a lot of others I inviteding as well. Fish you say! Mr. Ulster said perking up and then he hopped off the crate excitedly. Why didnt you tell me that first. Fish are hard to get around here and one of my favorite meals. Yes, we wille. Then he turned towards the shops doorway and hollered, Tom! Get out here. Were going out to eat. When Lisa and the Ulsters arrived at the dam they found everyone to be having a wonderful time. Sadie and Eva had gotten several small fires lit and had already started grilling the smallest of the fish. Tayvon was just now starting to fillet thergest of the catfish and carp. Several of the parents had gathered around to watch him hungrily and chat. The kids were ying tag or some other game. Tom. Mr. Ulster said nudging the young boys arm with his elbow. You have been cooped up in that shop to long. How about and you go make some friends with those kids there? Naw, Im fine. Tom answered reluctantly. Kids are too dumb for me. Can we just get some fish and leave? Dont be like that. Tom, you need to enjoy your youth more. You only live once. Mr. Ulster said giving a sigh. Why do you think kids are dumb? Lisa asked overhearing them. She had already had a fish on a stick and was biting happily into the juicy white meat. Kids arent interested in technology the way I am. They would just find it too boring. Tom replied nudging at a pebble by his shoe. Oh, if they were normal kids, I would agree with you. Lisa answered taking another big bite. But they arent normal. What do you mean? Tom asked looking up at her curiously. Youll see. Lisa said giving a wink. Hey ir, Hanna! Come over here for a second. The two girls were being chased by Chase at the moment but upon hearing their names called, they stopped. Chase caught up to them and was about to tag them when ir shooed him away, pointing towards Lisa. Disappointed to see that they were done ying Chase turned to go after Tilly who was the closet of the kids and chased after her. What is it? ir asked as the two girls joined theteers. Let me ask you something. Lisa answered. Youve been reading up on those mechs, right? A little bit. ir replied. Theres not a lot of books on them but I am still looking. Good. Tom here, Lisa said gesturing to the teen next to her, Has a good background in technical work. Maybe he can fill you in on some stuff. Hanna, ask him about some of the parts from the mech that you cant recall properly. Maybe it will help you understand them better. Sure! ir replied looking at Tom with a cheery expression. Tom was visibly nervous now. He wasnt expecting to suddenly be put on the spot like this. However, before he could weasel his way out of the situation, he saw that Lisa and his grandpa were already leaving to go join the rest of the adults. They had abandoned him with these two girls! That was rather quick thinking. Mr. Ulster murmured to Lisa giving a chuckle. Tom is a good kid but always keeps to himself. d you did that to him. Think nothing of it. Lisa replied swallowing thest of her fish in one gulp, then they joined the adults and Lisa waved to them. Hello everyone. d to see you all are enjoying the fish. Please, eat as much as you can and take some hometer. The adults all murmured in a thankful agreement and several of the more reluctant ones went to get a fish from the fires edge. Now we are just waiting on a few more people, but we can get started without them. Lisa continued. Oh, I knew there was more to this get-together than food alone. Jillians mother called out with a bit of annoyance in her voice. She had a heavy British ent, which was surprising to Lisa because her daughter did not. Then when her husband hushed her, Lisa knew why. He spoke like the locals around here did. Dear, dont go jumping to conclusions just yet. Let us hear her out. Its nothing bad at all, in fact, all of you have something to gain from what Im about to suggest. Lisa replied spreading her arms wide as if to express her enthusiasm. I have been helping out John and Mary take care of Hanna after her parents were killed. I am sure most of you know about this by now? Most of the adults nodded sadly. The Marshals were good people. Its a shame what happened. Derricks father answered. He was a very tall and slim man, that looked like we could have yed professional basketball. Yes, it was. Lisa agreed. Now as I mentioned before, I am a merchant looking to rebuild the town through various means. One way is through these fish. I have found a way to collectrge amounts of fish in a short while and as such provide more food to the town. I will need help, hopefully from some of you, inpeting this task properly. I learned from the children that you all have particr skills that I will be needing and wish to hire you. From Malik I learned that you work on a transportation barge, correct? Lisa asked looking at a very dark-skinned man. Yes, that is correct. I have been hired on asion to transport items for the Mad Dogs. Though only as a crew member. Maliks father, James, replied shing a bight smile. His skinny fingers were well calloused, and it was clear he worked with ropes a lot from the callouses positions. If you were to captain a small vessel with fishing gear deployed in the water, could you do it? Lisa questioned. It is possible, I may need to practice with the gear a few times, but driving the boat is no problem. James replied nodding. Then when the timees, and I have such a boat, can I count on you to work for me? I will pay you based on performance, but not in goods alone. I can pay with cash, like a real employer. Lisa offered. Hearing that Lisa would be paying in cash sent a series of excited whispers among the adults. Though there were many skeptical looks, no one interrupted. Yes, I would be more than happy too! James answered immediately. Wonderful! Lisa said reaching a hand out to him. James took it and the two shook once. Now from Derrick I learned that you two have a smallnd transportation business? Lisa asked a couple to her right. Derricks parents, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan, were a nearly identical short, blond couple that always seemed to have pursed lips and look grumpy. This turned out to not be the case. They were a very lively couple. Yes, we do in fact. Mr. Donovan answered hardily. Though its only a hand drawn cart, we both can get anything delivered in town promptly and without harm. We can even work over night if the moon is bright enough. That will be more than enough. Lisa answered with a grin. On the days Mr. James here, works for me Ill need someone to transport the goods from the docks to here, and as you can see from the hill we are on, its not going to be a ime trip. Oh, that wont be a problem. Our legs maybe stubby but they are as tough as oaks. Mrs. Donovan answered in her husbands stead. I assume youll pay us in cash as well? I will be. I will be paying everyone that works for me in cash and food goods. Lisa answered looking at everyone in turn giving the reply. Ha-ha, thats good news and all. Franks fatherughed as he sat to look at Lisa with a stern look. But what of the rest of us? We dont deal in transportation or work on the river. Be patient. Ill have work for all of you. Lisa answered as something behind Franks father caught her attention. Well, for example, there is something rted to your jobing towards the dam now. Turning to look where Lisa was pointing, everyone saw three big Mechs lumbering their way. Chapter 162: Employed Chapter 162: Employed "Woah! Where did thosee from!" Franks father shouted out. Hearing his surprise, everyone looked and immediately fell into a hushed silence. Even the kids stopped ying to gawk at the huge ck and yellow striped mechanisms heavily thumping their way. Even though the Mechs were on the other side of the river, the sound of their heavy footsteps could be heard. The three mechs had just started to appear through the tree line and onto the old road leading to the dam. By now the first one had already fully appeared. Those are Mineral Mover Mechs. Lisa exined as everyone was currently speechless. They are working on building a road down the cliffside to finally begin reconnecting the two sides of town. I need you, Mr. Hans, to assist with building that road. Particrly in dealing with how to maintain its stability in allowing heavy loads down a slope safely, the heavier the better. Your son said you used to work for the DOT (Department of Transportation), correct? Ya, I-I did. Mr. Hans, Franks father, answered unsure how to respond. How did you manage to get such equipment all the way out here? There must be a reason you are doing this. You couldnt be doing this because you actually see yourself making a profit from this one road? Our town has nothing to offer. Actually, I do see arge profit in fact. Lisa answered while enjoying seeing the peoples disbelief. I wouldnt find it logical either that building a road alone could gain me all that much money, nor could selling fish to the two sides of town. Yet these two ideas are just steppingstones to help me reach my goal. I have something much better nned. Then Lisa pped her hands together, drawing everyones attention to her. Please follow me into the big building here. The sun is getting lower, and I dont want to have you all walking home in the dark, so I will show it to you all now. Lisa had everyones interest now and the group of adults eagerly followed her. Just before going inside Lisa saw that the front Mech had stopped, and the front hatch was opening up. Gillian emerged and seeing him, Lisa waved for him toe over. Sadie? Lisa called. Yes? Sadie replied looking up from a fish she was skewering onto a stick to be roasted. Let Gillian know that they can take as many fish as they can. Lisa said as she prepared to open the Powerhouses big sliding door for everyone to enter. Sadie gave a thumbs up and went back to work. Earlier, Tom had be the most nervous he had ever been in his life. Speaking alone with two girls, at the same time! He felt as if Lisa and his Grandpa had thrown him to the wolves, so to speak. So, your name is Tom, right? ir started off after Lisa and Mr. Ulster left. My name is ir, and this is Hanna. Tom nodded dumbly. Hanna in turn gave a small wave sheepishly as ir continued. So, what kind of technology are you interested in? We have been trying to learn more about Mech functionality and what the parts are actually for. You see, Hanna kind of has a a thing with mechs. ir then nced at Hanna, who kind of just shrugged in reply. I guess thats one way of putting it. Hanna answered. Im dont fully understand it either. Have you ever heard of anyone touching a Mech and suddenly understanding how it works? Tom didnt know what to do. He kept looking between the two girls and stammering. I, uh, well The two girls were staring at him much to expectantly. He could feel their gaze burning right through his thin, nerdy frame. I-I dont know a lot about mechs, per say. Tom stuttered getting his thoughts together. He couldnt meet their gaze and kept looking aimlessly past them as he spoke. I know more aboutmunications, sensors and boat motor repairs. That andputerponents. Its not something I think you two would find all that interesting. Sensors? Hanna asked cocking her head to one side. Do mean like something simr to the terrain sensors on the bottoms of mechs feet that distinguish what kind of ground its standing on? Because the leg shock absorbers need to adjust calibration ordingly topensate for the increase of vibrations upon impact to reduce wear and tear on the legs knee rotor-cuffs, and among other things. Both Tom and ir were both looking nkly at Hanna, as if they were looking at an alien. Neither of them expected such a response from her. She even gave the exnation so effortlessly, it was impressive. K-kind of Tom mumbled. I-I was referring to boat sensors, like radar and sonar. Oh, those Mover Mechs have radar functionality! Hanna said excitedly pointing across the dam. Lets go see if Gillian will let us on his and we canpare what you know to what the mech has! Both young teens looked where Hanna was pointing to see that the Mover Mechs were indeeding out of the woods. Hanna then unexpectedly grabbed an arm of each of them, much to Toms embarrassment, to start pulling them towards the dam. Come on and lets hurry and get Mr. Weathers toe with us. Hanna continued excitedly pulling the two along. Look, the adults are getting ready to go inside. Ok, Hanna, we areing. No need to rush so much! ir said while letting out a bit of unsteadyughter. She was still befuddled by Hannas big words. Tom was beat red though. This was too close for his introverted-selfsfort to be with a girl. Thankfully, his scraggly long hair kept his face mostly hidden as he was swept away. John was following at the back of the group of adults as they were going into the dam. He already figured out that Lisa was going to show off her electricity but was going to tag along anyway. Then he heard Hanna calling his name from behind. Turning he saw the three excitable teensing his way. Mr. Weathers! Can youe with us to see the Mechs? Hanna shouted. You promised I could if you came with us. Besides, you still need to see me work them! John sighed and took a nce at the three big machines that had now alle to a stop on the road. The ERM soldiers were also already starting to cross the dam, with hungry expressions. The wind was blowing their way and the smell of cooking fish was drawing them in like moth to a me. Very well. John replied. I do still need to see the truth with my own eyes. Trust me, I am not making this up! Come on, before Gillian leaves them Mech! Hanna replied with glee. She then let go of the others with her and started hurrying ahead. Hanna wanted to reconnect with the Mech badly. It was like a new light was shinning into her dark world of uncertainty and broadening her horizon. The youthful joy of learning something new was in as day to everyone watching her. Gillian was just about to close the door to his Mech and head across the dam to the fish fry. The smokey smell of wood and fish were faint, but it was enough to make his stomach growl. Thats when he heard Hanna shouting at him as she was weaving towards him in and out of the ERM soldiers. Ah, I was hoping to eat now, but I guess little miss prodigy shoulde first. Gillian murmured to himself. Turning around and still holding onto the top of the door he called down to the little tan girl. Come on up if you insist. We can do a quick maneuver or two before I need to eat! Yes! Hanna shouted in reply as she reached the bottom rung of thedder. Turning, Hanna waved on the three others following behind. Gillian saw them and recognized ir but the other two were unfamiliar. The teen boy was nothing out of the ordinary, but the adult wasnt the same. He looked rather serious, and Gillian noted from the way he walked was that of someone who was, or is, used to being in charge. Gillian decided that it would probably be best toe down and speak with him. Hold on Hanna, let mee down first. Gillian called down to the little girl. Hanna was already three rungs high in her eagerness to climb, but upon hearing him, she dropped back down to the old, cracked roadway. Gillian climbed down and reached the bottom just as the three arrived. Hello there, my name is Gillian and Im the one in charge of things going on over here. Gillian said extending his hand out to John. John firmly took Gillians hand, and they shook once. The pleasure is mine. Lisa seems to speak well of you. Thats good to hear. Gillian replied. So, what can I do for you? Its about Hanna. I am her guardian and naturally when I heard that someone was going to have her work on a Mech, I needed to find out what was going on. John answered looking Gillian over. His inspection skills from being a cop hadnt been lost to him in the slightest. He could tell that Gillian, though getting older, was still a sizeable man and with intentions unclear still. Thats totally understandable. Gillian remarked. Please, ask me anything you need too. I will assure you that I wont put Hanna into anything dangerous, its just that that girl has got some real talent and it would be a shame to waste. Tom and ir had been listening to the exchange between the two men and feltpletely out of ce. Luckily for them Hanna was already climbing through the Mech cockpits doorway. Come on guys! Hanna called before disappearing inside. Umm, Mr. Weathers? ir asked softly. Can we go into the Mech now? Hannas already inside. Thats fine, I can hear its not on anyway. John replied stopping in mid-sentence while speaking with Gillian. His focus was no him, not the kids. ir wanted to say that Hanna already knew how to turn it on but decided that now wasnt the best time to point that fact out. Come on Tom. I think you will like being in the Mech. Lisa had finished showing all the adults her precious electricity and this was the final push that concreted their willingness to work for Lisa. With the prospects of getting their town and life back to normal was clearly going to be worth the venture. After returning to the fires to join with the rest of the ERM soldier workers, Lisa finished her employment sales pitch. So, I already exined what I wanted from most of you, as for the rest, I would like to hire you all for construction and electrical lineying. That sounds great to me! irs father, Kirk, replied adamantly. The same for gos us. Sorras parents, Mr. and Mrs. Albas, said in unison. Ill do the electrical work. Chases father, Mr. Timberman, answered. I used to be a contractor electrician for a few years. Before that I used toy tile and carpeting, so I can help with construction too. Im afraid that the Nelsons and us wont be of much use to though. Jillians mother, Mrs. Goldsberry, interjected. You see, we four already have our own joint jewelry and quality items trade shop to run. That actually wont an issue. I might have things to sell to you both now and the future. You should know that I am also clearing out the storage units just down the hill and may find valuables to for you. Lisa replied unbothered by the minor problem. Consider it now that you all here are now employed once again! Chapter 163: Dissolved Chapter 163: Dissolved "Alright, that is it! It is time to end this once and for all!" "Calm down Terry." Dianna griped. There is no need to bang on the table like that. Terry pped his palm onto the rotting wood table again loudly in defiance. You are not going to boss me around. It has not been decided who the new ck Rat boss is, if there is to even be one. What do you mean by that? Dianna asked while absentmindedly chewing on gum. Terry and Dianna were the only remaining two lieutenants to have survived the disastrous battle with the East River Militia. Currently they were sitting at a table in the main room of the safe house now turned base they had built up. Around the table, leaning on the walls, sitting on the floor or in a few remaining seats were only thirty ck Rats. Look around us. Terry snorted gesturing to the room. Three more of us leftst night. Do you really think we can keep the rest here? Our food will run out in a week, we cant leave the base without attracting attention, and the ERM are still looking for us. I say we cut our losses and leave. The ck Rat gang is over. There was a dissatisfied murmur of agreement and mixed distain that came from the gangsters. It wasnt something they wanted to here, but the truth was obvious to them as well. Leave? Dianna repeated sitting up in her chair. Where do you think we can go? Moab City? We wouldntst long with the police enforcers always checking IDs or those actual syndicates would probably sniff us out first. No, Moab is out of the question. I say we join the Mad Dogs. Terry answered. Youre joking, right? Dianna said with augh. You of all people I would have expected to try fighting the ERM and the Mad Dogs before bbing about joining them. Did you lose your spine out there in the streets? Ha! Terryughed mockingly before pointing usingly at Dianna as he spoke, Dont lecture me about being spineless. If I recall you were the first to flee. Only because Gillian ordered us too and its not like you could have done any better against those Mechs. Dianna retorted seemingly unbothered by his remarks. At least I fought back alongside Garret and covered our guys retreat. Then Terrys voice grew softer. You didnt even see how he died. How that Mechs foot sttered him across the road and walls, like spilled spaghetti. He wasnt the greatest guy, but to go out like that was just messed up. True, but I did see. Dianna said calmly. Terry looked across the table and squinted skeptically at her. What do you mean? I saw how Garret really died. Dianna answered. She then leaned forward to ps both hands in front of her on the rotting tabletop and looked at Terry with a smirk ying on her plush lips. He may have been killed by the Mech, but both you and Garret were trying to squeeze into a narrow alleyway to escape. You got there first but couldnt go fast enough to get out of the Mech drivers sight. Sense Garret was standing by the entrance he would have given away your escape route. Terry gulped once but held a stony re at her. He wasnt going to give away his emotions over her provocation. This usation should not be taken lightly by him, true or not. The torches in the room flickered heavily, only adding to the serious moment. You then pushed him out into the road and causing him to be fully exposed to the Mech driver. Dianna announced. Everyone listening in the room looked at Terry with mixed responses. Terry remained unmoved. I did no such thing. Terry replied coldly. You are just making stuff up. Am I? Dianna answered raising an eyebrow. I saw the whole thing. Of course, this is only my word against yours. Do you remember if anyone else was retreating with you two? It was just us two. Everyone behind us had already been run down. What you say I did is entirely false. Terry answered calmly. Though a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Really? Everyone was dead already? Dianna asked in mock confusion. Turning to her left to look at the other ck Rats by the wall, she continued. Thats not right, is it Mal? Mal go off from leaning on the wall and stepped forward with longnky legs to stand alongside Dianna. With a furrowed brow he answered looking sideways at Terry. He was the cause for Garrets death. I had jumped into a dumpster across the street ahead of them. Im much faster than most due to my height, so I saw the whole thing. Pfft, you lie, Mal. Terry scoffed hiding his worry. He stood up to shake a fist at the brown hair young man. You were probably offered a lead spot by her if she took over. I would do the same in your position, but this is still a low blow lie if you ask me. Look, I saw what I saw. Mal argued. You are scum, and I wouldnt follow you anyway. Im scum? You have no proof. Everyone here knows I did everything Garret told me to do without question. I had never considered going against him, and everything I do is for the ck Rats! Dont question my loyalty. Terry was fuming now. I wont let you take over us in such a vile manner, Dianna. Terry is right. Someone called from the left of the torch lit room. Terry and Dianna looked to see that it was Stan, a stocky, handlebar mustache man. Ive been on Terrys crew for a year, and he hadnt said anything to contradict the boss, ever. Besides, Mal, I know you cheat in dice! Theres no way Id trust this guy and if you are backing her, then I cant trust her either. The room then broke out into arguments and heated spection. The gang was clearly getting split into two factions and things were going to get out of hand. Dianna sighed and leaned back in her chair. In turn, seeing her response to the situation, Terry sat back down and cleared his throat loudly which ended up getting the attention of most the ck Rats. How are we going to settle this then? Terry asked with a loaded deep voice. Hmm, we could fight? Dianna mused. Hearing this, Terry instinctively reached for his assault rifle leaning on the table next to him. Dianna wasnt one to make false jokes like this. Ah, ah! Not so fast. Dianna responded flicking out a dagger from her ck leather vest she was wearing over her red id shirt. Terry froze seeing his disadvantage. His caution had kept him alive, and this moment of emotion nearly killed him. Holding the dagger out halfway over the table, as if she had stopped throwing midway, Dianna continued speaking. Listen, Im not finished yet. Dianna then waved the tip of her dagger at his hand reaching for the rifle. Terry grudgingly retracted his hand. We could fight, or we could vote on whos going to be leader next. However, you were right the first time, Terry. Uh, what? Terry reacted as if he couldnt understand her reasoning. What are you going on about? Im saying that you were right and that this gang is finished. Dianna answered lowering her dagger to put it back in the vest. Both the fight and vote would still split and weaken the gang. We couldnt bounce back after that. However, joining another gang isnt a bad idea. So, you think I was right in joining the Mad Dogs then? Terry asked. The rooms emotions visibly rxed as the conversation grew less tense. No, not them. I say we join the Skull. Dianna replied. Ha! Id rather join the ERM than those psycho freaks. Terry scoffed waving his hand and pointer finger in a circr motion by his head. Those crazies would kill and probably eat us as soon as we crossed over the river into their territory. Oh, and you think the Mad Dogs would be any better? Dianna countered. You know as well as the rest of us that they killed off every other gang, group or citizen that stood in their way. Trying to join them is reckless. However, with me being in such good favor with Garret, I had been in contact with someone in the Skull for some time now. Why would Garret be in contact with the Skull? Terry asked. Also, why were you put in charge of that? Someone has to negotiate between that gangs. I though you were smarter than this, Terry. Dianna smirked. I oversaw the meetings with them because Garret trusted me as one of his top lieutenants. Adam oversaw the negotiations with the Mad Dogs too, but he is not around to back me up on this im. Not that it matters really. Well, I havent heard of this before, so I dont buy it. Terry replied. Then he stood up slowly to address the room. Since its clear we both agree that the gang cant go on and we cant agree on what to do next, Im going to make this simple. I am going to go over to the Mad Dogs and whoever wants to follow me, a loyal ck Rat to the end, can do so or you can join with this she-rat and go get eaten by the Skull. Regrettably, I have to agree. Even if its with someone as backstabbing as you. Dianna mocked standing up likewise. The Skull will be far more willing to take us in. Oh, and by the way, the boat is mine. What? Terry shouted. Dianna let out augh and held up the keys to the boat in her hand and jingling them mockingly she continued, Good luck, Terry. Come on whoever ising with me. Once the boat leaves, Im noting back. Terry angrily snatched up his assault rifle and slung its strap over his shoulder. F*** you, you wench. Come on guys lets head for the docks and find a barge. The two sides split, permanently ending the ck Rats for good. Terry was leaving with sixteen of the remaining gang and his face smiled triumphantly as he thought to himself. Looks like I win the majority, Dianna. If it werent for Mal, I probably would have won more. But dont worry Mal, I will make sure to have you meet up with Garret soon for betraying me like that. Hehe! After all, I know where I sent him. Dianna and the other fourteen gangsters plodded slowly across the dock to the sailboat. Though the gangsters had joined up with her, it was clear they were anxious. Dianna ignored their dilemma and sighed happily in thought, Finally, I aming back home to the Skull, master! As it turned out, neither of thest two ck Rat lieutenants were not as they appeared. Terry wasnt the loyal man as he imed. He had been as ruthless and vile with Garret just as he had been towards the townspeople. Dianna wasnt trustworthy towards Garret either. Her loyalties were always elsewhere. This simple, uneventful split was going to cause more of a stir within the town than anyone would have guessed. Chapter 164: Underway Chapter 164: Underway Everything is ready to go. Xander reported to Martinez. Xander, Rodney, Ernest and Hugo were alling into the bosss bank office together. Martinez was mulling over some papers and happily tossed them onto the desk seeing the four lieutenantsing in. The sun was setting towards the front of the bank, causing the rocky desertndscape behind the bosss desk to glow a miraculous orange-tan. Xander continued, All the ammo, supplies and ns are organized for the morning. The gang is armed and ready. Most of them are even eager to go. Hugo added. We even have plenty of gas to light the Skulls docks and base on fire with. That pile of logs will burn like a bonfire in summer. Perfect. I assume you can all march immediately? Martinez asked. At your word. Rodney answered. Well then, go at first light! Martinez said giving a shoeing motion with his hands. Then turning back to his desk, he gave out hismands. Ernest, you will go by boat and draw their attention by striking first, make the situation for them as dire as possible and there is no need for discretion either. Understood, you want as many of theming at me and I relish the opportunity. Ernest answered giving a confident grin from under his hoodie. Hugo. Martinez continued. You are to lead therger force to burn the docks as soon as you see at least three Hands show up or it bes clear Ernests forces are going to be repelled. Then encircle the docks from behind and burn the docks, with every Skull member on them too. Oh, and Ernest, make sure your forces keep their boats from leaving the docks too, once the mes are lit. We have no need to keep any of their boats, so sink them. Just dont block up the river if you can help it. Hugo, keep anyone trying to put out the mes out and anyteing Skull forces need to be attacked on sight. The overall goal there is to kill as many as we can. Got it. Hugo answered. Satisfied, Martinez looked at the other two. Rodney, you and some scouts are going to go first and sniff out the Skull base for any secret exits or anything that could be an issue. I dont want Hugos forces to get overwhelmed before the docks burn down enough. You can leave right now. Just join up with Xander once you see the smoke rising and report anything unusual. Sure-thing boss. Rodney replied tipping his cowboy hat and leaving the ss walled office. Now Xander, I know attacking isnt exactly your forte, but I know you have the patience to carry out the main bases assault. Martinez said while picking up a blue colored paper from a tall plie on the desk. Here is the best map we have of the Skull base. It used to be a mall and we have most of the blueprints here. Assuming they havent altered the insides too much, you need to get in there, light the ce on fire at these specified locations and draw out whoever is left guarding the ce. With any luck the Head, Undertaker, will still be there. I will be waiting with my special team to take him on myself outside the main entrance. Martinez had a special teamprised of a select number of Match Fighters, gangsters and outside hired mercenaries affiliated with the Hunters n. The lieutenants themselves didnt know fully who this team wasprised of. Each time they had seen them, the team was almost alwaysprised of a different set of people. This team, no matter who they were, was dangerous and mysterious as they all wore nk white masks to hide their identitys, save for Martinez. He always had his face exposed as he led them. I understand. I will move quickly as I can. Dealing with the bases special guards should be most entertaining. Xander answered. I have been surveying the main entrance with my cameras for some time now and though skilled, our gang can handle them for a simple infiltration job. Sounds good. Martinez said walking lengthwise across the room towards a separate table that had on it a special ss weapons disy. It has been too long since my Heart-render has tasted blood. Martinez grabbed the leather rapped handle of his eighty-centimeter bludgeoning weapon. It was the Aztecs most well-known weapon, the Macuahuitl. The Macuahuitl wasnt a sword, stick, or club as it was not a solid forged weapon like a sword de might be. The ornately carved and vibrant colored wooden centered weapon totted the traditional designs his ancestors used. The Macuahuitl was a short wooden staff simr in shape of that to a cricket bat but with multiple sharp edges of obsidian colored tungsten fused into the woods edges. The faux ck obsidian glinted dangerously in the natural, falling sunlight as he carried it proudly on his shoulder. With a blood thirsty ir, Martinezughed, Lets get ready have some fun gentlemen! Come on, put your back into it! Terry ordered. Were doing the best we can boss. One of the two rowersined. Ya, this skiff might as well be a log than a boat. The other rower added. Terrys group hadnt been able to find any barges to bord. All, save for Olivias barges working for the ERM, had not yet returned to the eastern shore. They were lucky enough to find this old skiff beached between tworge boulders. They were also lucky that every one of them could just barely fit into it, though the skiffs railing was ufortably close to the waters surface. At this point they were halfway across and the current was pulling them further south. Well, its better than swimming. So shut up and row. Terry replied indifferently. Suddenly, he felt a familiar, unwanted feeling by his feet. Looking down and lifting one foot, he let out moan, Scratch that guys! Row faster or we all are going to have to swim the rest of the way. The skiff taking on water somewhere. Immediately everyone looked down at their feet and saw a few centimeters of murky brown water sloshing about. Without a word two other gangsters grabbed the ends of oars and started rowing with the other two rowers. Hurry up! I cant swim and I dont want to learn anytime soon! One of them shouted. Minutester the boat sunk. Water poured over the railings and the boats back end started to submerge at an rming speed. At first most of them started to panic until one man jumped overboard. Unexpectedly, when hended, the water reached only up to his knees. Then as if to further prove how shallow it was the boat ran aground on a pile of river smoothed rocks, masked as a sandbar. Good job there, boys. Terryughed. The looks on some of your faces was priceless. Grown men, afraid of getting a bit wet! Once everyone had gotten out of the boat and finished climbing up the steep, rocky embankment they found themselves nearer to the middle of the town. Though wet and grumpy they had no choice but to turn to Terry as they had no clue where to go. Well, where too now boss? Stan asked. We havent the slightest clue where the Mad Dogs base is at. That wont be a problem. Terry answered as he pushed his way to the front of the group. All we got to do is wander around until we see some rough looking guys then ask them. The Mad Dogs got lots of members and I bet they will be part of the gang. Just let me do the talking. The sun was just one fingers width away from the mountains peek, so they didnt have much time left. After nearly an hour of wandering the streets and asking random people where the Mad Dogs were, they finally found a gang member. The only problem was it wasnt lucky for them. This particr Mad Dog was a lieutenant, Xander. Xander knew exactly who they were on sight and he had his guards, all twenty of them, with him. Well, well, well. What is going on here? Xander called out to them as the ck Rats were crossing the intersection in front of him. There seems to be a whole bunch of rats in my town! Then with a flick of his wrist, signaled to his guards. Immediately every one of them pulled a gun out at the ck Rats. Hold your fire! Terry shouted throwing his hands sky high. Every one of the other ck Rats did likewise as Terry. Some even dropped their weapons to the ground entirely. We arent here to fight or cause trouble! Oh? Is that so? Xanders seductively scratchy voice droned out. Then please tell me what is going on or Ill have to turn you all into Swiss cheese. Wouldnt that be poetic, turning rats into cheese? Im sure you have heard by now that the ck Rats have been beaten by the ERM? Terry said taking a hesitant step forward. Xander eyed him suspiciously and nodded. Terry swallowed and continued, Well I am a former lieutenant of the ck Rats, Terry. The ck Rats just officially split today and are no more. We are here to join the Mad Dogs. Hmm? Join us and why would you do that? Xander asked. There is no where left for us fighting for scraps over there. Fighting for scraps with the ERM is pointless. They will be out of food in weeks or maybe less. It would be smarter for us to start over and join the gang that is clearly going to be thest one in the town. Terry replied. That makes sense. Xander answered lowering his hand. The guards with him lowered their weapons but kept them ready. Now exin to me, why should I let deserters join us? We are not deserters. Terry scoffed. Like I said, the ck Rats have split up. The rest followed with the otherst lieutenant from our gang, Dianna, and went to join the Skull. We refuse to join those freaks! That didnt answer my question. Xander replied raising his hand again. The guards started to raise their guns in turn. Wait, wait! Terry shouted and Xander stopped raising his hand. We can offer not only our services, but information as well. Information you say? Xander said as a smile parted his lips. What kind of information? Terry had to y it smart. If this guy really was a Mad Dog, he needed to be sure that their position would be secure before giving up what little he knew up. Take us to see Martinez. He is the only one I know thats for sure a Mad Dog. Ive never seen you before and dont feel like dying in the streets. Ah, a smart man. Never give up what you know without leverage. Xander answered. Then pointing upwards with his pointer finger and spinning it around in a circr motion, signaled to the guards who then immediately surrounded the ck Rats with guns aimed menacingly. W-what are you doing? Terry asked nervously. Just being cautious. Xander replied calmly. Drop all your weapons right now and get ready to be searched. Ill y along with you for now. However, dont expect your, hmm, entry into the Mad Dogs to be an easy one if the Boss agrees to take you in. I have something in mind for you lot. Chapter 165: Sensors Chapter 165: Sensors Wow, is that a holo-graphic projection of the full Mechs specs? Tom asked pointing at the blue image floating above the controls. Yep, it sure is and it can tell in real time what is wrong, damaged or in need of a tune up in real time. Hanna answered. Also, it can show its movements in real time. All three of the young teens had crammed into Gillian Mech and were excitedly going over whatever Hanna managed to pull up on the controls disys. ir remained mostly silent as the two carried on the conversation. She had brought along a note pad and was doing her best to scrawl down some of the terms the two were spouting off to each other. This way she could do researchter the parts she didnt understand on her own. Show me the sensors you mentioned before. This is more than I expected! Tom asked enthusiastically. Sure. Hanna replied. She then hastily tapped at a few buttons and then double selected the foot of the holo-projected Mech. The blue image zoomed in on the foot and expanded to rece the Mech. Along side the foot,ing off in bubble information form from key points of the foot, were various information about the condition, parameters, and basic information of its condition. Neither Tom nor ir had time to read them as Hanna selected the bottom most information bubble. The foot and other information bubbles instantly fazed away to only disy a 3D graph and an ever-changing set of information graphs. The 3D graph wasbeled as Ground Configurations. As you guys see here, Hanna said pointing to the graph. The sensors located on the bottom of the Mechs foot test in real time what the conditions of the ground are. The sensor is so fast, in fact, that as the Mech is stepping forwards it can assess the ground and then adjust the grip at the bottom of it foot ordingly. Like for sandy ground it expands with many wavyyers to keep from sinking and getting enough grip to move forward. While rocky terrain it forms sharp triangr wedges to snag the uneven surface to keep from sipping. In every case the feet actually conform to the ground it steps on within a thirty-degree angle! Thats impressive! Tom replied as he leaned in closer to look at all the numbers and information being ryed. Sonar only lets boats know where the river is deepest and if there is anything in the water. This is way more advanced. Thats just the beginning of what this Mech can do. Hanna replied smugly. Let me show you what else this thing can do! How do you know all of this stuff? Tom asked. You arent any older than I am. Like I said, I just know how all this works somehow. Hanna replied shrugging. It feels like I have some kind of connection, its hard to exin. Hanna closed out the information bubble and returned to the holo-image of the whole Mech. However, before Hanna could show off some more Gillian poked his head into the cockpit. Hold on now you guys, the fun is over. Gillian said much to the disappointment of the kids. Hanna, you need to prove to Mr. Weathers that you really can pilot this thing. Hes been very adamant in expressing your safety. Fine. Its probably for the best. Hanna sighed. Wait, you are going to pilot this thing? Tom said with a surprised expression. Yep! Hanna nodded giving a smile. Come on you two. Gillian said to Tom and ir. Out you go. John needs toe in here to watch her. You two can wait by the dam or go back to the fish fry. I want to watch! Tom eximed. After the two kids climbed down and John took their ce, Gillian exined what they were going to do next. Hanna, since we are short on time, all you are going to do is listen to me on the inte and Ill ry to you some tasks to carry out. Ok. Thats fine. I wanted to do more into the night, but I see you already disabled the headlights. Hanna replied as she fiddled with the leg throttles excitedly. Oh? So, it looks like you dont know everything after all. Gillian said rubbing his chin in thought. Huh, what do you mean? Hanna said looking at Gillian curiously. I did disable the headlights, but not because there is no need for them. Gillian replied. Then he leaned in and pressed a few buttons. See, if you reenable the lights the feedback says there are none. Interesting Hanna said as her brow furrowed. I guess I cant feel everything if a part is disabled. Yes, it is curious. Gillian repeated. Then he chuckled, Well, we better get this over with. My stomach is starting to eat itself! With saying that Gillian closed the door and slid down thedder. John was a bit confused by what just happened. Both because of their conversation and that Gillian had left Hanna alone with the controls. Isnt he going to turn it on for you to start? John asked looking down at Hanna sitting in the seat in front of him. He had chosen to stand behind her to see everything she did better. No, I already figured it out. Hanna answered. Then before he could reply, Hanna started up the motor. The hum of the heat exhaustion fan whirled to life and the whole Mech lifted slightly as power coursed through it. Then Gillians voice sounded out into the cockpit on the open inte. Hanna, can you read me? Yes, I read you. Hanna replied. She didnt need to press any button to reply, as the mic was already on open chat. Good. Now we are going to do a few moving maneuvers to get you ustomed to how the Mech feels in motion. Last time you seemed unsteady. Gillian exined. Start by turning the Mech around to face the start of the sandy road behind you. Ok. Hanna replied. John looked on in wonder as he watched the little girl grasping the two leg throttles to start making the metal monster move. At first Hanna rushed the rotating movement and the Mech rotated to the right faster than both of them expected. The Mech wobbled slightly off kilter but quickly the weight of the stocky Mech kept it in ce. Hanna then finished the rotation at a slower, more controlled pace. Good, now lift up the bucket loader to mid mech height. You dont want it dragging on the ground or blocking your view. Gillian instructed. After Hanna performed the task, Gillian continued, Now move forwards and off the road to get onto the sandy path. You will notice a change from a solid impact of the Mechs feet on the paved road to a sloshy, uneven impact from the sand. Do not let it throw you off though. The Mech canpensate for the change in terrain. As the area around here is mostly sandy, so you will need to get used to it right away. Understood. Hanna answered confidently. She then pressed forward on the two leg controls in turn, simting a walking motion. The heavy steps of the Mech clunked heavily on the road. Each time she lifted them the cockpit leaned backwards almost a bit to far to feel safe. Hanna, there is no need to raise the feet so high on a t surface. Just like with walking you only need toe off the ground slightly. Gillians voice pointed out over the inte. Hanna wordlessly followed his advice and tried only moving the throttles at half the distance as before. She kept looking at the holo-projection of the Mech on the control panel for reference. It was hard to tell how far up to raise the feet using the projection visuals alone. There wasnt any indicator to show how high the foot truly was from the ground using the holo-projection. Good, that is better. Gillian said momentster. Feel how much more natural the sway of the Mech feels? Hanna inwardly took note of the slim gap that the holo-projections foot showed in rtion to the ground and continued moving forward on the paved road more confidently. The cockpit also became noticeably more stable and didnt sway backwards as much. Only two steps away from the sand path now. Gillian called out. When you first step off the road, try not to overextend the step. Overextending your steps on to an uneven surface could cause the Mech to slide and fall over. Though this machine is made for terrain like this, its not all that different than moving like a little kid. Ok, Ill try. Hanna replied. One more thing. Gillian called. Try not to look at the projection the entire time. You need to look out the window slits at the ground. The sensors will not pick up anything like rocks, stumps, or any other debris further ahead of you in the path. The Lidar only sees things taller than five feet before it issues you a warning. I see, thanks. Hanna answered. She looked away from the holo-projection and at the five different window slits in the cock pit. Though it was hard to see due to the welded metal covering the majority of the windows surfaces, Hanna could see the ground directly ahead of her next steps, to the immediate left and right of the feet, and then in a 180-degree radius of the area beyond. To see out these two-windows Hanna had to almost stand up to see. Even with these windows there were still lots of blind spots and it was best she move carefully. Once Hanna understood her bearings, she started pressing the right foot controls to go out onto the sand. As Gillian warned the Mech felt much different when stepping onto the sand. Rather than the heavy jarring feeling of pavement, the sand had an initial impact and then proceeded to sink and slide forwards from the motion and weight of the Mechs momentum. Hanna pulled back on the throttle slightly in reaction to the sliding, but Gillian corrected her right away. Dont pull back on the throttle when you feel that sliding. When you do it is making the Mech step back up and this could cause it to lean even further forwards. This is why you need to take smaller steps, topensate for the sliding. I think I understand. Hanna replied. Then she moved the other foot onto the sandy path. This time she made sure tomit to making the step. After a few uncertain steps forward, Hanna seemed to get the knack for it. Thats really good progress Hanna. Gillian called after a few moments. Go ahead and turn around ande back to the road. Transitioning from an unstable, to stable ground, is not hard but moving withrger steps again is an odd sensation at first. Alright. Hanna answered as she started rotating the Mechs torso back around. It was a smart feature in the Mechs design to be able to move in any direction with out moving the whole body. The legs could automatically adjust to the change in direction, thanks to the legs 360 Degree Motion Monitors that she had asked about when she first moved the Mech. This system design was implemented in most Mechs of all kinds and variations. A few momentster, Hanna had gotten back onto the road and returned to the spot where she had started. Gillian instructed her to lower the bucket loader back onto the ground and power off the Mech. The sun light was getting lower now and visibility would be too hard for a beginner to move safely. As Hanna turned off the Mech, she let out a sigh and spoke to John, That was interesting and exciting! I might know how this works but actually performing the maneuvers is much harder than I expected. John didnt know what to say. She had done everything up until now with out so much as asking Gillian for any kind of guidance. I-I have to say, Hanna, I am most impressed. When I first was learning to drive a car, I didnt even do as well as you did with this Mech. Does that mean you wont need to worry about me driving this then? Hanna asked excitedly. Mostly. John replied. I will have to still be here to watch, but I guess I can consent to you working on this job. Chapter 166: Cleaning Chapter 166: Cleaning The rest of the fish fry was a rather enjoyable experience. With the ERM happy to have fresh meat to eat after a long days work and the townspeople with new job opportunities provided by Lisa, the fish was nearly all eaten up. Still, Lisa encouraged the townspeople to take what was left before they departed. Night was encroaching and all had returned to normal after everyone, save for Gillian, had left the dams grounds. So, how did everything with Hanna go? Lisa asked. She was cleaning up a bunch of fish bones and tossing them into the dying mes of the fire. It went very well; she had exceeded my expectations again. There wasnt one time she asked me for a deeper exnation of what to do. She just did it, not perfectly, but way better than the two pilots Ive been training did on their first try. Gillian replied. Oh, so nothing was odd about her performance then? Lisa asked. She just might be something special after all. Well, there was one thing that she did mention that I found intriguing. Gillian said picking at a piece of food in his teeth. Please, dont leave me waiting. Lisa remarked. Gillian spit and continued, On my Mech the headlights hadnt been installed and to save power I had that system disabled. Hanna didnt know this. She assumed that they were disabled but still in the Mech. When I told her this, she seemed genuinely surprised by this information, as if the Mech didnt tell her this, like she ims it can do. Interesting indeed. Lisa answered. She raised her hand to her chin in thought, before speaking aloud momentster. I have a theory of what might be going on, though itspletely a guess and Im probablypletely wrong. Oh, tell me. Gillian replied rubbing his hands together excitedly. He leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees expectantly to hear her reply. I cant give you one just yet. Lisa said to his disappointment. I will need to test a few things with Hanna and try to remember what exactly I am thinking the case is. Again, Im only guessing at this point. Fine, I guess I can wait. Gillian sighed with mock disappointment as he stood up. Well, I best get to sleep soon. Got a lot of work still to do. Ille by tomorrow and see how things are proceeding. Ive been meaning to do that sooner. Lisa said while tossing thest of the bones into the fire. Goodnight. The next morning, Sadie woke up to an unfamiliar sent in the air. Groggily she sat up and rubbed at her itchy eye to see that Eva was already awake and gone, while Lisa was sitting at a desk they had left in the room. On this desk was the source of the smell. Lisa had taken out of her coffin all her dismantled guns and they wereying all over the desk in seemingly disorganized plies. The smell was the anti-rust solutions and grime cleaner. What are you doing? Sadie asked sleepily. I am just cleaning my guns. Lisa replied. Things have been getting a bit more, hmm, uncertain around here and I think being prepared for anything would be the smartest move. You mean like with the Mad Dogs and the kids? Sadie asked tossing aside her covers to reveal her fluffy pajamas. Yes, that and a few other developments. Lisa replied absentmindedly picking up a barrel and a clean gray sock. Then taking a unscrew-able copper colored poll, no thicker than a cars antenna, she stuck the sock to the end of the poll and rammed it gently down the gun barrel to the other end. Wheres Eva? Sadie asked changing into her clothes for the day. Though still early in the day Sadie could tell it was going to be hot today and was dressing ordingly. Eva and the others are getting ready to go back to working on clearing out the storage units. They should be eating breakfast now. Lisa replied. Arent you going to eat too? Sadie asked while putting on her socks. I have been up since sunrise and ate already. Lisa replied. She had by now started to assemble the gun she had been cleaning. I cant understand you morning people. If I could sleep all the time, I would. Sadie sighed. Then before she headed out the door she called back. Oh, I n on training Zane on attack patterns and counters. You got any pointers for him? Not at the moment. Lisa replied without looking up from her gun. Ill see what you can do with him first and then Ill put in my advice. Alright, see youter then. Sadie said disappearing around the doorway. Lisa was alone in the room now and momentster her guns were reassembled. Thergest of the two was a .50cal sniper rifle, the same caliber as her own arm gun. The scope wasnt attached, and the magazine wasying empty on the desk along side the sniper. The other was a specially modified NGSW-R. It had a variable 2x-4x zoom red dot scope, Merc Foregrip, and an FFS 12.4 Predator barrel. The rest was Marine standard issue equipment that Lisa found suited her best in a gunfight. Her .45cal pistol was alsoying on the desk too, cleaned and fully loaded. These weapons had served her well in many, many dangerous battles. There probably wasnt anything she trusted more than these three guns. Her life was quite literally put into her hands on more asions that anyone would have wanted. Picking up the ammo boxes from the bottom of her coffin, Lisa then started to load the empty magazines. As she did this, she started formting her ns. I already told the new hiresst night that I would call on them to work as soon as I got the materials together to start repairing and building things around here. So, I can put the idea of having them working here off for now. Hopefully not too long though, I need to do a lot of repairs. What should be my priority is to get the storage units cleared out and stakeout that one with the Serums. I am sure Miss Olivia wont be around here for much longer and it would be nice to earn something right away. Especially since I cant bet on me winning any matches soon. The fact that Xander hasnte to pin the me on me yet is a good sign, but I need to make money fast. Mr. Sellers is probably still going to be gone for a while too. So, the dam repairs are on hold until then. Then there is the dams road and the ERM. Once the road is done, I can start setting up power lines to their side of the river. Maybe even investigate that concrete nt too and see if it is worth the trouble. Getting that working would save me a lot of money in shipping once its fixed. That is also assuming I can find a source for materials. How could I forget, Hanna, that girl has just been full of surprises for metely and I am curious about how her connections with the Mech is possible. It almost seems like the project Green Mosquito that I was apart of, though not quite the same. Though I shouldnt dwell on the past without any proof, so, I might as well get to work on the units with the others. Just as she finished these thoughts thest rifle bullet slipped into the clip with a satisfactory click. There were only two, nine round magazines for her sniper rifle, and eight mags for her riffle. The two ZKZM-7000 rifles only had one battery to spare for when one ran out. Luckily, both these futuristic looking rifles were still at near full power and judging with her limited experience with them prior to the cyborg rebellion, they looked to be able to shoot several hundred bursts. Before Lisa left the room, she was sure to ce the assembled weapons covered under a cloth and hidden behind her heavy coffin that was ced in the far corner of the room. Everything was ready, clean, and loaded. Hopefully, the time to use them wasnt ever going toe, but Lisas gut was telling her otherwise. Whether it was because of her military training or shellshock paranoia, something was going to happen. Leaving the room behind, Lisa saw that the others were getting ready to leave for the units and hurried to join them. As the group walked Lisa exined that thest row of units, where the serum was being kept, they were going to leave alone. Not only to avoid confrontation with whoever the sketchy people were, but also to not cause them worry and move elsewhere. Lisa also pointed out that if they found anything worth value that they should try selling it to the Goldsberrys and Nelsons shops. It was probably going to be easier than sell the items on their own in the market. The ERM volunteers had alreadypletely cleared out the first column of units, both front and back. So, they started looking through the next column. They had brought along the boat trailer turned cart as well, and this time Henry had added fixed walls of old pallet wood to it so they could hold more goods. The work went by slowly and rather uneventful. That had about the same luck as with the first column of units. They found nothing but cloths, empty boxes, and the odd spare tire. That is until they reached the second unit on the opposite end than from where they started. Lisa smashed the lock with a hammer and as soon as she opened the door everyone inhaled sharply. It was as if they had stumbled upon someone lost doomsday stash. The left side of the room was socked from floor to ceiling, and on several one meter wide of shelves, was canned and non-perishable goods. On the right was all kinds of camping gear like tents, Firestarter kits, dozens of first aid kits, a stack of numerous sleeping bags and ammo. This only paled inparison to what they found in the middle and back of the room. On the back wall and surrounding a blue tarp covered object in the center of the room were guns. Shotguns, pistols, assault rifles of all types, half a dozen of sniper rifles and countless knives and machetes. Wordlessly Lisa excitedly grabbed and tugged off the tarp, revealing a truck with a mounted machine gun in the bed! Now this is what I am talking about! Lisa shouted. This is worth more than cash alone. We could hold off the gangs easily with all of this. This is exactly why I wanted to check this ce out! Who would put all this here? Tayvon asked picking up a can of foodbeled Peas. Probably someone that was preparing for a nuclear disaster and surviving on their own. Lisa replied as she investigated the trucks cab. No way! Guys, the truck has got the key in the ignition! Oh, I hope this thing is electric, because we dont have any gas. Wayne was on the other side of the truck and called out to Lisa. I think it is. Theres a plug above the front tire. Awesome! Alright, we are going to put exploring the rest of the units off for now and get all of this into the Powerhouse building asap. Lisa said excitedly. First, lets get the guns and ammo. They are the most dangerous to leaveying around for anyone to see. Well, I guess now we dont need to worry about finding weapons for us to use, right Lisa? Henry asked picking up a sleek looking 1911 pistol from off the far wall. You got that right. Lisa answered opening the trucks door with unhidden excitement disyed on her face. We hit the jackpot! It seemed like all her preparations from this morning was almost unneeded, almost. Chapter 167: Mobilized Chapter 167: Mobilized 56 and Dixon split off from the main group of Hunters returning to the city after passing over the sma wall. The bloody mess of Twisted, artillery holes, smoke and dust still resonated heavily over the sand strewn battlefield. 56 couldnt imagine what that kind of fight it might have been like if they had to face the monsters at ground level. Undoubtedly the human side would have faced gravel casualties. They were headed for therge gathering of oversized semi-trucks that had taken over the former ICADs assembly point. There were 23 trucks in total, each one being colored differently and with their own unique symbols of identification. One unique feature that 56 noticed was that each trailer had a QR codebeled on each side of it. Orville, you can cut the recording now. 56 called to his little floating buddy. Once you do, tell me what the QR codes are saying. Understood boss 56! Orvilles chipper voice replied. Dixon started to descend towards the middle of the trailers, slowing considerablypared to the breakneck speeds they had been traveling during the battle. 56 then saw that the one they were headed for had a symbol of a Badger wearing a red, feathery carnival mask and matching glittery cape. 56 also saw that Sam and Tammy were just thening out from the trucks cab. The QR code says that this truck carries the Party Badger, a Hunters ss Military Mech (HCMM). Its officially registered with the Hunters n and allowed to cross over country boarders with proper intent. Orville answered. Do I need to give more information? Party Badger? That surely is a unique name. 56 mused to himself before replying to Orville, No, thats enough information for now. Stand by. Already to go Dixon! Tammy shouted as she bounded excitedly towards the hover bike as itnded. Quick, do your mechanics check and let me get out there. Im ready to get personal with one of those Demon Kodiak! Calm down Tammy, I am getting old and cant move that fast. Dixon chided as he stiffly got off the bike. In the meantime, Sam had climbed onto the roof of the trailer and was unlocking four code locks that ran down the roofs center. Then once done, he jumped down the trailers backside and entered amand onto a control monitor mounted to the trucks frame before he stepped back carefully. With an angry sounding hiss of air escaping, the trailer walls spilt in two as the sides fell away slowly as the air brakes controlled its decent, to reveal a humanlike designed Mech lying on its back. Start recording. 56 murmured urgently to Orville. The HCMM was over 5 meters tall, with a ck colored base tone with three big white stripes running vertically along its chest and back. Just like how a Badger might look or an Adidas tracksuit. The Party Badger symbol was stamped right over the cockpit hatch as well as a serial number marked just below it. The Mechs wingspan was equally as wide and the overall appearance looked rough, but experienced was the better term to use. The head wasnt as pronounced out from the torso like a human might look andcked a neck to look more like a turtles head instead. The head featured a more streamlined look with where the shoulders met with the torso to make the whole appearance look more defensive. Likely the whole body had to be turned to look around, but guessing from the thick, orange tainted ss running three-fourths of the way around the head, Tammy could likely see her surroundings simply fine. The body, arms, and legs were covered in thick armored tting, not all that much different to how police or military riot gear looked or protected. The joints were not covered, save for the widened armor tes on the legs near the knees. This design showed that Tammys Mech was made to be a medium, ground-based variation of Mech, which focused on being sturdy and agile to take on the heavy Twisted. If it were being used for true military purposes this design was much too unarmored and wouldnt hold up well in a prolonged firefight. Then 56 saw the weapons lying next to the hands and alongside the legs of the Mech. There were two that were obvious, one being a double-edged sword that looked to be two hands width in size and impossible for any human to even consider carrying. The length had to nearly half as long as the Mechs body too! The de was thick and chipped in several ces, but it was far from being useless to cut or in danger of breaking. The other weapon interested 56 far more. It looked like a cross between an oversized M1 Carbine rifle and a mini artillery. There was no doubt that this weapon was specially designed to be used exclusively by Mechs. The rifle wasbeled in white lettering as a Mechanized 76.2 mm Rifle. It had a top feed magazine to supply therge rounds into the absurd rifle and looking over the body, 56 could see multiple areas where extra magazines were being kept. This gun looked terribly simr to what the AFR used with their Mechs in their attempt to quell the cyborgs rebellion. Thest weapon, or so 56 assumed it was a weapon, was unfamiliar to him. The device resembled a bow-staff, but it wasnt fused together. Rather it looked like it was intended to split apart for some reason that 56 could not yet surmise. Its length was also mysterious because it was one meter shorter than the entire Mech was. Just as the two doors thumped softly onto the sandy ground Dixon spoke to Tammy, Alright, get in there and settle in. Tammyughed girlishly and a bit too manically as she dashed for the cockpit near the top of the HCMMs torso and smooshed head. As she tied a Hello-Kitty pink head band to hold back her frizzy afro, Tammy urged Dixon to hurry. Dixon joined Sam at the monitor and picked up a tabloid that had wires running directly to the frame the Mech wasying on. All systems are warming up nicely and no error messages have popped up yet. Sam called out looking at the monitor and selecting various tabs and features. Alright, Tammy, start it up. Like before, please start with testing the cockpit and head areas first this time. We dont want the legs kicking Sam again. Dixon ordered. Ya, that really hurt! Sam shouted out. 56 looked at Sam curiously. The HCMM being 5 meters tall, and the feet looking to be over a meter in size, meant surviving an unprotected kick from the Mech was impressive. Sam noticed 56 looking at him and pulled back the hair covering his forehead to reveal a hand sized chunk of flesh missing off his forehead. It looked like a boiled egg that had a portion of the shell missing. Nice scar! 56 said with sincerity. Fine! Tammy shouted back to Dixon and Sam rolling her eye dramatically as she closed the hatch to the cockpit. It looked like her body fit snuggly into the body shaped shell that ounted for the pilots means of controlling the Mech. Her hands, arms, legs, torso, and head were nestled into separately crafted motion sensor tes that wirelessly tracked her movements in the cockpit, which then controlled the Mech to move ording to her own motions in real time. 56 wasnt able to see anymore of this cockpit in further detail because of his angle and that she closed the hatch much to quickly. Testing head. Tammys electronic voice called out through the HCMMs speakers. The HCMMs orange tinted ss lit up with a pale orange glow and then proceeded to sit up with the torso following along with the motion. The heat exhaustion fans were noticeably quiet, and it was as if they werent even on at all. The only proof they were indeed on and running was the hazy heat waves shooting out from behind the Mechs head. Good. Now right hand open and close, twice. Dixon called out to the Mech. As the Mech sat fully up, Tammy followed his order and did so with the right hand. Then doing the same with the other arm and legs, Tammys Mech ended up passing all the tests. Alright, everything is good. Dixon shouted to both his partners. Sam nodded and pressed a big red button next to the monitor. There was a loud click and what sounded like wires automatically coiling. Tammy, the Party Badger is dislodged from the truck frame. Dixon announced. Lets do one more test with the maic repulsion packs. 56 perked up upon hearing this. Robotic advancements aside, the technology around utilizing human created maic fields to repulse against Earths natural maic field to create a new form of travel, was like discovering a new to him. The possibilities that it offered, not only for a military use, but for easing travel and transportation of any object, were endless. Now here was a live example of using maism to move a Mech that was easily over a thousand kilograms. 56 could hardly contain his excitement and felt like geek-ing out. Tammy, jump normally first and then the second time use the maic pack. Dixon ordered. The Party Badgers head nodded slightly before casually jumping straight up. Even though she only jumped two meters high, 56 braced himself for the impact. Yet when shended there were no vibrations. The HCMM hadnded no differently than a human would have, despite the weight difference. 56 peered at the soles of the HCMMs feet and realized his folly. There were high grade shock absorbers, both in and outside of the Mechs heels and calves. Before he could admire them further, Tammy jumped casually again. Just as her feet left the sandy ground, an orange-colored electrified pulse irrupted with a muffled womp sound from the t shaped backpack on the Mechs back. This pulse, no wider than a meter, caused the Mech to triple in height and leave a light imprint in the sand below! As the HCMMnded with this time a noticeable thud, Sam called out from the monitor, 30% error readings. Seems like a coil malfunctioned. Same error asst time. 70% is still eptable. Dixon replied waving off the warning. Its going to cost a fortune to repair though. Considering that, Tammy, get out there and earn the repair fees! Finally! Tammys electric-toned voice cheered. Then the Party Badger stood up like it was getting out of bed, just before reaching back down to grab the sword. She slung its massive girth over her onto her back where a U shaped hook locked the hand guard into ce. Which secured it to the Mech forter use. The Bow-staff device she did likewise, only this time the weapon was sticking much farther above the Mechs body, like some kind of radio antenna. The Party Badger then picked up the gun and checked both the safety and that the magazine was loaded. Satisfied, she slung the heavy rifle onto her shoulder with a metallic ng. The movements she performed were so fluid and urate that 56 would have guessed she was looking at a flesh and blood giant instead of a pilot controlling a mechanical machine. That took forever! Look everyone else is already mustering by the sma wall! Tammy whined as she pointed with her free Mech hand. 56 looked that way and was surprised to see that all the other Mechs had already deployed. He had been too focused on Tammys Mech that he failed to notice the other Hunters Mechs were doing the same thing. Seeing the group of giant Mechs he felt like they almost looked like a bunch of Spartans from Halo gathering to take on the Covenant. In a way, that guess was not all too far off. There then came a beep from Dixons watch. Dixon took one look and then shouted up to Tammy. Tammy, it has just been announced that the bounty for killing the Demon Kodiaks will not be spit. Its firste, first kill! So, no need to y nice or share. The Party Badger looked down at Dixon and with her free hand she clenched it excitedly, Perfect. I hate sharing! Chapter 168: Beware the Bear Chapter 168: Beware the Bear Smash! Another ICAD-18 was ttened by an enraged Demon Kodiaks giant paw. After the artillery trucks fired on the Hoard Mother, they retreated leaving the ICADs behind to be their rear guard and deal with the remaining Twisted. The ICADs made swift work in dealing with the smaller Logos Cutters and Night Wolves and few were now left in the vicinity. Even though the majority had been pulled away by the many baby Hoard Mothers, the ins Striders and Demon Kodiaks remained the sole threat to the pawn ICADs. From the initial charge out from the safety of the sma wall with the Hunters and special artillery, only 30 or less of the ICADs remained. Quickly, Red Hen, Kill-monger and Laughing Rain, circle right and assist those ICADs. The lead running silver HCMM Iron Tomb ordered over the linked inte. Hammer-fall, Blitzkrieg, Shimmering Snake, and Talon swing left and take out the ins Striders there immediately. Those ICADs arent cheep and the city needs them. The rest of us will engage the DKs (Demon Kodiak) first. Understood Captain! The HCMMs pilots all responded in unison. The twenty-three HCMMs had crossed the distance between the sma wall and where the ICADs were making their stand in a third of the time it took the Hunters and Artillery trucks to reach this point earlier. Though they were traveling in a unit and taking orders from Iron Tomb, there wasnt any kind of formal ranking system among the Hunters n Mech pilots. Typically, the pilot with the most experience, reputation or kill count took the lead to simplify organizing rushed formations like this. Party Badger was no exception. Even though she was mostly a loose cannon, even she was smart enough to understand that there was a time and ce for taking orders. Well, most of the time she understood this. The three groups split and engaged the Twisted. Most chose to fight with their various handheld weapons rather than the Mechanized 76.2 mm Rifles that they all carried. Like Party Badger, most used massive two-sided swords while others used spears the length of gpoles or axes that looked to be capable of cutting boulders like cake. From above the HCMMs, Hunters on their hover bikes followed to provide air support and reconnaissance. Though the Mech pilots were capable of fighting on their own, they needed guidance as to the progress of the battle and target locations. The Hunters could hear all the chattering from the pilots but as to clear upmunication, the Hunters could only correspond with pilots from their own team. Dixon, Sam and 56 were among them and were flying fast to keep up. Party Badger, Dixon called over the private inte, The closest DK is probably the biggest of the four. If you are going to solo fight one of these beasts, skirt around this one and target the DK on the left. Got it Dixon! Party Badger replied. Are you sure she can solo one of those things? 56 yelled over the sound of the wind. We are about to find out. Dixon replied shouting over his shoulder. We can harass the DK and provide her cover, but we need to watch out for those spikes on their backs. Intel is saying we need to be cautious of them. Porcupines canunch their quills if Im not mistaken, perhaps these can too. Sam said as his bike hissed to a stop. He raised his rifle and fired two shots at the DK they were targeting. The Demon Kodiak let out a vicious roar as the shots struck the side of its dark scarlet leathery looking jaw. Two tiny holes started leaking ck blood, but the damage was far from substantial. Looking up at its attacker the Demon Kodiak grimaced, which would have been scarry enough for a regr bear to make such a face, but one without fur was even more terrifying. Tch. Sam responded clicking his tongue in disapproval of the oue. Looks like it is all up to Tammy now. 56 looked down at Party Badger just as she was reaching the closest of the Demon Kodiaks. Thergest Demon Kodiak was currently engaged in fighting five ICAD-18s all at once, along with three ins Striders that were keeping the ICADs from getting clean shots off at the big DK. Party Badger engaging now! Tammy shouted onto the Mech linked inte. Easily speeding ahead of the others, Party Badger, with no weapon in hand, charged right at the backside of the closest ICAD that was shooting furiously at a ins Strider that was bearing down at it. Then as if she were ying a game of leapfrog, she jumped to nt her hand on the ICADs shoulders and using them,unched her Mech high into the air. Leaning slightly forward from the jump, she activated her maic pulse backpack, Womp! The orange-ring of energy projected her further out at the charging ins Strider. Yahoo! Party Badger shouted exuberantly. Still airborne, she reached back and grabbed the handle of her massive sword and whipped it out in an instant to point its end at the charging Twisted. The de sunk right through the ins Striders back, striking the soft spot between the spine and shoulder des. The hapless beast crumped to a grinding halt in a plum of sand and dust, dead. Without wasting as second, Party Badger wrenched free her bloodied sword and kicked off the dead Twisteds body just as a massive paw swatted the creature away. Her brazen attack had been noticed by the Demon Kodiak and with no regards to its former ally the DK tried taking her out. Ha-ha! Nice try, but youre not the one Im after! Party Badgerughed as she ran left around the goliath Twisted. The Demon Kodiak growled as if displeased it missed and started to give chase, only to be blindsided by a hail of heavy caliber bullets. The other HCMMs had arrived and opened fire at the exposed soft parts of the Twisted. In response the Demon Kodiak let out a yelp and curled up like an armadillo with every angle blocked by numerous fearsome protruding spines. Im going head, you can have this one! Party Badger called over the inte. Wait for backup. It will be easier to down them in mass. Iron Tomb respond as he and the others started to encircle the big Twisted. Nope! I dont have time to wait and neither do you. Right side, iing! Party Badger shouted. Her warning was just in time. The pilots looked up to see a second Demon Kodiak had jumped into the air and was about to body m the newly arriving Hunters. Pilots scrambled to get out of the way as the beast bellyflopped like a meteor and sent dust, sand and rocks flying in all directions. A few HCMMs were knocked t by the force of the impact too. Party Badgerughed shamelessly as she continued towards her target. This Demon Kodiak had just grabbed an ICAD with it massive, fanged mouth and was thrashing it around like a rag doll. Several other ICADs were firing with little sess at the creatures undersides, but all they managed to do was break skin and bleed it a little. Their weapons caliber was too low to be much of a threat to the thick leathery skin of the DK. Seeing it was distracted for the moment, Party Badger with her sword trailing behind in one hand, approached at high-speed circling in towards the monsters blind spot. Her target was the toad like back leg of the Twisted. Its soft achilleas heel was beckoning to her to be sliced. Sh-ling! Her de sliced neatly through the soft flesh of the monsters vulnerable leg in a spray of ck blood. The Demon Kodiak let out a screech of pained surprise from her attack and dropped the trashed ICAD from its mouth. The wound was deep enough that it caused the Twisted to faulter and drop to one knee unable to support its own weight. The Demon Kodiak started to turn about and confront its new attacker only to find that the Party Badger hadnt stopped moving. She was still going at full speed, circling around towards the creatures other leg. Sensing what her intentions were, the Demon Kodiak twisted around to throw a dangerous swing at her with its paw. Expecting the attack, Party Badger halted and jumped away just as the paw mmed onto the ground in front of her. Then reacting with lightning reflexes, Party Badger stabbed her sword straight through the paw and pinned it to the ground. The Demon Kodiak roared in protest, angered by the pain of being stabbed yet again. In response the bear like creature went to bite at the Mech to snap her in two. Party Badger then nted a foot onto the swords handle and grabbed her Mechanized 76.2mm Rifle from off her back and fired once at the creatures eye as it was nearly about to crush her in its jaws. The deep brown eye exploded into a wave of blood and clear fluids as therge bullet ripped through it head. The creature let out a fearful wail as it recoiled in true anguish. It then started to roll up into its armadillo defense position, hoping to hide from any further attacks from the Party Badger. However, its paw was still pinned to the ground and unable to retract into the safety of its spiky ball. Taking aim at the wrist of the pinned paw, Party Badgerughed, Pop goes the weasel! She emptied the entire clip into the exposed wrist of the Demon Kodiak, severing the paw from the arm in a ragged tattered mess of flesh and bone. The attack caused the Demon Kodiak to open from its defensive position as it grabbed at its wound with its the other paw. This was itsst mistake. Throwing caution to the wind, Party Badger tore her sword from the paw and ground to charge headlong at the Twisted. Then jumping and activating the maic pulse backpack,unched herself at the patchy haired chest of the Demon Kodiak and stabbed it where its heart was meant to be. Both the Mechs impact and the stabbing knocked the Demon Kodiak off bnce and onto the ground tond on its side. Party Badger quickly discharged her Rifles magazine and loaded a fresh one before the Twisted had evene to a stop on the ground. Aiming down her sights at its exposed neck she fired while advancing closer with hurried steps. With each shot a ssh of blood erupted from a gaping hole as bullets tore into the neck, brain, and jaw of the creature. As soon as that clip was emptied, she loaded another one and repeated firing until she arrived at the Twisteds now Swiss cheese like head. Smoke was still drifting out from the end of her rifles barrel as she used her pulse backpack to jump atop the twitching Twisteds head. The fight had ended in an awesome bloody mess! Well, that was awesome! Lets do it again, but not with you. Party Badger said to the dead creature. Then she raised her rifle onest time to fire a final bullet right into the temple of the dead creature. This shot caused the Twisteds twitching to stop for good. Nice kill Party Badger! This is why you are our number one girl! Dixon shouted pumping his fists into the air. Sam gave a satisfied smile as he lowered his own rifle seeing that his help wasnt needed after all. 56 gave a high-pitched whistle. Now that was impressive! Good kill, show off. Iron Tomb added over the inte. But there is still one more left. Party Badger looked up to see that he and the rest of the Hunter Mechs had already killed two of the Demon Kodiaks and were already giving chase to thest of the giant Twisted that upon seeing its allies dying, started to flee. She turned to jump down from the creatures head and retrieved her sword to give chase. However, Dixons voice called to her on the private channel. Party Badger, thats good enough. We need to go after the baby Hoard Mother that we are currently tracking. Awe,e on! Just a few more minutes? Tammys voice whined back. No one has ever killed one of those before, you can be the first. Dixon countered. Party Badger stopped dead in her tracks and turned back with hast. Say no more! Chapter 169: Truck Chapter 169: Truck We are taking all of this? Eva asked looking wide eyed at the weapons stash. Dont you think someone wille looking for all these valuables and get us into trouble? Hmm, not likely. Lisa replied. She then rubbed a finger across the hood of the electric truck. There is a lot of dust that has umted in here. If anyone from this town owned and nning on using the goods here, they would have done so by now. Then looking at the streak her finger made in the dust, Lisa remarked, Oh, this is a much darker green than thought. Ya, this dust proves no one ising back for all this. If you say so. Eva sighed. Its just that a lot of people hold grudges, and I dont want to get caught up in something unnecessary. Especially if that somebody is as well armed as this storage unit suggests. Rx Eva. Tayvon scoffed. Lisa is probably right. Look at this can of beans, it says it is from seventeen years ago. Thats three years before the power went out in town. Is that even still edible? Wayne askeding over to look at the cans with Tayvon. It should be. Tayvon replied looking over the can for any Best By date. I have a better question. Henry asked putting the sleek looking 1911 pistol into his back pocket. How are we going to get this truck to move? I mean is it even worth the trouble? Is it worth the trouble? Lisa repeated as if she was shocked hearing him saying this. Of course, it is! Think about what having this truck means. Not only could we transport things better in town or abroad, but with its mounted machine gun, we could protect ourselves far better from gangs or bandits. I had passed through many towns before getting to here and many residents in those towns said they were often attacked by them. I guess you are right. Henry replied. So, what are we going to use to move all this food, guns and supplies? The truck or the cart we made? Lisa thought for a moment. The truck would be the obvious answer; however, it probably wouldnt be a smart move to drive it around town in broad daylight. If the gang saw it, or someone else reported it to the gang, they would likely be confronted by the gangsters much sooner than they would have hoped or even wanted to be in the first ce. This wouldnt help her goals at all if she wanted to continue taking over the gang if rtionships dwindled further than they already were. We will use the cart first and get the ammo out of here. Lisa replied. We can try sneaking the truck out of here with the guns once nightfalles. I dont want anyone seeing that we have any of this just yet, especially not the truck. At least not until we get the truck to the eastern side of town or locked in the Powerhouse. Driving it around on this side of town would bring unwanted attention to ourselves. Alright, I think I see what you mean. Better safe than sorry. Henry replied. He then broke out into a cheeky grin, I do want to try driving it. No one my age in town has ever done that before. That isnt the only reason to use the cart either. Lisa added. You know how we have those two Gator transport vehicles on the first floor on the north side of the Powerhouse building? Yes, I remember them. They have dead batteries, and didnt you try charging themst week? Henry asked. Yep, those batteries are useless. I wanted to let the ERM use them so they wouldnt have to have everyone walk to and from the dam and the slope. Lisa said giving a sigh. I am also worried that the truck wont start either for the same reason. Couldnt we just try starting the truck now? Wayne asked as he was listening in on them. We willter. Lisa replied looking his way. The doors are locked, and I dont have anything to try and either pick the lock or anything to try and unlock the door by wedging the window. I dont want to break the ss, even though I doubt I could. I think that ss might be bullet proof. Over the next hour they gathered up almost half of the ammo. Lisa wanted to get thergest caliber ammo back to the safety of their base first. Naturally because it was the most dangerous and powerful, but also because she had seen the gangster that came with Jackson, were carrying gun that used this ammo. The cart couldnt hold all of the ammo and allow them to cover it with the tarp that was originally from the truck, so it looked like it was going to take three trips just for the ammo alone. Looks like we got our work cut out for us today. Wayne remarked as he stacked thest box of 7.92x39mm bullets on the cart. Eva and Tayvon covered the stack with the blue tarp as Lisa gave her reply. Yes, it is going to be a lot of walking. However, I couldnt be happier that we found all this. Just from guessing by counting what we have seen in here so far, I would say there is at least $400,000 worth of goods, guns, and ammo. As for the truck, I have no idea what it could be worth. Which would make that number be much higher. $400,000! Wayne and the other three all said in unison. That is just my guess, but it is all worthless if we cant sell it. However, we arent selling anything except for maybe the camping gear and a few other odds and ends. All of this is going to be considered an investment. We cant sell the guns or ammo here anyway. Otherwise, it might end up being used against us. Still, that is a lot of money! Do we really need all these guns? Henry asked. Tayvon closed the door the storage unit and put on the broken lock to make it look, from a distance, to still be secured. Turning he gave a thumbs up to the others. Lisa picked up the front hitch of the cart and started pushing it out of the storage unit grounds. Yes, we will need them. Not just to protect ourselves but the town as well. Remember I am trying to take over the Mad Dogs and not all of them are going to be willing. I just need to find a way to convince enough of them to join me and these guns just might be the trick. Although, I dont want it toe down to using them if I have too. Lisa, you sure do have some wild ideas. Taking over a gang is not something I would consider doing. Especially that we just overthrew the ck Rats, and they were terrible to us. Why do you even want to take them over? Wayne asked. Hmm, mainly because I will need the manpower and resources they have or have ess too. Also, because as you may have noticed, fighting in a massive gang war only causes death and destruction. Lisa sighed as a faraway look drew across her face. Im not against fighting or war, but its something that I would like to put into my past. Ive have killed plenty for the military and I want nothing to do with them anymore or killing if I can help it. How exactly are you going to do it? Take them over I mean. Henry asked. My n is still in the works. I have made a few contacts and rtionships with the gangsters, but nothing that will secure my position as a leader candidate. Lisa replied. Though I have a few ideas. After returning to the Powerhouse building Lisa and the others saw that Sadie was training Zane and he wasnt looking to be having much sess. Sadie was having him practicing a particr fighting pattern of doing short jabs and boxing like defensive takes with his Tigger ws on. Though his jabs were only hitting air, he looked wore out and was sweating a good bit. He had his shirt off and his back, chest, and arms we shinny all over. This might have been attractive some if not for the nasty, still red scars on his side and that he had almost no muscle tone. Theck of nutrition from living in this starving town had done its toll on him and his rib bones were easily noticeable. Lisa, however, was pleased to see that Sadie had chosen this fighting style for Zane. Whenever the two of them had spared, Zane was always overextending his reach and going for crazy, wild arching swings. This reckless behavior not only wore him out to quickly but left him open for counter attacks and less time to respond to his opponents next moves. The group then unloaded the ammo into one of the bottom floors empty northern rooms. Lisa had said that she wanted to leave one empty for the truck, but the other room was good enough for storing the ammo. Lisa had also mentioned that the breakroom wasnt going to be of any use to them either and since it had a lockable door, that it would be a good ce to keep the guns they werent going to be using. As they finished unloading the cart Lisa spoke, Well, I think you guys can handle getting the rest of the ammo, guns, food and supplies. I still need to go check on the progress with the road. I told Gillian I was going to being today too. Thats fine, we can handle the rest. Its not all that hard anyway. Henry replied as he picked up the cart to pull it. I do have a question, what do we do if those sketchy peoplee back to that unit? Oh, hmm, let me think. Lisa replied as she tapped her chin in thought. Ok, I want you guys to immediately hide the unit we are working on and lock it with an unbroken lock. There was a few we found earlier, right? Tayvon nodded and Lisa continued. Good. Next, I want you guys to hide in a ce where you can see them working but not close enough to see what they are working with or even hear them. I want to ensure that they arent suspicious that they have been found out. Once they are done and go to leave, just follow them as far as you can but dont get close or go anywhere that could put you in danger. If anything seems unsafe, just leave. I can pick up their trail next time. So, you just want us to scout them out? Wayne asked. Not actually find out what they are working on? Yes. Its no doubt they are working on something worth keeping a secret. What is important to me, is to find out where they are getting the stuff from. I see. That way we can get the whole operation and not just the supplies. Tayvon replied. Do you think its something illegal or valuable? Though I dont think this town has anything like that. Im notpletely sure myself. Lisa replied, half telling the truth. Thats what we will find out eventually, if they doe back. The group and Lisa soon split up and each headed to go their destinations. Chapter 170: Slope Chapter 170: Slope When Lisa crossed over the dam she was already starting to sweat. The cool morning had already faded away, and the post noon heat was rising fast. Her stomach growled, knowing that her body was starting to suffer from theck of foodtely. Her body had been altered during her many cyborg surgeries and one such altercation was that she required less calories from food to function. Yet the sparse eating she had been doingtely was finally taking its toll. Fine, Ill feed you. Lisa grumbled to her stomach. Let just hope this can of peaches is still good and not expired. Lisa had taken a can of peaches from their raid on the unit, simply because peaches were an irresistible delicacy to her. She loved peaches even more than candy or ice cream! As she stepped off the old road and onto the sandy path the Mechs had created, Lisa pulled back on the cans peeling tab with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. In the sunlight, simmering in the slimy goodness of the preservative liquid, were the diced peach slices and they all looked perfect! Come to momma! Lisa shouted as she plunged her fingers into the can to grab at the slippery treat. Lisa had already eaten most of the peaches by the time she reached the forest tree line. The shade wasnt covering much thanks to the sun still being so high, but Lisa hardly cared now that she had peaches. The path she did notice hadnt narrowed at all after entering the forest and had plowed right through the trees in a rtively straight path as wide as a Mech and a bit more. There were bits of colored cloth marking both sides of the path and a few of thergest trees. Lisa noticed that the path purposefully veered around them. Interesting. Lisa wondered aloud. It seems Gillian and the others know a little about forestry. Keeping the oldest trees around is a good idea. Sure, they would make great lumber, but they are the survivors of the forest and the means to keep the forest to continue growing. Rounding a patch of these specially marked trees, Lisa spotted the first of the timber piles. ording to the contract the ERM signed, they were to collect thergest trees they cut down to either resell or find storage for them until they could use them in rebuilding the towns infrastructure. Even without a proper sawmill it was still possible to use the wood for some means of construction. The trees themselves had most of their branches, roots and leaves on them, making the pile very uneven and disorganized. It looked more like they just ripped them straight out of the ground rather than cut them. She didnt look over the pile of wood for long and after slurping down thest of the peach juices Lisa hurried through the remainder of the woods. Before reaching the other side, Lisa counted six other timber plies and all of them were piled three times her size with wood. Lisa wasnt an expert in timer cutting, but she assumed this was a rather good collection of wood and would make a good sale. Then she heard, rather than saw, the Mechs working at the cliffs edge. Rounding the thinning trees Lisa saw the cause of themotion. The three Mechs were standing side by side with their loader buckets buried into the sand, gravel and rocks that they had been pushing towards the edge. Guessing from the t and scrappedndscape it looked like they started the task roughly thirty meters away from the cliffside and they were now only five meters away. The rocks and sand appeared to have piled up too much and now the Mechs were struggling to keep the pile from rolling over their buckets. This, however, wasnt the cause of the sound, it was Gillian and the anther worker yelling at each other. I told you this was to far back, Gillian. One of the workers, a woman with a red ballcap turned backwards, yelled up at him. We should have started closer by half the distance. And I told you this is fine! Gillian retorted as he opened the door to his Mech. We can just shave off the top of this pile, get the big rocks out, ande back. Thats going to take to long and seems like twice the work to me! The woman continued. Lane! Start pushing the top of the pile from your side to Maxs. Gillian shouted at the two Mech pilots next to him. The red hat woman shook her head and threw up her arms exasperated. He never listens to me! Why did he even bring me along as an engineering consultant if hes not even going to bother with me. Maybe because youre only here for building the slope and keeping the rocks pled properly so the path stays t? Another worker sitting nearby on a sizable rock offered. No duh! The woman shouted. But if he keeps on nilly-willy pilling the sand and rocks together the whole path will be unstable and any n Ie up with will be wasted. We will end up having to take the Mechs back around the cliff just to sort out the mess down there! We dont have time to waste on this useless project. Useless project? I beg to differ. Lisa called out as she approached. Who? Oh, its you. I remember when you came to the Mayor Dees meetings the other day. The woman said startled at first at Lisas appearance and then immediately an unfriendly tone took its ce. Yes, this project is a waste of time and use for these Mechs. They should be pushing the scrap metal onto the barges, not ying in this sandbox! That might seem like a practical idea, but short sighted. Lisa replied to the iring woman. Did you not hear anything I said at the fish fry? Fish fry? No idea what you are going on about, I only just joined this idiotic job this morning. Gillian told Mayor Dees that they were finished with the path through the woods and that they needed me for the next steps. I walked all morning, starting before sunrise, to get here and this is what I find? Then the woman at this point gestured frustratedly at the three Mechs. Absolute nonsense and bullheaded workers! Well, I cant vouch for the workers, but the job is not nonsense. Lisa remarked. With this new road the two sides can be reconnected, and I can run electricity from the dam to the town. How can that be considered nonsense? Besides thats only the start of my ideas. Yes, I know about the electricity n. The woman sighed. Its just the whole notion of building the road, when the lines can just be tossed over the cliff side, seems silly to me. Sure, the road can connect the two sides but look around. She then gestured with one hand to the town beyond the cliffs edge. This town is rusted, rotted and in ruins. We cant simply get our lives back together with a little power. Youre not wrong about that. This town is in terrible shape. Lisa replied. That is why I n on rebuilding the town to be useful and pull itself up by the boots straps, so to speak. All these people seem to want change and I will be giving them that chance by adding jobs. Sure, go make those jobs, and what will you be making, hmm? Selling these good too whom? All this is soundingpletely far-fetched and improbable. The woman questioned. She was really starting to get on Lisa nerves. Who are you anyway? Lisa asked holding back her annoyance. Pay no attention to that pessimistic woman, Lisa. The voice of Gillian shouted down from the nearby Mech. The Mech hade to a halt and he was getting ready toe down and join them. My cousin Terisa has always been such a negative person, but she means well. Sort of. Oh, shut up you dolt. Terisa moaned rolling her eyes. What do you know about me anyway? With that uneducated brain its probably nothing anyway. Ahy off already. Gillian retorted. Tell you what. How about you go order around the others to get the rocks ready and line up to go over the edge and make sure theynd properly? Will that make you feel better? It might. Anything is better than standing around here listening to fairy tales about getting this junky town to be capable of doing anything. Terisa replied as she turned and waltzed away in a huff. What is here deal? Lisa asked Gillian as she watched Terisa leave. My cousin just came to the town three months ago. She was working in Moab City as a Civil Engineer, but ever since they finished building the walls and got the cities infrastructural roadways settled, they had a massiveyoff. Terisa was one of the many workers that wereid off and as you guessed, her attitude didnt help her get rehired for other construction projects. Gillian exined. I see. But why is she so hostile towards the town or this project? Lisa asked. Gillian motioned with his hand for her to follow him. The two then headed for the cliff edge to the right of where the Mechs had piled up the rock and sand. Because she is just mad that things arent going the way she wants it too. She is very picky about how to do things. It was good for her to be picky when building the sma walls, but when it came to social matters, not so good. sma Walls? I am not sure what you are talking about. Lisa asked genuinely curious. Big walls of energy that go around the city to protect it from Twisted, bandits or other stuff. I dont know much about them, but if you dare, you can ask Terisater. Gillian replied. For now, lets talk about the road here. Well, for starters, you picked the right spot for it. Lisa remarked looking over the edge. The slope will start here, and this should be where the highest point will be. Then it should go down to our left at a gentle degree. Make it as long as you can make it. Sense we dont have vehicles, most everyone will be pushing and pulling things by hand and the slope cant be too steep. Understood. Ill make sure my cousin takes that into ount. Gillian replied. What about its width? We arent short of any sand or rocks but piling them up to be able to create a path will not be easy. Im sure there will be a lot of run off. Do the best you can to make it big enough for the Mechs. Lisa replied. I know thats a lot but if the Mechs can walk down it safely than so can anything else we put on it. I will ask Mr. Hans toe and check on our progress once we get the road further built. However, if your cousin is as picky as you say, then we should get it right the first time. You got it. Gillian replied, but before he could say anything else he saw some people approaching their location at the foot of the cliff. Well, this is a surprise. Nathan ising to see us. Chapter 171: First Job Jitters Chapter 171: First Job Jitters Gillian and Lisa both looked down expectantly at Nathan, Anthony, and several others that, judging from their green arm bands, were militia guards. They were making their way across the open ground between the road that ran towards the river and along the cliff. From the urgent steps they were taking, it seemed that something bad might be going on. Nathan! What are you doing all the way out here at this time of day? Is something the matter? Gillian called down as he leaned over the edge. Nathan stopped walking and looked up upon hearing Gillians voice. Then cupping his hand over his mouth Nathan yelled back, Not exactly. There have been some strange events going on over on the other side of river this morning. Seems like the rtions between the Mad Dogs and the Skull are breaking down. Come on down and I can exin more without yelling so much. Are things alright on our side? Gillian called back. So far. However, its probably best if we prepared for anything now. Nathan shouted back. His voice echoed of the cliff walls and the metal building behind him. Alright, Ill be down in a moment. Gillian replied. Then he turned to Lisa, Did you happen to see Hanna and John before you came here? No, I hadnt. Were they supposed toe and start officially working on the Mech today? Lisa asked. Yes, John said that he could bring her to work in the afternoons. Mornings John said he has to do his work, but he also said that as summeres closer, he wont work as much and have the time. Gillian replied as he turned to leave the cliffs side. Lisa followed close behind him towards his Mech. Meanwhile, Terisa and the other two pilots were sifting through the big pile of sand to dig out thergest of the rocks and boulders. Terisa was giving them quite the hard time and every little error or fumble they made, she wasted no time in pointing it out to them. So, how are you getting down? Lisa asked as Gillian started to climb up the Mechsdder. You arent taking the mech, right? Correct. Seeing you and the others stupidly climb the cliff the other day, I too came up with an unsafe way to get up and down the cliff. Gillian called down with a bit ofughter as he ascended thedder. Then reaching inside the cockpit, he grabbed something and starteding back down. I knew that we had rope suitable somewhere for climbing, but I didnt remember where until it was my turn to go around the cliff. There was a climbing shop not far from the center of the town and there I got some rappelling gear. That would have been nice to have earlier. Lisa sighed seeing the colorful harness and safety belt in his hands. Probably. Gillian said giving a nod. Anyway, I told Terisa about Hanna already and that she can use my Mech when she gets here. Naturally, she didnt believe that little Hanna could do what I described. If Im not back by the time Hanna gets here, please describe my cousins expression when Hanna operates the Mech. You got it. Lisa chuckled giving a thumbs up. Earlier that morning, Hanna was pacing impatiently in the living room waiting for John toe back home. This was probably the first time she was ever excited to go and do some work. Normally doing the chores or running errands was a massive pain to her, however, this waspletely different. Hanna, will you please sit down. Mrs. Weathers called from the kitchen. You are going to wear a hole through what is left of my carpet. John will be here any minute, so rx. Fine! Hanna huffed as she plopped onto the couch. Then as she was scowling down at the purple shirt and blue jeans that Lisa had bought for her when they first met, she picked at the fuzzy balls of lent impatiently. She had a small pile of the fuzzies next to her on themp stand when she finally heard the familiar shuffle of shoes on smooth concrete as John entered from the garage door. Jumping up from the couch and grabbing the fuzzy lent pile, Hanna hurried to intersect John in the kitchen before he got too far away. Are we going now? Hanna asked urgently. Cant I even get a drink first before you start hounding me? John asked with yful mock annoyance. No, we are wasting day light. Hanna jokingly replied with a serious expression. Just a moment then. John answered her before speaking to Mrs. Weathers, Dear? Is there any lunch for us to take? No lunch, but I have an old apple for the both of you. Mary replied reaching into the soon to be empty wooden bowl on the kitchen table. She pulled out two browning green apples and tossed them to him. Sorry, they are getting wrinkled, and we need to eat them now before they spoil. Ah, ok. I guess these are better than nothing. John replied pocketing the two apples. Joan and I will be going shopping for food once the midday heat goes down some. So, expect to have some nice soup for when you get back. I know you two will be hungry after working. Mary said giving them a cheerful grin. Can we go now? Hanna asked again. She was bouncing impatiently on her toes at this point. Mary looked down at the little muddy red-haired girl and sighed, Please Hanna, be careful out there. I dont understand why you are doing something so dangerous, but dont do anything that would put you in obvious danger. If you feel ufortable, just stop at any time. Ill be careful, but I wont feel ufortable at all. I ready like driving the Mech! Hanna chirped. After some time, John and Hanna arrived at the dam to find that Lisa had already left not long ago. Sadie exined to them what directions they needed to take to reach the work site and headed across the dam towards the woods. With every step they took along the Mech made path, Hannas excitement grew. When they rounded thest set of trees, they both saw Lisa sitting on a t toped rock near the cliff side watching the two MCM3s working. They seemed to have already gotten a big pile of rocks piled near the edge, but a strange woman with a red hat was still yelling at them to collect more. Even from here they could hear every harsh word she shouted at them. Aunt Lisa! Hanna shouted as she left Johns side to run. Hanna, you made it. Lisa replied turning back to see the little girl running her way. Gillian is busy at the bottom of the cliff right now. He did say, however, that you can go ahead and use his Mech. Thatdy over there is named Terisa and she is the one in charge right now. She will tell you what to do. A-are you sure? Hanna asked looking wide-eyed at Terisa who was yelling some choice words at one of the pilots that idently dropped a rock to close to the edge and it nearly rolled off. She seems mean. That is just the way she is. Lisa sighed. She nice to no one, especially not to Gillian. They are cousins by the way. Come on, John and I will go with you to smooth things over. The three then went over to the fuming woman and Lisa introduced them. Terisa was skeptical of Hanna and did nothing to hide this fact. It was clear she didnt believe that Hanna could actually work them Mech. Alright, get in Gillians Mech and lets see what you can do. Terisa said sounding very snappy. I will give you your tasks over the inte. However, it will be an open mic with the other two pilots Lane and Max. So be sure to pay attention to what I tell you and dont make me repeat myself. Hanna nodded nervously and though her expression was clearly frightened, the sparkle of excitement in her pale green eyes was clear to both Lisa and John. Hanna then jogged over to the Mech and started climbing thedder. Meanwhile, John and Lisa returned to the t rock to watch. Are you as nervous as I am? John asked Lisa as Hannas Mech door closed. A little, but Im more interested in seeing Terisas face when Hanna starts working. Lisa replied giving a reassuring smile. Just as Lisa hoped, when Hanna turned on the Mech and started approaching the work site, Terisas face for the first time today, did not look angary, but rather her jaw looked about ready to fall off her face instead! However, this was short lived and Terisa started issuing orders to the three MCM3 pilots. They soon resumed sifting through the pile of sand for rocks. Hanna was able to walk and rotate the Mech without much trouble, yet this was the first time she had to use the bucket loader to dig. She was terrible at it and when she only managed to skim off the topyers of sand repeatedly, it clearly showed her inexperience. John and Lisa could see every time Terisa would yell at her over the inte, because when Hanna got into trouble the whole Mech would flinch and stutter as Hanna fumbled at the controls. After being corrected though, Hanna started to visibly get better little by little. Not too much time went by when Lisa spotted Gillian climbing over the edge of the cliff. Hey, John, Im going to speak with Gillian now. Alright, Ill be here. John replied not taking his eyes off Hannas Mech. When Lisa came over to Gillian he was panting lightly and unfastening himself from the rappelling harness. So, what was up with Nathan and the others, everything good? On our side of the river, yes. Gillian said loosening thest strap. The ERM militia that were patrolling the southern river area early this morning saw three big barges leaving the Mad Dogs docks. This wasnt anything unusual, but they didnt go down the middle of the river like the merchants normally would. Instead, they hugged the far bank and then made for the Skulls docks. Gillian then tossed the harness on the ground and proceeded to coil the rope as he continued exining, As soon as the barges reached the docks, they heard guns firing and a bunch of Mad Dogs rushed the docks as they spilled off the barges. At this point they stopped watching because bullets were flying over their heads and they came to report what they saw. Are they still fighting? Lisa asked curiously. Then before Gillian replied he pointed in the general direction of the Skulls docks, See for yourself. Nathan came to tell me now because a huge fire broke out right before noon. Lisa looked up and sure enough, a low rising cloud of ck smoke was drifting away from the river and out over the downtown area. She hadnt noticed it before only because the wind kept the smoke low to the ground, but now it was obvious. Lisa didnt know what was going on, but from her experience, burning things down meant only one thing, invasion! Chapter 172: Beachhead Chapter 172: Beachhead "Rush them!" Ernest shouted as loud as he could from the helm of the center barge. Immediately the silent, infantile morning broke out into a ruckus of war cries and gunfire! The decks of the three barges were loaded with Mad Dogs armed to the teeth and they flooded onto the dock shooting at any Skull or civilian unlucky enough to be nearby. The few Skull gangsters on guard tried to fight back but their efforts were in vain. They were hopelessly outnumbered and out gunned as a Skull gangster with a fully tattooed and shaven head turned to shout out their retreat. Hurry, someone go and inform His words were cut short as a de suddenly grew out of his mouth from the inside! Seeing this bloody death, every other Skull gangster panicked and started to flee. Dont let a single one escape! Ernest ordered as he marched confidently down the gangway onto the dock. His daggers de had found a juicy target and he wasnt done yet. You all heard the boss yesterday, he said everyone of these b******* must be eliminated. No prisoners, just kill them all! The Mad Dogs took over the docks on the waters edge in mere minutes. They hunted down anyone that ran along or trying to leave the docks and quickly entered the first block of the downtown area. Yet they didnt get far into the city for two reasons. One, there was no one left to chase. The several hundred Mad Dogs had spared no effort or ammo to kill anyone they saw. The waters under the docks were dyed red from all the carnage that had taken ce. The initial gun fire had also perturbed anyone else froming closer to the docks. Two, Martinez had specifically told them not to go into the downtown area, they were to lure out any Hands that were nearby and get them toe to the docks. The n after all was for the raid on the downtown docks to be a distraction so they could kill as many Skull members in more favorable terrain and burn their source of future supplies. As well as to get the Undertaker toe out of their base and fight Martinez. What now boss? One of the gangsters askeding alongside Ernest. Ernest was looking rather satisfied as he stood on a stack of crates that were piled at the end of the center most dock. Their initial attack couldnt have gone any better. There wasnt even a single boat that tried to escape from their attack, which made everything quick and concise. From under his hoodies hood he smiled an eager, devilish grin and dished out the orders. Split into three groups ording to the boat you came on. Boat one, loot anything that might be worth keeping from the docks. No low-quality stuff, just anything that looks expensive will do. Get what you can quickly find onto the boat asap before the Skull show up. We can only take a little bit while the rest needs to be used to burn the dock. Boat two, get ready to defend this ce from an attack from the city. The buildings nearby will be infested with sniper or machine gunfire, if they are smart enough to think of it. I want all the useless materials piled in the road and in a way that we can use as cover to get back to the boats. Also, get the mortars ready. They will be our biggest advantage in removing any cover they might take. Boat three get into the surrounding area and monitor for any Skulling our way. No need to signal us, just open fire on sight. There is no need for us to hold back or be sneaky. Remember we want all of them toe at us! The excitable Mad Dogs, invigorated by the start of their quick and easy invasion, got to work at their tasks. Ernest in the meantime, yelled out the asional order or improvement to the defenses. Everything was going well, until nothing started to happen. The minutes turned into an hour and still no Skull forces showed up. This is odd. Ernest thought to himself as he eyed the tall buildings looming further in town. There should have been some reaction by now to our takeover here. One of the guys from boat three suddenly appeared from behind a shop and started jogging casually towards Ernest. He had his rifle resting on the shoulder of his long-sleeved blue shirt as he called out to Ernest, Boss Ernest, there has been no sign of any Skulling through the streets. There were a few locals, but they all ran away after they saw us. Well, if they ran away, why havent they reported to the Skull yet? Ernest asked impatiently. I dont know. The blue shirted gangster replieding to a stop at the foot of Ernests crates. The people here dont act like the ones under our supervision. Normally we could ask them stuff before they ran off, but these guys, we cant even get close to them. What do you mean? Ernest asked. They seem skittish, even before they knew who we were. Its almost like they fear the Skull just by being near them or they already know who we are. The blue shirted gangster replied. Thats not too surprising, I guess. Ernest replied taking out a dagger from out of his hoodie pocket. He fiddled aimlessly with the handle as he continued speaking, Perhaps the rumors we heard about them eating civilians or skinning them in the streets might be true. I hope not! The blue shirted gangster shuddered in reply. In any case, go back and tell everyone to go one block further into the town. If they dont see anyone else or anything suspicious, have them start shooting out any windows. Hopefully, the extra noise will attract them toe. Ernest ordered. The blue shirted gangster nodded and reshouldered his rifle before jogging off to issue the newmands. By now Ernest noticed that the morning sunlight had fully dispelled the night and the temperature was starting to rise. Looking down at his wristwatch he saw that it was already seven oclock. This is taking too long. Ernest grumbled. What could they possibly be doing? If they were already this weak to deal with, we should have attacked them long ago. The sun slowly rose warmly behind the Mad Dogs that were now hunkered down behind the dock defenses as another hour rolled by. The boat one group had already picked over the meager supplies left on the dock and the boat two group had finished up the defenses. As they waited together for any action to unfold, they could hear the distant gunfire of the boat three groups shooting out windows. They could tell the boat three gangsters werent fighting because the gun fire was evenly spaced, and no rapid fire could be distinguished. This is so boring! Ernest shouted out into the silence that had settled over the dock. Screw the n, its been two hours already. Half of boat one stay here with the mortars and barges. Everyone else get ready to join up with the others in town. We are going after the Skull ourselves. The thoroughly bored Mad Dogs murmured in agreement and anticipation as they came out from behind cover and started towards the town. That didnt take long. They are too impatient! Steel Fistughed to the other three Hands with him as he lowered his binocrs. The four hands Steel Fist, Stitches, Bone Dust and Crows Beak had all gathered onto the helicopternding pad roof of one of the tallest buildings nearest to the docks. They were the ones in charge of monitoring the area and their bases were not far away. Thisnding pad was their previously agreed upon meeting location incase the docks were ever attacked. In the buildings levels below the entirety of the four Hands Fingers and Feet were awaiting orders. Ke-ke-ke, what would you expect from silly dogs like them, hmm? Crows Beak cackled as stood on all fours leering over the buildings edge. His ck feathered cloak glistened with an oily sheen in the sunlight and wind as he spoke. Im impressed those mongrels even waited for an attack from us at all. Now we can finally have a bone to pick with them! Yes, it is rather curious and concerning. Stitches remarked as her icy blue eyes narrowed. True to her name, Stitches had every bone tattoo outlined with stitching designed tattoos. This, however, was done to mask the numerous scars that her body was cover in. I suspect they had some kind of n in store for us. Wouldnt that have anything to do with the second group of Mad Dogs that are outside of your jurisdiction, Bone Dust? Stitches and the other two looked at the oldest Hand in the Skull ranks expectantly. Even though they were all the same rank it was clear that the old man had the most experience and knowledge in battle. After all, he was alive and still leading thergest number of Fingers and Feet of any other Hand. Even the Undertaker respected his opinion from time to time. Bone Dust stroked at his long, pointy while beard as he replied in a crackling voice. I wouldnt be surprised if they were. Likely they were waiting for us to attack the docks and then that group would try surrounding us. Not a bad n, but too easy to suspect. So, what do we do then? Steel Fist asked raising his binocrs again to look at the Mad Dogs shooting out random windows two blocks ahead from their building. We just going to leave them be, let them get bord and leave? Bone Dustughed dryly, Absolutely not! We are going to do what they want us too and attack the docks. Only we will not do it the way they suspect. n C then? Stitches asked. No, lets do n E! Crows Beak cut in as he hoped up and down still on all fours. Neither. Bone Dust replied to the disappointment of the two Hands. Steel Fist and Stitches are going to deal with that lot shooting below and with those stilling from the docks. Go after them using a two-sided n F. Crows Beak and I will intercept the second group when theye to help their allies. We will ambush them with n F as well when they reach the 9th and Dawson Streets. The buildings there will be most suitable. Ke-ke-ke, that works for me! Crows Beak cackled. Then scampering away uncannily like a rat, he called back to the old Hand, Come on and lets get moving now! Coming,ing. Bone Dust sighed. My back would be killing me if I moved around like you did. Oh, one more thing, Steel Fist. Hmm, what is it? Steel Fist asked looking back at the old Hand. Bone Dust continued to stroke his while pointed beard as he spoke, What are you going to do about that brat thats leading the Mad Dogs from the dock? Hes the one that nearly cut out your eyest time you two fought. Ha, ha! Same as thest guy that failed to kill me the first time. Steel Fistughed as he turned to face the old Hand. There was a wild look in Steel Fists eyes that made Bone Dust d he was on his side. I will tten that kid with my weapon into a mushy pulp so badly that no one will even know there was a body! Chapter 173: Smoke Chapter 173: Smoke How do you suggest we engage the Mad Dogs shooting the windows? n F is a rather broad n. Stitches asked as she and Steel Fist got off from riding on the elevator cables using their automatic rope climbers. I know what I would do, but why not hear your thoughts? Im surprised you even asked me, Stitches. Steel Fist mused. Id suggest that we hit them from three angles at once. Your forces will spread out on the topmost floors or rooves of the block in between them and us along with half of my forces. Those from my men attacking from the rooves will start first and drop a little gift down for the Mad Dogs to pick up. What kind of gift? Stitches asked looking at him sideways curiously. Wheres the suspense in telling you right away? Steel Fist retorted slyly. Then once they get the gift, the rest of you will start shooting at anyone in the open. That is where I and the other half of my forces wille into the picture. Normally I attack using a streetlight pole, as you already know, butst month I found a new useful tool to use. A new tool? Stitchesughed. Since when did you find anything new? We have picked clean every street, building and trash pile in downtown. I didnt find it here, but when Bone yer tried that little stunt of his and attacking the Mad Dogs during that annoying peace time, I found an armored truck. The kind of truck that delivers money to banks or ATMs. Steel Fist revealed giving a grin. Naturally, it was powerless and burned from the inside out, however, the back doors were still on it. Dont tell me you are going to be using it as a shield or something idiotic as that. Stitches answered rolling her eyes. Awe, was it that obvious? Steel Fist said in mock pity. Yes, it was obvious. Yet Ill agree to your n. Stitches replied as they arrived at the backside of the building. I can see how what you have in mind will work, especially with how few and spread out they are. As the two of them looked up and back at the building they say that all the windows on this side had already been busted out long ago by an aerial bombing. All that remained was the rusty window frames, wall instion and scattered electrical wiring from the buildings infrastructure. Stilling on, dangling out of or near by the windows was the entirety of their two forces. Every one of the Fingers and Feet were armed, loaded and ready to go. Each one was freshly painted and looking quite blood thirsty, so much in fact that they could be mistaken for some cannibal tribe! Steel Fist took a huge gulp of air and shouted so forcefully that his voice reverberated off the buildings like a foghorn, Get up youzy piles of crap! Lets go kill some stray dogs! The Mad Dogs from boat three were being led by Rile, anky, pale man that despite his looks was nearly as crafty as Xander but more inclined to fight. He had been steadily working his way up in the ranks of the gang only to get surpassed by Ernest. This fact irritated him to no end. This is my chance to shine. Rile thought as he loaded a clip into his rifle. He had already wasted two clips into the windows already, but he was no where near running out. All I need to do is get his lousy group to take out a bunch of Skull or maybe beat a Hand before Ernest can even lift a finger. Then the boss will see how I should be a lieutenant and not that kid. He was just about to enter the next intersection and like the ones before, this one was empty. Though it was the same, something felt off to him, but he couldnt quite figure out what. At this moment half of the boat three gangsters had already gone through the intersection and he was traveling along with the middle of the group. Then something caught his eye. Falling from the sky, reflecting alongside the windows, were dozens of fist sized balls. When theynded with a metallic ping and rolled into the street, it was then Rile knew what they were, grenades! However, it was toote for him to warn the others. They had fallen into a trap! By what he saw unfold next, made him d he wasnt leading the way. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! The street was instantly filled with smoke, shrapnel, and screams! Rile and several others threw themselves to the ground or up against the nearby buildings walls. Secondster, before anyone could react to the explosions, gun fire erupted in a brilliant barrage of death from above. Those that were alive from the sts and staggering about, dulled by the noise and shock of the grenades, were soon riddled full of bloody holes and ripped limbs. Some tried to run but there was nowhere to go! The streets were perfectly clean. There was not one trash can, car, pole or even a street sign to hide behind. Even if they were trying to cling to the buildings sides in a desperate plea to find cover, bullets from the opposite building would rain down on them through the grenade smoke. What the H***! Rile shouted as he grabbed at a dead man lying in front of him. Rile pushed the body up and tried using it as a shield. A bullet tore its way through the dead body and ricocheted off the butt of his own rile. Alright, screw this! Rile shouted as he rolled over and aimed his gun at the corner disy window nearest to him in the intersection. Pulling the trigger, he blew out the entire window. Then without a word he ran, crouching low for the opening. Bullets whizzed past and around him, but he kept going and leapt through window to smash into a mannequin. Breathing heavily, he tossed off the mannequin and crawled further inside. His gambit worked and for now, he was safe. Turning to the window he shouted for the others that might still be alive to make a break for it. Most of the nearby Mad Dogs still alive heard and saw what he had done already and were practically spilling through the window after him. At his calls, a few others from across the street saw his escape n and did likewise. They busted out the closest windows with either their guns stocks or by shotting them. There was one man, however, that was so disoriented and distraught that he tried running across the street towards Rile instead of the building next to him. Rile shouted and waved at the idiot to turn back, all to no avail. The man made it halfway before a bullet ended him, piercing right through his skull. How many of us are in here!? Rile shouted in disgust looking away from the dead man bleeding on the road. He then nced urgently around the dark lit room looking at the few men now with him. Help me Someone called from the window. Looking that way, Rile saw a wounded man crawling through the shattered ss of the disy floor. Snarling agitatedly, Rile dashed out and grabbed the back of the mans shirt and dragged him into the building, only to be barely missed by a series of bullets. I said how many are there of us left? Rile shouted. Uh, t-there is like, thirty of us in here. Someone stammered back. Good. That will do for now. Rile answered trying to calm himself. Despite the situation, Rile was a rather levelheaded man and wouldnt let a few bullets muddle his mind. Now here is what we do next Rile started issuing orders for a few men to get up on the sides of the window they came through and try spotting where the shooters were at. Then for others to break the windows further back along the way they came and try finding anyone else still trapped on the streets. He told those remaining and a few that were wounded, to start clearing the room of everything. The room was full of shelves and faded advertising signs, and they had to start pushing them towards the windows after they confirmed no one was still outside. And then you two. Rilestly added looking at two blond, younger gangsters. Go to the back and try to find the stairs. We need to probably fight back on equal floor levels if we want to get out of this. Hurry! Rile! Someone called behind him. What? Rile shouted as he spun around to look at one man pointing out of the disy window and down the street. What are we going to do about that!? Rile looked ahead in the street to see a wall of metal had appeared and was now marching in a line formation towards them. At its center was someone he knew and dreaded to see. Steel Fist! Ernests cautious side immediately perked up as he heard the distant reverberations of gunfireing at them through the empty city streets. It wasnt like before when the gangsters were shooting out windows. This was warfare gunfire; quick, rapid, and numerous. Hurry it up guys and keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks suspicious. We dont want to get nked and get surrounded. Ernest called out to those around him. Get two guys to run ahead and see what happening! Everyone was on alert now as they marched urgently towards the sound of battle. They all were marching in near single file along the buildings rather than the open streets. All eyes were transfixed ahead and above of them. Then some movement caught their attention in the street ahead. Hold fire! Ernest shouted as he saw a few men raising their guns. That looks like one of our guys! Sure enough, an unarmed man that looked to still be in his teens, was running at them and waving his skinny tattooed arms overhead. As he got closer the tattooed teen gangster plodded to a stop and breathing heavily, he revealed what was going on ahead. An a-ambushed! Lots of explosions. They are on the rooves shooting at us. I-I was about to run back here, because there was no cover for us to find, when I saw a bunch of Skull appear in the road. They were carrying what look like metal shields or car doors, it was hard to tell. Did you see who was leading them? Ernest asked jogging up to the teen. Some big, tall guy with some kind of feathered hat? The tattooed teen answered sitting on the ground to catch his breath. Feathered hat? Ernest murmured in thought. Then a smile crept back onto his face. Steel Fist, you came back for another round against me. This isnt your normal area that you patrol, meaning there is likely more than one Hand here. Quickly, he turned around and called out to those stilling up the road from behind him. Go ahead and start burning a small part of the dock. Just enough to get the smoke rising. Are you sure? A man carrying a can of gas in one hand and a sniper styled gun in the other. We havent confirmed yet that theres three Hands here. Ernest stepped towards the man and looking at him ufortably close in the eye, took the gas can from his hand and spoke in a low, intimidating voice, Then how about you start climbing that building right there and scope out the area ahead and confirm it for me. Hmm? Y-yes s-air! The man gulped and started running for a rickety looking fire escape that led to the roofs top. Ernest tossed the can to a nearby gang member andughed as he watched the man running. Everyone make sure you are loaded. Things are about to get exciting! Chapter 174: Cornered Chapter 174: Cornered S***! Rile hissed. Alright, change of ns. We need to stop that shield line from getting closer at all costs. The gunfire outsideing from on and from above the streets had grown less frequently. The Skull above hadnt seen any movementsing from the street and only the asional Mad Dog would appear in a window to shoot back blindly at the windows above themselves. All in all, as soon as the ambush started, they were immediately put into a standoff. Who are they? The gangster asked carefully peering out into the road from the corner disy window. Thats Steel Fist and his brute squad of thick-skinned Feet. Rile answered with a stony expression. Ive dealt with him twice before and he is not someone you want to fight up close. Rile then made sure he wasnt visible to the shooters in the buildings above and dropped down to one knee and took aim at the center of the metal moving line. In his three times magnification (3x) scope, Rile could see that Steel Fists face was visible through some kind of window mounted into the massive van-like door he was carrying. The rest of the Skulls shield line resembled the Roman Legions forces marching in tight, interlocking formation. It was rather impressive discipline considering they were just a bunch of gangsters. Sucking in his breath lightly to still his shot, Rile pulled off three rounds in quick session. The shots from his rifle sted loudly in Mad Dogs ears, no thanks to the enclosed tile floored room. All three shots found their mark and caused the entire line of the Skulls to halt instantly and drop their shields into a defensive position. The effects of his shooting resulted inughter! Theughter wasing from none other than Steel Fist. Steel Fist was beaming through the now fractured window of his new shield and Rile could see his feathered headdress flittering about fromughing. The booming sounds of his deepugh echoed across the street and off the surrounding buildings. Also at hisughter, the Skull forces above stopped shooting entirely. That was some nice shooting there. Steel Fist called. Would you mind if I came closer to congratte such fine shooting? Upon saying this he lifted his armored van door up in front of him defensively and started walking forwards. Following his lead, the rest of the Skull brutes moved likewise. Tch! Rile responded clicking his tongue in frustration before murmuring to the others with him. This is bad. Then without letting theme closer unopposed he fired a few more rounds. All of which missed hitting anything vital. Frustrated that these shots too failed, Rile shouted at the Mad Dogs. What are you waiting for, permission? Shoot them or we all die! Hastily all the nearby Mad Dogs opened fire at the marching wall of metal shields. The Mad Dogs across the road had also followed Riles initiative and were shooting as well with what appeared to be greater numbers. Faced with such an onught of bullets the Skull slowed their advancement. Sparks flew in all directions as bullet whizzed, pinged, and whistled away being blocked by the near imprable shields. All was looking bad for the Mad Dogs when one lucky bullet passed under one of the shields and struck a Skull Member in the shin. Instantly he copsed, exposing himself and the two next to him. Then like moth to a me, every Mad Dog took aim at this gap. A second Skull shield carrier was struck by the time Steel Fist noticed. Reform the wall! Prepare to shoot! Steel Fist shouted as he mmed the bottom of his armored van door into the pavement. The Skull armored line stopped and tightened up to cover the new gaps. They had just arrived at the intersection and were only a dozen meters apart from the Mad Dogs two locations. Then to Riles displeasure, he saw multiple rifles and LMG (Light Machine Gun) barrels appear between the gaps of the shields. Get down! Rile shouted abandoning his center room position. Rile was in mid leap towards the walls safety when the Skull opened fire. Many of the Mad Dogs, however, were not as quick to react. Three of the foremost Mad Dogs were instantly mowed down with multiple bullets while others ducked behind cover just in time. Though Rile reacted quickly he wasnt unscathed. A bullet had grazed the underside of his left arm and tore off a small chunk of flesh. Argh! Keep your heads down and wait for a pause to return fire! Rile shouted as best he could over the sound of gunfire striking the concrete buildings walls and shattering window ss. As he clutched at the fresh wound in his arm, he looked frantically around the room. All but two windows were hastily blocked up, yet already the bullets were tearing through the flimsy metal shelves and signs. They were not going tost if they stayed here. Where are those two I sent for the stairs? Rile yelled again as he dropped onto all fours and started crawling for the front disy window. Here! Someone called from behind. Get over here! Rile waved without looking back. Rile reached the edge of the wall where a corner pir was absorbing the bullets at an unsettling pace and protecting a huddled gangster. Give me your backpack! Rile shouted at the man. Hastily the gangster ripped off the backpack and shoved it into Riles hand. Rile opened it and took out a beer bottle filled with gas and a lighter. This bottle was designed with a screwable cap, so Rile took it off and stuffed a rag into the top. Lighting the rag on fire, Rile then stood up and chucked it best he could through the open window. The bottle fell far short of the Skulls formation and shattered into arge fire ball. Though unharmed, the sudden appearance of mes and smoke affected the Skulls aim and vision. Immediately Rile pulled out another bottle and the gangster with him did likewise and they both threw the bottles into the street. As they did the young blond gangster from before joined them. Did you find the stairs? Rile shouted as he dropped down to grab onest gas filled bottle. Yes, two of them. The blond gangster shouted back. What is on the floors above us? Rile yelled as a bullet struck the pirs corner and showered them with concrete dust. Unfazed, Rile lit the bottle and chucked it into the street. The first two floors are shopping stores like this floor. The rest look like offices. The blond gangster replied from under his arms that were covering his head. Good, go to the guys in the back and get them up to the offices on the fifth floor! Rile shouted picking up his rifle and shouldering it. Then he elbowed the gangster with him. Start shooting back. They cant see us as good now! The gangster nodded and picked up his own rifle and leaned out to shoot a few rounds. Rile too leaned over the gangsters head to fire his own rounds. He could now see that the mes were high and billowing thick ck smoke, but this wouldntst long. The mes were dying fast. Two other gangsters opposite of him by the disy window had started returning fire too. As Rile then loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle, he looked back to see that half of the gangsters were already filling out the back of the room and into the stairwell. Taking a chance, Rile crossed by the window behind him and narrowly avoided a few roundsing from the Skull sniping from above. He looked across the street to see how the others were fairing. It was hard to tell, but they looked to be in the same cornered position as he was. Hey! Hey, look here! Rile shouted as he waved his hand out the window in quick bursts. One gangster must have seen him and came to a half-blocked window to wave back once. Seeing it Rile shouted and pointed fervently upwards, Go up! Fight there! The gangster across the street waved back and disappeared as a few bullets struck the window and blew out the remaining ss. Rile ducked back and hoped the gangster understood him. He then dashed back for the front disy pir and proceeded to empty another magazine into the shield wall. Get ready to run back for the stairs! Rile shouted as he changed his magazine. Got it! The gangster below him shouted as he leaned out to shoot a few more rounds. However, just as he did a lucky shot struck him right between the eyes and he fell back dead on the spot. Ah, screw this! Rile shouted in shock. He reached down and snatched up the backpack and the dead gangsters gun. Then motioning with his head, he yelled at the remaining gangsters still shooting. Go now! Just as the Mad Dogs stopped shooting from their right, Steel Fist took notice of it. He looked around him at the defensive line. They had taken a few injuries, but no one looked dead yet. The left side of the Mad Dogs were now also shooting fewer rounds and the smoke was thinning noticeably. They are either escaping out the back or more likely, going up! Steel Fist shouted. Then as if to prove his prediction the Skull above him in the buildings started shooting out the windows several floors above where the Mad Dogs originally were. Quickly, split up and rush the bottom floors and keep your shields angled up too! We will be sitting ducks out here if they get the height advantage. Back de, you take the other half and go left, Ill go right. That good shooter was on that side and I need to repay him for ruining my window so soon. Meanwhile, the scout Ernest sent to the roof top called down his ount of the battle unfolding ahead. Two blocks ahead there is a shootout going on. I see a lot of dead bodies, mostly ours, and a fire just broke out. It also seems a line of some kind is in the street, probably the Skull. They are shooting at the buildings between us and them. There are also shooters in the buildings above on third block from us! Good, looks like the boat three Mad Dogs are holding out for us. Ernest replied. What are we going to do? The gangster holding the gas can Ernest had tossed to him earlier asked. We need to get up there before they get wiped out. We will be easy targets in that open street. Ernest replied covering his eyes from the morning sun to see better. He then pointed to a few guys leaning on the wall nearby, You guys, go into that alley and look for any rolling dumpsters. You guys look on that side. Ernest then said turning to some others on the other side of the road. We can use them to block overhead fire until we reach the buildings on the second block. As for the shooters in the building above, I have something special for them. As the Mad Dogs rummaged for any potential dumpsters, Ernest pulled out a walky-talky (a handheld two-way portable radio) and turned it on. The barges had radio transmitters that could reach five kilometers before connectivity would fail. Come in Calvin, do you read me? I read you. Calvin replied over the walky-talky. Get ready tounch those mortars. Distancesing soon. Ernest answered back. Affirmative. Calvin said into the walky-talky before shouting at the gangsters lying about on the peaceful docks. Get ready to fire youzy good for-nothings! The Mad Dogs jumped up, startled by his sudden outburst. Calvin was a former soldier, specifically in the AFRs Army Artillery division. He was kicked out for disorderly conduct and eventually found his way to this town after running out of every other choice avable. Martinez promised Calvin that he would be able to use his military skills one day and that day was now! Get ready to change angles and open fire! Calvin shouted as he plodded across the wooden dock. Gangsters rushed about the six mortars that were already erected on the center most dock. Calvin, distances measured. Ernests voice called on the walky-talky again. Calvin raised it up to his ear as Ernest continued, Distance is from your position, one thousand six hundred eighty meters. Angle width range at 10 degrees and go for a high drop angle. Fire at will. Calvin then ryed the directions to the mortar teams, and they adjusted ordingly. Seeing all was set Calvin ordered them to fire. The six mortarsunched with heavy, hollow thuds as the shells rocketed over the city. Momentster silent plums of dust appeared above the distant buildings. Adjust distance thirty meters retain all others. Ernest voice called over the walky-talky. All targets are with in parameters. They dont know whats hitting them! Calvin smiled satisfied. Looks like you guys can shoot after all. Adjust thirty meters distance! Load, and fire! Chapter 175: Foundation Chapter 175: Foundation Hanna was both having fun and struggling while piloting the Mech. The piloting aspects were challenging to control, as it seemed the Mech was moving like a living creature or an extension of her own self in a muchrger sense. In either case her motions seemed clumsy like a toddler learning to function. The strange mental connection and data loaded information she was getting from the Mech, was flowing just like the times before. It was like everything she did was memorized perfectly in her thoughts. Before an hour had passed her skill had improved leaps and boundspared to those first few steps that she had idently taken days before. The only disappointing thing was the information from the MCM3 wasnt all that new. It was all the same as before, only with a few updates on the Mechs conditions and standard system functions. Hanna felt like there had to be more, that this Mech was only just the beginning. However, considering that the information that she did have, Hanna had no idea what it all meant. So, she made the choice to just be content with what she had. After all, growing up in this poor town, getting something new was a treasure and her parents taught her to be content and thankful for everything. That was another thing that the piloting the Mech had done for her, distract. When she was focusing on the Mechs movement, the flow of information and working, Hanna no longer would think about the loss of her parents. Even though she had been improving outwardly and masking her emotions towards others, mentally the pain hadnt gone away at all. The festering hate and fear of Martinez too grew in her mind. Yet just being in the pilot seat made all this worry and anxiety melt away. The struggling part she was having was not only from trying to understand how the Mech moved about but doing so the way Terisa wanted. Every time Terisas snippety voice called out her name on the inte Hanna jumped in her seat. Terisa wouldnt let a single error go unnoticed, clumsy movement critiqued, or offer any improvement to be exined in length. The only thing that made it bearable was that Terisa did these same things to the other two MCM3 pilots Lane and Max. Hanna! What did I tell you about scooping a rock out from the ground? Terisas harsh voice snapped over the inte and shattered any thoughts Hanna was having. You need to dig under the rock so that it goes into the bucket, not poke and push it through the sand. S-sorry Miss Terisa! I forgot. Hanna replied as she straightened up in the rubber seat. Forgot? You do that too much. Terisa sighed and Hanna could almost visualize that Terisa rolled her eyes as she said this. You need to be mindful of any and every action you make. That MCM3 is not a toy. Yes, maam. Hanna answered. She then then put her tongue in her cheek to concentrate as she obeyed Terisas instructions. The bucket would sink easily into the sand and hold a lot of it. At first Hanna didnt want to go to deep and break the Mech. Even though the Mechs information was telling her it could hold hundreds of kilograms, Hanna didnt have the real world understanding of how much weight that truly represented. But as she worked and did as Terisa said, the more confident she grew in her movements. Hanna buried the bucket loader deep into the sand, just a few centimeters from the rock. Then upon reaching the top edge of the bucket, Hanna scooped the bucket upwards and leaned it back towards her. This would help ensure that the rock would roll into the bucket along with the sand instead of just being lifted out of the sand and potentially roll away. Finally, you did it right. Terisa sighed over the inte. Now move it with the others by the edge and do not dump it out; ce it gently near the edge. We dont know how stable the edge is nor do we want it to go over the edge prematurely. Understood. Hanna answered. She then took a few steps towards the edge following the Mech prints the others had left earlier. Reaching the spot with the other rocks, Hanna lowered the bucket loader onto the ground and awkwardly rattled the bucket up and down to get the rock toe out. After a few moments, the rock fumbled out along with most of the sand. It was at this moment Hanna made the mistake of looking over the edge of the cliff. Unlike before looking over the edge of the dam, this was a different feeling all together. The looming drop was enveloping her vision and seemed to draw her closer within her minds field of view. The experience was not something she might have felt if she were on her own two feet but being at this unustomed height made the vertigo nearly impossible not to ignore. Hanna felt kind of sick and unconsciously pulled back on the Mechs leg controls. Hannas Mech turned fully around and slowly plodded back to the sand pile. As she calmed herself, she realized what she had done. She had just been moving the Mech without thinking! Like she hadnt been moving in the Mech but walking in her own body. Yet before she could reflect on this action, Terisa called her name over the inte and jolted her once again. Hanna, Lance, Max,e on out of there and let us have lunch. Hanna and the other two didnt argue, they were all feeling hungry. The mental focus of working on an unfamiliar machine was always draining to anyone. Not to mention the heat in the mech cockpits had made them extra thirsty. The water that Gillian had left in the cockpit with her had already been drunk down to thest drop. As they climbed down theirdders the smell of fish was faintly wafting their way. Come on guys! Gillian waved to them from a small fire under the forests shade. Here the ERM workers had built the fire and started warming up the fish from the fish fry to eat. Lisa was the only one that didnt have a fish when the three joined them. She had politely turned the food down, not that she wasnt hungry still, but that they needed it more than she did. So, Terisa, how was Hannas performance out there? Gillian asked slyly. Are you trying to pull a fast one on me? Terisa quipped returning the sly look. There is no way she has only just learned to do all that. Come on, shes a first year at a Mech school in Moab City, right? Honestly, she really has no prior involvement with any kind of schooling. Gillian replied looking satisfied that something finally stumped his annoying cousin. Hanna? Terisa called out turning sharply to look at the little muddy red headed girl. Where are you from. Tell the truth now. Hanna was embarrassingly caught in mid bite of a sizeable catfish and quickly lowered the fish to reply. I-I have lived here my whole life. I havent even been outside of town before or gone to any school. Though it would seem fun to go to one. Ridiculous! Terisa replied tossing her hand above her to show here disbelief. Gillian, you have a potential prodigy sitting right here and you havent even considered getting her into a Mech school! Terisa, she not my kid or my only responsibility. Gillian answered taking a bit of his fish. He then pointed at John and Lisa, Ask them. Same question. I dont like repeating myself. Terisa demanded looking between the two. I didnt even know there was such a thing as a Mech school for kids. John replied before Lisa could answer. I thought onlypanies, or the military did that with adults they employed. Terisa shook her head vigorously. They do but there is so much more! The schools are created and funded by the Hunters n, MFA, most militaries, constructionpanies, and sporting teams worldwide have been creating these schools to produce pilots of all ages. Moab City has five such schools that teach both regr Highschool and college level courses in addition to Mech piloting. How can a town so close to Moab not know a thing about this? Well, we havent had power for thest fourteen years or so and even before then bombings were our main concern for much longer. This towns notable industry used to attract AFR (American Fascist Regime) and TCC (Texas Confederacy Coalition) bombers here often. I even think the State of Jefferson (SOJ) targeted us at one time as well. Schooling was the least of our concerns back then. Moab City was no different and Id argue it was worse there. These schools have been around for God knows how long, but not that it matters now. Terisa sighed. Now that you do know, you need to send her to a Mech school as soon as possible. I cant make that choice so suddenly. John replied stiffly. My wife needs to decide with me. Besides there are some other things keeping me from sending Hanna away to some random school to be cared for by random people we have never met. Even if we were to go try to live there, you know the Moab government is extremely limiting with letting outsides migrate into the city. Ah, just do it. Terisa sighed waving her hand as if to say, Shut up and do as I say. She will only be wasting her life out here working for my dim cousin. Hey, I can hear that you know. Gillian said defensively. Hanna had been listening silently with great interest to the conversation of her schooling. I wouldnt mind going. John and Lisa looked over at the little girl. They could tell that it was probably the right thing to do, yet what John said puzzled Lisa. What things are keeping him from sending her to school? Money is the obvious reason, but why didnt he say that? Lisa thought. I know you might not mind. John replied giving her a small grin. But not yet. Ill exin things better to youter, but for now I want to say Im impressed by you. Y-you are? Hanna answered wide-eyed. I am. John nodded. Never would I have guessed that you have quite the talent to move those machines. Im sure your parents would feel the same. Hearing this Hanna blushed and looked down at her nearly fully eaten catfish. Her muddy red hair covered her face as she replied quietly, I hope they would be. After lunch everyone returned to work. Terisa exined that today they were only going to gather rocks and sand for the project. Tomorrow they were officially going to startying the paths foundation. She exined that, A jobs foundation is the most important thing to make. If the foundation is even a little bit of center, crooked or uneven the entire structure would copse irregardless of how well the rest of it was built. Lisa couldnt agree more. It was a sensible notion that was known by humanity for countless generations. I will see if Mr. Hans cane and observe the construction of the path. Mr. Hans is a former DOT worker, and his knowledge will surely be useful. That will be great. Having another educated person will be better than listening to Gillians advice. Terisa replied. Hey, I still can hear you! Gillian shouted over his shoulder as he was walking with John and Hanna back to the Mech. Lisa chuckled and then turned to go. Well good luck with the rest of the job. I have some other work that needs finishing up with my crew back at the dam. Ill see you tomorrow. Goodbye. Terisa replied indifferently and then she too returned to the job site. Quickly! Eva, go find Lisa! Tayvon hissed as quietly as he could. We will follow after them if they leave. Henry will point you two in the right direction that they went. Right? Henry nodded, Yep, Lisa is going to be so excited! They came back to that unit with a huge number of boxes! Alright, but please be safe. Eva replied as she ducked back behind the unit they were hiding behind. It was a unit at the far end of the column adjacent to the suspicious mens unit column. Remember we only need to follow them. Rx, we can take care of ourselves. Wayne replied in a whisper as he peeked at a man taking a box off a cart and going into the unit. He then turned and patted a pistol tucked in his pants pocket. Especially now that we have guns! Unconvinced, Eva started jogging of urgently to go find Lisa. Chapter 176: Westside of Town Chapter 176: Westside of Town When Eva found Lisa, Lisa was just starting to cross the dam after leaving the ERMs jobsite. At first Lisa was concerned as to what might have happened seeing that Eva was running towards her, but that feeling soon passed. Eva exined the situation briefly while they hurried back towards the storage units. We were getting our third and final load of the ammo and onto the cart what Henry spotted them. They wereing from the road leaving to the market area of town and didnt appear to be acting suspicious. Almost like they had been doing this on a regr basis. They were dressed casually like before, and though they hid them well, we could tell they were armed with guns. Oh, a horse was pulling their covered cart too. Eva chuckled at this point. That was actually my first time seeing a real horse! That is new. Lisa replied. Ive seen stray dogs, cat, and chickens all over town, but a horse is unexpected. This might make it easier to track them. What else did you find out? Not much. Eva answered as they entered the Powerhouse building. Lisa was already armed with her katana that was on its maic belt hanging casually over her wide hips, but due to the nature of the situation, being armed with her .45 caliber pistol would also be a wise choice. Meanwhile, Eva continued exining the situation. They merely pulled up to their storage unit and started unloading boxes that looked to be the same type as before. Of the six men that showed up, they hardly spoke to each other. That alone made them suspicious to me. What about our storage unit? Did you guys finish moving the ammo or lock it up in the unit for the time being? Lisa asked as she tucked her pistol into the back of her knee length tan shorts. We finished loading the all the ammo onto the cart and brought it back already. Tayvon and Henry finished pushing the cart back here and they left the cart, still loaded, on the first floor beforeing back to join Wayne and I too watch. Willis had closed up our storage unit and locked it like we did the night before. Eva exined. When I left the others, it looked like those sketchy men were nearly finished doing whatever they came to do. We need to hurry though; I am worried that those guys will get into trouble. They arent the most covert of people. As long as they keep their distance, I am sure they will be just fine. Lisa replied reassuringly. After all, they arent supposed to confront those sketchy men anyway. I hope that they dont. Eva sighed. Momentster they arrived at the ce where Eva had left the four men and found that Henry was the only one waiting for them. He was fiddling around with the ends of his shoeces impatiently. Henry, where did they go? Eva asked. Those sketchy guys left just seconds after you left, Eva. Wayne, Willis, and Tayvon are following after them after they left the storage units property. Henry replied as he jogged over to join the twodies. The sketchy men were headed back the way they came and the other three are following them as we nned. Lets hurry then. Lisa said while excitedly turning on her heels. This is a big moment, and we cant let it go to waste! The three of them left the property and started jogging down the sand strewn road. If Lisa were on her own, she would have run at twice the speed, but she still needed to keep her secret and not leave them behind. As they made their way through the town and towards the market area, Lisa began to wonder if they were going the right way. There were countless streets and alley ways that Wayne and Tayvon could have gone to follow the sketchy guys and their cart. You guys said you had a n to follow them, right? Lisa asked looking sideways at the two panting alongside her. Sort of. Henry replied as he skirted around a inly dressed woman carrying a covered basket. We agreed to follow them and watch for what direction they started off going in. When they turned, I was to remember where they did ande back to the storage units. Then the next time they turned Tayvon was to remember the area and thene back to it once they turned again. By then Wayne hoped that they wouldnt have much further to go and if they turned again Willis would be ourst chance. We hoped that if it came to that you would be able to figure out where they were generally heading. After all, you know this side of town better than we do. Wayne came up with this idea? Lisa asked shaking her head, be it either to hold back herughter or disbelief. Its rather silly but I cant deny that it could work. I have some idea already as to where they might be going, but the actual location I havent yet been able to find out about. So, how far did you end up going Henry? Eva gasped tiredly trying to keep up with the more in running shape duo. The next intersection, the one right after that shop with the big metal sign, Fogles Corner Shop was the name if I recall. Henry answered as they split and weaved around a group of shoppers. I havent even gone back once to visit Mr. Nakamura since Ive been here in town. Lisa sighed in thought upon hearing the shops name. And now that we found all those guns and ammo, I really dont need to buy munitions from him. Though he did seem particrly knowledgeable about the Mad Dogs movements and habits, of which I should probably be more informed on anyway. Perhaps Ill stop by on the way back and see how hes doing. When they reached the intersection in question, they turned right in the opposite direction of Fogles Corner Store and headed down an uncharacteristically cleared street. This street was no wider or more important looking than the others in town, but Lisa could tell that someone had purposefully cleared it off. There were no cars,rge piles of trash or even too much sand left lying in the road. Who had done the clearing or what the purpose was for the clearing was, still remained a mystery as they traveled down it. They hadnt gone more than a block when they saw Tayvon jogging their way. Seeing the grouping his way a bright smile appeared on his sun darkened features. He stopped jogging and waved them on to hurry up as he caught his breath. Perfect timing. Tayvon called to them as they gathered in the street. Wayne, Willis and I already found the general location of where the sketchy guys are headed. Its just outside of the western end o town, or so we think. The western side of town? Lisa repeated as she thought back to the first time she came to The Damn. But isnt it all just dried out farnd? Thats what we thought too when we came out of the town buildings. However, the road forks ahead and to the right and north, there was arge, gated building. Tayvon answered. By now they all had started jogging again as they listened to him. I didnt get much closer to see what kind of building it was but in stead came to find you guys. I see. Good job. Lisa replied before asking, What was Wayne going to try and do? Follow them into the fenced in gate? I hope not. We dont know the situation and he could get in trouble. Oh, let hurry then! Eva whined as she broke out into a faster jog. After a few moments, the rotting storefronts and sad looking town townhomes ended abruptly and the sprawling, dusty farnd appeared. It looked no different then thest time Lisa came by here. Only this time there wasnt any fog to block up the entire view of the outskirts of town. To their right there was indeed arge building that stood alone from any other buildings, however, this wasnt what made the mansion unique. It was the fresh, bright green grass that was growing on a golf course beyond the mansion. It stuck out like a sore thumb inparison to the tan sand scrund and sandstone rocks beyond. The three ERM volunteers were taken back by the sudden change of unfamiliar scenery but Lisa wasnt as swayed. This was starting to be a pattern for the Mad Dogs. It now seemed to her that anything of importance to them was being kept well maintained. I need to find out who is in charge of all these grounds keeping projects. Lisa thought as she moved on ahead of the others. Once I take over the gang and town, whoever is in charge of the work will be most useful to me. The road had a slight curve in it and Lisa was leading the way. Two minutester the four of them came within sight of the fenced in gate. Immediately Lisa was on high alert! There were armed guards standing outside the gate. Everyone, stop! Lisa hissed holding out one hand. What is it? Eva asked in a hushed voice. I dont think they see all of us just yet but get off the road and behind thatrge boulder. Lisa replied motioning to the rock. She too then stooped low and dropped to one knee. Im going to sneak ahead and see if I see any signs of Wayne. It obvious they already spotted me. What should we do? Henry asked turning back from the boulder. We cant just sit around here. Ill think of something. Just stay hidden for the moment. If you hear anything like gunfire or someone approaches you, run back to the dam, got it? Lisa replied. All three of them nodded, though the two men looked like they would rathere along with her. Then leaving them behind she started walking casually down the road towards the gate. As she came closer to the gate, Lisa looked at the two guards armed with assault rifles. They too had spotted her but remained at their posts and kept a wary eye one her. Normallying head on towards a clearly hostile location would be a stupid idea. Most would try sneaking around the area or using some fantasy skill to scope the ce out from afar, but not Lisa. Being the former cyborg soldier, armed with multiple weapons and a bullet repelling body, approaching head on to ask them directly what was beyond the gate was a ballsy, logical move. She had no intention of fighting them, but just in case, she had already taken her katana off its maic strip and now had it tucked up into the inside of her left sleeve to where her palm could hold it in ce. Stop right there! One of the guards called out to Lisa. She was now only a dozen meters or so from the gate. I dont recognize you. State your business. Lisa pushed back the brim of her tattered Yankees hat and gave a charming smile. Im just out for a walk and seem to have be separated from my walking buddys. Have you seen two younger looking men both are a little short than me? No, no one has been here all day. The guard on the right replied promptly. He then pointed the barrel of his rifle at her and motioned in the direction from which she came. I suggest you look elsewhere. This ce is off limits. I see. Well thank you anyway. Lisa answered calmly holding her smile. Then slowly she turned around and started back for where the others were waiting. Hmm, they are obviously Mad Dogs. Lisa thought peeking back over her shoulder at them. I could see their arm bands were just like the ones Xanders men wore. Though I dont think they were lying about no one being here. Perhaps Wayne is alright, but where could he have gone? Psst! Over here! A voice suddenly called to her. Looking carefully to her left she spotted Wayne and Willis. They were covered in mud and sand,ying prone beneath arge bush! Chapter 177: Golf Course Chapter 177: Golf Course Wayne and Willis? Lisa replied softly as her eyebrows popped up in clear surprise. What are you two doing down there and in such a mess? No time to exin. Wayne replied lifting his muddy speckled head to take a careful look at the two distant guards still by the gate. I think they wont see us here. Follow us, Willis and I found out where a secret entrance to the mansion is at. Not yet. The others are waiting just down the road some. Lisa replied still standing on the road. She looked back once more and saw she was still within their line of sight. Try and sneak alongside the road and we will meet up around the next bend. Ah, fine. I am just so excited right now. You wont believe what we are going to show you! Wayne giggled as he and Willis started to crawl on all four awkwardly in an attempt to sneak towards the next bush. Lisa rolled her eyes at them and continued to walk until she came back to where Henry, Eva and Tayvon were. Everyone, Im back. What did you find? Are Willis and Wayne alight? Eva asked getting up from under the boulders shade. They are both fine, I think. They said that they found something and are now covered in mud for some reason. Lisa replied stepping off the road. What do you mean? Eva asked relieved to hear they were alright. Those guys are always doing something crazy and ending up in a mess. This I got to see. Tayvonughed. Well look no further for we are back! Wayne called out as he dashed across the road. Willis followed right behind him with a silly grin on his face. Seeing their muddy faces, cloths, and sandy covered limbs everyone started tough. Willis and Wayne were no exception, they knew they looked filthy. Alright, tell us what happened. Lisa asked after a moment to let everyone calm some. Well, after Tayvon and us split up we followed the horse drawn cart until it arrived at that gate. Wayne started to exin. Eva had dug out a bottle of water from the backpack she had on and gave it to him. Wayne took a big mouthful, then handed it to Willis before continuing his story. The guards let them in, and it was obvious we couldnt follow after them anymore. Yet as they went in the cart turned to the right. The metal fence was easy to see through and the cart looked to be heading past the mansion. The only thing we could see in that direction was the golf course, the metal fence, and an irrigation ditch that ran through the golf course and under the fence. This is when I got an idea. Willis interrupted and continued the story. I guessed that we could try and get under the fence at the irrigation ditch. There might have been a low spot where we could slip through or a gate of some kind that was rusty that we could break loose. However, when we got there both those options were out of the question. So, this is where it got interesting and why we are muddy. Wayne jumped back into leading the story. I got into the runoff ditch and found the sandy mud water was only ankle deep and then when feeling the bars going into the ground, I found that it too was mere centimeters below ground. I told Willis that since there wasnt a low spot, why not make one ourselves? The cart was still within sight and following the fence, meaning that the sand would be easy to move and that we could catch back up easily. Really guys? You were going to break in, after all the warnings Lisa gave to us to not engage them?! Eva said ringly. You could have just stuck with following the fence line. Thats what I would have done too. Tayvon added. Ah, the path the cart was following may have been along the fence, but it was starting to drift further away from us. It was only a matter of time until they were going to disappear over some sandy slope. Willis interjected. Go on then, tell us what happened next. Lisa encouraged before they started to argue. Wayne cleared his throat and continued. Well, just as I guessed the sandy mud was easy to clear away and we squeezed under the metal fence. Though the water was kind of nasty and deeper now, a few seconds under water never hurt anyone and we had no trouble. It was a good thing too, that we got under so quickly. Willis added. Just as Wayne said the cart did disappear behind a raised-up portion of the golf course that had a g on it. Yep, I think the g had the number seven on it. Wayne said nodding. In any case, we looked around the area but saw nobody and decided to follow the path the cart took. When we peaked around the raised course, we saw the most curious thing. It looked like a garage door, covered in grass, had opened on the side of the courses bank! It was still open for several moments and we could see a fair way inside. They went underground. Curious. Lisa murmured as Wayne continued unbothered by her speaking. In there we saw two more guards, both dressed in military vests and holding assault rifles inspecting the cart. Of course, it was empty, and they were quickly let in. As the cart disappeared down a long corridor, I notice that the floor inside was metal, almost like an air duct. You are making this up. Henry butted in. There is no way that they would be using metal as flooring. That doesnt make any sense. Thats what we thought too. Willis replied. However, it was just as Wayne said, the floors were metal, smooth, and the walls were the same way too! I wanted to get closer and see what else was in there, so I did. Wayne said breaking into a grin. Not I. Willis added holding up both hands. I took one look at those guns and told myself to stay put. There was one bush and some rag weed growing alongside it and I was able to get a better angle at the strange garage doors entrance. I guess the mud and sand on me must have camouged we well enough, because the guards never once nced my way. Wayne said raising the cor of his mud encrusted shirt proudly. The first thing I noticed was that the corridor was being lit by electrical lights, the same kind that we have back at the dam. I also saw that past the cart there looked to be several other paths branching off on either side. Yet by now the door was closing, however, I saw two more things that were quite shocking. One was a forklift carrying several boxes like the ones we saw the cart moving into the storage unit. The other was guards leading a group of men bound in chains! They were tied up. Like prisoners or something? Tayvon asked. Wayne nodded. It looked that way, but from as far as I was from them, it was hard to tell. Well, I am d you both found all this out so quickly and made it back safely. Lisa said patting Willis and Wayne on the shoulders. How about you all go back to the dam and clean up. I will take it from here and check out that opening. Awe but I want to keep going! Wayne replied crossly. Why do you get to do all the fun stuff alone? Ill go back. That was enough fun for one day. Besides, I think I stepped on a cactus, there is something stabbing my big toe. Willis said stepping aside to join the other three by the boulder. Come on Wayne. Eva answered crossly. We should go back like she said. Its too dangerous for you to be risky like this. Oh, and its not dangerous for her? Wayne retorted. Ignoring her sour re, he looked back at Lisa, Come on, you have to let me see this through. I dont know. Lisa replied shaking her head. You arent exactly trained for this kind of infiltration. If you mess up, we could end up in a big mess. If they are armed like you say, then it could be fatal. You still think it is a good idea? Wayne looked down at the ground for a moment to think. Then when he looked back up at Lisa, she could tell he wasnt done yet. Yes, I want to go. After all, Gillian will need a proper report, just like thest one I gave to him from the Arena. Also, I think it will be a great learning experience for me. Lisa sighed. It was a dangerous choice to make, not just for him, but for herself as well. Not only would both their lives be put into danger if they were discovered, but even if they did escape any chances of her getting along with the gang would likely be dashed. Yet from the look in his eyes, she couldnt simply say no. Alright, but on a few conditions. Lisa replied holding up a hand in front of her before Wayne could get excited. First, you must do everything I tell you, exactly the way I do. Second, you can not speak, not one word. If the walls and floor are metal, any sound we make will be amplified greatly. So, along the way I will teach to you several hand movements that we will use tomunicate, and you must memorize them. Lastly, when I say run run, and dont look back. Not for anything. Just go right back to the dam and report to Gillian what happened. Understand? Wayne nodded excitedly. Understood! I will do my best to stay quiet. Good. Now as for the rest of you, you can either rest at the dam or try getting some of the guns out of the unit before nightfall. Lisa said turning the other four ERM volunteers. You got it! Tayvon replied giving a thumbs up. We can do that much. Henry added. We arent that tired yet and it will help keep us upied while we wait for you guys toe back. Eva, however, was not happy. She did not even look at Wayne, but rather started walking grumpily back onto the road to leave. Giving a shrug, Henry followed her and so did the others. After the two groups split, Lisa and Wayne crossed the road and took the long way through the desert scrund, being sure to stay out of sight of the guards or any cameras that might have been on the fence. Wayne said he didnt see any, but Lisa didnt want to take any more unnecessary chances. Along the way Lisa also did her best to go over the hand motions with Wayne. Luckily, he was a quick learner and when they reached the drainage irrigation ditch, Wayne was able to repeat all the signals. Wayne started to drop onto all fours in preparation to crawl under the fence when he heard Lisaugh. Looking up at her he asked, Whats funny? This is the only way through the fence. For you maybe. Lisa replied. Go ahead an go your way, Ill be taking a different route. Wayne looked back at the tall metal fence questionably. There wasnt any apparent way to get around or through the fence, but he didnt question her. Momentster, as his head cleared the murky waters surface, he was shocked to see that Lisa was already on the other side of the fence. She was standing above him with her arms crossed across her chest and a smug expression on her face. How did you do that? Wayne asked wriggling the rest of the way out from under the fence. I jumped. Lisa answered patting her legs. I could have carried you over but watching you go your way was much funnier. That was so mean. Wayne replied wringing his shirt out. Eh, it was your own idea. Anyway, that was thest time Ill do that to you. From here on, I will be dead serious. Now, lets go to that entrance. Chapter 178: Factory (1) Chapter 178: Factory (1) Lisa and Wayne carefully, almost tentatively, approached the location of the entrance Wayne and Willis had found. This was because there was absolutely no cover to be seen for what felt like kilometers. Not just because it was a golf course with pristine, finely cut grass and hedged knee-high shrubbery, but because thendscape itself was exposed from ground to sky. The assumed tnd was not exactly t at all, but rather small rolling hills that were all equal height that created this illusion. The route they took was the main asphalt pathed pathway that connected all the golf courses holes and numerous forks splitting off from this path. This particr fork that they were going towards led to what looked like a simr asphalt paved, but now narrower, maintenance path that cut between Holes 7 and 8. Here the grass and shrubbery wasnt as well kept, probably on purpose. Likely it was to make the area seem less conspicuous or to help hide the secret entrance better. When the two of them peered around the edge of the nearest mound of Hole 7, Lisa might not have been able to see the entrance if Wayne didnt point it out for her. What ultimately gave its location away was that the path diverged into the grassy mound much closer than any path would normally be. This caused the path to seem to run into the mound and appear to sink under the earth. This also smartly linked the passage within to the outside world without leaving any tracks in the sandy ground to give away the entrance. Squinting, Lisa could barely make out a button and speaker that was tucked away under a clump of grass that grew tall along the steep, grassy mound. All this secrecy and camouging made her even more interested as to whaty within. However, it seemed that the entrance was likely only possible to open from the inside. Meaning they had to find an alternative solution. Well, we definitely cant get in that way. Lisa whispered to Wayne kneeling below her. So, whats the n? Do we wait for someone toe by and open the entrance for us to sneak in after them? Wayne asked softly. No, thats to risky since you saw earlier that the inside entrance was guarded. Lisa replied as she turned away from the entrance and headed back towards the main path. I do have one idea of how we can get in though. What is it? Wayne asked getting up to follow her. Well, since this ce is underground, they will need air ducts to create venttion. All we need to do is figure out where one is and pray that it will be big enough for us to crawl through. Lisa answered. I see. Wont that be too loud, breaking into the ducts and crawling around? Wayne asked. Probably, but as things stand its all we can do. Lisa replied giving a small shrug. Lisa didnt go all the way back to the main path but instead turned to go up the less steep side of the mound and onto the green of the course. Before she reached the crest of the mound, she stopped to survey the area around her. The crest of any mountain, hill, or even a ditch was always a dangerous location. Any movement here would not be masked by vegetation but instead be visible for anyone watching as the sky would give away their outline or figure moving across it. Lisa saw that no one was nearby them on the path and from along the fence they hade crossed. Then she took two steps further so that her head now broke the crest of the mound. She half expected to see people out here ying golf or driving golf carts around to their next hole, but there wasnt a soul in sight. Still, she remained careful and took her time checking every angle, dip, or oddity the course had on it. Satisfied she waved on Wayne to follow her. When she was looking around one location nearby struck her interest, a circr row of hedges surrounded by decorative round, smooth river rocks. In its center was a three-meter-tall wind silo that was wavering gently in the stiff breeze that was blowing above the mounds. Lisa chucked as the two of them arrived at this spot. Just as I guessed. This decorative formation is actually hiding the air ducts. Look, there are at least a dozen or more ces just like this one on the course. Wayne looked around him at the spots Lisa was pointing at. Wayne sighed voicing his thoughts, You are right. I might not have even looked at these and just tried looking along the paths for any other entrances. What is even better though is that this grate is ratherrge. Hopefully, the duct underneath is as well. Lisa said dropping down onto her knees to grasp at the grate. She gave it a slight tug upwards and notice that sand and a few smaller rocks were resting on the grates edges. If she had tried lifting the grate right away those items would have undoubtably fallen into the duct and made a ton of noise as they struck therge fan spinning within or on the duct floor itself. Carefully she brushed back the encroaching debris from the grate and did so while Wayne watched carefully from behind. He didnt know much or anything for that matter, about infiltration or how to be sneaky in a situation like this. Wayne decided right away that it was best to let her lead the way and learn from her. Lisa could sense this reactioning from him and chose to let him be. After all, two hands are quieter than four, especially when they are your own. After the edges were cleared Lisa effortlessly lifted the grate and uncovered the duct. The only concern for the moment was therge spinning fan that was sucking air into the duct. They needed to think of a way to stop it from moving or disable it all together. To their delight, however, the duct below was easily wide enough for them enter. They guessed that the duct had to be a bit more than a meter wide. The drop into the duct looked to be deeper than they were tall, so getting down it silently and passing the fan was going to be truly tricky. Them jumping down would cause more noise than mere rocks and sand ever could. Not to mention potentially falling right through the ducts bottom side. Ill go in first. Lisa whispered. The she let out a soft sigh, Stopping the fan shouldnt be too hard for me if my n to stop it works that is. What concerns me is the duct. If it can hold my weight, then it will hold yours. Unfortunately, you weigh less than me, meaning Im the test dummy for this. Also, from here on out, we will only use the hand motions I taught you. Ok, lead the way. Wayne replied. What are you going to use to stop the fan? I dont see any wire or control panel. Oh, Ill just use my hands. Lisa replied nonchntly rubbing her hand together. What? Wayne replied unsure he had heard her right. Yep, like this. Lisa replied as she eyed the fan carefully. Judging from the rotation of the cobweb dancing in the airflow of the duct below, Lisa could tell the fan was moving counterclockwise. Holding her left hand out towards the center of the gyrating cone at the fans center, Lisa aimed to grab at it first. Seeing this, Wayne thought her goal was to try forcing the fan toe to a stop. Lisa tapped the spinning cone teasingly to see if it was safe enough to touch. The surface was smooth and not going as fast as she guessed. The des spinning below her were visible enough to make out that there were six altogether. Seeing them also convinced her that her n would work. With a swift burst of movement Lisa grabbed the cone with her left hand and mped down hard. The sudden force striking the cone cause the fan to groan and the gears within to creak slightly, but this was all Lisa needed. The fan des were slowed significantly and now with her right hand she grabbed a de and jolted the entire mechanism to a full halt. To both of their surprise the fan des were half a meter wide! If she had done this with her original hands, Lisa would have probably been cut or lost a fingertip! Wayne started to let out a whistle of amazement but mped a hand quickly over his own mouth upon realizing he was supposed to be quiet. Lisa nced ringly at him but seeing that Wayne knew his blunder she went back to work on the fan. Though stopped the fan was trying desperately to keep spinning and was giving her somewhat of a hard time to hold on. Letting go of the center cone, Lisa reached her left hand to the underside of the fan until she felt some wires. Giving a quick tug Lisa ripped them out of the fan and immediately the fan lost all power. Looking up, Lisa gave Wayne a thumbs up and started to enter the duct. Wiggling between the half meter wide fan des wasnt easy. Lisa did her best not to get her clothes caught as her front and backside scraped opposing fan des. Once she got her hips through, she carefully ced her feet on either side of the duct as vertically as she could. Then rocking from side to side she shimmied down the duct until her shoulders passed under the fan. Now she could use her hands as well in the same manner. Looking down at the duct floor, just centimeters below her, she was not to thrilled. It looked like aluminum and flimsy as paper. Lowering a foot onto the floor her fears were heightened. The aluminum floor started bending inwardly at its center. However, when she ced her foot nearer to the edge it seemed to hold her weight. Then lowering herself fully onto the duct there was a light groan and the duct appeared to shutter somewhat, but it remained silent. Looking up at Wayne who was kneeling above the hole, she pointed to his left and using both hands exined to him to pull the grate towards the hole and then crawl in after her. Wayne nodded and did just that. When he crawled in, he was far less capable or as silent. Lisa had to hold onto the bottom of his shoes for him to even climb down. Not because he wasnt strong enough to scale the walls as she did, but because the shoes bottoms were so worn out that they had zero grip left on them. On more than one asion Lisa thought the whole mission was going to fail. However, Wayne managed to get in and cover the hole after him without dropping a single rock, so he wasnt a total liability. Once Wayne was down and on the aluminum duct floor with Lisa, Lisa peered into the ducts darkness that traveled in two directions away from them. Behind them it was pitch ck, ahead there was a faint glow. Yet the glow isnt what prompted them to go forward. There were voicesing from the ground above them and towards the grate! Did someone see us? Lisa thought as she tried to shuffle forwards being sure to keep her feet as close to the ducts walls as possible. Wayne did likewise and just as he cleared the line of sight from the hole above, the voices grew clear! They both stopped and froze to be stiller than statues. The voices sounded to being from two men. Ah, s***. Looks like another fan died. Voice one spoke in a twangy voice. Should we take a look at it? Voice two asked with a nasally tone. Naw, I can tell its broke. Voice one replied. Lets just call it in as such and get back to checking the rest. The voices quickly died out and the two let out a sigh of quiet relief. Then shuffling towards the source of the glow they came to a tted window. What they saw below them was not what they expected at all. Inside was a huge open room with dozens of tables running lengthwise and covered in ss and metal equipment. Behind these tables were women wearing nothing but bras and panties! Chapter 179: Factory (2) Chapter 179: Factory (2) Lisa was very disapproving of how these numerous, nearly naked teenaged to middle aged women were being treated; even though she understood why. In total there looked to be roughly sixty to eighty women. It was hard to tell the exact numbers because many of them were being tasked with manually moving the products, ss equipment and boxes all around the room. They were all barefoot in their undergarments, as well as in perfectly clear stic ponchos, in order to allow the guards watching them to be sure they were not going to try and steal the meth they were working on or anything else of value. Lisa knew that these provocatively dresseddies were being subjugated to work here and forced to be dressed in this way, because not one of them looked happy or willing. It was also hard to hide ones shame with so many leering Mad Dog men watching every motion they would make and retain a happy look. Lisa could even see that the women charged with moving the boxes were the best looking on the posterior end, this was so that every time they had to bend over to ce a box on the floor any guard watching them was guaranteed a saucy view of their a**. While the others with more, hmm, young and prominent features were put closer to the ends of the worktables. Undoubtedly so that the guards could have the best views of the best women. Lisa was put off by this distasteful disy when a thought came to her mind. Looking to her left her assumption was correct, Wayne was also gawking obviously hard at the sights below. Lisa rolled her eyes dramatically seeing his newfound lustful gaze. Waynes mouth was basically falling off its hinges as his eyes darted all around the room. From the wide and shiny eyed nces, he was making, Lisa could tell he was not ustomed to seeing women dressed in such a manner. He probably hadnt even seen a woman in a two-piece bathing suit either. The first thought that crossed her mind was, Virgin, and if not for the seriousness of the moment she would haveughed and picked on him. Not wanting someone under her charge being tempted by such a sight and idently make a careless noise, Lisa was going to make him stop. Not only because it was not right to look at an unwilling woman, but because they needed to find a way out of this duct and find where the serum wasing from. After all, that is why they were here in the first ce. Lisa reached over to Wayne, Lisa pped the bottom of his chin closed and forcibly turned his head by his chin to make him look at her. From the fast blinks Wayne made it showed he was quickly made aware of his lewd mistake. Graven faced, Lisa shook her head from side to side vigorously to state her displeasure at what he was doing. Lisa then made a series of hand gestures and from what Wayne could interpret, she was going to make him pay once they got back to the base. Wayne nodded with a pleading expression that he understood and sped his hands together in a praying fashion as if to ask for an apology. However, Lisa was not in the mood to negotiate. Lisa then pointed with her thumb further ahead in the duct to state that they were moving onwards. As the two of them left the ted duct window, Wayne was still behind Lisa and chanced one more nce at the naughty sight below. Lisa didnt even need to look back, she already knew he would do it. Reaching behind her, Lisa grabbed him by his still damp shirt and gave him a tug just strong enough that he wouldnt lose his footing but get her unhappy message across. Wayne gulped knowing he was royally screwed now. The duct from this point on immediately decreased in height. Before the duct was just under head high for Lisa, but after passing the tted window it dropped to half that height. The two of them now had to crawl carefully on their hands and knees to proceed. This decrease in height meant two things too Lisa. One was that the room they had passed was likely thergest room and it needed of the most air. The second was it was entirely possible that the rooms below could likely be separated from the others in the undergroundpound. It was possible that they had ended up sneaking into the wrong air duct! Bothered by these thoughts Lisa knew they had to get out of the duct to search for more concrete clues as to the location of the serum. As the dim light of the next, much smaller, ted duct window came closer to them, Lisa hoped that they could get out there unseen and unheard. The only sounds to be heard in the duct was the soft whistling of the wind blowing by them, their hushed and slightbored breaths, and particrly the unwanted movements of the aluminum duct bending below them. Lisa stopped to peer in through the ted window and Wayne nearly bumped into her from behind. Luckily, he caught himself from doing so. If he had hit her rear, she might have never let him survive. To create some space between them, he backtracked and scooted backwards in the duct. Suddenly, the harsh squeak of metal on metal squeaked out from under them! Lisa snapped her head back to look at him in the dim lighting. Wayne urgently shook his head as he remained frozen in ce. If they fell through now, it was not going to end well. There were a lot of armed guards back in the big room, more then even Lisa would have wanted to fight with. Looking back into the room below Lisa knew it was their only bet to get out. It wasnt an ideal ce to break out into, but it was all they had. The room below was an office room lit by a single yellow glowingmp that exposed an unorganized pile of papers, files, and a random assortment of indistinguishable baggies. Now the room was unupied and silent, which was all Lisa needed. A single well-ced punch knocked the entire ted window out from the duct and ttered onto the metal office floor much more noisily that she wanted. Hoping no one had heard that, Lisa rolled out of the half meter wide gap in a sleek fashion to grasp the ducts edge with her fingertips. Then she lowered herself as ifing down from a pull-up to gently stand upon the ground. She quickly turned around to the single door of the room and locked it. Meanwhile, Wayne lowered himself backwards, feet first, out from the vent and unceremoniously plopped to the metal floor just barely quieter than the busted ted window. Remarkably nothing happened. For now, it seemed they were in the clear. Still staying silent, Wayne and Lisamunicated with only using hand motions as they decided on their next move. Alright, now what? Wayne motioned while giving an exasperated shrug. Search the ce for anything with serum mentioned on it or a map of this ce. Lisa signed back before walking around the desk to start skimming through the papers. Wayne nodded and picked up a folderbeled: New Management. Opening it he saw at the top three pictures with the individual images of the Triplets and all three were crossed out. Scanning the content below he quickly found it was all useless to them. Then flipping to the next page were another three pictures of three more individual men. This time they were not crossed out and one of them looked vaguely familiar to him. Lisa seemed to be having no luck as she kept picking up random reports of the underground facilities maintenance upkeep or lists of unfinished bookkeeping documents that were dated from months ago. She was feeling frustrated when Wayne held out the folder that he was looking at too her. Taking it, Wayne then pointed at the familiar looking man wearing a cowboy hat. Lisa knew of this man as well; he was with Martinez in the Warehouse Arena booth when she fought. It was Rodney. Quickly she looked over the two other men and knew of one but not the other. The one she knew was a man Hanna had described as being present during the murder of her parents. A man wearing orange tinted sses and azy expression. Now Lisa had a face and a name for another culprit, Branch. The third man wasnt all that noticeable. He looked weaselly and slim, with a thick mustache that covered his entire upper lip, and a thin scar was running down his left cheekbone. This Central American looking man was named, Tio. As unimpressionable as he appeared, Tio was still marked as one of the top three that was now in charge of running the operations here and that was a good thing to know. Looking up from the folder Lisa gave Wayne a thumbs up. Wayne smiled in reply, hoping that his find might have redeemed him some. However, that look instantly faded as the door handle behind them started to turn before thumping to a loud stop due to being locked! There was nowhere for them to hide! Other than the desk and a few cabs, the room was empty. Their only chance was to fight. Come on now. A male voice grumbled from the other side of the door. Did he really lock the ce up before he left? I didnt think that that man had any brains in that smoked out hippy head of his. You got the key? I think so. A second voice replied. The sound of keys on a ring could be heard as the gangster fiddle with them. Hearing it, Lisa knew they only had moments. She then quickly pointed at Wayne to get under the desk and to wait. While in turn Lisa tiptoed to get behind the door for when it opened. Here it is. The second voice remarked as the sound of the key turning the lock rose the tension of this moment. The door opened with a light squeak of the hinges and the two men casually entered the office. Wayne wanted to make his move now before they got to close to him. His breathing was getting shorter andbored as he could hear them getting closer with ever menacing step. Reaching to the back of his pants he grabbed the handle of his pistol. Why hadnt Lisa made her move yet! Wayne thought starting to panic. They are seconds way from finding me. Just as he was about to popup and start shooting, Wayne heard something heavy hitting flesh which was then followed by the sound of a body copsing. What the! The first voice called out as he turned to see what had happened. However, Lisa was already bearing down on him. All it took as a single swift punch square in the jaw, and he was out like a light. The two men that had entered were now unconscious at Lisas feet. Wayne looked carefully over the desks edge to see that Lisa had indeed won and was now patting down the two men. What are you doing?! Wayne whispered unable to even consider making hand motions tomunicate thanks to his racked nerves. Getting their keys and these arm bands. Lisa whispered back. Put this one on. I have a n to get around here without sneaking about. Wayne grabbed the ck and red arm band marked with a snarling dog as Lisa tossed it to him. What do you mean? We are going to pretend to be part of the gang! Lisa replied tightening the band on her arm with an excited grin. Just let me do the talking and everything will be simply fine. Trust me! Chapter 180: Factory (3) Chapter 180: Factory (3) Wayne was speechless. Pretending to be a part of this vicious gang and walking shoulder to shoulder all these Mad Dogs armed with knives, guns, bulging muscles, and who knows what else, was absolutely crazy! However, after a few minutes of doing just that and walking unopposed with Lisa down the open hallway, he was dumbstruck that her n was working! The gangsters here only took one look at them and kept on going about their business. How is this possible? Wayne thought as they passed another pair of tough looking men both holding rifles. The two-armed men nodded in silence as they passed, and Lisa returned the nod. Wayne however, remained stumped. Why arent they asking us who we are or why we are here? Lisa looked next to her at the very confused Wayne and could guess at what he was thinking. A smile spread on her plush face and continued to stride confidently onwards. She nned on exining things to him, but now wasnt the best time. There were a few things Lisa had learned from her times being with the gang that drove her to try out this n. Firstly, the gangs membership numbers were numerous. So many in fact that she still hadnte to a conclusion as to how many there might actually be. This fact worked to their advantage. If she hadnt yet seen every Mad Dog than it was more than likely that the members themselves hadnt met everyone as well. Thus, they could pretend they were one of them with a good chance of sess. Secondly, because they were wearing these stolen arm bands. Lisa had noticed that there were two types of arm band that members of the Mad Dogs wore for identification. The lower ranking members, likely those new to the gang ormon ruffians, had ck or gray colored arm bands with a white or ck colored snarling dog symbol painted on them. The majority of the Mad Dogs that wore these were mostly found outside of the Mad Dogspound from what Lisa could determine. Then there were those that held a higher ranking or were part of a special group; one example being the guards that Lisa had seen guarding Xander. These gangsters bands were solid red with a pencil thin ck ring circumnavigating the top and bottom of the band. Then in ck was the gangs snarling dog symbol pressed officially into the fabric. With the way Lisa walked confidently through these halls while wearing this colorful band, showed that her assumption that no one would mess with them, was right. After they had tied up and gagged the two men Lisa had knocked out, Lisa and Wayne had turned left from the office to see what rooms were further down the passage. They had gone past several ubeled rooms that looked to be either near empty closest or storage rooms. There were also many office rooms like the one they had broken into. Unfortunately, still no other signs of where the serum might have been being made. The metal pathway was way longer, wider, and more intricate than Lisa or Wayne expected. Especially considering that it was being maintained by seemingly simple gangsters. Lisa wanted to know how things came to be this way just as much as she wanted to know more about the serum. If the gang had truly made this than she had sorely underestimated Martinezs capabilities or those that worked under him. Though seeing how much differently this ce looked in both design and stylepared to the main walledpound, Lisa doubted that he really came up with building this ce. The straight hallway came to a T-intersection, the first turn that the passage had in it. To the right was a closed and guarded circr doorway that looked like it could open like an airlock from some space station. The four guards stationed there were armed with rifles and from their suspicious irs it didnt look like they would let them get any closer. Looking the other way, the two infiltrators saw that this way looked remarkably simr to the path they were currently on, but with one differentiation. There were far more people gathered outside of one of the double doors dozes of meters away. Lets go see what they are up too. Lisa whispered to Wayne. O-ok. Wayne replied nervously. As the two approached they could here jeers and cheer that sounded simr to what they had experienced in the Warehouse Arena. Wayne was unable to see above the crowded doorway but with Lisas height she could see just fine. Inside was what they assumed, there was a roped off ring with two men grappling on the metal floor. After a few seconds of watching, Lisa could tell they were amateurs. Is this some kind of screening for new MFA participants to try out? Or just something they are doing to kill time? Lisa wondered. Then someone caught her eye, it was Tio. Looking past him Lisa saw lining the wall was an assortment of boxes, vials, and needles. These vials looked remarkably like the same vials she had found in the storage unit. Finally, a solid clue! Lisa then turned to Wayne, Come on, we need to get closer. Then muscling her way between the crowding gangsters, Lisa started making her way towards Tio and the table he was sitting at. Wayne did the best he could to follow in the wake she had created. The smell that this room emitted was an unpleasant mixture of body odor, cigarette smoke, and blood. After the two of them made it around to the same side that Tio was on, the crowd thinned some. Tio was being nked by many other red banded gangsters so Lisa decided to y it safe and just watch for a few moments. The fight ended momentster as one of the men fighting was choked out. Bring out the next two. Tio called out over the shouting to the bald shaven man next to him. The bald man pointed at two others across the rope ring and pointed at the fighting men inside the ring. Theyplied by hoping into the ring and proceeded to forcibly drag the two exhausted men out. Once outside the ring both the fighters were tossed into handcuffs and then rushed roughly into a side door. Inside Lisa could barely make out what looked like jail cells or cages. Hmm, seems like they arent part of the gang. What exactly is going on then? The Mad Dogs wouldnt need to resort to this kind of fighting if they already have the MFA. Then as if to answer her thoughts, Tio called out again, Bring out two more with AB+ blood. We are going to test vial 2-Y. Momentster visibly worn out and handcuffed men with presumably AB+ blood were brought before Tio. They were dressed in filthy and torn clothing, like they had been wearing them for weeks on end. The guards bringing them then kicked the backs of the handcuffed mens legs forcing them to kneel before Tio. Lisa watched everything they did carefully. Tio got up and picked up two needles and then proceeded to pick up a vialbeled 2-Y. Tio then filled up the needles with the vials red syrup looking liquid and turned to the two kneeling men. They both shifted nervously on their knees and one tried standing back up. The guards roughly pressed down on his shoulders and rented him on the floor. There is nothing to worry about gentlemen. Tio said revealing a bright smile from under his bushy mustache. These shots will only provide a short-term Inducement to your bodies for you to fight with. But first, to measure your natural strength. Tio then pointed at a nearby dummy torso ced on a device. One of the guards grabbed the arm of a handcuffed man and hoisted him over to the dummy. Then releasing the man of the cuffs order him to punch the dummy as hard as he could. Unsure as to why the man hesitated and looked dumbly around him. The guard wasnt going to be patient and pulled out a cattle prod and jabbed the man to induce a quick shock. The man winced and got the message. The man then punched the dummy torso activating a number panel on the device to calcte the power of his punch. The number just barely surpassed one hundred. This cause a round ofughter to ripple across the gangsters watching. Next. Tio called out as he scribbled down this information onto a clipboard. The second man punched the dummy as well to produce a simrly low score. Once Tio had written what he needed too, the two men were brought over to him. While the guards held the men still, Tio then administered the red serum to them. A few moments passed with no visible effects until one man started visible sweating, a lot! His breathing rate increased, and he started to act extremely restless. The guards holding him also seemed to have trouble holding onto him. Alright, get them in there. We got ourselves a match! Tio shouted to the crowd. The two men were then thrust into the roped ring as Tio exined what was going to happen. Now this is just a fight, no need to kill each other. Just knock the other out and you win. Simple right? Be d I am running this test now and not the triplets, at least I will let you live. The two men seemed relieved by this and took sloppy boxing stances. It was clear that these two were alsoplete amateurs. Fight! Tio shouted and the two men nervously advanced at each other. Then something unexpected happened. The man that was sweating heavily struck first, only now his swing was far faster than before. The other man took the full brunt of the swing to the jaw and was literally lifted off the ground and sent spinning like a ballerina into the ropes! Match over! Tio shouted seeming pleased by the results. As he wrote down the results on the clipboard he spoke excitedly to the bald guard. Looks like the 2-Y batch works 25% of the time on those with AB+ blood. I would also say that the Inducement level is still at B-rank or possibly B+ rank. We are done for the day. Go ahead and put them back in the cells. The bald guard nodded and waved to the other guards to lock the men up. Hearing that the fights were over the crowd started to file out of the room and back out into the metal hallway. Lisa, however, remained here. The other twenty or so red armed banded guards werent leaving, and she wanted to try and push her luck again by pretending to be one of them. Now that she had found the serum Lisa had to know more. Lets get back to theboratory and get tomorrows batch started. Tio ordered as he gathered up several papers and stacked them onto his clipboard. Everyone, clean up this mess and dont drop any vials this time! The red armed banded guards did as they were told and started cleaning up the vials and needles. Lisa and Wayne, not wanting to be obvious, started to collect the vials and load them into a foam lined box. Once they collected a full load, they joined the others that were already leaving the room with supplies. Still, no one questioned them! As they filled out of the room, they were headed for the mysterious circr doors they had seen before. Lisas luck was bound to run out sooner orter, but now seemed to be not the time. When the doors opened, Lisa was bbergasted. There was an actual full-blownb buried under the ground and it was equipped with some serious looking equipment and severalb coat wearing individuals to boot. ncing about as un-obviously as she could, Lisa noted that Liquid handling equipment, cryogenic storage refrigerators, countless pipettes and beakers were scatted everywhere. There was one particr device that Lisa knew right away to be the most important thing here. It was arge metal trapezoid shaped device that had what looked to be arge press on top of it that then connected to a second device via clear stic tubing. The second device was already active and mixing what looked like blood into an assortment of other liquids. Lastly, a third device was also connected with clear stic tubing and here it was spinning like a centrifuge. Finally, Lisa had found where they were making Inducement Serums! Lisa couldnt look at it for too long, the guards were putting the items they had onto a nearby table and leaving. Lisa and Wayne did likewise and hurried after them. They had only just left theb when two lower ranked gangsters came running towards them. There she is! One of them called out pointing at Lisa. The red armed guards looked curiously at Lisa and the two lower ranked gangsters hurried towards her. Lisa balled her fists in anticipation. Crap! Did they find us out already! Then the other gangster spoke, We need your help with one of the female workers back at the methb. Come with us now, uh, please maam. Chapter 181: Hints of Escape Chapter 181: Hints of Escape What is going on with her? Lisa asked while following the two, grey arm-banded gangsters down the metal hallway. Wayne had started to follow them, but Lisa gave him a sharp look and nodded towards the fight room they were tasked with cleaning. Hopefully, Wayne understood her notion and would carry on the ruse on by himself while she was away. Well, how should I say this The first gangster mumbled as they traveled further away. She had an ident I guess you could say. An ident? What kind? If it is rted to working in theb, you shouldnt have needed toe all the way out here just to find me to deal with it. Lisa responded both sounding confused andmanding as if she truly was their superior. Thats true but this is something, well, something that a female should be dealing with. The other gangster replied with an embarrassed tone. Huh, what are you ying at? Just tell me, I have stuff to do. Lisa scoffed. Well, err, just go in and see for yourself. The first gangster stammered opening the door to the methb. Now that she was on the same level as the others, Lisa could get a better look at the conditions that the women were in. Up close they were in worse shape than she thought. They were all ufortably skinny and underfed to the point some had their ribs showing. They all were still working at the tables all save for onedy that looked to be near the same age as Lisa. Thisdy was standing off to the side near the door between two rough looking gangsters. Her head was bowed low to the point that her greasy brown, shoulder length hair covered her face. Even with her head bowed, she was only tall enough to reach Lisas chest, at most. Still dressed in nothing but her bra, panties, and the clear stic poncho, her hands were sped over the front of her panties. Here was the infuriating cause of the problem, it was that time of the month and she clearly had no protection. Blood was dripping in a long line down her right leg from the soiled light blue panties she wore. Her thin frame oozed nothing but embarrassment. Are you serious?! Lisa shouted. For the first time since she had saved Hanna from the puddle, this was the angriest she felt. How did you let this happen? Dont you have any kind of respect? Look, we didnt want this to happen either, but these workers are not our main priority. We cant provide everything One of the gangsters started to exin, but Lisa cut him off. I dont want to hear your excuses! Lisa stormed over to the poordy and grabbed her shoulder to usher her out of the room. Come on lets get you cleaned up. As they left one of the guards called to them, Sorry it had to be you, but the female guards are off today. Lisa shook her head in annoyance and continued to move on. Lisa took the thindy out into the hallway, but no other guard tried to stop or follow them. As the door closed behind them Lisa didnt know which way to go. Tossing her luck into y Lisa asked, Which way to where they keep you all when you arent working or where is the nearest bathroom? The thindy looked cautiously through her unwashed hair up at Lisa curiously and gave a timid, soft answer. T-to the right at that first door is the bathroom. The next one is where they lock us up. Lets go to the bathroom first and wash you off. Lisa replied pressing on the womans shoulder gently. The two of them went in and found that all the stalls had their doors removed and to Lisas disgust, she saw that a camera was ced above the door. Seeing that there was no privacy they had to make do. Lisa angrily grabbed several paper towels from next to the chipped and rusting faucet sink and soaked them with water. Then she gestured to the thindy to get in the first stall. Go ahead and go in. Ill stand in the way of the camera. Obediently the woman did as she was told. A few moments of awkward silence went by before thedy spoke. A-are you new here? You could say that. Lisa replied still fuming on the inside. I thought so. Thedy said softly. I thought it was strange that you didnt know where we were kept. Also, the other female guards wouldnt act like you did either. Well, they should! Lisa scoffed. Even if you are being forced to work for them, being treated like an animal is just wrong. Ha, you are a strange gangster. Lisa heard the woman murmured. My name is Lisa. Whats yours? Lisa asked. Jenifer. The thindy replied. Are you sure its ok to tell me your name? Then the sound of the toilet flushing told Lisa it was time to turn around. Lisa turned and looked down at the shorter woman. Jenifer was looking cautiously up with lifeless brown eyes. The blood on her leg was gone and the light blue panties looked slightly less soaked. I dont see why not and if they dont want us too, screw them! Lisa replied giving a reassuring grin. Come on lets get you changed, that is if you have a change of clothes. I do. Jenifer replied softly looking back at the floor. Alright, lets go then. Lisa replied opening the door to the bathroom. When they entered the next room over, Lisa was beginning to really hate the Mad Dogs even more. Just like the glimpse of the cells that the men were being kept in, the women too were being held in cages. Each cage was tall enough for most women to stand in and each had ten cots that looked to have been unwashed for years. In disorganized piles at the foot of each disgusting cot was what little clothing thedies owned. Jenifer walled down the single isle between the cages and stopped in front of the third locked cage. Thankfully, Lisa had taken the keys from the two gangsters she had knocked out and started trying to unlock the cage. Lisa was on her fifth key in trying to unlock the cage when Jenifer asked in a quiet voice, A-are you sure you have the key? Yes, I should. Lisa replied. Then as if to save her, the key unlocked the cage door. Lisa smiled, See, now go change. Im sure they dont want me to keep you away for too long. As Jenifer went in to change, Lisa looked around her in abhorrence and thought to herself, Well, I came here to just find out where the serum wasing from but seeing what is going on here, I cant just let this go. Even if I cant take care of so many people right now, Im a greedy person and anything is better than living like this. Why do humans have to treat each other so poorly? Breaking them out could cause bad rtions with the gang and screw my ns up. I need to make sure that if I do break them out of here, I can hide them for as long as I can. The problem is where and how? Lisa looked up at the top of the walls and saw that there was a venttion shaft travelling around the full length of the room. There were also three ted vents that looked to be the same size as the one she and Wayne hade through. Seeing this, she knew she could save these people. Even though she wanted to take over the Mad Dogs, this was something that needed to change asap. Hey, Jenifer. Lisa finally saiding to a conclusion for what to do. Jenifer finished pulling up her other dirty, but not blood stained, panties and turned around. Y-yes? Are you from this town? Lisa asked. What town are you talking about? Jenifer said giving a puzzled look. Almost everydy here is from one ce or the other. Oh, thats interesting. How did you alle to be here? Lisa asked as Jenifer left the cage and Lisa closed it behind her. W-we were caught by raiders and s-sold to the gang. Jenifer replied holding back a few tears. T-Though it is terrible here, the guards say that were the lucky ones. The others were sold to another gang or cult, Im not sure which, called the Skull. ording to the rumors they are either cannibals, or theyll chop people up and sell their organs on the ck market. Thats terrible. Were you sold here by yourself? Lisa asked as they left the cage room and back into the metal hall. I-I was. The others were not as lucky. Jenifer replied somberly. Several of thedies were spit apart from their husbands or sons. There are even a few girls that here are barely even sixteen and scared so badly that they cry every night. Well, thats going to change. Lisa replied dropping her voice into a whisper. Im not actually a Mad Dog. Well not yet. I thought so. How did you get in here with out them suspecting you? Jenifer asked softly as a spark was suddenly lit and her brown eyes look a bit less dead. No time to exin all that. Lisa whispered back. They were now just about to reach the doors to the methb. Just get the word out that at some time soon Ill figure out a way to get you all out. Lisa then opened the door to the methb and brought Jenifer back in. It was clear that she wanted to ask Lisa more questions, but Lisa had to move quickly to lessen the chances of suspicion towards her if they took to long. Also, Wayne could be in trouble by this point or the two men she had knocked out might have already woken up and they would surely make things hard to escape once they were found. Lisa was halfway back to where the fighting room was when she saw Tio and a few other red banded guards with himing the opposite way. The smart thing would have been to keep her mouth shut and continue looking for Wayne, but after seeing how thedies were being treated, she couldnt. Lisa stood right in Tios way and pointed a finger angrily at him, I cant believe the way you treat thedies in theb. Have you no respect for human decency? I just got back with dealing with ady bleeding on herself because she had no period protection! Those are not workers, they are ves! It was clear Tio was pissed hearing a supposed subordinate lecturing him, but Lisas words were not wrong. Tio stroked heavily on his mustache before he spoke, Look, you think I want to treat them like that, huh? All the work they are doing is only because of how the triplets wanted to run this ce. Sure, their jobs could be done with machines but financially we cant afford the machines to do that work. Well maybe if you stopped buying people you could afford too! Lisa replied hotly. I dont know who you think you are, but I only just got my position a few days ago. Tio replied in turn shaking his own finger in Lisas face. I have extraordinarily little pull with Martinez or the other lieutenants. So, if you are so worked up about it, how about you go put your neck on the line for them? Go and tell Martinez what you said to me and see how that works out. You havent spoken with Jackson yet? Hes in charge of finances and could arrange it to work out. Lisa countered. Ha, that nicely dressed fart face cant do a thing about this. Tio scoffed. Martinez has some kind of deal with the raiders we buy from to not attack us in exchange for us buying from them. So, the problem is with Martinez then? That guys days are numbered. Lisa grumbled. Hey, watch it. Tio snapped and he shoved Lisas shoulder roughly. The other guards with him also stepped forward menacingly. Talk like that could end you up in a heap of trouble. You might be big, for a woman, but that wont stop you from getting a beating from bad mouthing our boss. That may be. Lisa replied giving Tio a cold gaze. But how much longer will he be our boss? What are you talking about? Tio asked narrowing his eyes at her. Oh, you havent heard the rumor? Lisa said giving a sly grin. About what? Tio replied. Theres someone thats nning on challenging Martinez to lead the Mad Dogs. A woman called Queen. I havent seen her myself, but apparently shes a Match Fighter and the one that killed the triplets and Martinezs bodyguard too. Lisa replied. You are joking right? Tioughed. Theres no one within this whole territory stupid enough to fight him. Fine, dont believe me. Lisa said giving a shrug. Go talk to Jackson about Queen when you go to ask about getting those machines to rece the workers here. Now excuse me, I need to get my partner and head back to thepound. Tio watched Lisa storm by him, and he could believe the audacity that she had speaking to him like that. Though he wanted to reprimand her right then but the seed that she had nted in him, about a new leader for the gang, intrigued him. Jackson huh? Tio murmured. Maybe it is time I did go over there and make my presence known that I too am a lieutenant and make things change around here. Those triplets made it hard making it possible for me to conduct my experiments and getting more funds would be nice. Chapter 182: Taking on too Much Chapter 182: Taking on too Much When Lisa found Wayne, he was standing nervously around the turn from the serumbs entrance. Wayne visibly rxed once their eyes met. Seeing the armed guards still by theb doors, Lisa signaled with her hands for him to follow her. We are leaving now. Let us hurry to the exit. Lisa whispered. Are you talking about the hidden exit or the vent we came through? Wayne asked with a twinge of worry in his voice. The hidden exit. Lisa replied and seeing the disbelief appear in his eyes, rified the situation before he could speak. Look, they are convinced that we are apart of the gang and remember those two I knocked out are still in the room with the busted vent. If they see us, they will undoubtably remember our faces and cause trouble. Our best bet is going out the normal way. Wayne gulped nervously, I hope youre right. Pfft, rx. Lisa chuckled giving a small, much needed, grin. We got this far, what could go wrong? Isnt that a red g saying? Wayne asked, but it was toote. Coming towards them was nonother than one of the three newly appointed overseers of this unground factory, Branch. Branch was one of thest people Lisa wanted toe across. He knew her face from watching the Match Fights with the triplets. If he recognized her than getting out of this underground factory in once piece would be nearly impossible for the both of them. Seriously? Lisa seethed. As Lisa and Wayne drifted to one side of the metal hallway, Lisa tried to lower her Yankees hat as low as she could to cover her face. Branch was carrying a mismatched stack of papers and folders under his arm and seemed to be more focused on the cigar in his grubby looking hands. Though he was someone that Lisa was now warry of, she couldnt help but look at this hippy dressed man and wonder at how such a nerdy and flowery person had ended up in a position of power in a gang. Suddenly, without warning, a door just ahead of Branch shot open and smacked right into Branchs face! Papers and folder flew about in every direction and across the floor. The clueless man that had opened the door, peered around the doors edge to see what he had hit. Branch stood frozen in ce, not because of the sudden collision or that he had dropped his documents, but that the cigar in his hand was smashed and the burning end was almostpletely put out. Almostically slow, Branch looked between the smoldering, ruined cigar, and the gangster and then back to the cigar. Man, are you serious right now? Branch droned with a rhetorical voice. That was some quality imported stuff. We cant even make this here. What are you going to do about this? The gangster that opened the door seemed to visibly rx seeing that it was just thisckadaisical hippy and not someone tougher looking. My bad, uh, sir. The gangster responded nonchntly. I was in a hurry and forgot to look through the window. Here, let me pick this up. The gangster bent down to start picking up the papers and Branch shuffled back a step to look down at the man dumbly. Lisa and Wayne were at this point still trying to pass by unnoticed but despite the high look on Branchs face, he was well aware of their presence. Hey, you two. Branch muttered as he pointed the ruined cigar butt at them. Help pick this up too. Sorry, but we got to be somewhere. Lisa replied softly and keeping her head down. Whats the rush girly? Branch replied driftingzily into their way. He then leaned in closer and attempted to look under Lisas hat brim by cocking his head dramatically to one side. Lisa could smell the foul smoky breathing from him. Peering up from his orange tinted sses Branch continued speaking, You guys dont want to go against my orders. I might not look like much, but Martinez wont tolerate insubordinates. How annoying. Lisa groaned to herself. This guy is clearly under the influence, but hes notpletely wasted yet. Also, I got the feeling that this guy is more than meets the eye. Though his appearance is stupid andzy, azy man would not have as muscr of a body as this. I need to be cautious of him. Lisa quickly dropped down onto one knee before Branch could get a good look at her and started picking up a few papers near her. Wayne did likewise. There were only a few papers left when Lisa noticed something written on the first paper she had picked up. Raw Material purchasing locations. Note: needed for the creation of Inducement Serum XXI. Seeing this, Lisa knew she needed to be quick andmit the list of locations listed below to memory. Branch was still standing above the three of them and she couldnt afford to be anymore suspicious than she already seemed. Moab City, ss Works Inc. (Owner: Max Malls) Needles, ss vine vials and packaging materials. Moab City, Neko-munda Narcotics (Owner: Spindle). Materials: Thiomersal, Gtine, Sinic acid, and Potassium Phosphate based Salt. Though these words meant little to her, Lisa recognized some of these as parts of a vines fluidsposition and what is being used in their creation process. It seemed to her that these gangsters were building the vines themselves rather than buying them. It seemed odd that that one machine she had seen earlier could be capable of making vines for the serum. There had to be more to this factory than she had seen so far. Then she continued skimming the rest of the list. Moab City, Silver Block and Associates. (Owner: Undisclosed). Materials: Antibiotics, GMOs, Twisted animal cell stains, HEK-584 Cell Line, Formaldehyde and Glutaraldehyde. Twisted cells? Lisa thought as her interest peeked even further. Are Inducements derived from Twisted? I thought they were a freak mutation that had messed up animals exposed to nuclear radiation. Then thinking back to some of her opponents and how they had their bodies change dramatically during battle this guess didnt seem too far off. Shadow of the Sky Ind, (Owner: Sun People) Materials: Raw fluids and processed organs. Particrly, the blood from What are you doing? Branch asked as he ripped the paper out from her grip. I told you to pick them up not read them. Sorry. Lisa muttered and gathered a few more papers at her feet and lifted them up to him. Branch snatched them from her. Hmpf, you dont seem to be all that useful for a red banded member. What are you doing here anyway? We were just delivering a few reports from thepound. Lisa lied casually as she stood back up. Lisa still kept her hats brim lowered and this seemed to further frustrate Branch. If you say so. Branch replied narrowing his eyes at her. Howe I havent seen you there before? You do look kind of familiar though. Im usually on patrol in the town. Lisa replied calmly maintaining herposure. Perhaps youve seen me walking by or in the distance. Are you sure? Let me see you face. A woman your size is not normal. Branch said reaching up to grab at her hat. Ya, speaking of which. Wayne butted in just in time and Branch stopped reaching for the hat. W-we need to get back before dark and check on the market area on the way back. We should probably go now. Fine. Go on. Branch sighed waving his simmering cigar at them. The night is getting closer, and I need to rx some. Though without my cigar here, its not going to be easy. Ill be going too. The other gangster replied as he turned on his heel to leave. As Lisa and Wayne hurriedly left, they could hear Branch calling back the gangster. Though what went on or what might have been said was not their concern and they rounded the next turn to go for the hidden exit. Lisa nudged Wayne and gave him an excited thumbs up. They were finally about to get out without getting caught! I cant believe you messed up my cigar like that. Branch said with azy tone. I said sorry already. The gangster answered while turning with a smirk to give a shrug. What else can I do? Sorry isnt going to cut it. You need to pay some other way. Branch said as hisidback voice suddenly hardened, and he took a step closer to the gangster. Not noticing the change in Branchs tone, the gangster chuckled. What are you nning on doing with me? I know youre a boss now, but you are not someone I can just give my respect too. Not with those stupid clothes. Branch moved like a snake striking a mouse. Hended a karate chop to the gangsters neck, causing the gangster to slump forward. Branch then proceeded to kick out one of the mans knees from behind and he crumpled all the way to the floor. Branch then grabbed the man by the hair and yanked his head back to expose his stunned face. Branch buried the hot, charred end of his cigar right between the gangsters eyes! Graaa! The gangster yelled. A quick punch in the cheek silenced him and before the gangster could recover, Branch grabbed the man by the throat and leaned close to the gangsters ear. Branchs voice was practically shaking with rage, Let me be clear. You will not disrespect me again. Then without warning Branch violently tossed the mans head into the metal wall, knocking him out cold. Looking down at the still and battered gangster, Branch pushed back his disheveled long brown hair out from under his orange tinted sses and sighed heavily to calm himself. Branch then picked up his papers and files, stepped over the unconscious body, and proceeded to his office all while returning to his normalidback hipster expression. When Lisa and Wayne were let out of the underground factory, they quickly made their way over the golf course fence and hurried across the open desert scrunds back to the town. They didnt stop running until they reached the foot of the hill going up to the Powerhouse building. Now that was fun! Lisa cheered. We learned so much stuff, but nowes the hard part. Breaking into that ce was the fun part? Wayne sighed with exhaustion. What are we doing next? Im going to tell everyone once we are inside. Lisa replied. Twenty minutester, Lisa had gathered everyone into the lower level of the Powerhouse building and they were now seated around the white stic table. Everyone was anxious to know what had happened, but Lisa calmed them down and exined everything that they had witnessed. Save for the information she had read on Branchs paper. That was going to be something only she needed to know. Now, after hearing everything we discovered, here is our next move. Lisa announced. Everyone leaned forward expectantly. We are going to breakout every single worker in that factory in two days and bring them back here. They cant be left in there any longer. What? You want to bring more people here! Sadie asked breaking the silence that had fallen on the room. You already have your hands full with the MFA, getting this entire dam working, cleaning out the storage units, working with the ERM, getting us food, all your ns to take over the Mad Dogs, all the deals youve been making with the townspeople, and everything thats going on with Hanna too. You are taking on too much! Yep, I am, and I know I can do it! Lisa replied. Besides, we need them for two reasons. One, if we are going to be providing for this town, we need more help than the few people we have now. Mr. Seller will be back any day now with the building supplies I ordered from him and we need to be ready to work. Two, I need a surefire way to get Martinez to challenge me soon, taking over the Mad Dogs is taking too long. Helping to free those, basically ves, from him will be the right way to get the ball rolling! Chapter 183: Ambitions Chapter 183: Ambitions Well, that is a rather shy way of getting Martinezs attention. It would certainly get mine. Zane said leaning back in his white stic chair. My concerns would be where do we put them, how can we feed them, especially since we currently can barely keep ourselves fed, and how do we even break them out to begin with? They are underground right? Zane is right. Willis added. Didnt you say there was almost eighty woman and likely just as many men? I did. Lisa nodded. There are almost two hundred people being forced to work in that factory. Seriously? Eva murmured as Lisa nodded to confirm it. I noticed that the room thedies were being kept in had vents just like the ones Wayne and I used to break in. If we can find a shaft going to the surface close to where they are being held, getting them out will not be too hard. The area around the golf course is also oddly poorly guarded or monitored too. I think I might have a few ideas but nothing concrete yet. Ill use tonight to think of some ways to solve the other issues. Lisa exined. Lisa! Sadie sighed massaging her temples as she took in all this information. That is a crazy number of people to handle! I know that they need help, but why should you have to be the one to save them? Lisa adjusted herself uneasily in her seat, a far away expression then appeared on her pale face. Let me tell you a story from long ago during my time in the military. Its not something I would like to think about, but Ill tell you all anyway. Everyone could see the rare sight of pain cross briefly on Lisas face. As she told her story, they all fell silent. They were all excited to hear a little more about this mysterious womans past. Lisa took a deep breath to clear her thoughts, This particr event happened after I recovered from my first time getting shot in eastern Europe, a story for another time. I was being redeployed to Switzend to assist the United Nations (UN) and Swiss forces with maintaining the Swiss borders. The Swiss had remained neutral to the wars that had been raging for thest two years but even they couldnt be spared from the fallout of the bombs or the chaos that followed. The Swiss borders were not being invaded by soldiers but rather civilians. The wars that raged outside this passive country made the small country look like a beacon of hopeful refuge for those fleeing their countries. However, Switzend is a small country derived of mountains and little farnd. The country had already seen their poption boom prior to the wars, and they had little room left to support growing further. Atop all this, getting food imported to them was exceedingly difficult for thisndlocked nation and starvation was beginning to be a major issue. The refugees were relentless, even knowing that the country had little to offer them in terms of relief did little to slow their advances. The refugees would rather have risked starvation than guns, bombs, and radiation. They crossed impassible mountains, coldkes, war-torn and bombed cities from France, Germany, Italy, and Austria only to be stopped at the borders by armed soldiers or dying in the process. Switzend used to have an open borders policy with the rest of Europe, which worked well in peacetime, but turned into a mistake once the wars broke out. They had almost no way to keep people from forcing their way into the country. This is where I came in. Dozens of US Marine units like mine were sent to assist in blocking up any roadways and railways that led to the rural areas outside of the country. We were ced under the directmand of the UN and were subjected to their ways of handling the situation. Once these passages were blocked could the Swiss military focus on protecting the cities nearest to the borders without fear or the distraction of refugeesing in from other areas. Only then could we then detach from the UNs chain ofmand and rejoin the US forces either in the Mediterranean or the Eastern Europe fronts. We were at the time stationed in the small town of Gondo, in the Zwischbergen province, which is on the edge of the Swiss and Italian boarder along route E62. Here the route wound its way through the Alps and followed along the steep cliffs that followed the Torrente Diveria river. Gondo was an important ce to block up for both therge, easily passible roadway and the hydroelectric dam that it had. Unlike the dam we have, this one was far smaller and surrounded by lush forests and greenery. Just beyond the dam was where we were sent to blow up the cliffside at a narrow pass along a bend in the road. Yet directly in the spot where were needed to cause the explosion, a refugee camp had already been set up. We spent a full day using an interpreter to speak to the Italian majority refugees to leave the area immediately. Naturally, they refused and demanded asylum. A few tried forcing their way past us, but a few bullets in the air turned them promptly away. This is where things got horrible. After we reported the situation to our superiors in the UN and ryed that there were nearly three hundred refugees, the orders we got back shocked us. They told us to order the refugees to disperse by nightfall and if they hadnt left, we were to blow the pass up regardless. They told you to blow the pass and kill everyone there with it? Eva interrupted with a ghastly expression. Yes, that is what we were told to do. Lisa replied in a cold tone. Thats insane! Tayvon muttered. Lisa took off her Yankees hat and loosened her long, raven ck hair from its ponytail. To us it was insane as well. However, we had no choice. We could not let them in, and they would not leave. I tried to get them to go, I even begged them to leave on my knees, but all my words fell on deaf ears. Couldnt you have blown up another part of the cliffs? Henry asked. Lisa shook her head, No, any other spot was too wide, or the angle of the cliff was to far apart from the other cliff beyond the river. As we were nting the explosives on cliffside above them, we continued to beg them to go. They responded by throwing rocks, trash and one even took out his own gun to threaten us to leave. A UN soldier was the one to shoot him before the situation got out of hand even more. Even though a civilian was dead, the message it sent seemed to have changed the minds of several of the refugees and they started to leave. However, it was toote for most of them. Just as the sun fell behind the mountains, we blew up the cliffside. The valley was filled with dust and smoke in an instant. The sunlight was behind us and we had an unblocked view of the camp being buried before our eyes. It was horrible knowing that innocent humans, just trying to survive, were being killed by our own actions to save others in turn. We had to go and inspect thendslide to confirm that the valley and road was indeed impassable. When our Humvees arrived there was nothing left, save for one old man that looked to have just crawled out from the rubble. He was covered in dust, dirt and grim. Yet it was his face and words that stuck with me. Tears dripped through the mire on his face, but he was not sad, rather angry. Sitting on his knees in the middle of the road, he pointed back at thendslide behind him and shook his fist at us. Questa non pace! Disumano! meaning, This is not peace. Inhumane. He shouted this phrase at us repeatedly. The furry that trickled from his tears was justified by all rights. This wasnt the only time we had to blow up mountainsides to stop refugees, but this was the only time anyone died because of our demolition actions. When I saw the state of thosedies in the factory and the hopelessness that was in their eyes, I was immediately reminded of that day. I dont want to leave them there knowing I can help them. Lisa straightened up and cleared her throat, I dont have any superior officers telling me that I cant save those in need. That is why I must do this. Will you help me and be willing to house them here? The big room was quiet for a moment. Lisa had a dark past that didnt match her normally cheery personality, but it did exin her toughness that showed from time to time. It was Zane that broke the silence. Good enough for me. I share no feelings for the Mad Dogs and if it will give me a chance at a break away from Sadies training, Ill do anything. Hey! Sadieined. Where did thate from? You are showing great improvements from our workouts. Theres no reason for ndering me! Lisa chuckled, Sadie, you have been going a bit overboard. Zane looks no better than when we found him. Hmpf, my training regime is no different from the pros. Sadie sulked. In any case, are the rest of you willing to help? Lisa asked again. I know the rest of you are only here to assist with getting the dam running for the ERM to get power, but until then theres not much else to do. Ill do it. Wayne replied. Ive seen what that gang has done, and they are much worse than the ck Rats were. They needed to be stopped! Correction, Wayne. Tayvon said raising a hand. We all will help Lisa and those others. It sounds to be the right thing to do. Thank you all. Lisa said breaking into a cheery grin. I am so fortunate to have found such good allies! So, tell us what ns you do have. Eva asked. Even if you dont have the full idea yet, we can still get started. Look, theres at least two hours before darknesses. Well, Sadie, has John and Hanna passed by on their way home yet? Lisa asked looking at the little woman that was still pouting from Zane''s remarks. No, they havent. Sadie replied. Good. I will head over to the work site in a moment. So here is what Ill need Willis and Henry to do first thing tomorrow. Lisa said getting up from her seat. She then started picking up a sheet of yellowed paper and pen from the white table as she exined the rest of the n. I want you two to go back down to the river and fish with the. Catch as much as you can and bring them back here. The prisoners will all be hungry, and we need to stockpile food as soon as possible for so many people. Tayvon, you did great with filleting those fish, so I want you to prepare and smoke them as best you can. Got it. The three men replied in unison and then they started chuckling at this coincidence. Lisa ignored them and looked at the other two volunteers. Wayne and Eva, you two can keep cleaning out the storage units. Only this time search quickly by just collecting clothing, anything that can be slept on, kitchenware, or anything else that would be an immediate necessity. If you see those sketchy mening back let me know too. We can do that. Eva replied standing up. Come on Wayne, we should go now. I just finally got a chance to rx after breaking into that factory. Wayne mumbled but he dutifully followed Eva. What about me? Zane asked. Im thinking that I am not suited for the same jobs as they are doing. You are right. Lisa nodded. I need to know how well you can snipe. Chapter 184: Held Up Chapter 184: Held Up n had expected that the boat ride back north to The Damn would have been faster than walking, and at first it was. That is until they reached the Moab Citys limits. The citys river patrols had put aplete stop on all river trafficing to and leaving from the city. The narrow, canyon bound river was now clogged with boats of all kinds and all were barely moving. Come on! Why does there have to be such a long line of boats? n sighed as hey half drooped over the barges railing. The dark water gentlypped the boats dark blue pealing panted side as a breeze wafted from the direction of the city. With the wind came the mixed smells of foods, trash, and industry. The tall skyscrapers shinned brightly in the distance and lines of flying vehicles weaving between them could be barely seen. Moab was quite the modern city that hosted many wonders, but to the Skull and Sun People waiting to get by it, the city was just an annoyance. We will find out soon enough. Garth said casuallying to stand next to n. He then pointed his long metal spear past n, See, the barges ahead are still moving forwards. n looked upriver to see that a Moab Patrol boat was working its way down the long line of barges that were anchored in the narrow river. The Moab Patrol looked to be conducting searches of each boat they arrived at, because the intervals between each barge or boat they went to was nearly twenty minutes each. At the rate the patrollers were going at, it was looking like the Sun Peoples barge was going to be stuck on the river till dawn. You call that soon? n said giving another exasperated sigh. Why cant we go bynd again? It will only take a few hours of walking to get to The Damn. I still have no idea when the hoard will being and for all we know, it might be toote. We cant go bynd because of the cargo we are carrying. Garth replied. The Creeping Mahonia roots, leaves, and dried berries we carry are essential to our way of fighting the Twisted. To us humans the Creeping Mahonia is a pleasant smelling and somewhat tasty, fruited nt. I personally dont care for the berries, but others among us cant seem to get enough of them. Some have even tried brewing them, but that is not important. What is important is that the smoke messes with the Twisteds sense of smell, bnce, and direction. We use their time of confusion to kill them effectively. You kill them effectively for their body parts, right? Waste not want not, correct? n asked. He then spit into the water andzily watched the saliva bubbles float way. Exactly. We need them for our own purposes. Garth answered and then he pointed at the distant city towers. Thebs in Moab City are far ahead of most other countries or city states when ites to their research on the Twisted. However, they are not as knowledgeable as we are. The Twisted have more uses than Inducements and that pathetic vine they use to speed up healing wounds or preventing illnesses. The Sun People in the Grand Canyon have been researching much more effective ways to use the Twisted that the modern world has yet to know. But you guys still cover yourselves in mud like toddlers and wear loin cloths like savages. Real technologically advanced, Im sure. n said giving a halfheartedugh. He then got up from the railing and looked at the unamused Garth scowling at him from under his bison head hat. Laugh all you want, Speaker, but we hold a proud tradition. Something mere gangsters wouldnt understand. Garth sniffed. We have tattoos of bones on our body. So, we look more like you guys than regr folk. Though tattoos look way cooler. n retorted. All that a side, nearly two hundred and fifty Sun People came north with us. I am still surprised that any of you came. Were you all that bord? Most of us indeed were. Garth nodded. We might not have known about the hoard, but we did notice that the numbers of Twisted had thinned a great deal in thest few months. We already assumed a Hoard Mother was gathering them too her, however, we didnt know where the Hoard Mother was. The scouts wereing up empty handed. Is a Hoard Mother really that influential among the Twisted? I though they were just random monsters, rampaging across the world. Hemlock said joining in on their conversation. He was sitting cross-legged on the deck among the other Skull members that wereyingzily about in the sun. She is. Hoard Mothers have telekic abilities that let them control the other Twisted with a hive minded mentality. Garth answered. So, how are we going to fight off something like that? Sharp Tooth asked opening one eye overhearing the conversation. A Hoard Mother hasnt been killed with typical methods, so the best we can do is drive it off with the smoke and killing enough of the hoard to make it feel vulnerable. Garth answered. Though neither option is going to be an easy one. n rolled back over on the railing to stare at the glittering brown river. Well, I guess we will just have to wait and see. He took another nce at the patrol boat. We are going to be stuck here a while longer. Why does this have to take so long? Tammy whined. The trio and 56 had returned to Moab City and loaded up the Party Badger into is semitruck trailer for transport. They were now sitting in the crowded Hunters n hall waiting for their turn to submit their cameras recordings to the clerks of the n. This was the most efficient way of submitting proof of the number of Twisted they had killed in the invasion. However, the sheer length of footage that needed to be reviewed was astronomical. 56 was feeling impatient too. He knew that the MFA was still out there looking for him and sitting in one ce for too long was risky. He kept a watchful eye on all the entrances and those that came in and out of them. Orville was deployed out above the building conducting his surveince of the area as well. Give it a rest Tammy. Sam grumbled pulling his hood further over his face. Use this time to take a nap and rest up for the next fight. Ha! Sleep? I cannot do that right now. I am still feeling psyched from fighting the Demon Kodiak! Tammy replied as she paced in circles around the bench Sam and 56 were sitting on. That was hours ago! At least sit down. Sam continued to grumble as he peeked at his watch. Its already 2:00 AM and we probably have a long drive ahead of us. I will be driving first and need to rest, but with all your racket I cant! Fine, Ill sit down. Tammy replied rolling her eyes dramatically. She then plopped down heavily on the bench between Sam and 56 and crossed her arms crossly. Satisfied, Sam closed his eyes and was just about to try sleeping again when Dixon returned. Sam groaned and threw an arm over his eyes upon seeing that his chances for some sleep were now dashed. 56 eagerly looked up a Dixon for any telltale sign that they would be leaving. If things hadnt progressed further, 56 was thinking about leaving them to find some other ce toy low. Tammy on the other hand, was renewed with energy and she jumped up from her seat. Are we going now? Yes, we finally are going. Dixon sighed as he sidestepped the excitable Tammy and took her ce on the bench. Dixon then pointed at the long line of Hunters that were standing in front of the ns clerks. I stood in line for thest six hours to turn in our footage. I just handed it in and asked that they pay us when we return. I trust that they will count the correct number of Twisted we killed. Even if they low ball us, we are still going to score a huge bounty. Thats great to hear. Hopefully, I was able to contribute enough for me to keep traveling with you three. 56 replied. Yes, you were most helpful indeed. Dixon answered patting on 56s back hardily. How about you consider joining up with us? We could use another crack shot. 56 smiled and shook his head. I am afraid that I cant do that at this time. I have priormitments that I cant put aside. Though I am tempted to do so. I had never seen anything quite like what we went through yesterday. Seeing so many mindboggling creatures packing into one ce was worth every bit of the risk. Well maybe you will change your mind after we kill that baby Hoard Mother, and you see the price tag they ced on its head. Dixon replied. Then giving a reluctant, achy moan, Dixon got back up. Come on team, lets get back to the truck and start the hunt! When they all climbed into the cramped cabin of the semitruck Dixon took the passengers seat and 56 was crammed into the back with Tammy. Sam gloomily grabbed the steering wheel and pushed the trucks on button. The electric engine hummed softly to life and Sam pulled the truck out onto the deste city streets. They had only gone a few blocks when Tammy passed outpletely asleep with her face pressed t against the window. Its not fair. Its not fair! Sam whispered hotly, but Dixon and 56 heard him and they both held back their mirth. Lets see how far out the tracking signals are. Dixon said softly as he pulled out aptop from a backpack on the floor between him and the drivers seat. Hopefully, the Twisted havent dislodged their trackers and we end up having to follow them ourselves with their footprints. Right, Sam? Do you have to bring that every time? Sam said eyeing Dixon with a twinge of annoyance. I thought the tracker dart hit that Night Hounds head and not the log floating in the river behind it. We found the pack in the end too. Dixon chuckled, I know, I know. Its just funny to bring up. He then opened the tab for the tracking device on theptop and entered the information. As it opened to show a 3D map disy of where the trackers were, his face darkened and turned serious. Sam, you might want to speed things up. Whats wrong? 56 asked peering over the passengers seat to look at the screen. Sam didnt need to be told twice. The trucks momentum increased noticeably as Sam started to merge onto the highway that was bound for the north of Moab. If this signal is urate the Twisted are getting dangerously close to an unprotected town just north of here. I think it called The Damn. Dixon answered in a grave voice. That town will probably be ughtered and eaten if they get attacked. They dont have any protection at all? 56 asked. No. That area is well out of Moab Citys protection and no other country hasid im to thatwless zone. Dixon replied as he zoomed in on the Twisteds location. Luckily, there is a cliffside blocking them from reaching the town right away, but its only a matter of time before the Twisted get around it. Judging from the distance they have to go to the town and how far we have to catch up, we likely wont make it in time! Chapter 185: Bolstering the Ranks Chapter 185: Bolstering the Ranks Special Officer Hawkins silently pondered all that he had witnessed during the Twisted Hoard invasion. The citys defenses had remainedrgely intact, the ICAD 18s had performed within the AFRs expectations, 56 had remained alive and was still traveling in an unpredictable manner with the Hunters n. What remained as the most significant thing of the invasion was that the Hoard Mother had been in by the secret weapon that Mayor Bakersfield had boasted so greatly of. That impressive disy of strength of using the kic energy artillery strikes on the Liquid Nitrogen-soaked Hoard Mother worked too well for his liking. Have all the video feed from the Osprey Drone ryed to the Lieutenant Colonel. I also want to mention in the same report that 56 is still on the move but now heading in the direction of the town Queen is in. They mighte into contact, and it needs to be monitored. If 56 convinces Queen to leave the town and return to wherever the Cyborg Unit is hiding out, then getting the chance to iste and neutralize a lone threat might be gone for good. Hawkins ryed to the soldiers closest in the room to him. Many of the solders under hismand still were working with thest of their ground crew collecting the disabled drones that 56 and Orville had blinded, while others were mopping up thest of the damage control from their unsessful chase. Luckily for them the media groups of Moab City had been fully distracted by the Twisted Hoard, so they were able to deal with the local officials and poption with little interference. Gill, do you still have eyes on our target? Hawkins asked. The Intelligence Operator (IO) Corporal Gill was focused solely on the monitor in front of him, but he managed to raise a thumb in reply. Yes sir. 56 has been inside the Hunters n for thest few hours. The Assistant Observer and I have seen no signs of him leaving any of the exits. Good, let me know of any changes in his location or movements. Hawkins ordered. Sir, you have another calling from the mayor. Another soldier sitting at a desk on his left called out. The soldier also held up the mobile phone that the Moab Mayor had called on before. Ill answer it now. Hawkins replied taking the mobile phone from the soldier. Once again, he returned to the hallway and answered the call. Hello again, Mayor Bakersfield. What can I do for you? Yes, I was just calling to update you on a few things. The voice of Mayor Bakersfield casually replied. Though he was speaking casually, the mayor had dropped the normal formalities. Thus, making every word the mayor said from then on to hold weight to it. As you are now aware of our newest weapon, I am going to let your forces still lingering in my city know that their time here is limited. We still wish to retain our good rtions with the AFR, but your presence has been found a nuisance. I was not blinded by the Twisted invasion of your blunderings in my citys streets. Luckily for you no casualties have been reported but serious damages to infrastructure have been made. We will be fitting the AFR with the bill. I understand, the damages were not foreseen, and we will be more than willing topensate for the damages. We too wish to still keep good rtions to you little city. Hawkins replied with a simr demeaner. He had no other option but toply. Any harsh remarks or denials of the situation would undoubtably cause further diplomatic harm and he was in no ce to spark ill rtions among two government entities. It was best for him to agree and then let the issue rollover into the political realm. Though I have not been given our next orders, I am sure that when they doe, we will be removed from this area. As far as Im concerned our work here is done and was never meant to be permanent. That is good to know. Mayor Bakersfield replied. We will also be announcing worldwide our victory upon bing the third government force to have sessfully defeated a Hoard Mother. In light of this, we will also be iming all privileges to the possession, distribution, and hold all rights to the studies of the Twisted creatures we killed. That includes the Hoard Mother. Noted. I will ry this im to my superior. Hawkins replied fully well knowing that he could not refute these ims. Very good. I thank you for being cordial with us and I hope to hear from you during more favorable circumstances. Farewell. Mayor Bakersfield replied. Goodbye. Hawkins answered just before the tone went nk. Hawkins turned the phone off and sighed with relief. Well, I think that went over well. I am not suited to deal with politics. Hawkins turned from the hall and went back intomand room. Yet before he could call to a solder to write down the new report of what the mayor had told him, Hawkins saw that the Lieutenant Colonel was already on the main screen. Special Officer. The stern-faced officer called out. Hawkins snapped into attention as did most of the standing soldiers. I will be issuing your next assignments and giving you a briefing on your new units. The full report will be sent to your inbox once your enroute back to your station. I trust you will read over it in full once your back on the ground. Understood, Sir. Hawkins answered. Good. Now your next assignment is a duel one. The image of the Lieutenant Colonel disappeared only to be reced with video footage of two Light ss Robotics Transport (LCRT) hover craft. The LCRTs were currently docked on an open sandy field at what looked to be a military base during the night. Though it was dark Hawkins could see these transport hover ships were different from normal transports. Robots did not need the same space to move or to travel in as humans would need and they could fit into the ships like cargo. Being stacked like sardines, the robotic soldier could travel in greater numbers and amodate the hover ships to maintain a sleek, more streamlined profile. The back hatch of the long and stubby designed LCRTs was lowered and the quadruple helicopter like des were already spinning as if ready to takeoff at any moment. Lit up by the fields surrounding lights and marching in two lines into the LCRTs were AFR robotics soldiers. These slim, humanoid robotic soldiers looked remarkably like the standard units the American Fascist Regime currently deployed. Yet the decerning eye of the Special Officer noticed that something about them was off. Sir, may I ask something? Hawkins asked before the Lieutenant Colonel could continue. You may. The Lieutenant Colonel responded. These are not the standard generation seven robotic soldiers from Silicon Valley AI Robotics Products (SVAIRP). Are the generation eight robotic soldier ready for deployment? These soldiers have several notable characteristics that stand them apart from the generation sevens. Particrly the joints are fully enclosed, the heads are seemingly sunken into the core torso and the battery and ammo backpack is half the size. Hawkins asked. Well observed, Special Officer. These are not generation sevens; however, they are not generation eights either. The Lieutenants Colonels voice replied as the screen remained on the robotic soldier finishing up filling into the LCRTs. These unnamed robotic soldiers are going to be field tested to specifically go up against cyborg units. By field tested, are you saying that I will be sending them to attack 56? Hawkins asked. Yes and no. The Lieutenant Colonel answered. Yes, if the opportunity presents itself. No, not against 56 but they are nned instead to be used against Lisa Cunningham or 24. The reason being is that 56 is primarily an Aerial Combat Cyborg, while as for 24, she is a Ground Assault focused Cyborg. We will be focusing on dealing with her type because the majority of the Cyborg Unit are also Ground based types. I understand. Hawkins answered remaining in attention. As I was saying, this mission is a duel one. Before these new robotic soldiers can face 24 or 56, they will be tasked with collecting samples of the fallen Hoard Mother. I was keeping tabs on the updatesing from your units posts and know mostly of what has transpired. Has the mayor contacted you? Yes sir. I will be submitting the details to you of the conversation and of the battle. Hawkins replied. I see. The Lieutenant Colonel said thoughtfully while reaching up to scratch at the scar that ran across his chin. If he has contacted you already, then this mission must be carried out with swift precision, and this is now your topmost priority. Once the new units join your ranks and you have made a faux leave of the city, you are to redirect them to covertly obtain samples from the Hoard Mother. I will send the details of the full list of requirements, but what we really want is the Hoard Mothers imprable skin. Hawkins immediately understood why this was the case. If the AFR could determine theposition of the thick skin, deriving a new sets of unit armor and potentially vehicle armor as well, would bolster their military power immensely. Hawkins tightened his stance and answered, I will carry this assignment out with haste. The Lieutenant Colonel saluted back, Good, the details are already being sent. I wish you luck. The main screen then fell dark before returning to the images of the Osprey Drone circling above the semitruck 56 was in, and everyone rxed. That is except for Special Officer Hawkins. Why are you all looking so rxed? Hawkins voice rattled the room. Let us get everything on the ground finished asap. Start packing everything in this room and get it ready to be transported. We have a new mission, and we need to move quickly before the Moab forces create a perimeter around the Hoard Mother. As everyone started hurrying about to carry out thesemands, Hawkins returned to Corporal Gill. Is the route 56 taking easy to follow? Yes sir, he is following the main route northwest along the river. No other vehicles are moving this way either, so tracking him back down should be easy. Gill answered. Alright then, stop following him for now. I need you to observe the body of the Hoard Mother. Hawkins ordered. Then he pointed at the Assistant Observer next to Gill, I want you to record any of the Moab Citys forces, or the Hunters ns forces, movements and positions around the corpse. Understood sir. The Assistant Observer replied as he picked up a tabloid to begin the task. Corporal, once the ground forces repair the other drones and get them deployed, go back to tracking 56. Hawkins order just before turning around to go towards his temporary office. Unexpectedly, however, someone was already waiting for him. It was Special Officer Welling, and he held a noticeable somber expression on his muscr face. When the twos eyes met, Special Officer Wellings closed the distance between them to speak. In a low voice Wellings spoke first. I wish to congratte you on your sess for getting this position with Operation Chess. Just let me give you a piece of advice. Keep your head on a swivel and pay attention to what orders you are given. What are you getting at? Hawkins asked genuinely confused. I have known a few Officers that were made a part of Operation Chess and most of them were dishonorably discharged for being used ofmitting war crimes or not following orders. These discharges took ce only a few months after joining the program. Wellings replied still in a low voice. Things are not going to be easy for you. Wellings then turned away and marched hurriedly for the exit before Hawkins could make a reply. Hawkins had no idea why Wellings was telling him this or what he was aplishing by doing so. The military always has had members going off the deep end, war will do that to even the best of men. Hawkins shook his head and thought, I bet he is just mad I got the position and not him. For now, let me focus on my job. Chapter 186: Stairwell Chapter 186: Stairwell Steel Fist and the others dashed into the bottom floor of the building that the Mad Dogs had escaped into just as the first wave of mortar shells engulfed the city street. ss, dust, and rubble scattered in every direction causing further chaos. Now it was the Skulls turn to feel cornered. Spitting some grime out of his mouth, Steel Fist shouted across the street at Back de. Get yourselves up the floors and take out as many as you can! We need to get out of here before they try bring down the buildings on top of us. Back de gave a thumbs up and was about to reply when the second wave of mortars riddled the side and top of the building Stitches and the rest of the Skull, were using to shoot at the Mad Dogs from. Both Steel Fist and Back de covered themselves with their shields and retreated into the lowest floors as the explosions ensued. Behind them rained chunks of concrete, twisted rebar, lethal metal shards, and ss came crashing down in heaps to flood on the once clean streets. Hurry up and find the stairs and elevator shafts. Steel Fist bellowed at the others with him in the disy window. We need to make this quick! Dust was starting to cloud their view making the already dim interior all the more difficult to see. The gunfire from their allies across the street had alsoe to a stop. Steel Fist was not worried about them though. Stitches probably had tucked herself into some vantage point that was already faraway from the windows to snipe from, so the mortars barrage likely missed her. As the others located the ways up the building, Steel Fist raised a hand to his lips to whistle a long, shrill note. Momentster, from still high above in the bombed building, a simr whistle echoed back. Stitches was fine. We found the elevator shaft. One of the Skull called to Steel Fist. They already cut the cables. It seems they know about our tactics. The stairs it is then. Steel Fist sighed while picking up his heavy armored truck door. We will need too Interrupting him, a third wave of mortars just then sted a fresh set of holes into the buildings across the intersection. The deafening impact noises were brief but annoying all the same. When the fresh debris cast their dusty ssh on everything below, Steel Fist waved at the swirling dust to finish speaking. We will need to go up in a tight formation. Any gaps in our shields will spell trouble for us if any bullets get through. Especially if that crack shot that hit my shields window is up there. Steal Fist split their group once again into three groups. The tworgest groups were to go up the stairwells on the north and south ends of the building. As they went up, they were to go in a knit formation by oveying their shields above their heads and on top of the persons in front of them. This centipede looking formation was likely their best bet at advancing to the floors above. Judging from the fact the elevator cables had already been cut, the Mad Dogs were already prepared to defend the stairs. The third group remained on the ground floor incase someone or something came at them from behind. Steel Fist stood at the back of the line on the southern stairwell. He was here just in case the other group managed to break through the Mad Dogs defenses. Though he would rather be at the front, hiding like a coward in the back was not his forte. Rearing his head back, Steel Fist roared out a mighty battle cry. Alright, let give them hell! The sound of this shout and the reverberations of his voice in the stairwell was sure to rattle any defenders above them. The knit formation of men chanted repeatedly, One, two. One, two. This way they all could march in uniform to hold the formation without letting any gaps show. This not only showed their unity as a gang, but further proved why they had not yet been concerned by the Mad Dogs. From above the Mad Dogs were nervously waiting for them with gun barrels aimed downwards at the approaching marching noises. The white stairwell below them was poorly lit by numerous tinny windows. The dim sunbeams illuminating the dancing dust made seeing anyone on the stair difficult to see, which made Riles n even better. Rile hade up with a n to slow the Skulls advance for both the northern and southern stairwells. Three gangsters were left behind on the stairwell turns on three different levels: the third, fifth, and seventh floors. The rest of the Mad Dogs and Rile were blocking up the nh floor windows carefully to hide from the sniper fire stilling asionally from across the street and prepare for Steel Fist and his crew. These three groups were tasked to first shoot at any Skulling up the stairs stall their advances long enough for the Mad Dogs above to get prepared. Rile had chosen to fight at the southern stairs once the fighting started and he had left one guy in the first group of the northern stairwell that he knew to be capable of holding out for longer than most, Krill. Krill was an odd guy, to say the least. The wiry, nearly fully bald but still barely into histe twenties, man was as nerdy looking as could be. However, Krill was borderline insane. Let me shoot first, let me shoot first. I am going to feed em lead like chicken feed! Krill murmured to himself. Though Krill was not speaking directly to the other two with him, they could hear every word. This eerie talk made them even more uneasy. Then the guy on the left leaned carefully over to Krill and nudged him with his elbow. Hey, can you shut up? We got enough to worry about, and we dont need you spouting creepy stuff. Krill turned sharply to look at the man with excited, wild open eyes. This expression made the man step back nervously. Then Krill, still staring down hisrge, hooked nose at the man without even blinking said, Im going to put some lead in their skulls and rattle it around. Why are you stopping me? We are on the same side, right? Both men nodded in fervent agreement. The man then stammered a reply, Uh, ya. Yes, we are on the same side. Good! Krill giggled and looked back down at the stairwell expectantly. Im d you guys are on my side. Now I can fight in one direction. The two men gulped and looked at each other with worry, but they said nothing more, less they do something to upset the psycho next to them. Secondster all three of them saw something metal appear below theming upwards towards the stairwell turn. The Skull in formation wereing into view. Krill shifted eagerly from foot to foot as he aimed down the iron sights of his assault rifle. He kept opening and closing his hands to adjust his grasp of the gun and all the while his face drew tightly into an unexpected serious, zed look. All three of them had their guns trained at the topmost stair of the bend, with their fingers barely pressing down on the trigger. Remember, I shoot first! Krill hissed not taking his eyes off the movements below. Secondster the first shield of the Skull came onto the turn. This shield was lowered and turned to block the Mad Dogs view of the holder, and above that shield was another covering the head of the first shield. Both shields, and the ones that followed all looked to bepacted metal bs, former steel doors from some security building or bank door. All in all, they looked entirely capable of deflecting bullets. Now? The man on Krills right murmured. Wait. Krill replied. The third shield, followed by the fourth Skull shield appeared onto the bend and it looked they were getting ready to start up the next set of stairs unchallenged. However, Krill did not shoot. The suspense was getting to be too much for the other two. Krill, we need to stop them. The guy on the left whispered harshly. If you dont shoot in the next three seconds I will. I said wait. Krill replied in a calm voice that sounded melo to beforting. I just need the right opening. Well, if we shoot at them now the opening will show. The guy on the right replied. Pow! Unexpectedly, Krill fired one single bullet, breaking the steady rhythmic marching noiseing from below. The sixth shield carrying Skull gangster had just stepped onto the bend when Krill shot. The shield dropped from the mans hand and went tumbling down the stairwell gap. The gangster copsed onto the bend flooring in a crumpled heap, exposing the gangsters in front and behind him. Seeing the opening Krill and the other two didnt hesitate. They pulled the triggers as fast as they could at any exposed body parts they could see. The sudden copse of their formation, followed by the hail of gunfire sent the Skull shield formation into a panic. Three more shield bearers fell prey to the attack before they reorganized into a new formation. Many of the gangsters were now standing still on bend preparing to block the gunfire with their shields. Krill was the first to empty his magazine at this new wall and instead of reloading he tossed his gun behind him on the floor. What are you doing? Keep shooting! The guy on the left held. F*** him! Ignore that idiot and shoot. The other man countered switching magazines. Krill reached down into the backpack that was at his feet and pulled out two Molotov cocktails. Then lighting them, Krill let out an unexpected series of beagle like yelps and went running down the stairs at the Skull like a suicide bomber! Are you crazy! One of the Mad Dogs yelled at him, but Krill was already long gone. Krill ran down the stairs far faster than the Skull had expected. Above him he waved the ming bottles manically while continuing to yelp furiously. The closest of the Skull turned to aim a pistol and shoot at this crazy maning at them, but it was tote. Krill had seen the man making a move and threw the first bottle at him. They were so close that it was nearly impossible to miss. The bottle struck the edge of the gangsters shield and shattered into a ze of liquid fire, engulfing the man. The sight of the sudden mes and screeches caused the rest of the Skull watching to freeze with shock. It was all Krill needed. He threw the other bottle into the cluster of shields and charged the closest Skull gangster. Krillunched himself at the gangster and grappled him to the floor. Krill pulled a long knife from his belt and stabbed ferociously at the mans chest, ending all chances of a struggle. You monster! One of the Skull shouted taking a shot at Krill. Using his small size to his advantage, Krill rolled to one side just in time to avoid the bullet aimed at his head and lunged at the shooter. The man fired again, but this didnt stop Krill. That gangster met the same fate as the one before. Two other Skull gangsters went to tackle Krill off the dead man only to be shot by the other two Mad Dogs from above. The two Mad Dogs then watched in horror as Krill proceeded to engage every advancing Skull in turn. Krill was using the narrow stairs to his advantage to wound or killed them off one by one. Blood and mes mixed with the screams and shouts to create a terrible scene in the dimly lit stairwell. Secondster the Skull were fleeing back the way they came. Nine Skull bodiesy, mutted, shot, and charred on the once white stairwell and amid all this stood Krill. Krill was breathing heavily with a deranged, satisfied smile on his face. Looking up at the two Mad Dogs above him, Krill gave a thumbs up. That was fun! Let us do it again! They were tasked with just holding the Skull off, but Krill nearly single handily drove them away. Krill was in essence a truly Mad Dog! Chapter 187: Dusty Shots Chapter 187: Dusty Shots This was not just a simple raid. Stiches coughed angrily as she made her way down to the next floor. The dust was hanging thickly and barely dissipating in the ustrophobic building. Those Mad Dogs are pulling out the big guns this time and we are probably in for a long fight. I wonder, why are they choosing now to invade us? Our mole was totally useless this time. She had juste from whistling in reply to Steel Fists call and was now making a move to a new spot to snipe from. They were caught off guard by the unforeseen mortar barrage and many of her forces were already killed out. Looking ahead of her at those going to the lower levels Stiches guessed that just over half of them were left. Those that were left looked battered, shellshocked, and in poor spirits. This is stupid! Stitches shouted drawing the attention of many nearby. We are supposed to be the support on the backlines and take fewer damages than Steel Fists group. I want all of you to be sure to pay the Mad Dogs back tenfold for doing this to us. You hear me? We are not done yet! The Skull with her gave out a half-hearted cheer and the filed on resolutely onwards. Reaching the fifteenth floor of what used to be a thirty-story building, they split into three groups. Stitches and the few others with snipers or long ranged rifles stayed on the fifteenth floor. The second andrgest group went to the fourteenth and thirteenth floors to do likewise. They were armed with more standard rifles or LMGs. While the third group, made up of mostly the wounded, made their way back down to the bottom floors to rest. Stiches stayed against the back most wall, away from the side where the mortars had struck at the building before and found a fully ss walled corner office that overlooked the streets and intersection below. From here she could also see most of the windows of the building Steel Fist had gone into. Pushing an office desk next to the window Stitches prepared a ce to shoot from. Raising her sniper rifle up to her icy blue eye, she looked down its half meter scope at the building to spot any signs of movement. Stitches was using a rareser sniper rifle that she had confiscated from an idiot merchant that didnt fully understand what he had in his possession. All it cost her was one well-ced crowbar to his head. This beautiful, deep ck, and red entedser sniper was called a Lithium-ion Composite Sniper Rifle Thirty Second updated model or LCSR-32. Like the ZKZM-7000, this gun was sleek and streamline with a waterproof looking design made with thetest carbon fibers and military grade stics. However, rather than one lithium battery, this sniper had two. This allowed theser to remain powerful enough to puncture ss, bodies, and even light vehicle armor at any distance under two kilometers with no loss in effectiveness. The clear downside was its weight, and the barrel length was also doubled to disperse the heat generated, thus why the LCRS-32 is considered a sniper ss weapon. What made it stand out the most was the interchangeable mode scope. The scope featured a multi-variable zoom, thermal vision, various night vison modes, a target tracking probability feature, and even an ally verse enemy identification feature to minimize friendly fire. For hundreds of years, it used to be that all these features were packed onto the helmet mounted goggles of foot soldiers with multiple attachments. This scope design saved all the trouble of switching between goggles and settings with just simply flipping between dials. Stitches was using the thermal vison to spot what floor the Mad Dogs were cowering on and found that they were on the nh floor. Even with the thick dust floating in the air, both in and outside the building, the thermal vision waspletely unfazed. Even if the dust were three times as thick, the thermal vision of the advanced sniper scope would remain unfazed. Also, even though she was on the fifteenth floor and with a height advantage, as all snipers should have, seeing too the back of that floor was not an easy task. It was also clear to her that the Mad Dogs were trying to block up much of her view of the inside with random objects. However, their efforts were useless against her LCSR-32. Ready to kill something, Lady? Stitches said patting fondly on her snipers stock. Still looking into the nh floor with the thermal vison, Stiches took aim at arge orange and yellow figure standing in an open area of the windows. Smiling at the fool, Stitches pulled the trigger. There was no recoil, no sound, no sh and most certainly noser trail to give her position away. Theser projectile cut cleanly, leaving a perfect circr hole, through the windows of both the building she was in and the where the unlucky Mad Dog was standing. The orange and yellow figure in her sight flopped slowly onto the floor, dead with a hole through the head. The whole process was silently executed, basically an assassins wet dream weapon. Zooming out for a new target, Stitches saw that the rest of the orange and yellow Mad Dog figures had seen the results of Ladys handywork and were scattering for cover. Though without knowing where the shot came from many hid in in sight of her. Pressing a button mounted into her snipers foregrip she marked their locations, and a square box outlined the targets even if they moved locations. Easy pickings now. Stitches mused to Lady. In mere seconds four more Mad Dogs were gun downed in pure silent assassination. Each target took only one shot and they needed to be killed with one shot too. Stiches had a limited amount of energy to spare in her snipers batteries, so each shot must count. This drawback also made her into one of the deadliest snipers in thiswless zone. As she went to find the next marked target, Stitches noticed that the figures were moving towards the southern side of the building and out of her sight. They either knew where her shots wereing from, or Steel Fist was engaging them, and they were trying to stop him. In either case, her job was nearing its end. Not many had been able to ward off Steel Fists attacks. Lowering her sniper onto the desk and brushing back her blond, bradded hair behind her ears, Stitches caught sight of something big moving towards her locationing from the direction the dock. Picking back up the sniper and switching to normal view, she saw an odd sight; five dumpsters were rolling up the hill in the middle of the road. What now? Stiches murmured. There was only one possibility, the Mad Dog reinforcements had arrived. Stitches then picked up Lady and marched out onto the fifteenth floor in a hurried fashion. Going from room to room she shouted out orders to the Skull that had already gotten into their new positions long ago. We gotpany! Take aim at the street below but keep an eye on the windows across from you. The Mad Dogs will soon see where we are shooting from and retaliate. We cannot rely on Steel Fists men to distract every Mad Dog out there! Time to get your revenge. Zzzzipp! The angry buzzing of a bullet whizzed overhead of the Mad Dogs, this time striking the wall on the left side of the road. Instinctively, all the Mad Dogs ducked as low as they could behind the closest dumpster. There wasnt much room left to hide as the snipers were steadily getting a better angle to shoot with every step they took. Ernest scoffed seeing their reactions. Come on guys, these guys are crap shots. Look, they only managed to kill four of us. Behind them, lying in the street were the four bodies of their fallenrades. The way Ernest so casually pointed out their sacrifice was off-putting. However, no one tried to counter him. Peering around the dumpsters edge Ernest exined his n, Alright, looks like we are only a dozen meters from the back of the buildings the barge three guys are in. We are going to make a break from here to the buildings and get inside. There we can make our way up the building to be able to counter the Skull and regroup for the next push. Cant we keep pushing the dumpsters closer? There is no cover out there. One of the gagsters asked. Ernest rolled his eyes and sighed. We could do that, but that would give the snipers a better angle to pick us off one by one. These rusty wheels are too slow. Then as if to put an exmation point on his remark, three more bullets pinged off the roof of his dumpster, narrowly missing their heads. See. Ernest said matter-of-factly. We all have a better shot making a quick run for the walls. Any other questions? No one replied. They only looked at each other uneasily, unsure what might be the next best move. Then from across the intersection, a noise drew their attention. Three long shrill whistles sounded out from high above them. Thats our cue! Ernest shouted. The Skull are making some kind of move and I dont know what that may be. Go now, go, go! Breaking out from their cover behind the dumpsters the Mad Dogs dashed for the alley ways between the building ahead. Immediately they became under fire from the snipers and machine guns waiting for them across the street. In the few seconds it took to cross the distance thirty or more Mad Dogs we killed. Yet they made it into the building and found the Skull were waiting for them. However, the whistle was not only heard by the Mad Dogs but also by the intended receiver of the call, Steel Fist. Amidst the gunfire, screams and chaos of the battle raging in the southern stairwell, he heard those three whistles. Gritting his teeth with disappointment, Steel Fist knew what that signal meant. It was time to retreat and at the most unfortunate of times too. They had reached the nh floor, overrunning the stairwell defenses, and muscling their way onto the floor to engage the trapped Mad Dogs. All they need to do was force the Mad Dogs back against the windows and pick them off from both sides as the snipers would be able to assist in the battle once again. Rile was doing his best to handle the dire situation. With his rifle he was able to shoot many Skulls, wounding or killing them. The rest of the Mad Dogs were emboldened by his actions and were giving the Skull a run for their money; however, the end was bing clear. Even as the psychotic Krill and the rest of the northern stairwell defenders joined in the fray; they knew they were not going to make it. Bullets whizzed behind them through the shattered ss that was cascading around them like snowfall. Sparks flew off the Skulls shields like fireworks at a festival. Chunks of wood, concrete, metal, and cloth scattered and sailed all around the Mad Dogs as their cover was being torn to shreds. Men screamed, guns zed, blood flowed freely to soak into the carpet. Then silence. The dusty, ashy debris flittered down like moth wings around Rile in the unbearable silence as he sat hunkered behind thest pir before reaching the windows. Breathing heavily and sweating uncontrobly, unsure as to what was going on, Rile tentatively peered around the pir. The Skull were gone! The doorway, or what was left of it, was entirely empty. Then a deep voice came calling from the stairs. Hey, crack shot, you know who you are. Tell me your name if you still live. The voice belonged to Steel Fist. Rile knew that it was him that Steel Fist was calling too, though as to why, he knew not. Mustering up the courage to reply, Rile shouted hoarsely back, Rile. Well fought, Rile. I will remember you for next time. Be d your allies havee to bail you all out! Steel Fist shouted. Then all once again returned to silence. Rile nearly copsed with relief. Giving a weak but victorious cheer, he called to those that remained. W-we are saved! Chapter 188: Stand Off Chapter 188: Stand Off Hugo was frustrated. They hadnt even pushed one block into the Skull territory when they came under a series of surprise attacks. Unlike the trap Rile and the others walked into, this one was much more borate. Keep your eyes peeled onto the windows and roof tops at all times! Hugo shouted from the middle of the main force. They might be only showing up a few at a time but thats no reason to bex. The Skull were attacking in groups of six to ten from either roof tops or the highest windows. Every time the Mad Dogs went to engage the Skull inside the buildings, they found that they had already abandoned their positions and escaped. Where they had gone was a mystery to them. Hugo knew that they should have pulled back and tried taking a wider alternate route as soon as they were attacked like this. However, he had seen the dark smoke rising from the docks and knew that Ernests forces were fighting, and time was of the essence. In response to the sporadic attacksing from above, Hugo fanned out his forces to cover four streets of which were all leading towards the docks. He knew not how many they were being attacked by, nor which Skull Hand was leading them. Hugo had a few hunches but nothing concrete. Group one, give me an update. Hugo radioed on his walky-talky on an alternate channel that would not interfere with Ernests channel. They were all using the barges radio transmitters for this joint attack. Martinez made it clear to them long ago thatmunication was key to gaining victory. Group one answering, we are still getting shot at, but the intervals are getting fewer and further in between. It seems like the left nk might be easier to invade from. Group two, what about you? Hugo asked. Group two here, same as group one. Though moments ago, one of the front runners hit a trip line attached to a grenade. I think we all need to be more careful now. Next time something like that happens tell us right away! Hugo snarled into the walky-talky. Then looking up he warned his own scouts of this new development. U-understood! The man from group two stammered. Group four calling. A new voice calleding from the walky-talky. We just came under heavy sniper fire! We think that itsing from the red brick apartment buildings three blocks ahead. What do you advise? We are currently pinned down. What kind of cover do you have? Hugo asked as he looked ahead to spy the top edge of the red brick apartment. Nothing good. The group four man replied. The road is empty, straight and the buildings walls here are flush with the road. We will be sitting ducks if we go out there. S***. Hugo muttered. What does the next street over look like? Does it have better cover? I will send someone to check. Group four, over. The walky-talky went silent as Hugo and the others with him pressed slowly onwards. The whole way Hugo couldnt stop grumbling. I was just a normal guy in this town before I got myself mixed into this mess. I had a nice little farm going on and was doing simply fine. If it werent for those stupid Ho gangsters stealing my grain, I wouldnt have joined the Mad Dogs. Now look at me, constantly being thrown into a fight I never wanted to be a part of, and on top of that, Im leading other idiots like me. Zzziipp, crash! A bullet suddenly whizzed through their ranks and sted arge window to bits. Everyone instantly pressed themselves up against the nearby walls or doorways. Judging from the sounds direction, the bullet seemed to havee from those same red brick apartments group four mentioned. Everyone, stay put for a moment and rest. Hugo shouted out to the others. Then into the walky-talky he called, Group four, any update on the other street? A few moments passed when the walky-talky crackled to life. Its no good there either. Of all the guys I sent, only two came back and they spotted arge number of Skulling down the road. They are going to try and nk us. What do you think we should do? We cant hold out well in our location, the buildings here are all ss store fronts. Hugo pondered the next move. Something felt wrong to him. The right side of his forces were getting the worst of the attacks, while the left seemed weak and easier to invade. The sniping from the red brick apartments was alsoing from their right. It was uncharacteristic of the Skull to not have all their fronts defended equally as strong. Then a light flipped on in his mind. He knew who was behind the Skull forces here. Hugoughed and spoke his thoughts aloud, Bone Dust, I should have known. Only you have any kind of n ready for when we attack you Skull freaks. Alright, I will y along with your game. Why do you want us to go to the left? Then raising the walky-talky, Hugo made his decision. Group four, retreat and join up with us. Leave a few stragglers behind to see what that group of Skulling your way does next. On it! The man from group four called back. Ke-ke-ke, looks like the n is working just as you said it would. Crows Beak cackled as he hopped down from the tallest of the air conditioning units on the red brick apartments. They are moving closer to the river now. Now can you tell me the rest of the n? Hmm, in a moment. Bone Dust replied stroking his white pointed beard. I want them to get pushed back one more street. Send the order. Ke-ke, very well. Crows Beak replied. Then crawling on all fours to the apartments edge, Crows Beak picked up a green and yellow g on a long stick in each hand. Waving the green g vertically three times Crows Beak waited for a reply toe from another messenger stationed on another roof two blocks between them and the Mad Dogs. Then he spotted a green g like his own repeating the three vertical waves, his message was received. Next, he raised the yellow g and waved it twice in a wide arc above his head. The messenger repeated the action and Crows Beak put the two gs down. Can I take a guess as to what your n may be? Crows Feat called back to Bone Dust. Why not. We have been working together long enough that Id assume you know my intentions. Bone Dust replied. The stadium. You are going to force them to travel into it and there we will kill them all. Ke-ke-ke! Crows Beak replied slyly. HA, you are correct my friend! How did you guess this? Bone Dust asked with a grining over to join Crows Beak at the roofs edge. Beyond the area the Mad Dogs chose to attack us has the river and flowing into the river is arge run off gorge. That gorge also runs through the area I normally monitor. It is much to steep to cross on foot. All the bridges crossing this gorge have been destroyed by us save for three ces. Crows Beak replied as he held up a finger, One, the Main Street bridge where I keep watch. The second is where the main base is located, and the Eyes watch over that bridge. The third is found on the backside of the stadium. The only way to get to that bridge is to go right through the stadiums field. You are very perceptive and correct. I dont think Ive given you enough credit for this. Bone Dust replied still smiling. Once we corral the Mad Dogs into the stadium, we will have scaled the stands to begin raining hells fire down on them. Then once that is all said and done. The rest of the Mad Dogs at the docks will be dealt with easily. Good, very good indeed. Crows Beak answered going back down onto all fours. He then started crawling for the elevator shaft nearby. I wont waste anytime then and get my own forces situated to speed things up. Sounds good to me. Ill catch up with youter. My own bones arent as fast as they used to be. Bone Dust said jokingly patting his hips. Besides, I need to make sure the Mad Dogs do indeed go that way. Who knows, they could somehow get through out attacks. Crows Beak stopped heading for the elevator and turned to look back at Bone Dust. They wont. I know what you have taught your Feet and its downright scarry! Even I wouldnt want to fight them all at once. Meanwhile, Martinez was standing boldly on the bridge that crossed the gorge heading towards the Skulls main base in the old mall. He had his Macuahuitl proudly on disy as he carried it openly on his shoulder. Its faux obsidian shards glinted dangerously in the bright noonday sunlight. With him Xander and the rest of the Mad Dogs forces were waiting in the shade of some trees that lined this part of the street. They were waiting for two things to happen. The first being Rodneys return. Rodney was tasked with searching out the Skulls base for escape routes or secret passages and he should have returned long ago. The second thing were for there to be any signs of Skull reinforcements, or even better, the Undertaker himself leaving the base to go assist the battle going on by the docks. However, the day had been rolling by with little to show for their efforts. Aside from the single patrol they crushed first thing this morning, they hadnte across any other Skull forces. It was almost like they had attacked when the Skull were least expecting them to invade. Any normal person would have noticed this and pressed on to attack the main base. The Mad Dogs brazen actions were not unnoticed and Martinez knew this. Thus, the reason they had not moved from this spot. Beyond this tall green metal bridge was where the Eyes of the Skull were probably waiting for them. Maybe they captured Rodney? Xander called out to Martinez. Should we do something to provoke the Skull now? Its past noon. Martinez didnt even look back as he spoke. No, Rodney will be back any second. He is our best scouter, no, the best scouter I have evere across. There is no way hes been found out. Then as if to prove his point, Rodney magically appeared beside Xander. Thanks for the vote of confidence boss! Jeez Rodney! Where did you pop up from? Xander shouted in surprise. Do that again and I might just shoot you. It doesnt matter. Rodney replied brushing off Xanders remark. The Undertaker is still inside the mallst I checked, and it looks like he has no intentions ofing out. The forces inside havent even mobilized to go help the Hands at the docks either. Now that is troubling. Martinez replied. He then patted the cricket bat like handle of his Macuahuitl on his shoulder repeatedly as he spoke in thought. Either the Undertaker has full confidence in those annoying Hands, or our actions were already found out and they have some contingency n already in ce. What really bothers me is that he doesnt see us being so close to his base as a threat and that makes me mad. Then without saying another word, Martinez suddenly started jogging across the bridge. Woah! Boss, where are you going? Xander shouted in confusion. Ah, never mind. Everyone, follow after him now! Get ready for a fight! Chapter 189: Plans to Make Chapter 189: ns to Make I told you, I know how to snipe. I was the best long-distance shooter of the ck Rats. Zanemented crossly. Zane and Lisa were already crossing through the woods leading to the slope where Hanna and the ERM were still working. Lisa was carrying her .50cal sniper and a box of ammo for it. Zane was holding three old, broken stic buckets they had found in one of the storage units. You might know how to point at something and pull the trigger, but thats not all sniping is. Lisa replied. Now, I dont have all day to exin what a sniper is actually capable of doing. We only have less than two hours before nightfall. So, what I will have you do is shoot those buckets. Pfft, thats easy. Zane replied holding up the buckets next to his head. He smiled confidently, These things are going to be simple to shoot. Oh, are you sure? Lisa asked jokingly. Look at those buckets and tell me what you see on them. Zane quickly inspected the buckets carefully as the two reached the woonds edge. Beyond they could see the ERMs three Minion ss Mineral Mover Mechs working near the edge of the cliff. It looked to Lisa that they were getting ready to start pushing rocks over the edge. They already had an impressive amount rock and sand prepared. Perhaps they are getting ahead of schedule. Lisa thought as she eyed the ck and yellow striped machines. I wonder which MCM3 has Hanna in it. They all look to be working equally as skilled now. These buckets say, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. on them and they have a smiling shrimp mascot too. Zane answered bringing Lisas thoughts back to the present. Very good. I want you to shoot these buckets right between that little happy shrimps eyes. Lisa answered with yful twinkle in her grey eyes. She then turned left to go along woonds edge and further into the desert scrund. Seriously? Zane remarked as he looked back down buckets again. These shrimps heads are maybe six centimeters tall and half that wide. Thats going to be on heck of a shot to make. Does that sound too hard for you? The big bad gangster cant shoot a little bitty cartoon shrimp. Lisa teased him with her cutie sounding voice. Shut up. I can do it. Zane scoffed. Lisa saw that a log that had fallen into the desert and was now facing the rtively t, open expanse of wilderness. Coming to a stop she overlooked the rockyndscape briefly. Seeming satisfied, Lisa set the .50cal and ammo box onto the log. You will use this log to support the guns weight, plus I just cleaned it and I dont want any sand on it. Lisa exined. Ill go set up the buckets out there on the rocks. Of course, Ill put them farther out each time. Until I get back, get the scope sights set up to where you can see properly. I wont be long. Lisa did her best to estimate making her strides to be a meter in length and she counted out one hundred steps before cing the first bucket down on a boulder. She made sure that the little happy shrimp was facing Zane before moving to the next spot. She ced the next bucket at three hundred meters out and thest bucket at five hundred meters. Lisa could have ced the buckets further out as the .50cal was perfectly capable of shooting much farther than five hundred meters. However, they did not have the time. The sun was already sinking behind the distant mountain and the wind was also dying out. When Lisa returned, she was pleased to see that Zane was already lying prone in the sand with the .50cals tripod resting on the log. She was equally as pleased to see that he was waiting for her to return with the guns chamber open and unloaded. This showed that he knew basic gun safety as well as that he didnt have any intentions of shooting her in the back. So far Zane was turning out to be quite the trustworthy fellow. Alright, you can shoot when you are ready. Lisa said to Zane as she came to stand next to him. You have a light crosswinding from your left, so n your shot ordingly. We have a full box of ammo, so if you miss it will be alright. I wont miss but once. Zane replied as he picked up therge .50cal bullet from the box and he quickly chambered it. Oh, that chambering sounded so mean! Ive never shot a gun this big before. Is that why you said youd only miss once? Lisa asked as she crossed her arms under her chest. Well, that and to make sure I calibrated the scopes settings correctly. Zane replied. Lisa watched him as he brought the scope close to his right eye. However, he didnt pull the scope all the way up to his face. He already knew that the recoiling from shooting was liable to hurt him if he was to close. His breathing stopped for a brief second and then, m! Zane pulled the trigger. Reactively Lisa looked up at the closest bucket and saw that it was rolling across the ground. That was my miss. Zane replied. I only hit the bucket and not the shrimp. I see. Well let me go stand it back up really quick. Lisa replied and she started for the bucket. No need to do that. Zane called before Lisa could step past the log. The bucket stopped rolling and I can see the shrimps face. Alright then, suit yourself. Lisa shrugged and went back to her ce. Zane pulled back on the bolt of the sniper to load the next round and the spent shell went spinning away. He then chuckled as he started aiming for the bucket, That recoil was way stronger than I expected. That deep boom was also wonderful! I totally understand that feeling. Shooting a gun never gets old. Lisa sighed fondly. There is nothing quite like the feeling of protection, power, and trustworthiness that a gun provides. A few secondster Zane had shot at the bucket, and it went tumbling away. Adjusting his prone position Zane aimed for the next one. Lisa remained watchful and quiet as Zane prepped himself. When he shot, just like before, the second bucket toppled down from the rock Lisa had ced it on. The third shot took a bit longer to make, but just as Zane promised, he did not miss. Leaving the .50cal on the log Lisa and Zane both went to see how well he did. Well, you stuck to your word and only shot four times. Lisa remarked as they arrived at the first bucket. Bending down to grab the bucket, Lisa let out a low whistle. You nailed that shrimp. Your first shot was close too. That one was easy. Thest bucket is the one Im worried about. Zane replied. The second bucket had rolled away farther than either of them expected. They found it wedged between and behind a rock and a scraggly bush. This shrimp too had its head sted away without so much as a bit of red paint left. When they picked up thest bucket it was clear to them, he had struck home. Half of the shrimps face was missing. Lisaughed and tossed the bucket to him yfully. Alright, you have proven you can snipe fairly well. Now Ill exin your part in this factory bust out. Let us get the sniper and head over to the slope as we talk. Lisa exined. I want you toy cover fire for when we break into the factory. I noticed that the area between the town and the golf course fence is exposed, just like the area around us now is. The tricky part will be to distinguish who is friend and who is not. Killing any innocent will foil the ns I have for after we free them. Your thinking of what to do once there are free already? Zane said with a twinge of awe in his voice. I figured you woulde up thatter on. Well, mostly I will be doing that. Lisa replied giving a sly look at him. But I am betting on that for freeing them they will be more loyal to assisting me. Just like I did with you. Zane chuckled. Hey, dont get ahead of yourself. I am helping you so I can pay off my debt for you saving my life and that I see you have some ambitions for making us rich. Why wouldnt I try following your lead? Oh, not because I am charming? Lisa asked looking sideways at him. Zane blushed. W-well, I am more afraid of what youd do to me if I tried to leave right now. Lisa sighed and at first, she sounded sad but as she continued to speak her voice grew dark. Am I that scary? Oh well, you are probably right to worry. If you turned on me, I just might undo those stitches myself. Traitors are the worst. Zane looked aghast upon hearing her say this. Lisa had been acting so friendly the past few weeks that this sudden reminder of what lurked within her startled him. He looked at her to see if Lisa was joking, but to his horror, she lookedpletely serious. Thats right Zane. Lisa continued. I am normally a nice person to those I choose to be nice too. However, Im sure youll see the monster that I am sooner orter. Y-you mean like when you fight? T-this look you have now is like when you fought the Match Fighters. Zane asked nervously. Hmm, not really. I was messing around with them most of the time. Lisa replied thoughtfully as she put a finger to her pale lips. You havent seen me at my worst yet. Whats your w-worst like. Zane ventured to ask. You dont need to know, unless I need to be my old self. Lisa replied before giving an overhead wave. Just ahead of them were the ERM and Garret standing near the cliffs edge watching Terisa yell at the mech pilots. Gillian saw Lisa waving and he waved back. He then left the others to meet Lisa and Zane halfway. Lisa lowered her arm and continued to speak with Zane. Hopefully that time will nevere. The reason I am helping this town is to make a new life for myself and I want the past to stay that way. Understood? Zane nodded and gulped. He could never tell what this tall woman was up to or what she was thinking. One minute she was friendly and the next she looked ready to kill. He knew she used to be in the military and that she had done some rough thing, but there had to be more to her than what she had told him and the others. What are you two doing? Gillian asked. Just out doing some shooting. Lisa replied putting back on her pleasant expression. Oh, so thats what those booms were. They sounded far off but I didnt know from where? Gillian replied. So, hows the work going? Lisa asked looking past him. Great, we are knocking the firstyer of rocks over now. Gillian replied. Awesome. I will get Mr. Hans toe over here as soon as I find him. Lisa replied while rubbing her hands together. I do need one major favor. Ask away. Gillian said spreading his arms wide. Lisa cleared her throat, Before Hanna is done for the day, I need her to bring one or two piles of wood and brush from the path back to the dam. We are going to be taking on a new ambitious project and firewood is going to be must. That will be fine. I wouldnt mind driving the Mech back for her. Gillian said giving a nod. Thanks. Things are going to be getting terribly busy for us soon. The sooner we get electricity running to you guys the better. Lisa remarked. "Then that''s when my ns will really get underway. All this work is just setting the stage for what is going toe next!" Chapter 190: Ready to Go Chapter 190: Ready to Go The next morning Lisa woke up right at daybreak. She did not want to waste any time with getting the preparation''s ready for their factory break out. In her mind this was the event that would be the ticket to finally set up the fight against Martinez and get the long overdue revenge for Hanna. After sneaking out of the room without waking the otherdies and washing her face off in the river, Lisa went to cross the dam. She wanted to start moving the first of two piles of wood that Hanna had moved there the night before right away. As she crossed something ominous caught her eye. The ck smoke that was rising from downtown docks where the gang war was going on was still billowing. In fact, the smoke seamed to have spread to cover what might be several blocks. Whatever was going on down there was surely getting out of control. Though the thought of a fire getting out of control and damaging the rest of town was a problem, it was not Lisas problem. Neither was it a problem for anyone in the town that she knew. The fires seemed to be raging only in the downtown area. When she finished crossing, she put all thoughts aside of the fire and started working on the first pile by separating the tree trunks and biggest limbs from the leafy branches and root balls. This didnt take long for the pile had few vines and many of the branches were already brittle from being in the heat. Lisa had the first pile already fully organized when Ava and Wayne came to join her. Hey guys, good morning. Lisa called to them. Lisa had taken off her blue T-shirt thanks to the early spring heat that had already settled early into the morning and had hung it on a nearby branch. For now, all she had on was the top half of her ck body suit, faded jeans, Yankees hat, and herbat boots. She then used the T-shirt as a substitute towel to dab at her face and then draping over her shoulder she waited for them to join her. Morning Lisa. You are up earlier than usual. Ava replied. We need to get ahead on things, and this is something that would take a while to get done. I am used to not getting a lot of sleep anyways. If I sleep too long, I almost always get a headache. Lisa replied. So, what are the others doing? The other three guys already headed down to the north end of the docks to catch fish. Wayne said pointing his thumb over his shoulder. We checked out several storage units yesterday and found a couple of boxes of cloths. We are going to bring them back and check the rest of the units today. We were justing to see if you needed anything. No, I am fine. Lisa replied readjusting her faded ck hat to better block the rising sun. I am going to bring this pile across the dam and then take Zane to get some supplies for the raid. Need us to help carry a few branches before we go? Ava offered. Sure, why not. Lisa replied. She then put on her blue T-shirt and then the three of them got to work. Come on Zane, try to keep up. Lisa called over her shoulder. The two of them were jogging through the market district and Zane was having trouble keeping up with her pace. The only way I could let Sadie to let you go free from her training was if I promised to make you run. I-I know, b-but why g-go so fast? Zane puffed. Because we got work to do! Its already past noon. If Ava and Wayne hadnt found that stack of mattresses, we would have been done already. Lisa replied and she sped up just as soon as he caught up with her. They were heading for Fogle''s Corner Store. Lisa had been wanting toe back at some point and now she had a reason to. When Lisa came to the intersection, she saw the big white lettered Open sign was still hanging on the front door. The rest of the shop still had the same worn out and peeling look to it. The only difference was one of the windows looked to have been freshly boarded up. Once Zane had caught up and regained his breath, the two of them went inside. The little bell above the door tinkled cheerily as they entered. Once again Lisa felt the still, homely antique air of the shop wash over her soothingly. Looking around Lisa noted that the store looked barely any different than thest time she was here. So, what are we looking for? Zane asked rubbing a finger along the top of nearby shelf. He raised his finger to see that a thickyer of dust had settled on the items in here. Three things. Lisa replied striding confidently into the store. We need twodders, two coils of rope and big cloth dish towels. Lots of dish towels. Uh, ok. The rope anddders make sense to have, but why do we need dish towels? Zane asked. Just then the backroom door cracked opened slightly and Mr. Nakamura peeked his head cautiously to see who hade in. Lisa heard the door opening and turned to give him a small friendly wave. Hello again sir. I told you that I was going toe backter. Seeing Lisa, Mr. Nakamura rxed slightly and came out to stand behind the counter. Like before the careful old man had both hands lowered under the counter where his weapon might be. So you did. What brings you back here after such a length of time? Do you need more sawdust? Mr. Nakamura asked as his turkey neck wabbled at every word. I do not. Lisa replied as she slowly approached the counter. I came to buy some moremon ce items. I recallst time that you had several work tools and I need to know if you havedders, rope, and dish towels among them. I know I have thedders and dish towels. They both are right over in the far corner, near the front of the store. Mr. Nakamura said pointing beyond Lisas left. Thank you very much. Zane, go ahead and get the tallestdders you see. Lisa asked. As Zane went to get the items Mr. Nakamura continued speaking, Now as for the rope, I am not sure if what I have is what you are looking for. Is the rope old or small? Lisa asked. Ill let you be the judge of that. I wont be asking what you n on doing with all this stuff and I dont want to know. Ill be right back. Mr. Nakamura said turning to go. However, he stopped in the doorway and looked back. You have something to trade with, right? You dont have that big box with you this time. Ill be paying in cash. Lisa replied giving a grin. Hmpf, it better not be counterfeit. Mr. Nakamura grunted before disappearing into the back of the store. Lisa then left the counter and went to see how Zane was fairing. She found that he had already ced adder that looked to be three meters high on the floor by the front door. Thedder looked rusty but if the steps were sound it wouldnt matter. Zane, however, seemed to be still looking at something in the corner of the room. Curious as to what it was, Lisa walked softly up behind him and peaked over his shoulder. She then saw that Zane was holding a picture book titled, Parks of North America. He was slowly looking at the pages admirably, particrly the ones with lush green trees and waterfalls. That a nice ce to visit. Ive been there. Lisa whispered as she reached around Zane to point at a picture of Niagara Falls. Woah, uh, I was just looking. Zane bubbled as he quickly closed the book and stuffed it back onto a shelf. Lisa chuckled, Its fine. I dont mind that you were looking at a book, because books are great things! You dont see those kinds of views around here either. Everything is just nd and faded. A-as a kid, I-I always wanted to go somewhere like that. Zane mumbled embarrassed that he was caught. Maybe one day you will. Lisa said reassuringly cing a hand on his shoulder. Stick with me and going to some pretty park wont be the only thing you do. Zane smiled sheepishly and nodded. He did not want to say anything more, because he felt conflicted again. Here she was acting all nice and friendly whereas the day before she was threatening him. He just couldnt ce a finger on her personality. In any case, grab that reddder. Lisa said pointing at the tallest of the remainingdders. Where are the dish towels at? Wait, I see them in that cardboard box, and it looks like there are enough of them too. Lisa and Zane grabbed the items they needed and headed back for the counter. Momentster Mr. Nakamura returned with heavy looking blue crate covered with a torn portion of a tarp. Mr. Nakamura ce the crate onto the counter with a heavy thump, and sighed, Whew, I had to get this out of the attic, and I havent been up there in sometime. You better be paying with real cash otherwise all that work was wasted. Dont worry, I always pay honestly. Lisa answered as she took the tarp off the blue crate. Inside was what looked to be three coils of rope and they all looked old. Incredibly old. The ends were frayed, the lengths of rope had bits and pieces of itself sticking out like bedhead, and the color was nearly gone from them too. Well, I have seen better rope. Lisa sighed. She then picked one up and saw that the only thing what was a positive sign was that the rope was four or five centimeters thick. She then pulled the rope taut twice to test its strength. As long as these hold out long enough for this one job it wont matter anyway. Now, Mr. Nakamura, let us talk prices. Lisa then pulled out from her jeans pocket a leather wallet and pped it on the table. Sticking out from the sides was a fat stack of bills. Mr. Nakamura remained stone faced as he picked up the wallet and pulled out two of the bills. He then pulled out from under the register a highlighter pen and proceeded to mark the bills right down their middle. He eyed Lisa skeptically during the whole process, but Lisa remained smiling and confident. The bills are real. I will give you thedders for ten dors apiece, the all the dish towels for five, and this rope for ten apiece. Mr. Nakamura replied tly lowing the bills from his face. Ill agree to thedder price and the towel pricing too. That rope however, its in bad shape. How about two dors for each? Lisa asked as she fiddled with the ropes frayed end. Three dors. Mr. Nakamura countered. Deal! Lisa replied grabbing the wallet off the counter. She then proceeded to thumb out the correct charge as Mr. Nakamura watched her carefully. Once he had the money, he checked each bill in turn, just to be sure all of them were real. Lisa and Zane were heading out the door when Mr. Nakamura called to them. Come back anytime. All these bills are legit, and I love an honest customer! Looking back, Lisa could see that the old man was smiling now. If I need something Ille back for sure! That was easy. He had everything we needed. Zane said as he carried the twodders, one in each hand. Lisa nodded as she carried the two boxes of supplies. It was. Now, if the others caught enough fish, we are ready to go tonight! Chapter 191: Breaking IN Chapter 191: Breaking IN "Looks like they only have two patrol teams down there." Lisa said with a hushed tone. Lisa, Zane, Wayne, Willis, and Henry were all sitting on top of a brick wall that overlooked the golf course situated in the scrund below. They had only been staking out the golf course and mansion for an hour and by now the sun had already set behind the mountain. Nights darkness would soon fall, and that was when they were going to make their move. Tayvon, Sadie, and Eva were told to stay behind at the powerhouse building to finish smoking the fish and getting the dams tunnel ready to house everyone they freed. There was still much to be done and gathered for this ordeal, but for now what they had would have to be enough. Luckily for us they only walk on the main gulf cart path too. Willis replied equally as soft. We can predict where they will being from easily. Even though they were still quite far away, the buildings behind them might have people inside. If those people overheard their conversations and told the Mad Dogs, then the whole factory raid would be a bust. Sost time we went over and under the fence by the runoff creek. How are we going to get the others out? Wayne asked. I will exin in more detail as we go. Lisa replied hopping down from the brick wall. Shended softly in the sand and looked back up at the others. I dont know how long they will be forced to work in the factory or what time they are put back in their cells. It is best we get there right at twilight to get a head start. So, Zane, dont worry if you dont see using back right away. Only if the sun starts to rise do you need to then worry. Alright, I hope I wont be pulling an all-nighter though. I will still do my best to not miss my shots despite staying awake for so long. Zane replied as he patted Lisas .50cal resting crossways on his thighs. Let us just hope you never even have to shoot. Getting this done silently is preferable. Lisa replied while ncing above her into the sky. The moon is looking nearly full tonight and as usual, no clouds either. You will probably see almost as good as daytime with my special scope. Then pulling the three ropes out from the blue crate, Lisa slung them over her shoulders. Willis and Henry, you two grab adder each. Wayne, you carry the dish towels. So, where are we going to be breaking in at exactly? Wayne asked. The vents, just like before. Lisa replied. Seriously? Wayne asked raising an eyebrow skeptically. Those vents could barely hold two of us. How are they going to hold two hundred people!? Good question. Lisa replied rubbing her chin in thought. You dont have the n figured out yet! Willis eximed. I do. Lisa chided. I guess we will just guide them out two at a time. As for the whole n, like I said before, I will exin as we go. We might have to improvise as things progress. I hope you know what youre doing. Henry sighed. Remember, we only originally signed up to get the dams power running to the east side of town. We are only helping now because we know they need help too. If things go bad, I will not be risking my life for strangers. A fair point. Lisa sighed. Then she turned to start going down the little hill the brick wall was situated on and into the scrund. I promise that if we get found out that Ill drop the whole raid. Even if we, fail the other reason we are doing this, to piss off Martinez, is still going to be aplished. Even if they are still trapped in the factory, all I need to do next is take over the gang and free them that way. I guess that will make it a win-win situation. Henry replied as the three men followed Lisa in a single file line. As Zane watched them wandering off into the scrunds, he looked around him for a suitable ce to snipe from. Infront of the wall was no good, the sand was slippery, and it sloped too quickly. The wall itself was too narrow toy on, so that wasnt an option either. In the end he decided to climb on top of a nearby shed roof. The roof was nted only in one direction and the high end was on the scrund side. Meaning he could rest the tripod over the edge without worry of it slipping off the roof and remain steady to shoot. Getting into position Zane loaded the sniper with a magazine that could hold twelve .50 caliber rounds. Then looking into therge scope, he found that the scope made everything brighter than what his eyes perceived. It was no wonder Lisa called it special, it must have had light enhancing technology featured into it. It didnt take him long to find the four zigzagging through the brush, and he followed their progress carefully. The little group was now halfway across the scrund when Willis, who was closest to Lisa, asked, What is that in your back pocket? A spray paint can? Hmm, oh, thats a little extra surprise I brought to leave my symbol behind so that Martinez will know for sure it was me. Lisa replied as she ducked under a bushs leafless branch that was poking out in her way. You have a symbol? Wayne asked overhearing thement. Everyone else has a symbol, why cant I? Lisa answered while exaggerating her voice some. The ERM got their green armbands, the Mad Dogs got two different armbands and the snarling dog image. Id imagine the ck Rats and the Skull have simr identification means. Well, youre not wrong about that. Willis replied thoughtfully. What is it going to be? Lisa slowed down to look at the others following her. Ill tell you now, because from this point on they might hear us speaking. Wayne, you already know the hand motions I taught you, but do you two remember them? I know we only went over them right before leaving the dam. Yes, we know them. Henry replied. Henry then motioned out a few of the gestures Lisa showed him. Willis did likewise, but his were not exactly right. However, Lisa was not going to be picky about it. She understood enough to know what he meant to say. Good. Lisa nodded. Ok, my symbol will be representing the name, Queen, so its going to be a tiara shaped crown. Its easy to draw as its a t bottom line with a bunch of peaks on top that get taller in the middle and short on the sides. That makes since. Your Match Fighter name is Queen and Martinez will put the two together no problem. Wayne said giving a nod. The sunlight was nearly gone now. It was that odd time of twilight where they could see most everything, but all the colors were disappearing from their surroundings. They had crossed the scrund to the point where the runoff creek met the fence. When they stopped, they were just within sight of the fence. All was quiet, all was still, and everyone anxious. Lisa motioned for all of them to gather close to her. Alright, before we cross the course, Willis you are going to be staying on the other side of the fence after we cross with thedders. Lisa whispered as softly as she could. Your job will be to raise and lower thedders when the escapeese here. You are then to point them in the right direction to go and meet up with Zane. He should still be near where we left him. Willis gave a thumbs up, though he looked a bit downcast that he wasnt actually breaking into the factory. Lisa continued to whisper the n, Henry, when we get to the vent that I picked earlier to be the one we break into, I want you to remain just inside it. Your job is to be on lookout for the patrols and guide the escapees to Willis. Also, you will have one of the ropes to help the escapees climb out with. You need to make sure that they are as quiet as possible. Wayne and I know how to move through the vent and that is why we got the dish towels. They are going to mark out the quietest and most stable parts of the vent to crawl on and further muffle any movements. Oh, so thats what they are for. Wayne murmured under his breath. From here on out we only use hand motions. Lisa whispered looking from man to man. Anyst questions? Once we do find them, are we breaking out the women or men first? Wayne asked. The women. Lisa answered. They looked to be in worse condition then the men. Also, once the women are out and we are working with the men, the guards might check and see thedies are gone and sound the rm. If we are helping the guys and get found out, we have a better fighting chance. That makes since. Wayne replied. That all? Lisa asked again. Everyone remained silent. Ok, lets go! Getting over was easily done. The gangs patrol was nowhere to be seen and the moonlit darkness was enough to hid them well. Lisa hopped over first to keep watch as the three men looked on in amazement. They felt jealous of her actions as they had to use thedders to get over. Willisid down the outsidedder being sure that he could reach and raise it again. Lisa led the way as Wayne and Henry followed her closely. All three remained crouched low as they went. The exposed cart path and smooth cut course provided zero cover for them and in the moonlight their shadows might give them away if someone was looking in the right ce. The vent Lisa had picked was on the other side of the course. She tried her best to recall how far down the room the women were being kept in and it was truly fortunate that the inside of the factory was shaped like a rectangle. It also helped that the vent tops were surrounded by decorations and the spot Lisa picked had a doll house sized barn ced by the vent. Of the various course holes, this one looked to have shortest hedges but thankfully thergest rocks. When they arrived at the vent location on course hole fifteen all had remained silent. They had made it so far with no problems and now for the hard part, crawling through the noisy vent. Lisa carefully removed the vent cover as Wayne scrapped the loose rocks and sand away from the hole. Lisa then grabbed the fans center cone to slow it down before grabbing the dangerously fast fan de. She then reached in a tore out the wires to the fan, shutting it off for good. Wayne, in the meantime, tied one of the ropes around thergest of the nearby decorative rocks half sunken into the sand. Then when Lisa stopped the fan, he lowered the rope gently onto the vent floor. Henry remained on look out while using the little barn as cover to allow him to sit up on his knees to better view the area. Lisa patted the two mens arms and motioned that she was going in first. Using the rope, Lisa lowered gently down without a sound and like before this vent was only a bit higher than Lisas head. Looking back up she waved for them to hand her the crate of dish towels. When Wayne and Henry joined her in the vent duct, Lisa had alreadyid out a few towels. Pointing at the towels, Lisa motioned for Wayne to ce them on the duct floor as she led the way. Once Lisa dropped onto all fours, she saw the faint factory lightinging from their right and it was only six meters or so away. Lisa carefully shuffled towards it being sure to point out to Wayne where the best spots were. Then when she arrived at the horizontally tted vent, she could not believe her luck. Thedies had already been brought back to their cells and all of them looked to be asleep already. Then to put icing on the cake, directly below her was Jenifer! Chapter 192: Breaking OUT Chapter 192: Breaking OUT Carefully Lisa took off from her maic belt her copsible katana and using just the des tip, she quietly pried at the tted vents screws out from the duct. Once it was free from the duct, Lisa pulled it inside the duct and ced it further ahead to be out of the way. She did, however, take two of the screws out to use in just a moment. Lisa cautiously poked her head out into the gloomy room. She saw that the rooms front door was right next to this cell and thankfully closed. That meant the vent traveled over the hallway and they still needed to be a quiet as possible when crawling out. She also noted that there were no guards currently inside, another plus. Then looking into the nearby corner, she spotted the round ck eye of the security camera. She could barely make out the lens and let out a slight sigh of relief seeing that the vent was angled down and couldnt see her. All she needed to do now was simply disable it. After seeing howx the gangsters were here thest time, she doubted that the camera going offline would be noticed right away and they had time to make the escape. Lisa carefully rolled onto her side and prepared to throw one of the screws at the camera. Even though the small screw weighed little, thanks to her incredible strength, when she chucked and hit the camera on the first try, it plowed right through the stic covering and disabled the cameras lens. Looking around her it seemed no one heard the noise and woke up. This was lucky, because if they woke up and saw Lisa, they might be rowdy and alert the guards. Lisa thenid onto her stomach and took aim with the other screw at Jenifers exposed cheek. Carefully dropping the screw, it bounced off Jenifers face and immediately her eyes flew open. Jenifer sat slowly up and looked around her in confusion. Psst. Lisa hissed gently. Hearing the noise, Jenifer looked up to see Lisa hanging halfway out from the vent with her finger held up to her mouth. Jenifers lifeless brown eyes lit up and an unbelieving smile appeared on her thin features. Lisa rolled quietly out from the vent, heels-over-head, andnded carefully on the metal floor. Jenifer tossed off her dirty threadbare nket, if it could be even called that, and jumped up excitably. Lisa quickly grabbed onto Jenifers arms to calm her down before she woke the others. Told you I wasing back. Lisa whispered into Jenifers ear. H-how? W-were? Jenifer stammered. Shh, wake the others one by one. Lisa whispered. Tell them to put on what ever they have and get ready to go. We are going out through the vents, and they need to be quiet. Jenifer nodded vigorously and then she tiptoed over to thedy next to her. When the woman woke up Jenifer excited pointed at Lisa and motioned for thedy to be silent. The woman was confused at first and only when she saw Wayne lowering the rope from the vent, did she understand. Thedy silently got up and threw on her paper-thin shoes and tiptoed quickly to Lisa. Lisa waved up to Wayne who was holding onto the rope and motioned for him to go get Henry and tie the two ropes together. There was nowhere inside the duct to tie the rope off too and it was going to be to much work for either Wayne or Henry to hold onto the rope and get every woman out safely. If their knots and the rock held out, everything should go fine. It took no time for Jenifer to wake up the eight otherdies and soon all of them were anxiously crowding Lisa. Lisa did her best to keep them calm and silent. So far, no otherdies in the other cages had woken up yet and Lisa wanted them to stay that way for the time being. Stay quiet. I need you all to do one thing while we wait. Lisa whispered to the ten anxiousdies. They all nodded with wide, expectant eyes. Stuff anything you are not taking under your sheets so that it looks like you all are still in bed. If the guardse it needs to look like everything is normal. Ok. Jenifer whispered back. Then obediently thedies pushed their yellowed pillows and a few bits of gritty clothing under the threadbare sheets. Though the lumps under the sheets didnt look big enough to Lisa, as long as the guards didnt look to hard it just might work. Wayne came back just as thedies started to crowd back around Lisa and the rope. He gave Lisa a thumbs up and she nodded in reply. Ok, step into my hands and Ill lift you up most of the way. Lisa said to Jenifer. When you get up there, follow the mens instructions carefully. You must go slow and only travel on the towels that are up there. If you make any noise, stop moving right away and wait for them to tell you to move. Lisa then looked at the others, You all need to do the same. The rest of thedies nodded, and Lisa hoped that they would do as she said. They looked much too excited. Lisa then crouched down and sped her hands together at her waist so that it created a ce for Jenifer to stand on. Jenifer carefully ced one foot into Lisas hands and ced her scrawny hands onto Lisas shoulders for bnce as well. Seeing that she was ready Lisa whispered, One, two, three Jenifer was lifted to reach just half a meter away from the vent hole. Henry had appeared on the other side of the vent hole to help Wayne hold the rope still. If the knots and rock held then they wouldnt need to hold the rope anymore. They could then focus on leading thedies out. The old rope strained and made an ufortable groan. Lisa winced upon hearing it, and preemptively reached out her hands to catch Jenifer in case the rope did break. Jenifer, undaunted by the noises and driven by the prospect of freedom, finished climbing into the vent. Follow me slow and silently. Henry whispered. Henry then carefully squeezed by Jenifer and Wayne, being sure to stay on the dish towels that wereid out. Jenifer did as she was told and followed him, but her excitement was shown to be still unbridled on her face. As they went, Lisa prepared the nextdy. The whole process of lifting the remainingdies took mere minutes. Lisas fears of the vent being too noisy was calmed down too. Though the twelve people moving inside and adding more weight was a cause for concern, Lisa didnt here a single thump, groan or creak. Whoever build the duct knew what they were doing. Lisa waited until thestdy had climbed out of sight before she turned to the cages gate. Reaching into her back pocket, Lisa pulled out the key to the cages that she had saved from before. The key slipped into the lock and clicked louder than expected. Then pushing the gate open the henges let out a horrible squeak. Lisa winced and looked around her at the other cages. Just as she feared, the noise woke a few of thedies. The onedy closest to Lisa in the right cell was the first to spot Lisa. Letting out a shocked inhale thedy put a hand to her mouth. Lisa hurriedly motioned for the woman to remain silent, but the damage was done. The otherdies in the cell woke up as well. Soon the room was filled with hushed please, murmurs of concern and confusion. One by one the other cells upants were woken up and he noises grew louder. Thinking quickly, Lisa reached into her other back pocket and pulled out the stolen Mad Dogs red and ck armband and shoved it onto her arm. Shut up! Lisa called out softly. She tried to be loud enough for everyone to hear her but not loud enough to alert anyone outside the door. The ruse worked and severaldies instantly stopped theirmotion. Lisa only had to repeat herself once more and soon the room returned to a depressing silence. They all nkly staired at her, some with dead eyes while other red with contempt. A few others evenid back down to get back to sleep. Lisa then silently hurried over to the door and peered into the small square window at its center. Looking both ways Lisa was relieved to see that there wasnt a single guard stationed outside the doorway. It looked like the gangsters had full confidence in the security of theirpound. After all, they were in fact underground and even if there was a jailbreak there was no way anyone would get out unseen in the singr hallway. Relieved Lisa turned back to face the grungydies. She then took off the armband and raised her finger to her lips once more, being sure everyone watching her saw this. My name is Lisa and if Jenifer told you anything, I am going to need you all to be absolutely silent. Lisa whispered and then paused for affect. She noticed that at the mention of Jenifers name, a fewdies expressions lightened and some even nced amongst each other. Seeing that she had their attention, Lisa continued to whisper. I am going to be breaking you all out of here and taking you somewhere safe. Stay quiet. You are wondering how, right? Lisa asked as thedies collectively started showing signs of excitement or uncertainty. Look in the cage next to me. See, there is no one inside. Lisa then walked back into the cage to lift one of the threadbare sheets exposing the yellowed pillow and scraps of clothing inside. Next, Lisa pointed up at the rope that was dangling from the vent. Seeing these things sent another ripple of excitement and a hoard of whispers erupted. Shhhh! Lisa urged. What part of stay silent do you all not understand? Hearing Lisas warning thedies stopped. However, onedy, she was a tall blond with a ckened eye and wearing handcuff, whispered to speak for the rest, Tell us the situation. What do we need to do? Im going to let one cage ofdies free at a time and help you all get into the vent. Lisa exined slowly and softly. Inside the vent is another guy, he will guide you all to the vent that leads to the surface. There you will wait, as still and as silent as you can, until a second man arrives. The second man will then lead you across the golf course to a fence, do not do anything that he hasnt told you to do. If you get found out, then everyone here will remain trapped. Got it? I think we understand, but how can we trust you? This is all too good to be true. The handcuffeddy asked skeptically. Lisa caught sight of the womans gaze and saw it was on the Mad Dog armband. Quickly taking it off and stuffing it back into her pocket, Lisa exined. I am not a Mad Dog. I stole that band for a disguise. Remember I was here two days ago? Jenifer had that unfortunate period ident, and I took her to and from the Methb. It could have all been a trick. The handcuffeddy replied stiffly. How do we know that there isnt a bunch of Mad Dogs waiting for us out there to get us into an unseen ce to **** us? Jeez, arent you a little ray of sunshine. Lisa said rolling her eyes. Thening out of the cage Lisa walked broad shouldered over to the handcuffeddy. Lisa then looked down at her crossly. I get it, someone has to be the voice of caution for these poor women. But think about it, has anyone elsee to save you all yet? From the looks of most of you, you all have been here for a long time. Whoever you are waiting for toe save you might nevere. How long will you keep waiting? I wont force you toe with me, but what other choice do you have? Come now while we still have time. The handcuffeddy shifted nervously at Lisas straightforwardness. Lisa took that moment to look over the blonddy. She was around the same age as herself and probably the most physically fit of thedies here. The ckened eye she had was probably rted to the reason she was in handcuffs. Thisdy was the rebel type, the kind Lisa knew she had to get into line first before the others would follow along. Fine. The handcuffeddy sighed. Ill take the risk, but I am going to go out first to see if what you say is true. I have been tricked before, but I can at least warn the others if you lied. Fair enough. Lisa answered before she quickly reached into the cage and grabbed thedys handcuffs. Before thedy could react, Lisa gave a sharp twist and there was an audible heavy metallic snap. To everyones amazement, the cuffs little chain links joining the cuffs were broken! Y-you snapped my cuff with you bare hands? The blonddy stammered. Lisa gave a confident smile and unlocked the cage. I did. Now follow me to freedom. Chapter 193: Discovered Chapter 193: Discovered Lisa opened the cage to let them out and as the tendies exited, she noticed that one of them was much older than the others. She looked to be in her fiftys, and she had a noticeable hunch in her back. From the limping way she walked to it was clear that this older woman was going to need extra help getting into and through both the vent and duct. It would probably be best if she went outst with me. That way I could help her and have her not be a potential burden to the others escaping. Lisa thought. Then as the olderdy was thest toe out Lisa asked her, I need you to do something while the rest escape. Both the olderdy and the handcuffeddy looked at Lisa with uncertainty, but neither refuted her. I need a lookout at the front door. If you see anyoneing down the hall or towards the door, warn us. That way we all can pretend to be still asleep in our cells and keep escaping once they are gone. The old woman nodded, Very well. Its the least I could do. Lisa proceeded to help lift the handcuffed woman up first and nced over to see that the olderdy was indeed keeping watch. This took a burden off Lisas mind because in her escape n she had neglected to bring a long a look out for inside the factory. Inwardly she noted to herself not to make this kind of mistake again. Lisa was now helping the third of the eight cells ofdies when trouble started to brew. One of thedies that was climbing into the vent suddenly slipped! In her panic she tried to grab the bottom of the vent but only manage to p the duct floor with both hands and a boom echoed through the room and undoubtably throughout the duct to the rest of the factory. Everyone froze, both in and outside of the duct. Lisa had caught the falling woman before she hurt herself, but then she immediately looked to the old woman keeping lookout. The old woman was standing on her tiptoes frantically looking down both ways of the metal hallway. Nothing happened for a few moments, and everyone started to rx. However, the olddy turned around with a pale expression, Some onesing! What do we do? Lisa seethed inwardly. Get back into your cells andy down. The rest of you still locked upy down as well and everyone remain quiet! The remainingdies with Lisa and the olddy rushed to their unlocked cells and mored inside. They were not being quiet in the least and their footsteps plodded heavily on the metal floor. Lisa didnt have time to correct them, she had her hands full throwing the rope back into the vent. The old rope had coiled onto the floor into a big pile. As she threw the rope through the vent, it kept stubbornly rolling back out. Wayne was still further within the vent when he heard the boom from thedy slipping. Knowing that there was troubleing, he looked past the twodies he was currently leading through the duct and saw Lisa struggling with the rope. He could tell that she need help with the rope and chose to go back. Scoot to one side. Wayne hissed to the twodies, and he started to go by them. When they leaned to one side of the vent, there was an unsettling sagging feeling. The vent was giving way! Wayne quickly backed up and pulled the closest of thedies to the other side of the vent. There was a sharp squeaking noise that could only being from the vents supports as the weight of the vent returned to being bnce. Wayne and the woman looked at each other breathlessly, hoping that no one below would have heard them. They didnt know what else they could do other than wait. It was agonizing! Lisa tossed the rope onest time with an agitated throw and thest of the rope rolled inside. Just as she did the sound of keys jingling struck her ears! Looking about her, Lisa saw that the gate to the cell she was in was still wide open! Quickly she dashed to it and shut it swiftly. As a result, the gate gritted noisily. Lisa did not wait a second and jumped into the closest of the cots. She pulled the nasty threadbare sheet over just as the front door swung one. Everyone within the room froze. Not a single person dared breath. The sound of two sets of footsteps pounded on the metal flooring as the Mad Dog guards entered. The footsteps passed by Lisa, and she looked up to see that the two men were ironically the same men she had knocked out when she first broke in! Where was that noiseing from? The first man shouted. He then banged his fist onto a nearby cage. I know you lot arent sleeping. Come on, fess up and tell me where that noise wasing form! No one moved. Sneering the gangster spoke to the other man with him. Check the cage doors on the left, Ill check the right. If you see anything out of the ordinary tell me. Fine. The other man sighed. Lets get this over with and get back to ying poker. Hearing this Lisa immediately be worried. She had unlocked three cage doors already, but none of them she had locked back up! It was going to be her cage that would be checked first as the men had started checking the back cages first. Slowly Lisa rolled over to look at the cage door. It was closed, but she had no way of knowing if the door locked on its own. After all, she still had the key in her back pocket. Looks like the jig is up. Lisa thought with disappointment. She listened to the two men grumbling as they looked the ce over. Do I fight them and risk alerting the rest of the factory guards? I wanted to save more people from here, but I dont see me getting a good chance to knock both of them out from inside this stupid cell. Lisa could hear the footsteps of the gangster getting closer. He was now standing right behind her. Lisa dared not move. If the two made eye contact, he was bound to see that she wasnt one of the prisoners. I hate this job. The gangster grumbled under his breath. He fiddled with the cage bars and looked about the cages interior while continuing toin. All I do is baby sit all these scrawny women and run errands like a bullied kid. I wanted to guard the mansion and be around all the good-looking sexy girls, but no, those stupid triplets only wanted guys they could buy out. If Id know that before, Id have taken the money they offered. I share no sympathy for Martinez either. Lisa rolled her eyes hearing hisments. He was acting no different than some terribly written B movie viin. What her concern was that the guard was nearly to the cage door. Lisa tensed up, ready to spring into action and attack the man as soon as he opened the cage. She watched with bated breath as his hand wrapped around the metal bar above the gates lock. Then her fears came to fruition as the guard pushed on the gate and it swung inwardly to open. Oh, what do we have here? Hey, this gate is unlocked. The guard shouted to the other man. How did that happen? The other guard called back. He then left his side of cages and came to join the man in Lisas cell. How would I know. Is everyone still in hear? The first guard replied. Lisa was about to attack, but the man said something that stopped her. It looks like it. See, all of them are still in their beds. Thezy guard had fallen for Lisas little ruse! All the cots still had the pillows and bits of clothing still piled under the sheets. Lisa saw this as her chance. S-sorry for making the noise! Lisa whispered, trying her best to sound weak and timid. She then pulled the sheet further over her mouth to hide her face better. It was my fault. Oh, what did you do? The first guard askeding to stand over Lisas cot. He eyed her dangerously, but Lisa chose not to retaliate. I-I was tired and wanted to walk around some. I leaned on the gate, and it suddenly opened. I then fell on the floor and heard you twoing and hid. Lisa whimpered as best she could. Please dont get mad at me! The guard sighed. Well, you all are still here, and I dont want to waste my time with checking everything. It was probably the other guards that forgot to lock the door. They are stupid. The two guards left the cage, locked it, and then marched out of the room acting very annoyed. Somehow, Lisas gamble had worked! The escape could continue. Chapter 194: Discovered (2) Chapter 194: Discovered (2) As Lisa and the otherdies continued to make their hushed escape into the duct, Henry and Wayne now had their hands full as well. Wayne had already guided Jenifer and the other neendies to where Henry was waiting. But now he was carefully listening to the voices of the two guards leaving thedies cell room. The listing of the duct was still an issue and he had to be sure that there was no one below in the hall. Thest twodies with him were eagerly waiting for him to take his ear off from the duct bottom and give them the go ahead to keep escaping. The other eightdies were ahead of Wayne when the duct started to fall. When Wayne and the twodies froze due to the danger, Wayne had waved on the other eight ahead to meet up with Henry. That was too close! Wayne thought to himself. When the duct started to fall, I thought for sure we were going to be caught! The sounds of the two guards grumbling to each other became increasingly loud and Wayne held his breath out of fear that his breathing might give himself away. Undoubtedly the twodies were doing the same. Wayne inadvertently ced a hand on the butt of his pistol tucked in the back of his pants. His mind was getting frantic now. If we were to fall right now or be heard, could I fight them? Ive shot at the ck Rats when they attacked the headquarters, but I didnt actually see if my bullets hit anyone. Would I still be able to do the same here? Fortunately, these questions were not going to be answered tonight. The sound of the two guards voices were starting to trail off when the noise of a door, opening and shutting, was audible only to then be immediately followed by silence. They had managed to stay in the clear. Wayne sighed inwardly and sat up from the duct floor. Seeing that he was relieved, the twodies also let out a collective sigh. Wayne then leaned onto both of his hands and he could feel the duct giving way on the right. Ok, stay on the left side, and dont put pressure on anything to quickly. Wayne whispered as softly as his nervous voice would allow him. The two remaining nameless women nodded and leaned favorably onto the left of the vent. As they followed Wayne, he made sure to adjust the dish towels to mark out the new, safe path. It was amazing to him that in such a tight space as this duct that there could be so many different ces to touch that might squeak, grate, or bend ufortably. He looked ahead in the nearly dark duct and was confused to see that there was not a single woman nor Henry waiting for them in the vent. Wayne pressed on as he wondered in thought, Did they go outside already? They were supposed to wait for us. When the first two groups ofdies arrived at the bottom of the ducts outside vent, Henry did his best to keep them silent. However, these giddydies, but mostly Jenifer, could not contain themselves. They all were huddling together at the base of the vertical portion of the duct and trying to get a view of freedom above. Jenifer arched her head back and took another moment to gaze up through the broken fan at the alluring twinkle of the stars above. Its so beautiful! Jenifer whispered to herself. It has been almost four months since I hadst seen the sky. Henry, however, was not feeling as happy as thedies were. He could hear and feel the vent ducts flooring staring to bend. He could tell that they were likely mere moments from copsing down to whatever might be below them. He knew that even though getting them all above ground was the safe move, it was also risky. The guards on patrol on the golf cart path were not far away from where the vent entrance was. Judging from the hustle and bustle of thedies with him now, keeping them silent above ground was going to be even more of a hassle. His mind was conflicted until he heard the duct in Waynes direction boom only to then be followed by a shrill shriek! Through his feet he could feel tremors rumbling from whatever might be happening beyond. Welp, that settles it. Henry hissed to thedies that were starting to look panicked at the harsh sounding from behind them. Its time to get out. Grab onto the rope and climb up. You have to wait for me first, soy down behind the shrubs and the little barn until we all are out. Henry then pointed at the handcuffeddy, You go first. That was she needed to hear. Being closest to the rope, she skillfully pulled her way up with some help from Henrys chest and shoulders. Though he was not pleased to be jostled and kicked about, he did his best to get her up. He made a mental note to be more prepared for the others when it was their turn. As soon as the handcuffeddy reached the broken fan and pulled herself out into the world above, all thedies suddenly pressed forwards. The duct was now packed tighter than sardines in a can. They were basically standing on Henrys toes now! Hey, wait your turn and make some room! Henry whispered harshly. We cant back up. Jenifer whispered back. She was being pressed up against the wall alongside him. The others areing out from the duct. Shoot! Henry seethed. Alright then, hurry up and start climbing up. Use my body as adder if you must. Though he had wanted to not be a humandder, time was not going to let him have that luxury. Jenifer did as she was told and started to climb onto his should to grab the rope, however, being so weak, Jenifer was having some difficulty. Being in such a tight space made it even more difficult for Henry to help Jenifer too. Fortunately, the handcuffeddy returned to help pull Jenifer and the otherdies up. Minutester, everyone was out of the duct and into the fresh, cool air above. Henry was thest to climb up and when he came out, he was mortified by how loud they were all being. One overly emotional olderdy even let a bit ofughter. Henry went to mp a hand over her mouth, but the handcuffeddy beat him to her. Shh! All of you settle down now! Do you all want to get caught? The handcuffeddy chided harshly. Hearing her words, they all fell silent. The handcuffed looked fromdy tody sternly before speaking in a low whisper again. Thats better. Now, you, show us where to go next. Henry didnt like being talked to so forcefully, he was already on edge. He, however, held his tongue and carefully stood up to look at the area around them. The open golf course was still and dark in all directions. However, knowing that the cart pathway was mostly hidden below the course, Henry couldnt tell how close the patrols might be. Dropping back down to his knees, Henry exined what to do next. Follow me in a line of twos. We are going to be going straight that way towards a fence. There is another guy waiting for us there and he hasdders for us to get over. Once we get there, get over the fence quickly. Ill exin the rest of the escape route from there. The handcuffeddy was eyeing the area ahead that Henry was referring too. She had remained skeptical of everything that was going on and warry of anything that might be a trap. However, nothing had seemed questionable yet. She just couldnt understand who these people helping them were and why? You heard him, get with a buddy and lets go. The handcuffeddy ordered. Henry stood up once again and looked both ways before jogging towards where the golf cart path was below the nearest dip in thendscape. Following him and bending low, the others tried to keep up. Their shadows drew long blotches on the clean-cut grass as the low hanging yellow moon watched over them. Though the moon lit their way, it also exposed them to anyone that might be watching. Henry stopped at the bottom of the slope and at the edge of the path to wait for the others to join him. Thest pair was about to join them when a light appeared. The patrol wasing from the direction of the mansion! There was nowhere to hide! The path was not lined with any shrubbery, nor were there any rocks. They couldnt go back either, because the path from here had a clear view of the golf course above. They had to make a run for it, yet this option was not any better. Across the path it was all open ground before they reached a few scrubby bushes that lined the fence and hardly hid Willis. Go! Go without a sound! Henry hissed as he led the way. Thedies, forgetting to stay in pairs, dashed for the scrubby bushes. They were all running in such a panic that onedy tripped on a little shin high ditch that followed the path, hidden by the darkness. No one noticed thedy had fallen either, not until they all had jumped into the bushes and the handcuffeddy did a head count. We are missing someone! The handcuffeddy whispered to Henry. Henry looked back to see that the two-man patrol team was carrying shlights and were scanning the area ahead of them periodically. Then squinting to see in the dim pale moon light, he spotted the fallendy. Apparently frozen with fear, thedy was still on the ground with her hands over her head. She was going to be spotted in no time! Henry then did something he would call stupid. Forgetting that he was only there to help and not get himself caught, Henry wordlessly left the bushes and ran for thedy. He didnt have a n; his mind was just nk. Dropping down, he slid on the grass next to her. Urgently his shook her shoulders and whispered, Get up! They areing. I-I cant m-move. Thedy whimpered. Henry looked up just as the dim edge of a shlight passed over them. They only had seconds left! Looking around him all he could see was the shin high ditch. He grabbed the woman and rolled her into the ditch and then he tooid t into the ditch with her. He knew it was not deep enough, not by a long shot. Yet it was all he could do. Im an idiot! Henry thought. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Then taking a tentative nce up he saw the two patrol gangsters were just steps from them. The gangster on the left was sweeping his shlight over the fence and bushes, while the one on the right was pointing his own light onto the path directly at his feet. Henry could see their faces clearly now and that they were both armed with guns slung over their shoulders. Just as the left patrol gangster was swinging his shlight back onto the path, which would undoubtedlynded on Henry and thedy, something unexpected happened. Henry watched as both men, walking side-by-side, suddenly had both of their heads explode! Blood, brains, and the unsettling crinkle of flesh and bone ripping was easily distinguished. A secondter the distant boom of a single gunshot echoed across the valley. Zane let out a low whistle, Now that is what I call a clean shot. I love boss Lisas sniper! Chapter 195: Discovered (3) Chapter 195: Discovered (3) What just happened? The handcuffed woman called out stifling a shout. She had abandoned the scrubby bushes and was now helping the fallen woman up from the low ditch. I think that was Zane. Henry answered looking in the towns direction. I cant believe he was actually able to pull a shot off like that. Well, it doesnt matter right now. The handcuffeddy said helping the scared woman towards the bushes. The rest of the gangsters would have heard that shot and coulde to investigate any second. Henry shook his head to clear his thoughts. You are right. Willis, get thedders ready. What are we going to do with the bodies? The handcuffed woman called over her shoulder. We cant just leave them here to be discovered. We still need to bring the others this way to escape. Henry looked back at the two lifeless bodies lying on the asphalt golf cart path. One of the shlights had rolled around to illuminate the mangled head of its owner. nk lifeless eyes looked back up at him as the pool of blood leaking from the gapping bullet hole slowly grew bigger to stain the asphalt. Henry felt sick to his stomach seeing the grizzly sight. However, something indeed had to be done with the bodies. So, suppressing his urge to puke, Henry walked over to the illuminated body and grabbed it by the arm. At first, he wanted to hide the bodies in the bushes, but if the gangsters followed the blood trail to the bushes than they would find their escape route. Looking towards the empty golf course he could not find any suitable ce to leave the bodies there either. He had to make a choice quickly. What is going on out there! A voice suddenly shouted from nearby. Henry panicked and dropped the dead bodies arm. Pulling the pistol out from the back of his pants he looked around frantically but saw no one. The voice then repeated itself and it sounded like it wasing from right next to Henry. I said, what is going on out there? We heard a gunshot, and it wasnt near the mansion. Anyone else hear it? Looking down at the dead man, Henry saw the source of the voice. It was a walkie-talkie strapped to the mans chest. Not knowing what else to do, he picked up the walkie-talkie. Henry pressed the speak button and said, A-all clear here. Are you sure that you heard gun shots? What are you doing? The handcuffed woman protested as she came back to join Henry. Im improvising. Henry said while waving dismissively at her. Though in truth, he had no idea what he was doing. Are you sure? The man on the walkie-talkie replied. What side are you patrolling on? Henry looked around himself before replying. Uh, the east side. Thats odd. The town is on that side and thats where I am sure the sound came from. The man asked skeptically. We are on the west side of the patrol heading back to the mansion. A second voice said joining the conversation on the walkie-talkie. The shot was too far for us to hear but it could have been from the fight downtown. We keep hearing an asional shot or two over thest two days. Thats true. The first man replied. It just sounded much closer than normal. Well, I guess just keep your ears open and report anything suspicious. Understood. Henry replied right away, and the second voice repeated his reply as well. Henry then dropped the walkie-talkie back onto the dead mans chest and let out a sigh of relief. That was lucky! Ill say. The handcuffed woman replied crossing her arms to ir at him. If you would have messed up, then they would have found us out even sooner. I know that. Henry quipped. Let us just leave them here. We can take the shlights and guns though. We will head straight for where Zane is and get you all safe. Henry and Willis then made sure the first group of women made it safely over the fence and through the scrund. They managed to find where Zane was staking out the golf course and chose to have thedies wait around the shed until everyone else was brought here. When Henry and Willis returned, the handcuffeddy chose to return with them. She insisted that she had to be sure every woman escaped. Meanwhile, Zane and Lisa, not knowing all that had happened above ground, continued to get all the women out from their cells and out of the vent to the surface. Nothing much had happened, save for a few idental slipups that resulted in the vent making some noise. Yet the gangsters below remained oblivious. Just before Lisa left the cell room, she took out her can of spray paint and graffitied on the floor her new tiara symbol. She made sure to put it right at the entrance of room, that way it couldnt be missed. Once that was done and she climbed into the vent, Lisa made sure she ced back the tted vent cover to make signs of their escape harder for the gangsters to figure out. When Lisa climbed out of the vent duct, joining the numerousdies doing their best to huddle low behind the bushes, she found Wayne waiting for her. Henry hasnte back yet. What are we going to do next? Wayne asked softly. Lets get them to the fence first and maybe we will find out. Lisa whispered back. Wayne stood up alongside the miniature barn to take one more look around. Wait, I see Henry and one of thedies returning. Lisa looked and saw they indeed wereing back, she also noted that it was the handcuffed woman that was with him. She also saw they were running fast, and that the woman was now carrying a rifle. Seeing this, Lisa knew something bad most likely happened. Even though there wasnt much room, Henry and the handcuffeddy jumped over the low hedges and join Lisa and Wayne. We ran into some trouble and Zane has killed two guards already. Dont worry, I already tricked the gangsters using their walkie-talkie. So far no other patrols havee by either. Henry reported a bit lost for breath. You can exinter. Lisa replied. Lets hurry. I still want to breakout the men next. Without further to do, the nowrge group rushed for the fence. Even though they were not doing much to conceal themselves from the moonlight, Lisa knew that speed was going to be their best bet to escape right now. If they had already raised suspicion than lingering or traveling in smaller groups wasnt going to work. Luck remained on their side, however. It was fortunate that that Mad Dogs didnt believe they would need a tight patrol of the golf course. They probably assumed no one would have figured out where their factory was and gotzy over time. Once thestdy got over the fence, Lisa gave her next instructions. Henry, Willis and you My name is Bemy. The handcuffed woman answered. But just call me Bell. Lisa gave her an approving smile, Alright then, you two and Bell once you reach Zane and the others tell him to keep watching over me. I am going to get the men out myself. You all are to go straight back to the dam. Get the women settled inside the tunnels as we ned and make sure no one sees you all go in there. Once it is discovered that they escaped, the Mad Dogs will be asking around for information. If we can hide them long enough for me to arrange the fight with Martinez, then we will win! You are going to put us underground again? Bell eximed. Its only a temporary solution. Lisa replied. Perhaps not even for a week and you all will be able toe out a few at a time in the meantime. No cages either. Bell shook her head. It better be as you say. Im not letting go of this gun either, just in case. Thats fine with me. Lisa said giving a nod. I trust you know how to shoot? Of course. Bell answered. Good. Shoot anyone that aims a gun at those within the dam. Lisa ordered. Henry, make sure you tell her who on the outside is trustworthy along the way. You got it. Henry replied giving a thumbs up. He then turned to thedies tucked behind the scrund bushes. Come on, follow us to the town. Lisa thenid down the twodders and headed back to the factory to break out the men next. She wasnt going to go back to the same vent this time. She assumed that the men were being kept at least two or three topside vents further into the golf course from where thedies vent was. She decided to go to the furthest vent and check there first. If they were closer than she would have waisted less time crawling through vent duct to find them. When she arrived at this vent it was like the two before, surrounded by decorative hedges and rocks. Breaking in was also just as easy. Tying the rope to arge rock Lisa climbed inside and quickly got down on all fours to look for any lighting through a nted vent. This time she spotted lighting from close by on her right. Carefully she shimmied her way through the low duct and peeked inside. Her first guess was right once again, the men were in the room below. Before she started to pry apart the tted vent, Lisa made sure to look for the cameras and the condition of where the most men were being kept. The camera was in the same ce as in the womens room, right of the door. However, there was one thing that confused and perplexed her. There were far fewer men than she thought. There was less than one hundred women but here there were at most thirty men. Looking at the other cells it looked like they used to have upants but now they were empty. Putting her questions aside, Lisa focused on getting out what men were left. The vent was easily removed, and the camera too was easily disabled. Lisa dropped the rope down into the empty cell below all without waking the tired looking men in neighboring cells. Thinking ahead, Lisa put on the Mad Dog red and ck armband incase the guards showed up. Lisa slid down the rope and dropped like a cat onto the metal floor, disturbing no one. Then taking her cell door key, unlocked the cage door and stepped into the isle between cages. Ahem. Lisa cleared her throat before speaking in a low voice. Alright sleepy heads, time to wake up. Hearing the unexpected voice, the men started to rise from their beds. They looked at Lisa with nk, tired expressions. Lisa saw they looked no better, perhaps worse, than the women did. Their beds and cloths looked to be even grosser and thread bare too. Y-you arent one of the regr guards. One of the men replied rubbing at his eye sleepily. Wait, I saw her two days ago. Another man from across the isle called out. Lisa looked at the man and saw that he was the man that had won the fight after Tio gave them the serum injections. Yes, I was there, but we arent talking about that. I want all of you to pack up your things and get ready to go. Go? But Tio already took the rejects away. What are we going to do? The first man asked. Tio took the rejects away? Lisa thought quickly. Does that mean all the men here are serumpatible? Interesting. Then speaking out loud she said, I am going to be breaking you all out of here. The Mad Dogs have kept you asb rats, but I n on taking them down and you all can get revenge on the Raiders that sent you here! Suddenly, from behind Lisa, the door burst open. Hey, whats going on in here? Its the middle of the night. Lisa turned to see two unfamiliar guardsing into the cage room. Ah, good timing. These guys were getting rowdy, and I can use your help shutting them up. Is that so? The two guards said noticing Lisa armband. Well, we cant let that happen. The two guards then passed by Lisa and started for the closest of the cells. Lisa smirked seeing them turning their backs to her. She then took off her sword from its belt and with one fell swoop, decapitated both men! As their lifeless bodies ttered to the metal floor, Lisa addressed the caged men. As you can see, I am serious about helping you all. Now, lets get out of here. Chapter 196: Queens Gang Beginnings Chapter 196: Queen''s Gang Beginnings At first the caged men were speechless at what they had just witnessed. Being woken up in the middle of the night, only to hear this crazy proposition from some hugedy was more than enough to confuse them. Yet now this huge woman before them just killed two guards in cold blood; their confusion was peeked! I-is this a dream? One of the men from the back of the room stammered. No, not a dream. Lisa replied stepping casually over the bodies. Will you all join me in taking over the Mad Dogs? In exchange I will provide shelter, food, and help you all to get revenge on the Raiders. I learned from the women locked up on the other end of this factory, that you all came from many ces and were sold here. I bet you all cant stand to feel the way you do. You are right. One man answered through gritted teeth. We do want to earn reconciliation for what had happened to us. Those f****** Raiders killed my boy! Y-you said you spoke with the women that were brought here. Another man stammered grabbing the bars to his cage desperately. My wife is with them, is she alright? We need to help them! Shhhh. Lisa hushed them all before things got out of hand. I may have killed these guards but there could be more nearby. Rx, I have already freed all the women. They are on their way to where my base is as we speak. The man and a few others visibly rxed. Then that same man spoke up again. You have my word; Ill help you, if you did indeed save my wife. Lisa smiled brightly as she came up to his cell. Good, thats what I want to hear. She then unlocked the cage door and pointed to the rope. Go ahead and climb out, quietly. The vent is loud, but we dont need to go far. Just follow the rope out and wait on the surface for all of us to escape. Ill lead the way after that. The escape waspleted far faster than it was with the women, and the Mad Dogs were clueless. Lisa made sure that she added her new tiara graffiti symbol before leaving with the men. She wished she could see the gangsters reactions upon discovering the empty cells and symbol, it was bound to be a spectacle. Lisa had also chosen to leave the bodies of all four dead guards where they were. Moving them was pointless and it would add to her message that she meant business. Lisa brought the men back to the dam to find that the women were already being cared for. Sadie and Eva were rushing about from one end of the dams tunnel to the next distributing bowls of cooked fish and water to the famished women. It was lucky that they were able to find so many Tupperware cups, bowls, and tes from the storage units; otherwise caring for all these people properly would have been impossible. Tayvon was already re-cooking more fish to be warm enough to eat, while Wayne, Willis and Henry were handing out clean cloths and helping everyone settle in. Ka? Ka, where are you? The man Lisa had freed first called out. He then started desperately searching the crowd of women for his wife. Ka! Its me, Dan! Dan! A redheaded woman with heavy freckles on her cheeks called as she peeped out from behind one of the generators. Dan, you are alright! Ka then jumped out from behind the generator and the two embarrassed lovingly. Seeing this, a few other men abandoned following Lisa and started calling out the names of their missing loved ones. In minutes, the dreary tunnel was soon filled with happy reunions and tears ofughter. The happy atmosphere seemed to make the dim tunnel a little brighter. This alone made breaking them all out worth it. Lisa smiled and thought, I might be a monster at times, but its times like these that make me forget all the bad Ive done. Lisa then felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning she saw the sullen face of the man that imed the raiders killed his son. What are we going to do next? You said you wanted to take over the Mad Dogs. We will get to that in due time, for now let us get you all fed and into clean clothes. Resting is also an important step in getting your vengeance. Lisa then waved a hand in front of her nose. No offence, but you all reek too. The Mad Dogs would smell you alling before they saw you. As soon as morninges you all are going to need to wash off in the river. The sullen faced man blinked twice. I guess your right. Its just, I cant stay calm. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is that b****** that killed my son! Whats your name, sir? Lisa asked forgoing the jokes and putting on a serious expression. Jacob. Jacob Sims. The sullen man replied. Well Jacob, I assure you, that Raider will get whating to him. Hopefully sooner thanter. Lisa then ced a heavy hand on his shoulder. For now, lets work together and make sure we do this takeover right. Now,e on, lets eat! Though the night was already extremelyte, no one could sleep. They were all just to excited from being freed. As Lisa and the others talked with the freed factory workers, they discovered that some of them had been forced to work in such conditions for over a year. Though most, particrly the men, had only been down there a month or more. Lisa watched thisrge gathering of ted people milling about in the dam tunnel and thought to herself, Hmm, the mood isnt dying down and everyones sprits seem high. Perhaps now is a good time to tell them my intentions. Lisa then pped her hands together twice and drew the attention of those closest to her. Alright everyone, I need you all to settle down. There are some things I need to express to you, mostly of what the future entails. The tunnel quieted gradually as everyone listened to her. This moment was expected and in fact, most of them had been waiting for this moment. Lisa had saved them from the factory, lead them to a safe ce that seemed to make her trustworthy, and feed them. But why? Now you all are wondering why I saved you all. Lisa addressed the hundred thirty or so people from atop a metal table. There are a lot of reasons, but I will sum them up briefly. Firstly, for obvious reasons, it was wrong what you all were being made to do and someone had to stop them. I took it upon myself, almost as a whim, to help you all. Due to my past, it just didnt sit right with me to let you all suffer so. Nothing more, nothing less. Didnt you say you wanted our help to take over the gang? Jacob asked from the front of the group. A few other men nodded in agreement with his statement. I did and I am getting to that point. Taking them over is not my end goal. Just another step. Lisa answered. Jacob nodded and motioned that he would stay quiet, so Lisa continued. I may have that goal in mind; however, I will not force any of you to help me do this. You are all, as of this moment, free to go. You all can leave at first light and go back to wherever you were taken from. Go back to you disheveled towns, hungry families, and struggling lifestyle. I will even let you all have the new clothes we gave you and some food for the journey. I care not what you choose to do. They all were d to hear her say they were free. Yet the tone of which she described their choice to return felt off-putting. Like their choice to go would be bad for them. Lisa could see a few people shifting ufortably as she continued to speak. You might now be thinking that I was going to say something clever and convince you all to join me to take over the Mad Dogs and get revenge. You are half right. I dont want to go storming into the factory or their main base and killing them all. It is too counterproductive, too many of you good people will die or suffer, and the stability of the town will surely be noticed by other bad forces. So, what is my n then? Lisa continued as she spread her arms wide and looking over everyone. It isplicated but simple. I have been speaking with a few key members of the Mad Dogs and Ive seen that there is a bit of resentment among their ranks. As it turned out many of their members were once regr townsfolk like yourselves. They only joined the gang to provide for their families and get protection from rival gangs. I n on fighting their current boss, Martinez, and upon my victory Ill convince as many Mad Dogs to side with me and lead them. Breaking all of you out will give Martinez more than enough cause to challenge me, but he would probably send his goons after us first. This is where those of you that choose to help mee into y. I need a dummy force to make it look as if I already have my own gang. Rest assured though; you wont be alone in this. There is another organization that will be seeking control of this town and they are already allies with me. They will be more than willing to bring peace to the town by siding with me rather than fight the Mad Dogs alone. Now, this could happen tomorrow or in a weeks time. So, by noon tomorrow I hope you wille to a decision on whether you want to stay or go back to your dusty lives. The tunnel grew silent, for much longer than she expected. It seemed many were unsure as to how to respond. Lisa felt like she might have sprung this on them too soon. It was Bemy that spoke up first, breaking the deadlock. I dont speak for the others, but if we do help and you do take over the gang, then what? What is in it for us in the long run? Wont it be just trading in one gangster for another, because one of the men told me how you killed the guards in their cell. Good questions. Lisa replied rubbing her brow. The benefits for you all are freedom, jobs, and a life. I n on turning this crappy town into a thriving town, like before the apocalypse, before the bombs, and before the Raiders. I want not just you, but all your families and friends toe her too. The organization Im allies with is already making ns of an actual governing system to impose on the town. Gangs will not be in charge; the people will be. I will dissolve, overtime, the gang and in ce of a gang I am going to create a corporation, starting with this dams electricity, to make jobs of all kinds. You all will be able to work these jobs, earn actual money, not starve for days at a time, and live a life the way you were meant too. Jacob stepped forwards. Thats good enough for me. I will help you! Bemy stepped forwards as well. This is the first time anyone has ever mentioned rebuilding a town. It sounds crazy, but I like crazy. I will help too! Just one more thing. Jacobs asked. What of the Raiders? Simple, I said Id dissolve the Mad Dogs in time into a corporation. One aspect of this corporation will be making a private security force of some of you and former gangsters. Their task will be to protect the town and destroy the Raiders entirely. Lisa replied giving the two a confident grin. All I need is the right things to fall into ce for us and good times will be on our horizons! Feeling that all was moving ahead with promise, the tunnel burst into excited chatter and calls of support. They had no idea that soon, this n Lisa had made would not go the way anyone expected, not even Lisa. Things were going to get wild! Chapter 197: Drawn Out Fighting Chapter 197: Drawn Out Fighting Ke-ke-ke, circle around the block and press them back! Crows Beak cackled to his forces. Make sure they dont double back and try to circle towards the way they came! A dozen of the Skulls headed his orders and started running down the street. Crows Beak watched them go as another bullet struck the brick building corner he was using as cover. The bullets impact did nothing to make him flinch. The past two days head been on hellish battle after the next and as a result many had grown ustomed to the close brushes with death, Crows Beak being no exception. It was clear neither side had anticipated the fighting to have gone on this long. In the days prior the two gangs had been fighting tooth and nail to remain one step ahead of the other. It was now the start of the third day and the sound of battle was already ringing in everyones ears. The Skull had been pressing the Mad Dogs to keep moving in ateral direct, away from the Main Street bridge that Crows Beak watched over. This was not good for the Mad Dogs under Hugo, because they originally were going to cross that bridge and circle behind the Skull fighting under Stitches and Steel Fistsmand and then with Ernests forces pressing into the city, crush the Skull. This was all as Bone Dust predicted the flow of battle might go. Soon, Hugos forces would be pushed into sight of the stadiums high circr wall. If Hugo hadnt figured out the Skulls n yet, Bone Dust assumed they would go for the stadium to use its narrow passages and limited entryways to fend off the Skull. However, that was all a trap. Ke-ke-ke, lets see who my target is now. Crows Beak cackled to himself. He then peeked carefully around a chunk of missing brick to spy on the Mad Dogs scattered and hidden among the rubble. The Mad Dogs had taken over a warehouse building that once held disy automobiles for a car dealership. From there they were funneling their exhausted forces to the streets behind. The road between Crows Beak and these Mad Dogs was littered with copsed portions of buildings, smoke, and inconsistent gunfire. This area had also sumbed to numerous bombing from the air raids years ago and made for a harsh battle ground with many avenues of attack or counterattacks. From his vantage point Crows Beak spotted a thickly statured man and recognized him right away as Hugo. The two of them had been ying a game of tag the entire battle. Each man would target the other, be it with guns or with troops, and only stop once the other retreated. Lets see you block me this time. Crows Beak sneered. Crows Beak then quickly notched an arrow into his heavypound bow, painted as ck as the feathers on his cloak. His bows statistics exceeded that of any normal bow. His custom bow has a string test strength of 60 kilograms, capable of reaching arrow speeds of 130 meters per second and traveling twice the distance of any arrow due to the tight curve of the arrows feathers. Pulling this dangerous ck bow back tight near his cheek, Crows Beak stepped out from the corner and let it loose. Without checking to see if his arrow had reached its mark, he ducked back behind the brick walls cover knowing bullets would be chasing after him. Sure enough, a myriad of bullets from a machine guns riddled the ground and wall. Crows Beak took another nce around the wall to see just as Hugo was lowering his weapon and raising his free hand to flick off Crows Beak, despite not knowing where he was hiding. Crows Beak clicked his tongue sharply with annoyance. Damn that riot gantlet. Hes got too much of a fighters intuition to die easily. Ill get you soon enough. In response to the shots fired on Crows Beaks location the Skull, hidden behind windows and on rooftops, returned fire. The street once again broke out into dusty chaos and Crows Beak lost sight of Hugo amidst it all. Turning away from watching the fight Crows Beak spoke to those left with him. Spread out among the building where our forces are thin and dont hold out on attacking. We need to keep them moving back. Yes, boss. The gangsters chanted before dispersing. Crows Beak then flopped down onto all fours and started scurrying across the rubble strewn street and after the men he had sent out earlier. Lets try getting ahead of you this time, Hugo. Ke-ke-ke! If I cant get you then, myst chance will be at the stadium. Hugo finished closing his riot gauntlet and flicking off Crows Beak before retreating inside the car warehouse. His riot gauntlet was a rare weapon of choice for most people. Acting doubly as a shield and weapon this arm strapped device could open as a circr shield to cover the users torso, head, and upper thighs stopping with ease small arms fire and handheld weapons. Upon opening it would also expose the serrated edge of the shield that could be used to cut anyone hit by it. Additionally, when closed the serrated edges formed a short sword fixed to the users forearms topside. The riot gauntlet was a popr unconventional tool used by riot police and National Guard forces. Going deeper into the back of the car warehouse Hugo found his top subordinates were dishing out orders for reinforcements to be deployed in key ces, dealing with the wounded, and dealing with the ammo situation. They had been pulled far away from their initial supply lines and with the battles getting harder pressed, resupplies were far and few between. Hugo! Over here. One of the gangsters called to him from a crate. Before the gangster on the crate was a crude map of the city streets. As Hugo jogged over to join him the man continued speaking. We are not going to make it to the Main Street bridge at this rate. We only have the stadium bridge to try and cross. The scouts just got back and say the rest of the bridges are indeed destroyed. Seriously? Hugo sighed heavily. What is the Skull doing in that area? Its not far from where Ernest is invading from, and I doubt they left it unsupervised. The scouts say that they think the bridge is only being guarded by a skeleton crew. The subordinate replied. The Skull apparently are only on the far side of the bridge, and none are watching over the stadium itself. Is that so? Hugo replied looking quizzically at the crude map. Why would they do that? So, what is our next move going to be? The man asked. Give me a walkie-talkie. We should be in range of the barges signal, and I need to hear how the other fronts are faring. Hugo ordered and the gangster handed him one from a backpack next to the crude map. This is Hugo calling Ernest, do you read me? Hugo called. Seconds passed and Ernests voice responded. Ernest here. What do you want? I need some information as to how far youve gone into the city, what areas are burning and what the enemy is doing. Hugo replied promptly. What for? Are you guys finally going to show up over here? Ernest scoffed. Hugo hatted the young lieutenants attitude but replied anyhow. Yes, what you tell me will determine my next move. That so. About time. Ernest sighed. We started off pushing in several blocks from the docks, but we hit a stalemate and neither side can gain any ground. Im just chilling right now waiting for the Skull to show up. Its all been sniper fire for thest half day, so not much action. What about the fire and their locations? I dont really care what you are doing right now. Hugo growled into the walkie-talkie. Geez, rx old dude. The fires have spread northward along the docks and two blocks deep into the city. Ernest replied casually, but Hugo could tell the brat was smirking on the other side of the walkie-talkie. We are scattered between blocks five and six to the west, covering two blocks north, and three blocks south. The Skull seem to have endured heavy casualties from my artillery. Yet we havent faired that much better thanks to, I presume, Stitches sniping team. I see, so you havent passed the road leading to the stadium and the fires are still two blocks away from the gorge. Hugo replied speaking aloud as he traced Ernests directions on the crude map with one finger. Alright, we might being your way by the afternoon. Get ready to expect reinforcements from the northwest. We can still carry out the initial n. Sit tight and be ready. Finally, we can get this show on the road. I always wondered why Martinez keeps you in charge, you are just so slow. Over and out. Ernest called back and the sound of the walkie-talkie clicking off told Hugo he probably turned it all the way off. Hugo sighed and changed the walkie-talkies channel. That kid is much too cocky. Hes going to get screwed one day. Then into the walkie-talkie once again he called out, This is Hugo calling Xander, do you read me? Almost immediately Xander replied. I ready you. I was wondering when you were going to call. We are going to be crossing the gorge soon at the stadiums bridge. Not as far into downtown as ned but Ernest has a sizeable number of Skull that we can entrap, and the docks are burning smoothly too. We have sustained forty percent casualties, but deaths remain below twenty percent overall. Hugo reported. Good. Things have been hard going here for us too, with simr casualties to boot. Even though we only needed to go five blocks, they were ready for us and put up a great fight. Xander sighed. Yet we finally reached the Skulls mall base and Im looking through a window of some oldw firm at Martinez and the Undertaker finally facing off in the parking lot around the building. The rest of the fighters have stopped, and we are waiting for them to stop trash talking each other and get this gang war over with already. Hugo could hear the distain in Xanders voice, but he was d to hear the battle was nearing a conclusion. Understood. Ill ry the news and get moving. Over and out. Xander heard themunication cutout on the walkie-talkie, and he returned his attention to the two prominent figures prepping to duel. He then nudged on of his special guards next to him and pointed at a couch in thew firms waiting room. Hey, drag that couch over here and we can watchfortably. As Xander waited for the special guard to bring the couch the two duelers were getting feisty. Their voices echoed across the parking lot and off the surrounding buildings walls. All eyes were watching expectantly as the two gang leaders decided the battles fate. It took you long enough toe out of your rat hole. Martinez boomed. No, you were just taking too long to get here. Undertaker quipped shing a bright smile in contrast to his deep tan skin. Martinez sneered and adjusted his obsidian Macuahuitl on his shoulder with anticipation. If you would just fight like a leader, instead of the coward that you are, we could have settled this days ago. Not that it matters, in the end I will kill you. Call me what you want, but I had more important things to deal with then to y with you. Undertaker replied casually brushing back his natural white hair. The rising sunlight glinted off his ornate jewelry as he continued. I had to clear a meeting with a client just toe and deal with you today. Ha! Dont act like you didnt want to fight me. Martinezughed. He then slid the Macuahuitl off his shoulder and into both hands. That smile and your eyes tell me that you have been wanting this fight to happen. Undertakers face remained frozen with his light, proud grin as it always did and yet the sadistic look in his eyes glowed like a forest fire. I cant lie about that. Shall we make this an official Match Fight as well? Martinez asked taking a cautious, butmanding step forward. Sure, why not. We will let our managers handle the details. Undertaker responded by reaching down to his waist to unravel his favored weapon, a carbon fiber and nylon whip! Then in his free hand he pulled out a pure white Khepesh. The Khepesh is an Egyptian sickle-shaped sword that has an inverted curved de that begins curving part ways up the de from the handle, much like a question mark. Originally designed from battle axes as a hacking weapon, this fifty-five-centimeter sword specializes in entrapping an opponents arm, weapon or shield making close rangebat a challenge for most opponents. I cant wait to hang that sword on my trophy wall. Martinez announced taking a fighting stance. Your bones will make a nice foot stool for me. Try to die quickly for me while you are at it. Undertaker countered as he started twirling the whip overhead. Then the two charged, eager for ughter. Chapter 198: Duel of the Bosses Chapter 198: Duel of the Bosses It was Undertaker that attacked first. His nylon whip struck out at Martinezs head like an angry viper. Its carbon fiber covering whizzed through the air before making a sharp ping noise as it ricocheted off Martinezs weapon. Martinez halted his headlong charge and deflected the attack the moment he spotted Undertakers wrist rearing back. He then sneered while readjusting his weapon, Was that your best just then? Unfazed, Undertaker started circling step by step around his warry foe while spinning the whip once again. His naturally proud face showed no sign of any other emotion. Just a test shot. It would be pathetic if you were hit by that. After all, that was just to loosen my muscles. I havent had a proper fight in ages. Pfft, you talk to much. Grumbled Martinez as he lunged forward to throw a horizontal blow at Undertaker. Undertaker merely took a step back and the Macuahuitl passed within a hairsbreadth from his bare chest. Not letting this opening pass by, Undertaker followed up by swinging his Khepesh at Martinezs outstretched exposed arm. The counter strike struck home and the Khepeshs dull edge pinned Martinezs arm to the pavement. There was a collective murmur of surprise that erupted from the spectating gangsters on both sides. However, they were all forced back into silence as Martinez suddenly reared back and tossed off the Khepesh with brutish strength. Undertaker was not expecting to have himself, and his weapon thrown off with such ferocity that he took a precautious leap back. That was a mistake, Undertaker. You should have taken my arm then. Martinez growled. You wont get another chance like that. Undertaker raised a white eyebrow skeptically. This will end quickly, that is for sure. Martinez came charging at Undertaker with blinding speed, so fast in fact that it seemed inhumanly possible! He closed the distance between them in half a second, catching Undertaker off guard. Undertaker flinched awkwardly as he raised his Khepesh in front of himself to defend. There was a heavy metal on metal ping that reverberated all throughout the nearby buildings, while some of those watching flinched at the harsh noise. Undertaker was literally lifted off his feet upon taking the full front of Martinezs attack! He was sent tumbling head over heels across the parking lot; however, he never lost hisposure. Undertaker, still grasping his nylon whip, punched down at the pavement to stabilize his rotations and then performed a one-handed handspring! Flipping nimbly, hended with a solid thud on both feet and with both weapons raised at the ready. Martinez had chased after Undertaker full well knowing that his attack hadnt caused any real damage. When Undertaker flipped andnded, Martinez was already in full swing to cleave him in two. This time Undertaker was forced to hold his Khepesh on his side to absorb the blow. The metal-on-metal ping seemed to follow Undertaker as he was once again sent spinning, this time cartwheeling sideways, across the parking lot. Martinezs brutish strength and speed was nothing but extraordinary. Yet, not enough to finish off Undertaker so soon. Undertaker may had been sent careening away in a crazy fashion, but he was alsounched towards a light pole situated in the parking lot. Striking out with his whip, Undertakershed around the pole and swung around it like Tarzan swinging on a vine. He the sailed back in full control at Martinez to counterattack. While still airborne Undertaker swatted at Martinez with his whip twice, forcing Martinez to stand his ground and parry the blows. Undertakernded soundly and started to immediately run at Martinez. The two locked weapons and grappled for strength to force the other back. In this fraction of a second, Undertaker still held his proud smile, unfazed by the battles events. Martinez could see this and though annoyed, he knew that unlike most opponents he had faced so far to conquer the town, Undertaker was likely the strongest. It was hard to conceive, because Undertakers stature was shorter and slimmer, and his muscle mass too seemed to be less than Martinezs own. Y-you are putting on quite the show. Martinezmented as he tightened his grip. His Macuahuitl was then slowly pressed lower towards Undertakers neck and the faux obsidian des wavered dangerously close to cutting him. Though its clear that I am indeed the stronger of us. Unbeguiled, Undertaker snorted and pressed back hard with his Khepesh to return the two to the equal deadlock from before. I havent even been trying. You seem to be though. I honestly think you overestimate yourself. What? Martinezughed. Then Undertaker dropped his Khepesh between them, dragging the Macuahuitl down with it. The two odd weapons smashed into the pavement and scattered concrete fragments in all directions. Before Martinez could retaliate, Undertaker pressed forward to ram his shoulder into Martinezs chest. Being hit in such a manner caused Martinez to lose his grip and be disarmed. Though the same was for Undertaker; by ramming Martinez, he too let go of his Khepesh. Not wanting to let Martinez time to recover, Undertaker followed up by throwing an uppercut at Martinezs chin. Martinez reacted just in time and leaned his head back, narrowly avoiding the strike. Martinez then started back peddling as Undertaker chased after him, throwing swift short-ranged jabs with every step. Undertaker still had his coiled nylon whip in hand, and this too acted as another tool to hit with. Martinez avoided every strike and soon found an opening to deflect a right hook with his own forearm. In doing so, Martinez forced Undertaker to be too far forwards and allowed Martinez to counter. With a heavy grunt Martinez kicked up at Undertakers middle with his left foot. The kicknded heavily on the rib cage and Undertaker skittered a few steps away from the blow. Yet Martinez couldnt follow up with another attack, because upon being hit, Undertaker unfurled his nylon whip andshed out with it. The whip wrapped around Martinezs left hand and with a sharp tug, Undertaker yanked Martinez off bnce and closer to himself. Undertaker used that same pull to spin once and throw a back handed fist at Martinezs head. The edges of his knuckles struck just above Martinezs brow to open a cut along his left eyebrow. Not to be outdone Martinez threw his own uppercut at Undertaker and itnded dead center on his sternum. Undertaker slid back and grabbed at the nylon whip halfway between the two fighters and hoisted it above his shoulder to give a mighty tug. This action was simr to that of a Judo one arm shoulder throw and with the whip still around Martinezs wrist, it tossed him into the air! Martinez had a look of surprise as he sailed overhead of Undertaker and was then smashed back first onto the pavement. There was a heavy gasp of breath that was knocked from Martinez as his body seemed to bounce up from the blow. Undertaker seized this chance and went to perform a drop kick aimed at Martinezs face. Though slightly disorientated and breathless, Martinez saw thising and tossed his head to one side just in time. Seeing he missed Undertaker tried stomping on him next. Martinez merely just repeated the previous action, and each time narrowly avoided a direct stomp. This afforded Martinez enough time to catch some of his breath. Undertaker made another stomp at Martinezs head, but this time Martinez didnt just dodge, he grabbed Undertakers ankle. Lifting his lower body from a prone position, Martinez kicked vertically with both feet at Undertakers chin to reach what looked like a vertical handstand! The bizarrely unexpected attack cause Undertaker to reel back sharply, this caused the strain he had ced on the whip to loosen. Feeling this change, Martinez swept downwards with both legs in an arcing C fashion to collied with Undertakers own shins. Undertaker was knocked over and sent ttering to the ground. In that moment Martinez freed himself from the whip and stood back up to fight. Undertaker sensed his disadvantage and rolled twice on the pavement before popping back up onto two feet. The two were now back on near even fighting level, save for Undertakers whip. Now thats what I am talking about! Xander shouted from the safety of the nearby doorway. Things are getting good now. He was trying his upmost to follow along with the flow of the bosss Match Fight, but his special guard nudged his arm. Xander, there is something strangeing from the walkie-talkie. Eh? What is it? Xander replied agitatedly. Im not sure. The special guard answered. He was holding the walkie-talkie close to his ear and seemed to be struggling to hear. Itsing from Ernests channel. He keeps cutting in and out but most of what ising through is just static. What is strange about that? Xander sighed turning his attention back to the boss fight. He is probably sitting on it, or hes caught up in a fight and its just picking it up. I dont think so. The special guard muttered. I thought I heard him call for help, and something about a, well, a monster? Ha, that punk asking for help? Xanderughed. That will be the day. You can just ignore it. Ill keep listening just in case. The special guard replied holding the walkie-talkie closer to his ear. Suit yourself. This fight here is more important than whatever is going on over there anyway. Xander answered dismissively. In the meantime, Martinez had managed to work his way around Undertaker and reim his Macuahuitl, though not without taking severalshings from the whip in the process. Between the two it looked like Martinez had taken the most damage and he was bleeding a fair amount still from the brow and a nasty whip mark on his right thigh. The two bosses, however, now were back to where they had started. Ah, that was a wonderful way to warm up. Wouldnt you agree? Undertaker sighed as he rolled his shoulders. He then spread his arms wide, proudly disying the anatomically correct skeleton tattoos that covered his body. How about we kick this up a notch and get serious? Thats all fine with me. Martinez answered as he adjusted his stance to hoist the Macuahuitl alongside himself like a sheathed sword. I think using my own Inducement would do me some good. Its been a while since someone forced me to use it. Oh? Getting desperate, are you? Undertakerughed. I wasnt nning on using any such ability on you. You havent even made me struggle in this fight. So, there is no need for me to use my abilities. What are you saying? Martinez answered ringly. Undertaker ran his whip holding hand through his snow-white hair and sighed heavily. What I am saying is that even if you use your petty Inducement, it wont change the oue. All I need to beat you are my weapons here. See? Undertaker then gave his whip and sharp crack and pressed a hidden button on the whips handle. The whips carbon fiber portions suddenly spread open revealing an ominous blue glow from within and with it came the dangerous sounds of electricity crackling! He then swung the electrified whip at the ground a few times and where the whip struck it left behind burn marks! Are you kidding me? Martinez seethed through gritted teeth. Like a little shock will stop me. Then Martinez activated his inducement and took a step forward. Unlike the Triplets, Golem or any other Match Fighter the Mad Dogs employed, Martinezs Inducement didnt have a buildup or outwardly noticeable changes. His was a top tier Inducement that was legally imnted by the Moab City government. Though he had never told this fact to anyone from the gang, it was his secret. The two bosses raised their weapons and prepared to strike as soon as an opening appeared. This was likely going to be a deciding factor of the fights oue. The tension in the air was heavy. Xander! What!? Xander replied half startled, half surprised. With an agitated look he red at the special guard next to him on the couch. There was a look of disbelief in the special guards eyes as he replied. I just heard Ernest say that they are being attacked by Twisted! You are joking, right? Xander scoffed. Give me that walkie-talkie. Snatching the device from the special guard, he raised the staticky walkie-talkie up to his ear. He could barely hear anything remotely like words. Then he heard it, Ernests voice suddenly became clear and what Xander heard made him get goosebumps. The Twisted have appeared behind us! There are too many to count! Is there anyone out there? Respond, we are being overrun! Chapter 199: Growls Chapter 199: Growls Group two, post yourselves around the tops and sides of the entrances. We need to hold out here for a moment before crossing the gorge. Hugo instructed to the already very tired Mad Dogs. They had been rushing all morning to keep ahead of the Skull as they made out for the stadium. Yet even though they had tried their upmost to mask their movements, the Skull were right on their heels. Hugo had even set up faux defensive lines that made it look as if the Mad Dogs, as a whole, were nning on fighting, while in reality it was only a few LMG gunnersying heavy fire, as the rest rushed on ahead. Yet these ns didnt work. As soon as the bullets stopped, the Skull were following right away. Hugo watched the entrance to the stadium from the inside on the dusty field. He rubbed his temples as he thought, though the headache he currently had wasnt helping. What is going on here? They are being far to persistent and knowledgeable in dealing with our movements. Could there be a traitor among us? Hugo looked around him at those of group one panting on the dusty sand field and those of groups three and four moring about on the rusting metal stands to get in a defensive ce to aim at the stadium entrance. They all looked tired, determined, and battle hardened. They were Mad Dogs through and through. No, there couldnt be. The changes in my routes and ns have been too quick to be able to ry them properly and urately to the enemy. Theres still the possibility of the Skull hearing us from a walkie-talkie of their own, but as far as I know they dont have the equipment for that. Still, they seem to almost want us toe here. They have made no attempts to redirect us away to a less defendable area, like the neighborhoods or with our backs to the gorge. Is this a trap? Gas! Gas! Someone yelled out from the stands by the entrance. Hugo looked up to indeed see that a whiteish yellow smoke was spewing out from two cans that were now bouncing through the stadiums entrance. The trap idea he had seemed to be bing more usible now. Yet how it was a trap, he didnt understand. There were only two ces to enter from into the stadium. One by the way they came in and the other to their backs that led to the bridge crossing the gorge. Looks like tear gas. Hugo shouted to the worried Mad Dogs. Just stay clear of it, cover you mouths with your shirts and breath lightly. It will dissipate soon. Keep an eye out for any movements for them rushing in! Hugo then took a nce at the other entrance. Are they nning to surround us ande in from there? He then kicked the thigh of an armed gangster sitting next to him. Hey, you and two others, go checkout the far entrance and survey the bridge. If you see anyone, just start shooting and we wille to help. Fine The gangster grumbled and got up heavily. They are inside, and the gas has beenunched into the entrance. Are we ready now? Crows Beak asked as he rubbed his hands together eagerly. Yes. Have all forces deploy grapple lines and prepare the automatic rope climbers. Bone Dust replied while stroking his white pointed beard confidently. On my signal we all will invade the stadium from the top edges and shoot them all like fish in a barrel! Ke-ke-ke! This is finally going to happen! Destroying thergest portion of the Mad Dogs in one fell swoop. Soon we can finally control this town as it was meant to be. Crows Beak cackled as he scurried away on all fours. Yes, as we should. Bone Dust murmured to himself. As the Skull surrounded the stadiums edge on the north and western sides, Crows Beak shot a few more tear gas cannisters and he even shot a few guns rounds through the gas to further distract the Mad Dogs inside. Crows Beak was just about to signal to Bone Dust that everything was ready, when he heard amotion from inside the stadium. It sounded different than any expectedmotion, rather it sounded as if a barn yard of animals were going on a rampage. Eh, no matter. We will find out soon enough. Crows Beak smoke to himself as he turned to wave at Bone Dust. Bone Dust saw it and with his aging, but powerful voice ordered for the Skulls attack. In mass, the Skull forces shot up their grappling hooks and mosttched onto the stadiums railing on the first try. Then with anothermand everyone ascended together. Grabbing the stadiums railing and pulling themselves to peer over the edge, every Skull was shocked by what they were witnessing. Twisted were massacring the Mad Dogs on the stadiums field and stands. It looked as if the Mad Dogs were being forced to fight in some bloody diator match, one where they had no chance of winning. Pouring in from the gorge bridge, the Twisted, mainly Night Hounds and Logos Cutters, swarmed in numbers that could be dozens if not hundreds! The scattered and coverless Mad Dogs could only stand their ground and shoot frantically at the seemingly endless stream of bloodthirsty monsters. Already many of the Twisted were sted into bloody puddles, but the humans were bing more outnumbered with every second. Then there came a chest pounding bellow that sounded out from the stadiums far entrance. A secondter a massive, angry ins Strider busted through the entrance tossing concrete in every direction with his massive horns while bellowing once more! E-everyone! Bone Dust stammered to shout after oveing his disbelief. Retreat back to the Nest. We must warn the rest and prepare to defend ourselves! We have to go now and avoid being spotted by the Twisted! Heeding him right away, the Skull all descended like rocks in a pond back to the ground. All save for Crows Beak. He had onest thing to do, give Hugo a parting gift. Crows Beak swung over the stadiums outer railing and prepared to notch an arrow into his ck bow. The wind billowed strongly against his feathered cape and hair, but this would do nothing to hinder his aim. Hugo had his back turned to him, like the rest of the other Mad Dogs that were firing every weapon they had at Night Hounds and stabbing at the Logos Cutters that danced at their feet with dangerous knife-like ws. Fair well, Hugo. Ke-ke! Crows Beak sneered. Ill be sure to let you know that I was the one that led to your demise. Here, hold onto this arrow for me. Crows Beak let lose the arrow and it flew straight and true, right into the back of Hugos left shoulder. Immediately Hugo fell to his knees and clutched at the arrowhead sticking out from his chest. Blood dripped in heavy globs onto the sandy field as he staggered to turn and see Crows Beak disappearing over the stadiums edge. He wanted to scream an insult but instead he coughed heavily, and the foul taste of liquid iron filled his mouth. This was bad, not only was the Twisted unexpectedly attacking them, but now he was wounded. He knew if he fell now, they all would. Then it urred to him, the Skull were retreating. Crows Beak wouldnt have settled for merely wounding him and leaving otherwise. The Twisted were not part of the Skulls n. Grunting in pain, Hugo stood up straight and yelled, Retreat through the tear gas and head back to thepound. It is our only hope! Every man for himself! Hurry up and set the fuse! Rodney hissed quietly as he could. He could barely stand these bumbling idiots; Terry and his sixteen former ck Rats were far too loud and numerous for this job. Rodney had led them all through a secret passage he had discovered in the western wall of the Skulls base. They had brough with them a dozen of gas cans, all filled to the brim. They were tasked with sneaking into the base while the Undertaker and Martinez fought and distracted the guards. Though getting in wasnt a problem, Terry and hisrge crew were not fit for infiltration in this manner. Almost done. Stan whispered back as he carefully dripped the fuse into thest of the gas cans. He scratched nervously at his handlebar mustache and whispered, Is that monstrous Eye still not moving? Shh! Quit talking. Terry and Rodney murmured back in unison. Rodney red at Terry dangerously, he was supposed to be keeping a watch on ck Fang who was left to guard the inner bone decorated chamber. Terry saw this look and shied back admitting his mistake and turned back to the huge African American man that was standing at the foot of the odd bone hewn throne. The mountain-like man had remained frozen like a statue at his post the entire time they had been nting the gas cans on the topmost level of the mall. However, when Terry looked back ck Fang was gone, vanished without a trace! Where did Terry muttered but it was toote! There was a sudden heavy boom of a heavy object hitting the floor amongst the Mad Dog intruders. Looking up, the Mad Dogs let out a collective gasp. ck Fang had miraculously appeared in between all seventeen of them and was now strangling one of the former ck Rats with one massive hand! About time you looked away. The intensely deep voice of ck Fang rumbled. He then cocked his head to one side to look at Terry with a stony expression. It was getting boring waiting to see what you all were doing up here. Lets have you lot give me something fun to do. Why you freak! Rodney shouted and from the back of his pants he pulled out a pistol. Reacting with frightening speed, ck Fang turned to hold out the strangling ck Rat in between himself and Rodney just as Rodney fired. The bullet sted into the unfortunate ck Rat, killing him right away. What are you doing!? Light the fuse! Rodney shouted at Stan. Rest of you, kill him! Stan fumbled with the lighter as the remaining fourteen others rushed ck Fang from all sides. Unfazed upon seeing himself surrounded, ck Fang sighed heavily and still using only one hand, tossed the lifeless corpse at Rodney. Rodney jumped aside to get behind a support beam and, in the process, fired another round at ck Fang. ck Fang was already reacting to this anticipated attack and had turned aside with perfect timing to let the bullet pass by. The bullet missed its mark and struck squarely into the ck Rat charging at him from behind in the head! Boo! That was no fun. ck Fang droned. Fight me man to man. Saying this, his long ck tattooed arms snatched up the closest of the ck Rats like a python nabbing prey. He then squeezed with terrifying power around the unlucky mans middle. The man let out a gasp as the air in his lungs was forced out and then the ufortable crack of bones followed! His spine was snapped like it was nothing. Then, still holding the crushed body by a leg, he used it like a bludgeoning weapon and took aim at the next closest of the ck Rats. This man was ttened by the crushed body and knocked to the floor. Dazed, the man could do nothing as ck Fang sent the crushed body back down to beat the man to death with this second swing! H-he is a demon! One of the ck Rats stammered. Then he and three others turned to run away. Hey, the fun is this way. ck Fang called seeing them fleeing. Die! Terry yelled as he went to stab ck Fang in the back with a bowie knife. The bowie knife struck air. The massive body should have been impossible to miss from such a close range, yet in the blink of an eye, ck Fang avoided him. Hearing a scream, Terry turned to see ck Fang had pounced onto one of the fleeing men and was now standing on the mans back. Your arms are so scrawny. ck Fang pointed out in a bored tone. Let me see them. nting a foot, half as wide as the mans back, squarely between the shoulders, he grabbed the man by both wrists. Then giving a tug and causing a pop, ck Fang dislocated the mans arms and twisted them around out of socket. Yep, to small. You should have worked out more. ck Fang said emotionless at the cruel act hemitted. I got it lit! Stan shouted as the bright firelight of the lit fuses strewn around the floor headed for the scattered gas cans. Run! We cant handle him or the fire! Rodney shouted from far ahead of the others. He had already abandoned them! F*** this! Terry shouted and he and the remaining nine ck Rats ran after Rodney. They were halfway down the hall when the boom and violent whoosh of the gas catching fire sted out behind them. Terry stole one look back, he immediately wished he hadnt. Doubling his running, Terry didnt look back again. ck Fang was walking calmly though the mes with glowing red eyes and dragging a lifeless body behind him. Come back and y some more. ck Fang shouted at them. He then got into a sprinting stance. Ill catch you all in seconds! Chapter 200: Going Up in Flames Chapter 200: Going Up in mes The intense pounding sound of wet meat smacking onto the tile floor of the malls hallway made Terry cringe in fear once again and he pressed on harder to run. Knowing exactly what it was, another of his friends dying at the hands of ck Fang, he could only hope he was not next to be caught and make it out of here alive. Ahead of him was Rodney and he too wasnt even sparing a second to check behind him. One more caught! ck Fang called out menacingly. He then gave a boomingugh, This is fun! Despite running and covered in hot sweat, Terry felt shivers run down his spine. That man was clearly insane. He looked, sounded, and fought like a giant but by the way he was acting he seemed like a child, a dangerous child. Terry didnt bother to dwell on this thought though, Rodney had rounded the corner and just beyond was the secret entrance. Hope of survival was just beyond and Terry strained every muscle in his body to run harder. Terry rounded the halls corner so fast that he started sliding uncontrobly on the white tile flooring and lost his bnce! He fell and slid on his side while frantically pawing at the smooth floor to slow himself. Looking back in a panic, he saw that Stan and two others were following closely behind him with equal desperation. They had seen him fall and slowed briefly to round the corner safely, none even tried to help him. Ker-st! Something round and red violently struck the corner of the wall right behind thest of the escaping ck Rats. Terry watched in dismay as the object fell and rolled over once to reveal the indistinguishable, dented head of one of his friends. Freaked out of his mind, Terry inhaled sharply and jumped to his feet to run after the others. Terry jumped into the doorway that wasbeled, Maintenance Hall and just in time, ck Fang came charging around the corner! Luckily, just like Terry, ck Fang misjudged his speed and slipped on the white tile and fell. As ck Fang slid away from the doorway the massive two-point-two-meter-tall manughed as if he was enjoying the mistake. Without looking back Terry mmed the door behind him and in the dim melight looked for the right path to take. The others had already gone ahead, and he could vaguely remember the way back through this maintenance halls maze of rusted equipment and dark corners as he rushed onwards. Both the panic and the unfamiliarity of the ce made it harder to weave in and out of all the air-conditioning, water, sewer, and electrical lines that crisscrossed the hall. Boom. Crash! The sound of the once locked door being kicked inwards echoed painfully through the hall only to be followed by ck Fangs deep, childish voice, Awe, I havent been back here before. No fair! Terry didnt slow down as he tossed aside an aluminum-colored air venttion tube to reveal arge crack in the wall. Beyond was an old dug out tunnel anddder that led to the surface. Sun light beckoned to him, and he could also see the others making their escape. There was a sudden rustle of something further behind in the hall falling and Terry nearly jumped halfway up thedder knowing that ck Fang was stilling! Terry threw himself out of the tunnel and into the old air raid bomb hole that had missed the malls wall by mere meters. The others were gasping for air and leaning heavily on their knees to catch their breath. Waiting for their return, Zeus and Cooper jumped down from the holes eroded rim and hurried to their masters side. You, you idiot! Rodney gasped as he pointed at Terry. You were supposed to be watching him. How did he get that close to us so fast? I only looked away for a second! Terry protested. He then collected himself and stood upright. He hadnt moved the whole time and the next thing I knew he was among us! There was nothing I could have done to stop him anyways. All we had to do was sneak in and light the ce on fire. That whole chase was not supposed to happen. We all could have died! Rodney retorted. Now all your buddies are dead, because of you. Terry felt his face grow hot with rage. No! Its because you took away our guns and then you didnt warn us about that monster. You were leading us into a death trap and then chose to abandon us! I owe you nothing. Rodney scoffed and he started climbing out of the gravely bombed hole. Lets go before ck Fang finds out our escape route. Found you! ck Fang suddenly shouted as he burst out from the tunnel, and he grabbed onto the ankle of the nearest ck Rat with a massive bone tattooed hand. The man screamed and struggled to free his leg, but it was futile. This hole is too small to get out from and Im not allowed to leave the base anyway. Come on inside and y with me! ck Fang disappeared into the tunnel, dragging the screaming ck Rat with him. Secondster the remaining four and dogs were long gone from the malls property and leaving the unfortunate man to his likely grueling fate. ck Fang had single handily killed thirteen of the intruders and if they hadnt lit the gas on fire Xander, Rodney or Martinez would probably have killed the survivors. The only saving grace was that now the deal was done, and they were going to be officially Mad Dogs. Terry gritted his teeth angrily at the thought of this achievement. That was not worth it at all! Everything has gone from bad to worse and now look at us, only three ck Rats left. If this is how they treat outsiders, being one of them might be just as bad. The crackle of the electric whip was all that disturbed the tense standoff between the two bosses. Each of them was eyeing the other for what attack or movement they were going to make next. One misced step could spell disaster and with all eyes of their gang followers on them, they could not afford to mess up here. Tch. Standing here will get us nowhere. Martinez mused. Then leaning slightly forward, with his Macuahuitl still held horizontally alongside him, Martinez performed one of his most prolific moves, a simple sh Step! A sh Step is where an activated Inducement user moves at running speeds that far exceeds natural human movement limitations. Typically, sh Steps cover short distances in a straight line and vary from user to user based either on the users physical constitution or the quality level of the Inducement itself. In Martinezs case he was already in top physical form and his Inducement was a rank A+, easily making him a dangerous opponent for most Match Fighters. The sh Step carried Martinez in the blink of an eye past the confident looking Undertaker to get him behind Undertaker. Then without so much as slowing down, Martinez swungterally at Undertakers exposed back. This attack would have felled any other opponent, but Undertaker was no normal fighter. Undertaker was already looking over his shoulder at Martinez with a leering, crafty eyed look. He had followed Martinezs blinding movements with unnerving ease. Was that it? Undertaker then reacted to the iing strike by pping the Macuahuitls shaft mid-swing and the faux obsidian des missed his legs by mere centimeters! Befuddled by this, Martinez swung backhanded at Undertaker, yet he just stepped back and the follow up swing passed by harmlessly. Martinezs face twisted with annoyance; Undertaker was toying with him! This is no fun. Undertaker sighed loudly as Martinez repeatedly sh and hacked at him, only to miss as Undertaker backpaddled. My turn. Suddenly, Undertakers whip twirled around overhead with a loud electrical crack. Instinctively Martinez looked up at the sound in anticipation of the iing whip. That was a mistake. Undertaker kicked Martinez behind his right knee and sent Martinez buckling. Following up the kick, Undertaker threw a right hook at Martinezs face and caught him neatly on the temple. The blow knocked Martinez onto his back with his arms thrown wide. His eyes saw stars, and everything looked blurred. In this vulnerable state, Undertaker attacked Martinez with his electrified whip to strike him twice in the chest before Martinez could react. The jolts of electricity both stung and refocused Martinez and he quickly threw up the Macuahuitl to cover his face and middle. This proved useless as Undertaker switched targets and shed at Martinezs exposed sides and legs. This went on for only a few moments, but to Martinez it seemed tost much longer. His mind raced as he tried to defend himself and find a way to counter. He could not get up to stand and fight, Undertaker was pressing him too hard. Nor could he perform the handstand kick like before. If he did Undertaker would counter with is whip and these electrocutions were not joke! He only had one option and it was not something he wanted to do. Undertaker struck out at Martinezs left side and thats when Martinez countered. Reaching out he grabbed the electrified whip and it coiled around his arm to send volts of searing pain constantly into him. He gritted his teeth and let out an angry scream of pain, yet he didnt let it stop him. Martinez tugged at the whip and tried to stand. Undertakerughed as he watched Martinez writhing in pain. He easily could have knocked him back down and continue to torment him more, but he wanted to see what Martinezs n was. Martinez couldnt take on the waves of electricity and could only manage to rise to one knee. This was enough though, Martinez raised his Macuahuitl head high and dropped it sharply down. He was aiming for the taught whip and to chop in two! Undertaker saw this and immediately loosened the strain on the whip. This caused the attack to be rendered ineffective and the Macuahuitlnded harmlessly on the carbon fiber whip with a thump. However, this attack was not a failure! In fact, Martinez wanted this oue to happen too. Releasing his hold on the whip Martinez ripped himself free from its hold and he jumped back to get away from Undertakers attack range. Ah, good move. Undertaker mused letting Martinez get away. I hope now you see why I didnt bother using any Inducements or other skills like that. I dont need them to beat you. Shut up! Martinez shouted as he breathed heavily. Ill still beat your cocky a**! Undertaker sneered confidently once more. Feisty. Undertaker was about to advance and continue the fight when someone called out from the left. Martinez! We got a problem! The voice belonged to Xander. Twisted are attacking from the river! Ernest first confirmed it and Hugo just now called saying the same. What? Both bosses asked in unison. Are you sure? Things are getting good, and I hope your not stalling to let your pathetic boss catch his second wind. Undertaker griped. I am doing no such thing. Xander replied urgently. Ernest also said the Twisted were attacking both sides. Then from the opposite side of the two bosses another voice called out, Undertaker, the base is on fire! Ridiculous. Undertaker seethed but he chanced a look at the building behind him. Then to his dismay he spotted arge column of smoke starting to rise from the bases backside. Martinez smiled craftily. Well, arent we in a bind now. Seems like one of us will have to admit defeat and I trust my men to survive some stupid monsters. However, I cant say the same for a fire waiting to be put out if no one is there to put it out. Undertaker wanted to keep fighting, the battle was his, but the base was the Skulls livelihood and shelter. If that were to be destroyed, then surviving in the downtown buildings as going to be a challenge. He then took a nce at the tallest of the building that were in the direction of the river. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, a ck g with a red g below it was waving signaling that a big danger wasing. The m of the Twisted showing up was seeming legitimate. I am clearly the one winning, but as the circumstances stand, how about we agree to a draw? Undertaker asked with a bit of distain in his voice. That a good idea, old man? Martinez called out. Rickshaw, who had been acting as his temporary Manager, stepped out from the shade of a nearby building. Undertakers Manager was also there, he was a short, puggy man that showed no signs of affiliation to the Skull save for small skull tattoo on the back of his hand. Rickshaw cleared his throat. Yes, a draw will not hurt your standings at this time. You two can always resume the fightter and make the additional condition for winning to have the draw suspended. Alright then, we are agreed to a draw. Martinez announced as he stood up straight and rested his Macuahuitl on his shoulder. Undertaker turned off his electric whip and coiled it back up. Agreed. Lets leave and have both side in silence. I hear the Twisted can be attracted to the sound of battle. Martinez snorted. Whatever. Everyone, back to thepound! We are done for now and need to get ready to fight some Twisted. As the two sides rushed off to deal with their situations, Martinez pulled Xander close. Tell everyone here to start burning the town down as we go and have them loudly im the Skull are doing the deed. Tell Hugo and Ernest the same order. The fire will cause the Twisted to be slowed down and discing everyone from their homes will give us the chance to rebuild our forces. I will not let this insult go unpunished! I dont care who gets caught up in this, just as long as the Skull get the me. Burn the town down? Xander repeated. Martinezs face burned red with anger. Yes! Burn this whole f****** ce down! Chapter 201: Organization Chapter 201: Organization Lisa slid out from under the pipe she had just adjusted. "How about now?" Thats seems to have lined up correctly. A stocky, half bald man called back from under the far end of the same pipe. Lets give it another try. Dan, go ahead and turn the dial. Ok. Dan replied turning the dial. Lisa and the stocky man, Horace, slid out from under the pipe and were satisfied to hear the soft gurgle of water finally start flowing. They had been working on the water pump house since sunrise. Now that there were far more people living here boiling water on an open me was going to take far too long. Luckily, in the pump house they found water filters still sealed in their original packaging and this would insure that getting clean water would be possible. It was now only a matter of getting electricity running to the building and making sure the pipes were notpromised. The electrical lines running to the pump house had been broken long ago, but a simple line splicing fixed that issue. The piping, however, looked like someone had intentionally damaged it and if it werent for Horace, Lisa might not have been able to fix them properly. Now thats what I love to hear! Horace said happily patting the gurgling pipe. Its been years since I hadst done any pluming work. I am d you told me that you were once a plumber too. Lisa remarked. I had been meaning to work on this project, but I dont know much about plumbing. Besides, that pipe particrly need a professional to work on it. When Ist came in here, I only saw that the paint was peeling off the pipes and a bit of rust. I totally missed the fact the main pipe was knocked out of ce. Horace knelt back down to one knee and looked at the seal where the pipe met the pump and ran his finger around it observantly. I hadnt seen damage that bad before either. How or why, it happened, beats me. I think what we did to it will hold for now, at least until that, Mr. Sellers you said,es back with the supplies you ordered. Yes, he should be due back soon. Our agreed upon return date is not that far off. Lisa answered. Lisa then looked over at Dan. Im also d you and Ka decided to stay here too. Dan smiled sheepishly as he brushed his messy ginger colored hair out from his face. It is the least we could do. Besides neither of us have any family to get back to. We are both orphans. Still. I am d for the help. Lisa replied patting him on the shoulder as she passed by to go out of the building. Come on you guys, lets see if the water is running in the other buildings. I am surprised so many of us stayed here. Horacemented as they crossed across the parking lot towards the powerhouse building. Id have guessed that most of the women would have opted to leave after you mentioned taking on the Mad Dogs and possibly us having them to fight. Hey, dont underestimate usdies. Lisa replied nudging him yfully. We can fight just as well, yet I must agree to some extent. A lot more stayed than I expected. Of the thirty men only four left with their wives and a few daughters. Then of the ny-eight women, eighty of them chose to stay. Though the problem is figuring out what to have you all do in the meantime. Lisa then looked ahead at Bell exining how to hold and shoot a gun to severaldies that were crowded around her. Bell had turned out to be quite the troublemaker before being caught by the Raiders. Bell was part of a private security detail that operated in Grand Junction before she was fired due to thepany downsizing. She was captured by the Raiders when she was helping migrants on the highway travel eastward to Grand Junction. Though right now Bell and you two seem too able to help me out with the immediate issues. Lisa continued. I hope they will be alright out there. Dan said thoughtfully. The desert is a harsh ce with even harsher people. At least here you are giving us a fighting chance. I think they will be alright. Lisa replied. After I told everyone what town we are in the people that left said their towns were only a few days away by foot. If they dont run into trouble, the water I gave them shouldst. The trio then went inside that powerhouse building and found at least a dozen woman sitting around the room. One of the youngdys name Yin, a spunky ck haired twenty-year-old, jumped up from her stic chair and came up to Lisa. Miss Lisa, what can we do? Bell is helping the ones that want to learn about guns, Zane is with the men and some otherdies on the other side of the river getting firewood, and Sadie, Eva, and Jenifer are with the rest collecting supplies from those storage units. Hmm well, let me think for a moment. Lisa replied cing her hands on her hips and looking around the room. Ah, I know. Do you see those two piles of dismantled pieces of equipment by the door going to the dam tunnel and by the far end of the room? I do. Yin replied nodding vigorously. I was you and the others to take all of that stuff, from both piles, down into the tunnel and ce it by generator seven. Lisa then walked over to it and Yin followed closely. Lisa pointed at some of the parts See those three particr parts? I want you all to be exceptionally careful with them. Not only are they very heavy, but if dropped they will undoubtedly break and hurt you all too. Then once that is done, I need you all to clean out that breakroom over there as best you can. We need to set up a ce where we can all eat inside. Alright we can do that! Yin answered excitedly before waving to the otherdies in the room. Come on guys. Lets get to work. Dan and Horace, lets get to the lockers and test out the water flow. Lisa called out to the two men nearby. They went into the locker rooms and turned on the showers, water fountain, and sinks. All three locations had water flow, but all the watering out was rust brown and nasty smelling. What do you think the problem is? Lisa asked agitatedly turning off a sink faucet. Well, I would suspect its the pipes. Horace answered as he smelled his wet hand. They are probably rusted inside, and the smell is likely from the water inside them going bad from stagnation. Its not the pumps fault with not filtering out the river water properly. We reced the filter beforeing here. What should we do then? Dan asked. Lets turn on all the sinks and showers and let them run for a few hours. Horace replied turning back on the sink Lisa had turned off. Hopefully that will clear out most of the rust and smell. If the problem continues, then we shouldnt drink the water. Washing off in it should be ok though. Once they turned back on all the sinks and showers, they decided to go back out to the parking lot and see how Bell was fairing. They hadnt evene out of the powerhouse building when Eva came running up to them. She was breathing a bitbored, and it looked like she hade running here. What is wrong? Lisa asked right away. Where are the others from the storage units? The others are fine anding up the hill now. Eva panted pointing towards the southern entrance. I just got here ahead of them to tell you the gangsters came back to that unit. We left before they noticed us too. So, everything is alright. I see. What are they doing? Lisa asked. Come on over to the dam with me as you exin so we can spy on them from there. Luckily the back of the storage units is visible from there. Before they left for the dam, Lisa called out to Bell. Bell, the others areing towards the southern entrance. They spotted gangsters nearby and I need you to keep watch incase they show up around here. You got it! Bell called back. Then she and a few other armeddies hurried towards the southern entrance. Lisa, Eva, Horace, and Dan then headed for the dam. They crossed halfway before stopping and from here they could barely make out the small figures of the gangsters through the fence as they were moving about the unit. It looked like they had two horse drawn carts this time. The one closest to the unit was empty and they were loading it up with the boxes stored in the unit. The second one was covered up entirely and traveling away from the storage units towards the docks. Thats odd. Lisa murmured aloud to herself. They just got there and couldnt have loaded the boxes out that fast. Theres got to be something else inside. Then looking ahead of where the second horse drawn cart was headed, Lisa spotted a mid-sized barge was docked not far from where she and the others had fished not long ago. Momentster the cart arrived at this barge and the gangsters revealed what was hidden under the cover. It was all the missing men from the factory! What are they doing with them? Horace inhaled sharply. He then gripped the dam walls edge tightly as he strained to see them better. They better not be sending them somewhere to be killed. The guards wouldnt tell us where they were being taken too. I dont think they would go to the trouble of taking them on a barge out of town to kill them. Lisa answered. If they are taking them along with that units cargo and considering that they bought them from the Raiders, I suspect they are going to be sold again. The question is where or why? Werent you and the other men the ones that tested positive to the serums? We were the ones that tested positive to the serums. So, are we going to go save them now? Dan replied. Im not sure. Lisa answered slowly. In order to save them we would have to fight the gangsters and we cant risk getting found out by them now. We should probably let them be. But they are just as important to save as we were. Horace blurted out. How can you be so cold? Its not that Im being cold, but we just go you all free and if they found out I am responsible for your escape then they will attack us here. Lisa replied. Do you really want to put everyone at risk again? Think of thedies that cant fight. Do you want to gamble their lives too? Er, I guess not. Horace stammered. It just doesnt feel right. Just then Bell and two others that Lisa didnt recognize came across the dam to join them. Bell seemed warry of them and had her rifle at the ready in her hands. However, the two, a man and a woman, didnt seemed bothered by her actions and confidently approached. Lisa, these two say they know you. Bell called out. Oh really? Lisa remarked raising an eyebrow. Then speaking the duo, she asked, How do you know of me? The man, a pale faced man of average height and build, spoke first. I am Chandler, and this is my wife, Gloria. You seem to know our son, Tom, and my father. We were told by them that you lived here and might have a job for us. Oh, so you two must be Mr. and Mrs. Ulster. Lisa said excitedly pping her hands together. Your timing couldnt be any better! The very job I want you to do is unfolding right before us. Please, just call me Chandler. The job is underway now? Chandler asked. Yes indeed. Lisa said pointing to the barge. That boat will be carrying two items that I want. Firstly, they will have boxes going to Moab Citys Silver District. I want you to smuggle away as much as you can before the boxes get to their destination. The second is the boat is carrying men. I want you to free them if you can, but only after you discover where they are being taken too. If you can get them free, I will pay you double. Hmm, we will see what we can do. Chandler replied rubbing his chin. We are not cheap though. Dont you want to know how much we cost first? Whatever the cost might be will be of no issue. Lisa replied waving her hand in front of her. If you can bring back those boxes your payment will be ensured. What if we decided to keep the boxes for ourselves? They seem to be valuable to you. Gloria spoke up softly. Lisa smiled broadly. Because this wont be a one-time job with me if you are sessful. Do the job well and I will hire you again. Look at this as a chance to get job security. Hmm, very well. We will return as soon as the job is over. Chandler replied giving a slight nod. You seem to be just as my father described and I can respect his judgement. Thats great to hear, I think. Lisa answered with a slightugh. I wish you all luck and be safe. Chapter 202: A Completed Pathway Chapter 202: A Completed Pathway As the trio on the dam watched the seemingly normal couple leave, Dan had a puzzled looked on his face. Were we supposed to overhear all that? Smuggling is a shady business to be involved in. Lisa gave a passive nce at him before looking back at the Mad Dogs loading the barge. Its fine. I am not exactly trying to hide what I n on doing. In fact, youll probably see or hear me do a lot of sketchy stuff. Im not sure how I feel about that. Dan said lowering his gaze. Lisa gaze drifted over to watch Mr. and Mrs. Ulster leaving the dams perimeter and head towards the docks. She then asked Dan a question. Then how would you feel about getting a job of your own from me? A legitimate one. Dan looked up at her puzzled. A job? What do you mean? Well, Bell oversees the perimeter anddies here. Zane is busy with training the other men to fight, and his own tasks that Ive already given him. Then Sadie and Eva are overseeing the storage units clearing, and even Hector has the task of getting this ces pluming fixed. Lisa answered before looking at him. Wouldnt you want to have something like that to do, instead of following me around all day? I guess. Dan said. That depends on what it is though. I dont have any particrly useful skills that I can think of. Can you do basic maths, write neatly, and carry stuff around? Lisa asked and Dan nodded slowly in reply. Alright then, I want you to oversee all my inventory and the supplies that we will collect over time. Huh? Are you sure you want me to oversee something important as that? Dan remarked. Shouldnt someone with skills simr, like Miss Sadie or Bell, do that? They are possibly skilled in that aspect, but they will not be suitable for the job. Lisa said shaking her head. Those two already have their hands full and I have other ns for them. As for the otherdies or men here, they all have ties to others outside of this ce, but you and Ka have no such ties. That make you more likely to stay working for me without distractions and thats something I need right now; a man of focus. I-is that so? Dan said scratching the back of his head. Come on, lets head back to the locker rooms and check on the water. The gangsters dont seem to be doing much more than what we see. Lisa said to the two of them before turning to leave the dam wall. Once we are done checking the water, Ill show you what needs doing, Dan, and then you can give me an answer. When they returned to the locker rooms, they were pleased to see that the rust brown waters had turned clear, yet the nasty smell remain, if only faintly. The smell wasnt going to be an issue in the long run. Hector assured that the pipes were just old, and it would take some time for the smell to leech out into the water. He also stated that for now it would be ok to shower or use the toilets but drinking the water might not be a good idea. The amount of rust that was likely to be still loose and floating in the water could be dangerous. How long do you think it might take for the rust to leave the pipes? Lisa asked as they left the locker rooms. They also decided to let the water keep running and speed up the process. Maybe a week? Hector said giving a shrug. Perhaps longer. Those pipes are undoubtedly old and recing them would be the best thing to do. However, What is it? Lisa asked. Hector had trailed of and was now looking all around him at the walls and flooring. After a few moments, Hector replied. If I had to guess, you would probably spend a fortune on recing the pipes for the facilities here. I was just curious how much it might cost to rece the ones in the dam itself. Hector then pointed towards the entranceway leading to the dam tunnel. The electricity is produced by water falling down pipes and hitting a turbine, correct? I hope those pipes arent leaking or rusting out. Id assume they might be in bad shape considering they have been exposed to water for so long. Lisa raised a hand to her chin thoughtfully. Hmm, I hadnt considered that about the pipes yet. I had been focusing on the generators and transformers mostly. I wonder if the control room has anything to monitor that kind of situation? Perhaps we should go check. Dan offered. He was feeling a bit left out of the conversation. Later. Lisa replied. Theres a lot more stuff that needs to be don first. Besides, even if we did discover an issue with the pipes, there is nothing I could do about it now, both financially and physically. Just then Bell appeared at therge entrance to the powerhouse building. Lisa saw her and called out, Is everything alright? The gangsters arenting here, are they? Bell looked up at the trio and shook her head. No, its not the gangsters, but you sure do get a lot of visitors around here. A man and a little girl just showed up at the gate. Oh, that must be John and Hanna. Let them in right away, they have work to do on the other side of the dam. Lisa called down as she headed for the stairs. Dan and Hector followed in toe. I see. Bell replied. Zane and Henry told me about them already. I just wanted to be sure. Its good to see you are being cautious. I like that. Lisa saiding over to her at the entrance. Now lets go let them in. Aunt Lisa! Hanna cheered as she jumped through the gates secret entrance and into Lisas arms. I am so excited about today! Lets hurry to the work site. What is so special about today? Lisa asked setting the excited girl down. Dont you remember? Hanna replied cocking her head to one side. Terisa said that today we would bepleting the slope pathway enough to make it passible for people and small carts. Oh, thats right. I have been so busytely that I forgot she mentioned that. Lisa replied nodding thoughtfully. I would say you have been busy. John remarked as he entered the dam grounds. He was looking around at the numerous people moving all about doing their tasks. Where did all these people suddenlye from and what are you nning on doing with them? I just got them all hired yesterday. Lisa replied dismissively. I made a move on the Mad Dogs and thought it would be best to be prepared. It might be best to note here after today until Martinez is dealt with. You are finally going to take him on? John said looking back at Lisa. Its about time. Hanna nodded likewise showing her agreement to his statement. Y-you are finally going to avenge my parents? Soon, Hanna. It wont be much longer, so keep your chin up. Lisa replied patting her on her muddy red hair softly. You are going to have to tell me about some more details on the way to the work site. There isnt a single person I recognize here, and I know a lot of the towns people. John said crossing his arms. Yes, yes. Ill tell you what I can. Lisa said turning towards the dam. But first I need to get a few others toe with us. Lisa then turned back to the powerhouse building where Dan and Hector were watching them from afar. Dan, youe with us. I need you see why Ill need an inventory manager soon. Hector, can you stay here and give me a list of what plumbing needs repairs or recements? Ok. The two men replied in unison. Lisa then turned to where Zane was talking with some of the men about gun and some tactics he had learned from his time in the ck Rats. Zane, I am going to be needing to take Jacob from you. You got it boss! Zane shouted back. Well, thats that. We are good to go. Lisa said turning back to John and Bell. Bell keep up the good work and let Sadie know that this evening we are going to have one big meal, so have her organize the cooking ns. Theres not much that we have left but it should be enough for today. You got it. Bell answered with a thumbs up. Lisa and the four others arrived at the pathway site where Gillian, Terisa and the others were already hard at work. Meanwhile, Lisa had done her best to exin to John how everyone came to be with her at the dam and how it would give her the chance to get Martinez mad enough to fight with her. John seemed concerned but he couldnt deny that her stunt would work. Gillian. Lisa called out to the big guy that was standing at what looked to be the edge of the cliff. We came to see how the path wasing along. Gillian turned to see the grouping his way and his face spread into a wide grin. Ah, there you all are, just the people I needed to see. The path is nearing the end and I think it will be most pleasing. When the group arrived to stand next to Gillian near the cliffs edge, they found that this area hadpletely changed. Directly below them was a sandy pathway, as wide as a Mech was, that hugged the cliffs wall and spread out widely one third of the way towards the road beyond. The sand that sloped away from the path was currently being lined, from bottom to top, withrge rocks and stones by the ERM crew and two of the Mechs. Hanna, your Mech is waiting down at the bottom of the path. Gillian said pointing in the Mechs direction. Go ahead and get to it and find Terisa for your instructions. Ok! Hanna shouted happily as she dashed down the sandy slope for her Mech. John following close behind. Gillian then spoke to Lisa. Mr. Hans says that the path will be sturdy enough for use once the rocks are in ce. Getting the Mechs down without the rocks being there was not the safest of tasks by far. I though I was going to fall off multiple times when digging off the area for the path. Sand erosion is no joke! Well, it looks great. Lisa beamed as she patted him soundly on the back. Now that that is nearly done, I need you to speak with this man here, Jacob. He has somethings to inform you about concerning the Raiders. Meanwhile I will be exining some stuff to Dan here. Very well. Gillian said extending a hand to Jacob. I will see what help I can offer. Lisa and Dan started to walk down the pathway and look over the slopes progress in the meantime. Lisa was minutes into her exining to Dan what kinds of stuff she was going to be needing to take inventory of when someone running,ing from the eastern part of town, caught her attention. The person running looked like Nathans assistant, Anthony. His size was easy to distinguish from most others. Yet before Lisa could wonder why he was running towards them, she heard him shouting. The town is under attack! Monsters are inside the town! Chapter 203: ERM Overrun (1) Chapter 203: ERM Overrun (1) Earlier that same morning Gah Nathan yawned as he addressed the scrawny man standing before him in the headquarters warehouse. Why have youe here today? The scrawny man shuffled ufortably as he clutched the filthy hat in his hands. W-well Mayor Dees, thest time we saw those RGS (River to Gulf Shipping) barges was when we loaded them with all the metal, and they havente back yet. Werent we promised food and medicine in exchange for gathering the metal? Nathan rubbed his temples as he sat forwards in his chair. Yes, for the hundredth time, yes we were promised those things under a contract. I have told the towns people everyday since that the RGS ising back. Why cant you all just be patient and wait? From behind the scrawny man came an incoherent mutter ofints from the long line of townsfolk that trailed out into the warehouses parking lot. Lately, Nathan and the others on the ERM council had been takingints, questions, and dealing with civil issues to help maintain some from of government interactions with the people. They found that the people had many issues that need to be addressed, however, it was bing clearer that the hasty formation of the ERM was unable to handle the tasks at hand. They simplycked the power and resources to solve these growing problems with any tangible manner. The scrawny man raised a gnarled hand and gave a shrug. We are starving, the food is almost out and what is left is being kept here by you. We areing to our wits end. Its you people that are making us suffer now, not the gangsters! Nathan mmed his fist onto the table between them, be it his frustration with how things were in fact going or the usation just given, either way he too was frustrated. You use me of holding food back from the people? The scrawny man blinked twice and took a nervous step back. Yet he made no reply. The murmurs from the line quieted too, though the looks of preconceived guilt did not go away. Nathan stood up and lifted his shirt to reveal his own skinny torso and ribs poking sharply out from his skin. Does this look like someone thats taking advantage of you by eating more than my fair share? Hmm, no answer? No, it doesnt. We are no better off than any of you. Still dont believe me? The crowd of people then watched as Nathan stomped across the warehouse floor towards a door on the right side. Anthony was standing behind Nathan as all this unfolded but realizing what Nathan was going to do, Anthony tried to stop him. Mayor Dees dont open the door. If they see whats in there they are going to riot! Anthony, they are going to find out in three days anyway. Might as well do it now, so they are prepared. Nathan said pressing on. Anthony stopped pursuing Nathan and turned to look nervously at the gawking crowd and bit at his thumb nail. Come on we still have time, we could However, Nathans voice drowned him out as he slung open the door to reveal two pallets of unopened boxs. We are about to run out of food in three days. I know this is terrible news, but it is inevitable. We are now being presented with three options to get through this. One, we do the right thing and wait for the promised goods to be delivered, which it wille. Two, you all can riot steal what you can and then starve because the RGS will likely not work with an unorganized mob. After all, the contract was with us, the ERM. Or three, cross the river and re-subjugate yourselves under some other gangs rule and maybe, just maybe, they will feed you. That is if they wont kill you during the gang war they are clearly having right now. This is the price we must pay to be free from those kinds of people, starvation is no joke, and I am clearly aware of it. Yet we defeated the ck Rats to be free! So why should we give up all that effort now when all we need to do is wait just a little longer and food wille? There was an unsettling silence as Nathan surveyed to crowd as if expecting an answer. Yet no one made any motions of objection. Nathan sighed and closed the door. Do you have anything else to ask? Nathan asked walking back to his seat. Or will the next persone forwards for their question? The scrawny man put his at back on and turned to go as another equally as wretched looking man took his ce at the head of the line. Sir, may I ask what the n will be for jobs and ie after the deal with the RGS pulls through? Ah, a good question, finally. Nathan sighed sitting back down into his seat. That is still in the works, however, we do have some connections across the river that are very promising. There is a woman called Queen that is rebuilding the dam and producing electricity to repower the town. We already have a contract with her and its only a matter of time before we can power businesses around here. As for what will still machines still work, what to make, and who to sell to, that remains unknown. The man was about to ask another question when there came a suddenmotion from the back of the line. A ERM militia member was forcing his way through the crowd and doing so not all to kindly. Nathan jumped up from his seat and hurried to intercept the militia member. What is going on? Nathan called out. Have the gangsters crossed the river? Or did the fire spread over here? Yet the man had apparently run here and was out of breath. He could only shake his head no as he dropped to his knees to collect himself. The line of townsfolk gathered around curious as to what was going on. Well, what is the matter then? Nathan asked patiently. T-there are monsters, T-twisted, at the southern end of town by the bridge! The militia man panted. What are you talking about? There haven''t been any Twisted sightings in years. Nathan replied. W-well, they are there now! The militia man insisted. We were out on patrol keeping watch over the southern end of town for anything that might be happening beyond the smoke cloud. For the most part all we heard was the distant sounds of gunfire from the gang war and only seen a few Mad Dogs just past the docks. Then just as we reached the base of the broken bridge I and the three others with me heard an unfamiliar noise, like a herd of buffalo were approaching. We got excited, thinking our town might be saved if it were indeed a buffalo herd and the towns food supplies would be saved. So, we climbed up the embankment to peer over the bridges guard rail. The militia man paused and rubbed his mouth with one hand, as if he still couldnt believe the words he was about to say next. There were hundreds of monsters running together in a hoard, all being various shapes, sizes, and colors; the likes of which we had never seen before! The stories we had been told did not do them justice. They were running along the bridge road headed for the edge of the bombed-out area on the bridge. As for why, we were not sure and like idiots we waited around to see what they were doing. Then, from the center of this hoard came this big, long necked creature that walked on six legs. From the way the others moved out of its way it had to be the dominate one. The lead monster approached the bridges hole and looked towards the other side of town and then it looked towards our side. There then came a heavy rumbling, that resonated so heavily that we felt it in our chests! We should have run then, but it was toote. The militia man paused for a moment and Nathan could feel the tension in the room grow. Everyone was feeling tense and whatever the man was about to say was bound not to be good news. Nathan did see that Mr. nagan had also joined them but the militia man continued and redirected Nathans attention. Three long armed, octopus looking monsters wriggled towards the bridges hole and then they reached across the hole with three arms each. Once they grabbed the other side, the smallest of the creatures with huge dagger like ws poured over to the other side. They were soon followed by variousrge monsters once the octopus monsters had a better grip. At least two thirds of the monsters crossed the river in this manner. It was quite a sight to see! Then the lead monster let out another deep rumble and the remainder of the hoard turned back towards our direction. At this point we had seen enough and started running back here. However, we were spotted only momentste. We knew we were spotted too, because the lead monster let out a vicious rumbling noise which was followed by the hoards screams. Then the whole hoard started running after us! We tried warning everyone we came across, but many were unable to react fast enough. We split up and I came back here to warn you all, while the other three hopefully are still running the streets! Are the monsters still after you! Nathan shouted as he and most of the other townspeople looked up towards the warehouse entrance. I-I dont think so. The militia man replied struggling to stand back up. At every street I passed the monsters kept splitting up. Its like they are trying to cover as much area as they can. What are they doing here? Nathan looked away from the entrance relieved to see no monsters had yet appeared. However, it was Mr. nagan that answered the man. They are here to eat us. Its well known that the Twisted will destroy towns leaving not a single survivor. The townspeople all let out a collective outburst of fearful explicative words and others immediately started running from the warehouse. Nathan seethed within himself. The people are already panicking. I dont me them, even I want to run. But where to go? Nathan then asked the militia man a question, doing his best to sound calm. Is there anyone else from the ERM out their fighting them? The militia man shrugged. I passed Vice Commander Orin on the way here. I didnt stop running but it sounded like he said he was going to try fighting them off. I only saw a dozen or more ERM militia members with him. Then that probably why the monsters are not here yet. Nathan said patting the mans shoulder. This will give us enough time to up with a n. Nathan turned from the militia man and faced the panicking townspeople. Everyone! Everyone calm down. We still have time to figure out what to do. We will need to split up from here and warn as many people as possible as we can. There are bound to be people that dont know about the monsters yet. Oh yah? And where are we supposed to go? Someone shouted angrily. We have nowhere to hide! Another voice followed. I heard of a town that got wiped out after hiding in a prison. We all know how defendable those ces can be! If that didnt work, what hope do we have? Everyone all started moring in fear and several others started running for the exit. Where they were going was anyones guess. Things were getting out of hand. Nathan pped his hands together until he reigned in everyones attention once more. We still have a chance to get through this! We havent lost yet. I need the fastest of you to run out into town and get as many people as possible to run for the new road were building on the cliff. From there we will have a height advantage and we can hold them off there. Anthony, you run ahead and warn Gillian of the situation. I want him to be ready to handle the peopleing that way. Mr. nagan, you stay here and direct everyone thates this way to the cliffs. The rest of you, those willing to fight,e with me! We are going to meet up with Vice Commander Orin and try to repel the hoard. I am not going to give up without a fight! Chapter 204: ERM Overrun (2) Chapter 204: ERM Overrun (2) Nathan and twenty other ERM militia were armed with an assortment of rifles and pistols as they headed south through town in search of Vice Commander Orin. They were carrying very little in terms of ammo because they were more concerned with figuring out the situation and evacuating people than confronting the Twisted directly. They may not have yet witnessed the terrors of the Twisted firsthand, but the stories they had been told alone were enough to spur their haste. I see the Orin and the others ahead! Nathan called over his shoulder to the others as they were jogging single file through town. They look like they are in trouble, lets hurry. Nathan could see the bright yellow hair of Orin as he stood a full head higher than the rest of the men with him. It looked like they were split into three groups with each group keeping watch over the streets that merged into the intersection they were guarding. All of them had their guns raised up to their shoulders and were uneasily keeping watch for danger. Orin! Nathan called to the tall blond man. I came with back up. What is the situation? The tall man coiled only his torso around to look at Nathan and the othersing from behind them. Thank goodness, its about time. I was worried about the man we sent back to the warehouse because the Twisted have already reached this point. By now Nathan and the others joined up and started filtering into the ranks of Orins group. They were now double the number to be around fifty ERM militia members. So, where are those Twisted then? Nathan asked looking down the three roadways. Right up there is the closest one. Its a real nasty looking bugger. Orin said pointing above them. How did it get on the roof? Nathan said with surprise upon seeing a Night Hound, dead, drooping half over the edge. This is my first time seeing one and I hadnt heard of them climbing on buildings. I have no idea either. This is my first encounter too. Orin replied. However, it was not alone. There were five of those monsters that came over the roof tops. We opened fire briefly and killed that one, but the rest fled as soon as we fired. It has only been a few minutes since then and its been too quiet. Got any ns? Nathan warily looked above him at the rooves as he replied, I was hoping you had one. I think we should keep going deeper into town and look for anyone that might not have heard the news or is already being chased. We need to get them to the cliff north of here. It will be safer if we have the high ground and not them. Sounds reasonable. Orin said with a nod. Is Commander Gillian already over there? Yes, he and the rest of the Mech team should be finishing up the path there and Mr. nagan is directing the townspeople to go to the cliff as well from the warehouse. Nathan replied. Nathan and Orin started to ry the n to the others, and they pressed deeper down the main street in one big group. Things were silent for half a block before a sudden stir ahead drew their gaze. The noise wasing from a half rotted away building and it sounded as if a bag of flower was being pounded on a wall. The militia group surrounded the front of the building while taking up positions to watch their backs and nks. It was Nathan and Orin that approached the smashed in front door first. They had their guns raised as the sound didnt stop, though now less frequent. Peering into the dark interior they were mortified to see a terrifying sight. Being barely illuminated by dusty sunbeams was wet red blood smeared all over the wood floor and sttered on the back wall. In the center of this pool was another Night Hound with its head half buried into the torso of a dead man! Then, before the two shocked men could move, the Night Hound picked up the half-eaten man in its huge, tooth filled maw and pped the body against the wall, flipping the body over in the process. You nasty monster! Nathan shouted raising his gun to shoot. Startled by the shout the Night Hound leapt straight up in the air and spun about to face Nathan. The Night Hound let out a heavy screeching scream and spread its arm wide menacingly. Nathan was shaking from both fear and anger as he pulled the trigger. His aim was rattled, and the bullet struck the Night Hounds left thigh spewing foul ckened blood. Unperturbed by the nonlethal wound the Night Hound lunged at Nathan with both of itsrge, wed arms, aiming to sh Nathans middle. Nathan reacted in fear and took a step backwards, however, his heel caught on a loose floorboard, and he fell backwards. The Night Hounds ws missed their mark, yet the creature reached farther than expected and a single w grazed Nathan right across his grey sweater, tearing it cleanly across his chest. Orin had a clear shot now and from this distance he could not miss. Orins rifle struck true, striking the back of the Night Hounds head to blow it apart like a ck blood-filled water balloon. They had no time to process what to do next for from the back of the building came three other distinct screeches. There were still more Night Hounds! Get up! Orin shouted pulling Nathan by the back of his shredded sweater. Nathan didnt argue. He got up and made for the exit as Orin started shooting blindly into the rotting buildings ckness. Three of the militias forces outside were about to enter as Nathan came barreling into them. They all copsed into the street but quickly scrambled up as Orin ran past them into the road. Three more following me! Orin shouted. Then from everyones right came a humans scream. Immediately following it came another Night Hounds screech at ground level. At the same time from the rooves above on the ERMs left, six Night Hounds jumped down into the confused humans below. Guns fired, men and monsters wailed, all the while the situation only grew worse. Nathan turned to go help only to hear Orins gun open fire. The three Night Hounds from the building busted down the rotten door frame and pounced onto Nathan and the three militia men with him. The four of them were ttened by the impact and driven to the ground. One man screamed as a Night Hounds ws buried deeply into his middle. Another man had caught a Night Hounds mouth with the barrel of his gun and was struggling to hold the oversized, skinny creature back. Nathan and thest man were both knocked t and pinned by the Night Hounds long ws digging into their shoulders. However, before either of them could react the Night Hounds gapping mouth closed around the mans face right next to Nathan! Blood sshed onto Nathans head as the mans muffled cries filled his ears. Enraged, Nathan kicked as hard as he could into the Night Hounds chest. The beast was lighter than expected and the blow sessfully knock the Night Hound off from them. Unfortunately, not without tearing off the mans skin from his face! With no time to spare, Orin emptied his rifles ammo into the closest of the Night Hounds. He then brandished a kitchen knife and ran at the Night Hound that was fighting with the militia mans gun barrel. The Night Hound that he shot at was not yet dead and itshed out onest time at Orins legs, tripping him. Nathan fumbled with his rifle as the kicked Twisted stopped moving only long enough to swallow the militia mans face skin. The mutted militia man writhed in pain as his hand shook violently above his ruined face. The Night Hound pounced at the hapless man and drove its long ws into the mans neck, ending the blood chilling screams. That was itsst mistake. Nathan regained hisposer, and from his back, shot the vicious Night Hound right in the chest. It was a clean heart and lung shot, and the beast toppled to the ground immediately dead. Rolling over, Nathan turned and shot twice more at thest Night Hound. This Twisted was stuck in the arm and gut but it didnt die. However, the shots were enough, and the pinned man tossed the wounded beast off him. The militia man then shot his own gun, finishing off thest of the three Night Hounds. As Nathan, Orin, and the other militia man got up from the ground they were bewildered to see the man stabbed in the middle by the Night Hound was twitching in death throes as he bled out. The rest of the Night Hounds screeches and gun fire drew their attention away from the sad sight of their dyingrade and back onto the task at hand. Already seven ERM militia were dead or badly wounded while, of the seven other Twisted, only three were killed. Thest four Twisted were holed up in between two buildings and using the debris in this space as cover to harass the militia that tried to shoot them. Orin saw this and called for everyone to fall back and regroup. These Twisted were turning out to be more cunning and dangerous than anticipated. Carry the wounded and dead away from here! Orin ordered. We cant let them be food for these monsters. We need to fall back to the intersection and n our next move. Nathan added as he picked up the rifle of the stabbed to death militia man next to him. Nathan then looked at the pale lifeless body of the same man and the dead man was looking right back at him with terror stamped into his lifeless eyes. Instantly Nathans body could take the stress and threw up. The foul taste in his mouth was nothingpared to what he finallyprehended. A man was killed right next to him only mere seconds ago. Nathan wiped at the stringy saliva hanging from his lip and took a deep breath, So this is what fighting for ones life is really like? Come on Nathan, grab an arm and lets go! Orin shouted while grabbing the faceless dead man. Though he was acting strong, Nathan could also see Orin was struggling to remainposed while handling the gruesome body. Look out! There are moreing! Someone shouted. Nathan looked back and his heart dropped as he saw numerous new Twisteding down the main street towards them. There had to be thirty Logos Cutters bounding their way with impossibly long jumps and intermixed with them were ten more Night Hounds. It would only be moments before the humans were going to be run down. Forget the bodies of the dead, we need to run now! Nathan shouted dropping the dead mans arm. He then picked up both rifles and hip fired one of them at the charging monsters. Go now! Chapter 205: ERM Overrun (3) Chapter 205: ERM Overrun (3) Where are theying from! Orin shouted as he turned back to fire thest few bullets he had left in his gun. How would I know? Nathan called back as he ran ahead. Almost all the remaining ERM militia had used up their ammo and they now were running with every ounce of strength they had for the cliffs. The Twisted only slowed down twice in their pursuit of the humans. Once when they reached the dead humans and Twisted at the ambush site, and then once more when two wounded humans were too slow to escape and caught. Each instance the bodies were consumed at an ufortably fast, bloody rate. The hoard of monsters was absolutely famished, and half-starved to the point that their hunger drove them urgently to hunt down the humans. They didnt even need the baby Hoard Mothersmand to convince them to hunt in the human town. They didnt even leave bones behind, just a bloody mess. Come on, I can see the cliff now! We are almost there. Nathan urged. Nathan knew better than to go back to the warehouse. If Mr. nagan was still their directing the townsfolk to safety, then they would be leading the Twisted right into a massacre. Instead, they stuck to the main road until they reached the road running parallel to the cliffside. It was here something odd happened, once the human reached the opennds between the town and cliffside, the Twisted abruptly stopped and turned back. They are going back, Nathan? Orin shouted as he came to abored stop. Following his lead, the rest of the ERM stopped running and took a moment to regain their breath. They all, however, kept a warry eye at the buildings nearby. There was no telling what the Twisted were up to. Ce on. Nathan gasped as he trudged on ahead. We need to make sure everyone else got to the cliff safely. Then we still need to figure out what our next move should be. Exhausted the militia forces mustered up the energy to jog down the road towards the new cliff pathway. From where they were now, they could see that all three Mechs were moving up the path towards the top. Then at the top, along the edge, numerous figures were rushing about. As to what was going on they would need to be there to know, because luckily there were no Twisted approaching the pathway yet. Yet they were going to have to wait to find out, for from the far side of the concrete factory came a horrific cry for help. Nathan felt his neck hair stand on end. He knew he had to help. Turning, Nathan pointed at two men closest to him. You two, run ahead to the slope and tell Gillian that the Twisted are nearly here and send for back up. The rest of you, lets go save whoever is out there! Nathan could see a few of the men hesitate as he turned away to go towards the cry for help. He shook his head and thought, I get it, I am scared too, but I have a responsibility as mayor to do what is best for the people. Right now, if I can save just one more person, then I know I am doing more than just sitting around writing papers all day. Best I can do for now is take the initiative and go ahead myself. Crossing the open sandy ground by the road, Nathan entered to concrete factorys perimeter through a copsed portion of the fence surrounding the area. The factory grounds were a maze of unidentifiable rusted machines and debris piles. Listless weeds grew off triangr pilled sand that had eroded long ago to form a field of clone like hills. It was here Nathan struggled to find the source of the call for help, the ce was just too open and vast. Ahh! Someone help us! That came from over there! One of the men following Nathan called. Look, there are some people running towards those silos. Sure enough, Nathan could see from his vantage point atop a clone sand hill, a woman and two small children clinging to her. They were running, not more than a hundred meters away, trapped just behind a tall iron bar fence and going towards a series of silos that looked to be five meters high. Nathan could here her call for help once more and saw the cause of her dire situation, three Logos Cutters were bounding after her. It would be mere moments until the three beasts were going to catch up to the family. Any of you with ammo left, attack those monsters. Nathan ordered as he slid down the sandy hill. The rest of you try to find away around the fence so we can get them out of here! The Orin and the few that did have ammunition left, charged straight ahead to get a better shot at the monsters, while the rest followed Nathan. Nathan was running parallel to the iron bar fence and just head of the woman and her two young children that looked no older than five or six. Looking ahead there seemed to be no way out for them and the iron bar fence seemed to be endless. Pease help us! The woman called again as she saw Nathan and the others approaching. Bang! Bang! Orin and the others had started to shoot at the Logos Cutters. Looking back the woman and Nathan could see that the gunfire seeded to slow down the Logos Cutters, but the creatures were too nimble and dodged easily. Keep running. Ill think of something. Nathan said resuming to follow along the fence. The silos that the woman and children were running towards had adder that led to the top. Across the iron bar fence and next to that silo was a conveyor belt leading up to a tform where trucks would park to get a load of sand or gravel. There was only one hope that Nathan could decern and he headed straight for it. Nathan ran along the fence and called out to the desperate woman, Get to the top of thatdder! You can jump across to me. Wordlessly the motherplied and dashed for thedder. She set the younger child down first and lifted the elder one to the first of thedders rungs. Climb quickly. Mommy is going to be right behind you! Though teary eyed and scared the boy nodded bravely and started to climb. The mother took a fearful look back and shuddered seeing that the Logos Cutters were stilling her way. Urgently she picked up her other child and tucked him under her arm, she was going to try and climb with one hand, there was just no time to think of any other solution. Nathan ran up the conveyor belt and reached the tform to find that the gap between the silo and the belt was over two meters. The tops of the iron bars of the fence were spade like designs that would easily skewer someone if they fell on it. It was going to be a dangerous jump, but there was no other choice. Nathan looked down at the woman struggling to carry her son up thedder only to see a Logos Cutter jumping up at her legs. Look out! It was tote. The Logos Cutters long ws tore a gash deeply into her right calf. The woman screamed and slipped, unable to bare the weight of herself and son on one leg. Miraculously she held on! Mommy! The elder child wailed from above her. I-I am ok sweety. Dont stop climbing. The woman replied putting on a brave face. Nathan could feel his heart pounding out of his chest as he watched helpless to do anything. The Logos Cutters repeated to jump up at the womans legs and though higher now, they still managed to hit her once more on the same leg. The woman was in tears now, her hair tangled into her mouth, arms shook with exhaustion, and bleeding badly; she remained relentless. She was using the strength only a mother could muster to drag her son to safety. Atst, they reached the top of the silo and the woman copsed to her knees and clutched her two children closer to her. What now? Nathan, we are out of ammo. We will try our best to distract the Twisted. Orin called from below. He and the others were now throwing rocks and jabbing their guns through the bars at the three beasts. The Logos Cutters were annoyed by the humans efforts and tried to retaliate. The iron bars were to narrow and strong for either side to make a meaningful strike and neither side could harm the other. This gave Nathan precious seconds to react. Nathan rubbed his hands together and leaned over the edge of the conveyor belt. While the others are keeping the monsters distracted, I need you to toss your children to me. I will catch them, I promise. Then you need to jump next. The woman scooted towards the silos edge and shook her head. I cant, its too far. I am already too weak to stand. Hearing this the two children started to cry. Nathan was about to encourage her to try when there came a loud pounding sounding from the silos bottom. Looking down Nathan was shocked to see the Logos Cutters were punching into the silos metal sides and using their long ws to climb! They werepletely ignoring Orin and the others efforts, knowing that an easier meal was waiting above for them. Miss, you dont have any time left. They areing up! Nathan pleaded opening his hands towards them coaxingly. Nodding, the woman struggled to stand on one leg. She tottered unsteadily as she held her youngest child under his arms. She took one nce at the drop and pointed fence below and hesitated. Are you sure you can catch us? She asked. Nathan took a fearful nce at the Logos Cutters now halfway to the top. Yes, I promise. Just hurry! The woman let out a sob and swung the littlest child once before tossing him with all she had, and the momentum knocked her back to her knees once more. For a breathless moment the boy free-fell through the air. Yet Nathan snatched the little boy from the air with ease and pulled him safely onto the tform. Good, now the other boy. Nathan urged. Struggling, with pain clearly showing on her face, the woman stood up to hold her elder son. Run for mommy, so I can throw you better. The boy started running as best he could and just as he reached the edge, she tossed him. Nathan was ready and managed to grab the boys arms. Nathan steadied himself as the heavier boy pulled him closer to the tforms edge, but he still got him safely across. Alright miss, you are next. Hurry! Nathan called. He steadied his shoes grip against the tforms edge in anticipation. However, the woman was not standing up. I cant go on. Just take my boys and go. The woman pleaded. She was clutching at her leg now soaked in a puddle of blood. Dont say that, just try! They need you. Nathan pleaded. Mommy, jump! The eldest son said reaching out as well for his mother. Emboldened by her sons bravery, the woman staggered upright and dragged her wounded leg behind her as she approached the edge. Then there was a screech and the woman looked back to see a Logos Cutter had reached the top! She turned back and jumped. At the same moment she jumped, the Logos Cutter shed at her and caught her shoe. The impact caused her to lose momentum and fall towards the fence. Nathan dropped onto all fours and grabbed the woman by the wrist. The heavy weight of her falling nearly pulled him off all together and now he was stuck. She was dangling directly over the sharp spades of the iron fence, and if she fell now death was certain. Sensing this, the three Logos Cutter jumped off the silos sides and rushed the fence underneath her. Their hungry mouths snapped at her dangling ankles in anticipation of a fresh mouthful of human meat. I-I got you! Nathan gasped as he struggled to lift the two of them onto the tform. Then his grip slipped! A blur of motion flew down past him as an object grabbed the womans arm before she reached the sharp spades. Nathan gasped as the object turned out to be Lisa! Lisa started to lift the woman with ease and smiled at Nathans expression. Whew, now that was close. Everything is going to be fine now. Chapter 206: Clearing the Warehouse Chapter 206: Clearing the Warehouse You are safe now. Lisa said softly to the woman as she set her gently onto the tform. T-thank you The woman sobbed as she clutched her two sons tightly. How did you get here? Nathan asked still bewildered by what just happened. The two you sent to the cliff told me where you were headed. I just followed the sounds of gunfire and saw what was going on and a good thing too. Lisa answered. I-I tried to save her myself Nathan started to say but Lisa cut him off. We all know you were trying your best and no one is going to me you, everything ended up just fine. I wouldnt expect half hungry civilians to be able to deal with creatures like those without someone being killed every now and then. Lisa then looked down at the three angry Logos Cutters. Geez those things are ugly. Normally fuzzy bunnies are cute but add dagger ws and frothing mouths full of razor de teeth, and they are downright nightmares. Nathan knew she was right, but he hated the fact of his own ipetence. Looking down at his scrawny arms, shriveled by malnutrition, he seethed to himself. I want to get better, so that I wont ever fail like that again. I need to be a better leader. Just then Lisa jumped across to the silo. All three Logos Cutters screeched, almost cheerily, seeing that a human wasing towards them. One of the Twisted jumped back onto the silo and started climbing eagerly for Lisa. Lisa casually watched the creatures and took her katana of its maic sheath and opened it to half length. What are you doing? Get back here, you cant take on those things yourself! Orin called from below. Nathan was thinking the same thing at first. Then he recalled the speed of which she swung the katana at the water bottle during her demonstration back at the warehouse. Perhaps she could indeed somehow fight off the Twisted. Still, it was hard to imagine her wining without taking damage. After all, Orin and the others couldnt kill them with gun just moments before. This will be over in a second. Lisa called nonchntly back while not taking her eyes off the creature climbing up towards her. This is not my first fight with the Twisted. The Logos Cutter was nearly halfway up the silo now. Its long ws left deep puncture marks behind in the aluminum proving how dangerous it would be to fight such a monster up close. Lisa didnt care, rather she seemed to be taking her time. Lisa took a step forward so that her toes hung over the silos edge and then raised her katana with both hands out lengthwise next to her. The tipping forwards Lisa dropped over the edge, heading straight for the climbing Twisted. The Logos Cutter look up in surprise as Lisa fell upon it and as her de cleanly sliced off his head. Lisa then came crashing down onto the second Logos Cutter with her boots with such force that the meter tall, smaller creature was ttened instantly. Letting out a screech the third Logos Cutter leapt at Lisas backside, aiming for her blind spot. Lisa popped up from hernding position and grabbed, barehanded, the Logos Cutter under its jaw. She then bolted up, still holding the struggling creature, and spun around towards the silos wall before the creature could attack her. She then mmed the creature against the wall, caving in the metal and smashing the Logos Cutter like a bug on a windshield. Well, today was not a great day to wear a white T-shirt. Lisa sighed as she looked down at her ck blood sttered shirt. So, where are we going to next? Lisa looked at the others gawking at her through the fence. She had just performed an amazing feat so effortlessly and fast they could not process it fast enough. All three Twisted were dead in seconds! Come on now. Its not nice to stare. Lisa chided jokingly. We, uh, we should get thisdy here patched up at the cliff. Nathan stammered. We dont have any medical supplies with us. Ill do that. Orin called up to Nathan. I think Ive seen enough crazy stuff for now. Did youe alone? Nathan asked Lisa as he helped the wounded woman to her feet. No, half of the ERM forces sent to work at the slope are following after me. I just ran ahead and got here first. Lisa answered pointing in the direction of the cliff. See, there they are. Nathan reached the bottom of the conveyor belt and handed the woman over to Orins care. Then looking where Lisa pointed, he could see a dozen mening their way. They all were armed and looked ready to fight. Unlike those he had been leading, he noted that these militia men looked much more capable, and he couldnt help but wonder why. We need to go to the warehouse headquarters immediately. Nathan said to Lisa tossing aside his questions. Mr. nagan hasnt arrived at the cliff yet has he? Not yet. Lisa answered before turning to climb the silosdder. Is the warehouse not guarded? Not really. We removed all the cars from the wall we made to the docks to then sell to the RGS. There is enough guns and ammunition to use there but the militia forces are scattered everywhere and very few were left at the warehouse. Nathan said as he watched Lisa cross over the fence and hop off the tform tond on the ground by him. Alright then, lets go there immediately. Lisa said patting his shoulder before passing by. Nathan gulped nervously and thought, She definitely is not like any girl Ive ever met. I think I am starting to like tall women. He then nodded and followed Lisa towards the newly arriving militia. Momentster the two groups split, one was led by Orin to go for the cliff and the other being led by Nathan and Lisa with the fresh militia forces and a few from the first group now being reequipped with ammo. Nathan led the way through the streets taking the most direct route possible. They only encountered the Twisted once along the way. A pair of Night Hounds were scavenging the area when the group rounded a street corner and nearly collided into them. From this range the guns of the militia finished them off immediately. Fearing the sound of gunfire would attract more monsters like before, they hurried away from the area. When they arrived at the warehouse, they were relieved to see that the area was not yet under attack and that people were flocking to the building from all directions. Word and sightings of the Twisted spread fast and everyone was desperate to seek shelter. The newly arriving militia had to almost force their way into the warehouse entrance to get to Mr. nagan who was being swamped by people pleading for help. With him were only a handful of ERM militia. Nathan saw this and climbed up onto the nearest cargo box. Everyone! Listen to me. I am Mayor Dees, and I must tell you all now that this ce is no longer safe. We need to leave for the cliff and there we can be able to defend you all safely. Why would we go to the cliff? There is nowhere to hid or run from there. Do you intend to use us as bait and leave us behind? Someone shouted. Hearing this, a ruckus of shouts and cry of fear rippled out amongst the crowd pressing in on all sides of the warehouse building and entrance. Nathan waved his hands above him and tried to get their attention so he could exin. The fear absorbed crowd was not listening at all to him. Someone then climbed up onto a pile of boxs across the room and knocked them onto the floor. Then two men started shouting at each other before throwing a few punches. Worried about the possibility of a riot breaking out, Lisa grabbed one of the rifles from a militia soldier and shot the gun once into the air. People nearby screamed and dropped to the ground. For a moment everyone was silent enough for Nathan to speak. Hear me out! We have built a pathway up over the cliff during the past few days, and we can use it to get the high ground and fight the monsters better if they approach us. Nathans calm voice drew the attention of most everyone and he was able to continue. We cant all be safe if we waste anymore time here. The Twisted are likely just around the corner and I need all your cooperation if we are going to get through this. Over there are boxs of ammo and other supplies. The next room over is all the food we have left stored up and we need those supplies to be moved as well. Anyone able to carry a box please grab one and head for the cliff. Mr. nagan, I need you to lead the way to the cliff path right away with all the women and children. The militia will be thest to leave and guard our rear. Everyone please listen to the ERM, we are here to help. Oveing their initial shock of the gun shot, the crowd stood up and organized into a somewhat manageable group. They had only just started to carry out these tasks when a low rumble reverberated throughout the warehouse. There was an instant uneasy feeling that settled on everyone present. Those of you with guns follow me. Lisamanded as she handed the rifle back to its owner. Nathan, keep working. Ill take care of things out there. Thanks Lisa! Nathan called before turning back to manage the people moving the supplies. Lisa and the now two dozen armed militia filled outside onto the open parking lot. Looking around for the source of the rumbling, they saw that there was still a lot of peopleing from the towns streets. Being on level ground with this crowd made it hard to see who was panicking from being possibly chased or just in a hurry to flee the area. That is when the rumble swept across the parking lot once more and this time Lisa could hear where the sound wasing from. Everyone, start moving towards the left side of the parking lot. Spread out in a line and stay two meters apart. If you see anything that is not human, shoot it! Just be sure not to hit anyone escaping in the process. Almost a split second after Lisa said this a womans scream from ahead announced the cause of the rumble. A massive red fleshy head appeared from behind a building at almost a full story high. The red heads long horns crashed into a building corner and sent rubble crashing all around is hooved timber like legs. It was a nes Strider! What in the world?! Lisa shouted. Open fire at that monster now! Chapter 207: Parking Lot Chapter 207: Parking Lot The in Strider let out a deafening roar that sounded like a cross between a revving race car engine and a raging bulls bellow. Bullets pelted its scaly head and hairless, leathery nks as it emerged from behind the building and into the open road. The fleeing humans scampering out into the open parking lot were dwarfed by its massive body. Standing equal to the height of a second story building, the nes Strider was in its own right, a monster. Keep firing! Lisa shouted over the noise of gunfire and terrified screams. How is that thing still alive? Lisa thought as she pressed trough the crowd towards the lumbering beast. It has taken plenty of hits from our guns but all I see are dozens of areas where the bullets only managed to break its skin. How tough is that Twisteds hide? The in Strider let out another forceful roar upon entering the open parking lot area and now that it was not being confined by the buildings it charged. The distance between it and Lisa was considerable but with every heavy step its hooves took, Lisa could feel the vibrations clearly. The beast seemed to have no clear target and it merely charged at thergest gathering of fleeing humans. Lisa and the rest of the ERM militia watched in horror as the massive Twisted used it horns to mow down a dozen townspeople in one fell swoop. Their bodies scattered like bowling pins and broke apart like tomatoes thrown on the concrete. The in Strider didnt slow down and followed the sttered and smashed remains of the humans before proceeding to graze upon them like grass. Itpletely ignored the militias bullets as it ate its bloody meal unbothered. W-what am I witnessing? Am I dreaming? Lisa said rubbing her eyes. How can we ever hope to take on such a creature with weak firepower? We need like a tank or something. However, she had no more time to dwell on such things. The in Strider was finished with its meal and now turning its attention back onto the fleeing humans. Nearly all the humans had passed by Lisa and the rest of the ERM militia, meaning they were now the in Striders target. R-run for your lives! One of the militia men shouted throwing down his gun to escape. Several of the other militia men did likewise and abandoned their post. Others were rooted to the spot, too terrified to run. Lisa knew she couldnt stop them and did nothing. If she were in their position, she would have done the same. But was not the same as them, not even close. The in Strider thundered across the parking lot at her. Yet Lisa smiled bravely and stood her ground. Then she took off her copsible katana from its maic sheath and extended it to reach its full length of three meters. Its ckened de glinted impressively in the sunlight as she tossed it across her shoulder. Stepping forward she prepared to face the mind-boggling creature. What are you doing?! One of the ERM militia shouted as he saw her moving towards the massive Twisted. Just testing myself and saving our lives. Lisa called back over her shoulder without looking away from her opponent. Then murmuring to herself Lisa said, Advanced Armaments: Stage One. She could feel the power of her cores stirring to life within her. The technological energy flooded her limbs and settled into her body breeding a confidence unmatched by anything she could imagine. The in Strider was only a dozen meters away when she broke out into a run to meet the Twisted head on. The two speeding entities collided with each other, katana to horn, with a heavy thud. Lisas sword sunk halfway through the Twisteds horn, and the in Strider reared its head upwards feeling the pain. Still holding her wedged sword, Lisa was lifted off her feet and into the air to dangle off the horn. The in Strider tossed its head about trying to fling Lisa off itself and dislodge the katana at the same time. Lisas grip was firm and unwavering as she held on. Seeing this the in Strider drove its head downwards at the parking lot in an attempt to smash her. Lisa saw thising and with a wrenching motion, freed the katana from the horn andnded some distance from the beasts impact. The cracked horn hit the pavement first causing the damaged crack to split further. The n Strider bellowed in pain and started stomping furiously about. The beasts actions made it feel as if there was an earthquake happening and Lisa steadied herself as she ned her next move. The Twisted stopped jumping about and let out a huge puff of air from its nose. Something had caught its eye and it was not Lisa. Anotherrge group of townsfolk had just emerged from another road on the far side of the parking lot and were now heading for the warehouse. Seeing them sent the in Strider into a rage. The Twisted passed by Lisa and started charging at them. Lisa tried to get in its way and draw its attention, but she only managed to run alongside of it. The in Strider was clearly much faster than Lisas impressive 65kmh. Get out of the way! Lisa shouted at the still frozen militia forces. They scattered out of the Twisteds way, but one man was not quick enough to react. The massive hoof of the in Stridernded on his middle, smashing him into a messy paste of guts and blood. The onlooking militia retaliated by shooting at the in Strider and at such a close range the bullets managed to sink deeply into the monsters flesh. However, the counter attacks did nothing to slow the Twisted down. The helpless townspeople split into all directions, but the in Strider once again mowed down anyone in its path. The Twisted carved a straight path of gore as it charged onwards. This forced Lisa to stop her pursuit out of horror of the deaths she just saw and fear of slipping on the carnage it had created. Lisa looked about her at the hundreds of people dashing across the parking lot. Her heart sank knowing that so many people were going to die if the situation didnt change. The in Strider turned around and started pawing at the ground in anticipation of its next attack. I need to stop its mobility, or it might go after the townspeople again instead of me. Lisa thought. Skirting around the path of fresh death, Lisa resumed her chase of the monster. Once again, the in Strider ignored her advance and went after the humans that had gone ahead towards the warehouse. Not be outdone, Lisa moved to cut it off before reaching them. Lisa raised her katana onto her shoulder as she ran and just as the two were about to cross paths, she swung. The de was not aimed for the horn, head, or body of the in Strider, but instead for its back leg. There was a notable hit when Lisas de tore through the Twisteds Achilles tendon area causing a burst of ck blood to spray in the process. The heavy beast tripped over its own weight as the back leg gave out. The body of the in Strider smacked the ground with a jarring thud and then proceeded to roll twice before it stopped itself. The Twisted got up furiously as snot and foamy spit dripped from its muzzle. Come on and fight me already! Lisa shouted waving her arms and katana overhead. This seemed to work as the in Striders angry ck eyes locked on to her and it let out another roar. The in Strider started to charge after her but the wound to its leg was too much. It could only hobble on three legs but that was more than enough to be a threat. Lisa ran around the Twistedsrge body using both her speed and smaller size to her advantage and started stabbing at the body of the beast. Though her attacks were not inflicting much damage due to the thick hide, she was trying to buy time for the rest of the townspeople to clear the area. The Twisted was still rampaging about trying to catch her. It stomped and pounded its hooves at it small attacker, but Lisa always seemed to be just out of reach. Frustrated the in Strider threw its head down at Lisa attempting to hit her with his horns. Lisa, however, was ready and waiting. She had noticed long before that though looking far different, the in Strider was attacking no differently than a normal bull. Lisa struck downwards at the broken part of the horn and her de found its mark. Traveling cleanly through the crack Lisa sheered off the horn clean in two. The beast roared in pain and raised its head, just as Lisa wanted it too. Lisa, holding the katanas handle with both hands, shed lengthwise across the neck of the Twisted. Though the hard scaley skin of the creature was formidable against bullets it was no match for the skillfully crafted tungsten de. A waterfall of ck blood cascaded from the beasts severed jugr as the de passed halfway through the neck. Then, like a mighty oak being chopped down, the in Strider tumbled to the ground with such an impact that it cracked the pavement in all directions. It kicked its legs a few times before finallying to a standstill. Everyone that witnessed her unexpected victory cheered vehemently and the once doomed atmosphere lightened. Those nearby started to crowd around and thank her. Yet the celebration was suddenly short lived when the sounds of guns shooting drew their attention. From the direction from where the in Strider first appeared was the next horror. Countless Night Hounds and Logos Cutters were now pouring out from the streets and climbing across roof tops towards the parking lot. Themotion of the in Striders bellows and fight with Lisa was likely what attracted them here. There were so many that the remaining ERM militia were clearly going to be overrun soon and one again everyone felt doomed. Everyone, keep running for the cliff at the far side of town! Nathans hoarse voice called out from the warehouses entrance. He hade out with thest of the supplies from the warehouse and had also witness Lisa killing the Twisted. Knowing that there were still so many people left in town this was all he could do. Heading his calling the townspeople surged in mass towards the cliff, though for many it was already going to be toote. From the behind buildings on the left there came two more loud roars. Secondster Lisas heart sank once again, there were two more in Striders! Then as if to make things worse from the right side of the parking lot another vast number of Twisted appeared as well being led by another heavily scared in Strider. Lisa looked about her in disbelief at all the monsters. This is getting out of hand! Chapter 208: Up Hill Chapter 208: Up Hill Lisa knew fighting the Twisted of such numbers was going to be impossible. She could barely handle one in Strider herself and now that there were three and uncountable numbers of other Twisted, running was her only choice. The problem was, she could not that just yet. There were hundreds of people that were going to die horrible deaths if the situation did not change and soon. Lisa looked about her for a solution but all she could see was impending death and chaotic panic. Running towards her was a ERM militia man holding a rifle. He was clearly fleeing with the rest of the crowd, and she got the idea to put his gun to proper use. Lisa grabbed the mans arm just as he was about to pass by. Give me your gun and any ammo you got. Fine take it! The man shouted throwing the rifle into her arms. He then took off the belt of ammo around his waist and took off running again. You can stay here and die fighting. Im not! Lisa checked the rifles chamber and saw it was loaded. She then looked through the receding crowd and saw, with great relief, that the Twisted had miraculously not yet even entered the parking lot. They were just waiting on top of the rooves and standing in the streets. Though they were waiting, the Twisted were clearly anxious to attack and their screeches, roars, and cries came from all around. Wait why are they waiting? Lisa thought. Are they being stopped by something or is somethingmanding them? Looking at the Twisted she noted that they hadpletely surrounded the warehouses perimeter. They seemed to have blocked off all the roads leading back into town. The Twisted left only one way to go was towards the cliffs, for there was not a single Twisted in that area. It was almost as if they had corralled the humans to go towards this ce. This does not feel right. This feels nned somehow. Lisa said to herself. Lisa saw now that most of the humans had already passed by her and that there was no reason to stay in such a dangerous ce. Many of the Twisted were eyeing her expectantly as she started jogging after the rest of the townspeople. Thats when she felt it, a deep rumbling resonating in her chest that was far deeper than that of the in Strider. A rumble that felt bothmanding and terrifying. Lisa stopped running and saw that a creature, unlike any she had seen before had immerged from the mass of monsters. It was the baby Hoard Mother! When it had left Moab City, 56 and the others had seen that the baby Hoard Mother was about the size of arge pick-up truck. They would now be shocked to know that the baby Hoard Mother was nowrger and the same size as a in Strider! Of course, Lisa had no way of knowing this. All she saw was the white scaly skinned, hairy six-legged, brontosaurus looking monster! From the way the other Twisted had parted ways with the baby Hoard Mother it was clear to Lisa that this impressive monster was the leader. Lisa raised her rifle and took aim at the baby Hoard Mothers head. All six of its eyes were locked onto her and they were filled with a fighting hunger that only an animal old project. Lisa paid the look no mind and pulled the trigger once. The bullet struck the baby Hoard Mother square between the eyes! Its head was knocked back by the unexpected bullet. Save for the tracking dart 56 shot into it, this was the first time the young monster had ever been hurt. Lisa cursed under her breath when the Twisteds head whipped back to ir angrily at her. There was no sign of any damage. The Hoard Mothers hide was even stronger than that of the in Strider. Then the baby Hoard Mother opened both of its mouths to let out that same rumbling sound with an even greater ferocity. The rumbling was the signal to attack! Every single Twisted present broke rank to leap off buildings and flood the parking lot as they began chasing after the fleeing humans. Lisa lifted her rifle once again and shot ten rounds in quick session at the charging hoard. A few smaller Twisted were struck by her shots but it was like taking buckets of water out from the ocean, pointless. Lisa then turned to run at top speed for the cliff. She had to get there as soon as possible and help organize the defenses. They were in for a terrible battle. Nathan was still running with the townspeople towards the cliff when he heard the baby Hoard Mothers distant and faint rumble for attack. Looking back, he knew something was wrong, even with the hundreds of people blocking his view. The fleeing humans had left a huge plum of dust in their wake, but now there was a clear second plum of dust twice the size of their own approaching. He gulped heavily and adjusted the heavy box in his hands to run better. He then spied a rock ahead of him and chose to climb atop it. Looking ahead he could see the flow of people veering off to the right towards the path, but there were still those that were splitting off into nearby buildings or going left towards the river. Thats right everyone, keep moving to the right after thest building. Head for the cliff not the river! Nathan called out hoarsely. The town buildings will not be enough to hid you from the Twisted. We need to stick together and get to higher ground. Nathan took another sparing nce back at the second plum of smoke. Hurry up Lisa. We are going to need you to help us, so dont die back there! Get those rocks piled right here! I want the top of this path blocked off as soon as thest person gets here. Gillian ordered. Gillian was directing the people capable of working that had already made it to the top of the cliff to move rocks and boulders to the highest points and sides of the path. He had heard stories of the Twisted overwhelming entire cities with their numbers alone and since the town defenses were nothing more than a few guns and limited ammo this was all he coulde up with to defend themselves. He only wished that he had more time to n because there were no way rocks alone tossed at the monsters Medieval style was not going to be enough to save them. He just had a gut feeling that things were going to be bad. Anderson, in the meantime, was doing his best to organize the women and children to get them to gather in the woods and scrunds far away from the pathway entrance. He had considered having them all cross the river and go to the other side already, but he had never been over there himself and he kept doubting himself as to weather or not it was safe to do so. He wished that Nathan or another leader was here to take his ce. His anxiety was bing more than he could bare and dealing with women and children just as frightened as himself was not making the situation any better. Terisa was busy getting Hanna and the other Mech pilots to pile more sand and rocks atop the cliff in preparation for covering the pathway back up. She had been cursing non-stop, wishing she had never left Moab City and listened to her idiot cousin. Hanna on the other hand was pouring all her focus to the task at hand. Terisa would be barely finished giving her orders and Hanna was already moving to carry them out. It was as if none of the pressure of what was about to happen was even affecting her. The way she controlled the Mechs controls and how calming the flow of information was bing to her only made her work harder. John was not watching over Hanna but looking over the cliffs edge at the stream of people escaping town. He knew he had to get Hanna out of here as soon as possible. The other side of town was presumably safe, and he needed to get to Mary and the others to warn them of the danger as well. Perhaps even leave town altogether. This was not his fight to be in. Looking up at the Mech Hanna was in and seeing how much work she was doing, he felt guilty taking her away. Swallowing his feeling John felt that now was the best time to take her away. Even if he had to pull her out himself. Lisa zig zagged through the crowd as fast as she dared without crashing into anyone. She was not only trying to reach the cliffs path but find Nathan as well. She knew that if he survived this invasion then the town had a chance to rebound. She might be able to do it all on her own, but from the way the townspeople responded to him, Lisa knew Nathan was the linchpin holding these people together and that was something she stillcked. Hearing another rumble from the baby Hoard Mother she was d that she had her prosthetic legs to run fast. For not a second after the Twisteds rumble the cries and screams for help followed. The ughter was already happening at the back of the human pack. She couldnt imagine what the scene might look like but if it was anything like the carnage the in Strider caused, then it was not a pretty sight. Lisa finally spotted Nathan; he was standing on top of a rock at the bottom of the slope waving people on. Lisa rushed for his position and leapt into the air skipping most of the people in her way. Shended skillfully alongside him on the rock and grabbed his arm. We have to go now! Lisa urged. We dont have time to save everyone. We have to try. Nathan answered pulling his arm away from her. Lisa rolled her eyes. Standing here waving your arms isnt going to do a thing but put you in danger. The two of them then heard another heavy and deep rumble. Look, I can already see thergest of the Twisteding this way! Come on! Lisa then grabbed the stubborn mayor and tossed him over her shoulder. She then started running up the slope as fast as she could. It was then Nathan saw, though he didnt believe what he saw, the hoard in its entirety. There had to be thousands of monstersing right for them! Any thought of protest to the way Lisa was treating him was gone now. The real fight was just about to being! Chapter 209: Rockslide Chapter 209: Rockslide Gillian! Lisa called out as she reached the top of the cliff. Lisa, thank goodness you are back. Things are getting out of hand. Gillian said seeing hering his way. Then he shed a smile despite the bad situation. I see you also brought Nathan with you in a rather, uh, fast fashion. Knock it off and focus! Nathan said hotly as Lisa set him down. His face was flushed as he spoke. People are dying, and we need to find a way to save them, not make jokes! Yes, you are right. I am sorry. Gillian replied clearing his throat. I already had Anthony start moving everyone towards the woods, but Lisa can we hide the women and children in the dams tunnel? We can try fitting as many as we can, but there are thousands of people here and more on the way. Lisa replied shaking her head. The dam wont be enough. From below the screams of humans and roars of monsters drew closer. It was soon drowned out by the baby Hoard Mothers rumble. There wasnt much time left before the hoard would be at the base of the cliff. It will have to do for now. Nathan said turning to go towards the cliffs edge. What are we looking at defense wise? Gillian and Lisa joined him to witness the horrid sight below. Humans were being chased down by monsters on all sides, torn apart, and devoured. The open ground between the cliff and town buildings was covered in dust and death. All three of them felt helpless to help, there was just too many monsters to handle, too many humans to save. Gillian spoke through gritted teeth. W-we have enough guns for three hundred or more. The cliff wall is lined with rocks and stones for throwing down hill at them and Terisa has the Mechs ready to bury the path. If we cant stop them here the dam is our only chance. The narrow road there will make it easier to hold. Ill send Dan back to warn Zane, Bell, and the rest to get ready. Lisa added as she gripped her copsed katanas hilt tightly. We have weapons and ammo as well. Though bringing them out here in time might be impossible. Get them ready anyway. Nathan said in a low tone. His gaze was glued to the dust cloud of death below. I want these monsters to wish they never came here! You got it, Mayor. I will line up the militia now. Gillian said pping Nathans back. We will make them pay. Hanna! Come on Hanna. We are leaving right now, there is no time. John called up to her Mech. Hanna heard him calling and opened the door to her Mech with a whoosh of air. I cant. Terisa needs me to block the path up before the monsters get here. Someone else can do that. John snapped impatiently. I am not going to put you at risk for no reason. We need to go where its safe with Mary and the others from back home. Dont you want warn your friends too? Hanna bit her lip. She knew what John said was right. Thinking rationally about the position she was in made the predicament now seem horrifically frightening now. She was on the front lines of a monster invasion! What am I doing? Hanna thought looking down at the controls in her hands. Her hands were shaking now. T-there are monsters here. Why am I still here, I am just a kid! Hanna started to climb out of the cockpit, and she put her foot on the first rung. As soon as she did a womans scream rang out from below on the path. Hanna pulled back her foot and looked back down at John. There was tears already streaming down her cheeks as she spoke, T-there are p-people d-dying right now. If I can h-help them I-I must! Johns face hardened and thought, Your just like your father, a stubborn fool! John then grabbed thedder and started climbing. I am not going to ask you this, I am telling you! You areing with me right now youngdy! I-I cant! Hanna called back as she pressed the button to close the door. Pilots! On the count of five push the first piles over the edge! Terisas voice rang out over the inte. Hanna grabbed the controls once again and she did her best to control her breathing. She was scared, scared almost as much as when her parents were killed. She was not thinking straight, and she knew it. However, something was telling her, Just do it. Bong! Bong! Hanna jumped in her seat when John started banging on the Mechs door. She could barely make out what he was saying. She then shouted, I am sorry Mr. Weathers! Before turning her Mech on and the whirr of the heat exhaust fans filled the cockpit. John banged his fist once more on the door, but it was no use, Hanna was not going to listen to him. Suddenly, the Mech lurched forward, and he grabbed thedder tightly. John felt his heart jump into his throat as the Mech approached the cliffs edge. The Mech began to push a huge number of rocks and sand over the edge and he Mech felt like it was about to fall off with the rocks as it started to lean precariously over. Johns eyes were wide with fright as he witnessed Twisted monsters and humans alike being buried by the manmade rock side. John started banging on the door again. Hanna, I know you cant see below you because its blocked but stop this now! Lisa saw what the Mechs were doing too. Stop! There are still people down there! She shouted as she ran towards Terisa. No! They are beyond saving now. Terisa yelled back with a stony expression on her face. We need to block the path now or we all will die. Sacrifices have to be made. This was just like what hermanders back in the Swiss Alps said too. Sacrificing a few to save the masses. It was wrong! Ill do it myself! Just stop until everyone gets up here safely. Lisa shouted as she extended her sword to point it at Terisa. Ill stop the Mechs, but the moment the Twisted reach the midpoint, Ill bury them with you. Terisa answered angrily. Lisa was not intimidated by her threat. This woman was infuriating! Gillian, start shooting! I am going down there! Open fire! Gillian yelled at the militia. A torrent of bullets rained down on the Twisted below. The lead monsters, mostly Logos Cutters and a few Night Hounds, were already separated by the rock side and were the first to receive the humans counterattack. However, the damage to the hoard was limited. Still mixed among the monsters were dozens of dibobted humans. Lisa held her katana in one hand as she slid down the steep cliff wall towards the chaos below. Just before reaching the bottom, Lisa pushed off the wall with her free hand to go after her first target. The Night Hound she targeted was caughtpletely off guard as Lisa dropped down out of the dust tond on its back. Lisa immediately plunged her now meter length katana right into its elongated head sending a spray of ck blood out across the sandy slope. Lisa then ripped the katana out form the monsters corpse and swung around to chop a Logos Cutter cleanly in half. By now the rest of the monsters had seen her and they were moving to surround her. Advanced Armament: Stage One! Lisa murmured. A Logos Cutter leg out a croak of confusion as Lisa disappeared out from sight and its ws hit nothing but air. Its confusion ended as Lisa reappeared next to it and the Twisteds head rolled off. A Night Hound shed at Lisa with its long arms, but Lisa was not going to be felled by such a simple attack. Lisa swung her sword in front of her, lopping off the Night Hounds arms in the process. The Night Hound couldnt even make a sound of pain as Lisa followed up by stabbing it in the chest. Gillian ordered everyone to stop shooting and watched in amazement as Lisa dashed from one Twisted to the next. Slicing and stabbing them to bits, not a single Twisted could harm her as she wadded through them inflicting death as she went. You twenty mene with me! Gillian said to those standing closest to him. We are going to get ahead of her and help. Orin! Yes Commander? Orin answered right away. You take half the militia and start spreading out to the right along the cliff. You said the Twisted can climb and I dont want them cutting us off from the dam. Understood! Orin said turning to move out. Gillian then turned to another man who looked dependable. You and the rest stay here and make sure no Twisted get up the slope behind Lisa! Gillian then waved to Nathan who was standing amongst a crowd of civilians. Nathan waved back in reply to the signal. He then turned back to the civilians than numbered in the hundreds. Alright, every knows what to do, right? Throw rocks down at the monsters and try not to hit any humans. Every stone counts! The mostly male civilians let out a deep shout of agreement and the hurried to the cliff edge. They all started their assault on the Twisted that were starting to climb over the rock piles the Mechs had pushed over. Though a Medieval method of attack, it was working. The Twisted had no way of defending from the rocks other than their speed and the unstable rockslide was making that difficult. Now that most of the humans had been fully devoured from the open ground area the baby Hoard Mother looked up from the blood-stained sand to see that its hoard was being driven back. The baby Hoard Mother snorted defiantly and craned its neck to look the situation over. Nothing was being missed by its six red jeweled eyes. Unbeknownst to the humans there was far more to the Hoard Mother species than they realized. Their least understood feature was intelligence. Just like how a snake is born with powerful venom, the Hoard Mothers are born with a highly functioning mind to use it wits to survive and cast its influence over other Twisted. Lisas unease was correct, everything the Twisted had been doing was nned. All the way back when the Twisted hoard first approached the town at the bridge, the Hoard Mother was nning its attack. The baby Hoard Mother saw that the river split the town and that the side it was on was the smaller side with arge cliff on the far side. It split its hoard on purpose, sending the more numerous Logos Cutters and Night Hounds across the river to feed in the part of the town that likely held the most humans. Then keeping in Striders with itself and enough smaller Twisted to carry out its invasion, the Twisted first surrounded the outskirts of the eastern side of town. They then proceeded to corral the humans towards the cliff. It knew humans were already slow-moving creatures and that forcing them against a cliff would make for easy pickings and surely easier to hunt down than just letting the hoard run amuck in the towns streets. Though now that the humans had found a way to evade being trapped by the cliff a new n was needed. The losses the hoard had taken so far was minimal, though more than it expected. Then there was that one human, the one that shot itself in the head, that human was trouble. The area where the manmade rockslide drew its attention and the baby Hoard Mother spotted the human, Lisa, fighting alone. Seeing an opportunity, the baby Hoard Mother looked down at three of the in Striders with it and let out a deep throated rumble. The baby Hoard Mother was sending these three to attack Lisa and she had no clue they wereing. Chapter 210: Distress Chapter 210: Distress Lisa jumped back from the rockslide to catch her breath. The immediate area was safe for now. She had already in nearly two dozen of the Twisted but just beyond thergest of the rock piles was the main body of the Twisted hoard. They were already crossing over the rockslide, and they were gaining ground at an unprecedented rate. The loose rocks were slowing them down but every time a Twisted fell it was trampled on by the onesing up from behind it, making the path more stable with their crushed bodies. Where are the buried townspeople? Lisa said to herself as she quickly scanned the rock piles before her. There has to be someone who survived. Then a tattered blue piece of cloth caught her attention. Theres one! Lisa ran over to the cloth, grabbed it, and pulled hard. Out from the rubble a man appeared as Lisa lifted him up from his shirt tail. The man wasnt moving but from the dust blowing out from his mouth told her he was just unconscious. Lisa set him down and looked up to check on the Twisteds progress. Unfortunately, she saw that she had no time to tend to the man for three Night Hounds were already standing atop the tallest rockpile peak. Lisa picked up her katana and prepared to fight when the head of the closest Night Hound exploded! Looking up at the cliff top Lisa saw Gillian and the other with him were now shooting at the Twisted. Lisa waved up at him and he replied nodding his raised rifle once before going back to shooting. She then turned her attention back to the unconscious man. Lisa tapped the side of his face gently as she spoke, Hey, wake up! You cant rest now. Wake up. The man started to stir, and he opened his eyes unsteadily as the sunlight struck them. Lisa smiled seeing this. Good, you are waking up. Come on, we need to keep moving. W-what happened? The man groaned raising a hand to cover his eyes. Wait, where is my wife! She was right next to me when oh no! She was in that rockslide too! Stay here. Ill go look for her. Lisa said getting up to go for where she first found the man. Lisa tossed away a few rocks when a pink sleeve poked through the sand. Here she is! After digging the woman out from the sand within seconds thanks to her still being in Stage One, Lisa found she was in the same condition as her husband. The man had recovered enough to stand, and Lisa handed her over to him. All the while this was happening the gunfire from above hadnt let up once. Suddenly a bullet pinged off a rock right behind Lisa. She spun around in time to see a Logos Cutter had made it through the rockslide and bullets and was now hopping right towards her. Little sneaky guy,e get me! Lisa challenged raising her sword. The Logos Cutter let out a shrill shriek as it made a huge leap at Lisa. This kind of attack was pointless for as soon as the Twisted jumped it was doomed to be skewered by her de. Tossing the dead creature aside onto the rocks by her feet she spotted a humans leg sticking out from the rock she was next to. Tossing a sizable stone aside Lisa found the rest of the older male underneath. Help me The man croaked raising a hand to her. I got you. Lisa answered immediately taking his hand. As she lifted him the man sucked in his breath sharply as if in great pain. Lisa looked down at his other leg and arm she found that both were likely broken. She then looked towards the Twisted now less than ten meters away and then back up at the cliff top. Someone, help me dig out all these people! Lisa called to those above her. There was no immediate reply, so she kept calling. Lisas calls were eventually heard by someone, and that person informed the militia guarding the top entrance to the cliff. The dependable looking man Gillian had told to keep an eye on the area was named Jake, and he was perplexed by the issue. On one hand he knew he should send help, but on the other hand he was told to wait here. The man and unconscious woman reached the top of the path to pass by the militia at this point. Seeing them covered in dust, sand, and bleeding in a few ces Jake knew the answer. Come on lets go help down there. We can split up in two groups, and Ill go down there with anyone that follows me. Jake said taking the initiative to start jogging down the sand path. He was soon followed by fourteen other ERM militia and the person that came to ry Lisas call for help. They arrived to find the at Lisa had already dug out two other people from the rubble. Quick, take these three up the path and get them to someone with medical skills. All three of them have broken bones. Lisa said urgently. The rest of you start looking for anyone else here. A screech drew her attention and this time two Night Hounds, and a Logos Cutter were climbing over the rocks towards them. One of the ERM militia shot at the Twisted approaching striking a Night Hound in the shoulder. Lisa followed up by cutting the creature down and kicking the Logos Cutter away from her. The second Night Hound slipped on the loose rocks and started sliding off the path to go back down to the open scrunds below. One of the militia men happened to look over the edge to see what happened to the Night Hound and he let out a shout of rm. Oh s***! Everyone look out, the Twisted are climbing up the side of the path! The rest of the militia men and Lisa rushed to the paths edge and looked down in disbelief. The Twisted were climbing up the neatly stacked rocks used to hold up the path in uncountable numbers. If they hadnt seen theming just then, Lisa and the others would have been surrounded andpletely caught by surprise. Well, dont just stand there with your mouths open, start shooting them! Lisa yelled. Most of them did just that and they started shooting at the monsters climbing swiftly upwards. Numerous Twisted were sent tumbling away to the ground as a result but their sheer numbers were going to ovee the militia very soon. Three of the militia closest to the top of the path started to back away to escape, but Lisa saw them and grabbed the closest of them. If you are going to run away, at least take those injured with you. Lisa said pointing at the threeying on the ground. Fine! The man shouted pulling his arm free from her grasp. Lisa then patted Jake on the back. Fall back up to the top of the path. There is nothing more you can do here. Ill hold them off until you can retreat! Jake fired onest round before giving out the order to fall back. Lisa looked both down the path and below her at the hoard closing in knowing that this fight might be one of the hardest shes ever been in. Well, at least the top ten hardest battles shed been in. A new string of gunfire caught her attention and craning her neck to look left she saw that Orin and his forces were shooting at Twisted that were swarming up the cliffside closer to the river. This is not looking good. Lisa said to herself. We are going to be overrun at this rate. Lisa! Gillians voice rang out from overhead. Lisa looked up to see Gillian pointing towards the end of the slope. Get out of there, there are some huge Twisteding your way! Lisa looked back down the path and knew she indeed was in trouble. The three in Striders the baby Hoard Mother sent had arrived. Thats when another heavy rumble rippled across the battle grounds, the Hoard Mother was giving newmand. Lisa watched curiously as the Twisted blocking the three in Striders way parted and then closed in behind them. Are they working together in an organized manner? Did the lead Twisted tell those bigger ones to block the gunfire so they could break past the rockslide? Lisas guess was only half right. What she didnt know was that these in Striders wereing after her. It was just the baby Hoard Mother was taking the initiative to use the in Striders to block the bullets too as a bonus for the rest of the hoard. Additionally, now that the Twisted hoard had finished eating what humans they had killed so far, the baby Hoard Mother sent all the Twisted to attack now. Before only twenty percent of the Hoard was attacking the human defenses, and now all of them were on their way. All this was being obscured by the dust that had settled over the open scrund making this attack to be entirely unexpected by the humans who were thinking they were managing to keep the Twisted at bay this whole time. As the three hulking in Striders thundered up the path, Gillian and the rest started shooting at the creatures. This resulted in nothing, the bullets were merely shrugged off and the in Striders kept charging. Nathan was watching and called out for everyone to throw their rocks in mass as the creatures passed under them. This resulted in hundreds of rocks toe tumbling over the cliffs edge and pummel the nks of the in Striders. The results were the same as before, no effect. The only silver lining to this failure was that a few stray rocks struck down the Twisted that had managed to keep up with the in Striders so far. Seeing they werent going to be stopped any time soon Lisa yelled back up to Gillian, Tell that crazy cousin of yours to start blocking the path again. I dont see anyone else here! Terisa now! Gillian yelled in Terisa direction. Terisa was already keeping a close watch on the situation and before Gillian had even finished yelling the Mechs were already pushing the piles of rock and sand down. The result was three piles of sand and rock to heap up on the path to be taller than Lisa. Looking at it one would guess that the in Striders would at least slow down to deal with the obstruction, but they held fast to their pace. Terisas voice crackled over the inte of the three Mechs. Back up and push the next load! We arent making any progress! The Hanna and the two pilots did as they were told and just before the in Striders reached the obstruction a second equally as highyer was stacked atop the path. Still, they did not slow down. The lead in Strider lowered its head so that its horns were nearly scrapping the ground. Letting out a massive bullish bellow the in Strider made its intentions clear, it was going to bulldoze the obstruction away! Lisa started to back peddle with her katana raised in front of her. These Twisted are relentless! Then with a mighty crack the in Strider collided with the wall of rock and sand. There was a massive spray of earthen materials as the beast pressed on into the pile. Then to everyones dismay the in Strider knocked arge portion of the obstruction off the path. Left behind at the spot the Twisted struck there was hardly a stone remaining and on top of that, even some of the path itself was gouged away! Following right behind this terrible disy the other two in Striders followed the example of the first and blew away equally asrge portions of the obstruction over the edge. When they were done half of the rock and sand was gone. Backing up the three huge in Striders prepared to attack the obstruction once more and when they did there would be nothing standing in the way of the hoard. Lisa and the townspeople were going to be doomed to die at this rate! Chapter 211: Mess with the Horns Chapter 211: Mess with the Horns Ka-boom! The third in Strider had plowed into thest of the obstruction blocking the path. Dust, sand, and stone flew in all directions as if a bomb had gone off. The in Strider let out a deep bellow of victory and it looked around for their target, Lisa. Lisa, however, was nowhere to be seen. The path leading up the cliff was only wide enough for a single in Strider to move around on unrestricted and there was nowhere for her to hid either. Meaning the only ce Lisa could have gone was up the path. Looking that way, the in Strider searched the cliffs edge where Jake and the other ERM militia were finishing their retreat. The in Strider pawed the ground in anticipation of making a charge at the humans above. That was when a rock,rger than a basketball, smacked the unsuspecting Twisted square between the eyes. Up here idiot! Lisa shouted from even further above. Confused the in Strider looked up into the sky just as Lisa came crashing down onto its face, katana first. Rearing back and bellowing in pain the in Strider had been stabbed in the left eye and Lisa was still holding onto her weapon for dear life. ck blood sshed out from the wound making her grip harder to hold while the in Strider bucked about. As the massive Twisted thrashed about it struck the cliffs walls and sent rock shards flying. Worried that the Twisted might try killing her against the wall Lisa prepared to get off the beasts face. nting both feet on the Twisteds massive muzzle, Lisa pushed off freeing her de and the in Strider tossed its head towards the other two behind it just as she did. Bad timing. Lisa was sent soaring towards the next Twisted that had been watching the whole time and it was ready for her! As she was free falling Lisa saw that she was headed right for the open mouth of the second in Strider. This gapping mouth was full of blood stained and yellowed mrs that wererge enough to crush her entire body in one go. There was no way she could stop herself from her certain demise, but she saw this as an opportunity not as her fate. With not a moment to lose Lisa twisted whole her body around to swing her katana like a rouge tornado armed with a de. Using this rotating momentum, she extended the katanas de out to its full three meters and the de struck the in Strider long before her body would have. The ckened de shed the Twisteds nose and tore through its inner cheek to not only damage the beast but to slow her speed as well. The cut unfortunately was not deep enough to cause the Twisted any real damage due to the beasts thick hide. Lisas new trajectory sent her tumbling down underneath the in Striders belly. Though infuriated and in pain the in Strider saw where she had gone to. The beast proceeded to try to step on Lisa with its hind legs before jumping back to get a clear view of Lisa. Lisa in the meantime hadnded heavily on her hands and knees beforeing to a spinning stop in the sand. She dizzily looked up just as the first of the in Striders hind hooves came crashing down at her. Rolling to her right Lisa narrowly avoided being squashed as it had missed her by a hands width. The hoofnded with a powerful thud sending a wave of sand to cascade over her. The sand was blinding, and it covered her face and eyes! Spitting and wiping at her eyes Lisa was unable to react properly to the second hoofing for her. Luckily, luck was still on her side, for the in Strider had been blindly stomping at her hiding under its belly and the second hoof missed her by a meter. This miss, however, resulted in dowsing Lisa with another wave of sand to undo any progress she had made to regain her visibility. The muzzle wounded in Stridernded with both front hooves on either side of its sand covered quarry. Letting out a heavy breath of confidence from its nostrils the in Strider stooped down to take Lisa out with one bite. Lisa had survived many battles before now and she could sense the monsters attacking, even while blinded. Reacting swiftly to the ominous feeling of death approaching, Lisa stabbed upwards to skewer the already open wound in the in Striders muzzle. Reeling back the in Strider furiously bellowed and retorted by swinging its massive horn at her instead. The massive horn was as thick as a powerline pole and able to tten a building with ease. Lisa cleared one eye just intime to see this dangerous weaponing right at her head. Reacting fast Lisa raised her sword to block the blow, though stopping it from her seated position was impossible. Lisa was struck by the horn like a golf ball hit by a club. She was sent tumbling uphill with no control over the situation at all. Everyone watching from above were sure that the blow would have killed Lisa on the spot, but Lisa was a Cyborg Soldier not a normal human. Lisa came rolling to a stop and she let out a gasp for breath. The blow was like getting hit by a truck head on. The world jostled before her eyes, and she could barely make out the new dire situation she hadnded in. Lisa hade to a stop right in front of the first in Strider she stabbed in the eye! The enraged beast spotted her with its good eye, and it roared at her while raised a hoof to tten her for revenge. Lisa too was still blinded in one eye from the sand, so it was an even fight now. She tossed her hands above her head just before kicking upwards at the same to time to lift her body off the ground and stand upright. It was then she realized that her katana had been knocked from her hand! She had no time to look for it and she jumped back to dodge the in Striders stomping attack. This time she made sure to cover her eyes from the wave of sand that followed the impact. However, the half blinded Twisted was not finished yet. It followed through with its stomp and turned it into a kick. Lisa braced herself for impact and caught the blow with her hands, though the difference in weight was clear and she was sent flying once again. This time she was sent over the paths edge to bounce down the stacked rocks and onto the scrunds below! Lisa had more control over thisnding as she had blocked the brunt of the kick and she was able tond sliding to a stop on her feet. This had now put her into a new situation, Lisa hadnded right in the middle of the Night Hounds and Logos Cutters preparing to swarm the cliffs path. Reaching into her pants pocket Lisa grabbed thest weapon she had on her, a standard issue militarybat knife. There was an odd moment of silence as the Twisted around her were too surprised by her sudden appearance to attack right away. This gave Lisa a chance to better grasp her surroundings. She saw that the immediate area waspletely t and covered by a dense cloud of dust. There was so much dust that it blocked any sight of her from those on the cliff. Perfect, just perfect. Lisa muttered as she nced around her at the gawking Twisted. One of the Night Hounds let out a shriek and charged at her. Lisa spun around and nted herbat knife right into the elongated head of the Night Hound and then punched the dead creature off her weapon and into the hoard of monsters. This resulted in enraging the other Twisted and they all started to rush her in unison. Lisa smiled. Well, I was going to save this forter, but no one is watching me right now. Advanced Armament: Stage Two! Nathan saw Lisa get punted off the path and sink into the swirling dust below and he felt his heart sink. Though it looked like she might still be alive there was nothing now standing between them and the three in Striders and the rest of the hoarding up from behind them. Feeling frustrated he chucked the rock in his hands down at the rising hoard. Dont stop now! Nathan yelled to the civilians by him. This fight is far from over! We can still stop them. Then softly he spoke to himself so that no one would overhear him. At least I hope we can find a miracle to save us. Zzzz- boom! The sound of a rocket whizzed overhead, and it struck the path in a ze of fire sending a dozen Twisted flying in all directions. What was that?! Nathan shouted. Looking further down the cliff from them Nathan spotted an amazing sight. There was a tall Hunters ss Military Mech (HCMM) jogging their way. The HCMM was over 5 meters tall, with a ck colored base tone with three big white stripes running vertically along its chest and back. The Mech belonged to none other than Tammy! Nathan and many of the other humans atop the cliff watched with amazement as the big mech continued to run their way and it shot another rocket from a four holeduncher cannon mounted on its shoulder. This time the rocket was aiming for the lowest of the in Striders. The rocket struck the Twisted right on its hind nk leaving behind a deep scalded wound. The st also caused the in Strider to step off the path and start sliding over the edge. The in Strider struggled to pull itself back onto the path, but a third rocket ensure that it was knocked off for good. By now the HCMM was nearly upon the townspeople. The big ck Mech stopped running and raised a hand to give a friendly wave. Then a womans electronic voice rang out from the Mech. Hellooooo everyone! The Party Badger from the Hunters n hase to save the day! Chapter 212: Silver Glint Chapter 212: Silver Glint Nathan could not believe his eyes. There was an actual Hunter ss Mech standing before him. Today was getting out of hand and if he didnt know better today might as well have been a dream or nightmare. There was an electric engine sounding from above and Nathan looked up to see two Hover Bikes following behind the Party Badger. One of the bikes had a huge man with an equallyrge beard to match driving it. Following behind him were two other young men, one had on a green hoody on and the other was holding arge sniper rifle. The bearded man stopped overhead of the Party Badger and yelled down, Tammy! Less talking more shooting! Look, the Twisted are nearly up the path! Ok, ok! The womans electric voice replied from the Mech. The Party Badger raised the Mechanized 76.2mm Rifle in its hands and pointed it at the lead in Strider that was swiftly approaching Jakes defensive line. The Mechs rifle shot out a three round burst that sounded so powerful that Nathan and the others nearby covered their heads out of fear that they were going to be shot by it. The burst of 76.2mm bullets struck the in Strider and punched a hole clean through the Twisteds middle before sting off a portion of the cliff beyond. Watch your aim! Dixon shouted. You almost hit humans that time. The three of us will handle the shooting, you get down their and deal with them with hand-to-handbat. Fine with me! Party Badger cheered. She then quickly traded the rifle for the massive sword hanging on her back. Then leaning forwards, she jumped. Womp! There was an orange electrified pulse that shot out from behind the Mech, and it catapulted the mechanized monster high above the heads of everyone. The st was nearly as stunning as the rifles gunshot and the shock from experiencing it for the first time knocked one man onto his butt. Arching back Party Badger raised her sword behind her as she sailed for thest of the three initial in Striders. The in Strider saw what had happened to the one in front of it and looked back to see what the cause was only to see Party Badgers swording down on its head! Everyone watching let out a huge cheer for the Twisted didnt stand a chance and it was in in one single chop. The two-story tall Twisted had been stopped and in such an impressive way, no one could have ever dreamed that help would havee for them. The Party Badger grabbed the now headless in Strider by a leg and chucked it at the path teaming with Night Hounds and Logos Cutters. The dead corpse bowled down many of the Twisted and effectively slowed their advance, temporarily. Who are you people? Nathan called out to Dixon still hovering above. Dixon heard him and lowered his bike to just two meters above ground. We are from the Moab City Hunters n. We were tracking the small Twisted Hoarding this way to hunt it down. The name is Dixon, and I am sorry we couldnt be here sooner. I wont me you at all, in fact, as Mayor of this side of town, I thank you foring at all! Nathan said feeling the weight on his shoulders lift some. Oh, so you are the one in charge here. Well, this makes things easier. Can you tell us where the Hoard Mother is at? Dixon asked. Hoard Mother? Nathan repeated. I am not sure what that is exactly. Then the man with the huge sniper rifle leaned out from behind Dixon and spoke. You know the white one with the long neck and six legs. You cant miss it. Oh, its out there somewhere. Nathan answered pointing below into the dust cloud. That figures. Dixon sighed. It is probably getting ready to make a big push to attack now. Otherwise, you all would have been overwhelmed by now. Was it waiting? I thought it was sending the Twisted after us in full already. Nathan said scratching his head. I hate to say this, but the hoard was probably finishing off every human corpse down there. Those monsters hadnt eaten for days now. Dixon said lowering his head. Nathan gulped nervously. So, what do we do then? Will your Hunter Mech be able to defend the path from the rest of the hoard for us? We will still do what we can to fight, though as you can see, we are ill equipped for fighting. Im not sure we can hold off them for much longer. Dixon answered. Tammy, our Mech pilot, is really skilled but we dont know what Twisted types this Hoard Mother has with it or in what numbers. It would be best if you all could find refuge somewhere. Is there no ce on the other side of the river everyone can hide, or did you just escape from that side? We are from this side of the river and most of the women and children are already headed for the dam. As for the west side of town, we dont control that area, the Mad Dogs gang does. They are not the nicest of people either and likely not willing to help us. Nathan exined. I see. Sam, what can you tell me about the situation right now? Dixon yelled looking above him at the other hover bike. The dust is too thick to see properly, but from the readings the tracker is giving the Hoard Mother is down there. As for the defenses on this cliff, not looking good. Those guys closer to the river are looking close to being overrun. The Twisted have nearly climbed to the top. Sam called back as he looked at the scenery through his binocrs. Orin and the others cant hold out much longer? Nathan said with a worried look. He then turned around to look back towards the cliff. Where is Gillian at? Just as Nathan asked this, Gillian was already pushing through the civilian crowding around Dixons hover bike. He heard Nathans voice and answered. Care to fill me in on what is going on? Nathan shook his head. No time to exin. I am going to be taking everyone here with me to help Orin. That man flying above says the Twisted are climbing the cliff and Orin cant stop them. Shouldnt I go then? You all dont have guns. Gillian pointed out. No, I need to make sure the others are evacuating to the dam alright. Besides, if we fail to stop the Twisted then everyone with me will be unable to escape anywhere if we stay here, its best if we go that way now. Nathan replied. Alright then, what about Lisa? She hasnte back yet. Gillian asked looking down into the swirling dust. Nathan had been so distracted by the Mech and Dixon that he totally forgot about her! I-I dont know. Maybe you can try searching for her real quick while the Hunter Mech holds off the Twisted. Nathan said. I can try. That is if you can get that Mech to do it? Gillian said to Dixon. She can do it no problem. You wont have much time I suspect; the Hoard Mother might appear any moment. Dixon replied before calling on the inte, Party Badger get ready to move down the path and give these people some time to look for arade they are missing. Tammys voice radioed back, No problem. These little Twisted are such a bore! When are the big onesing? Lets get moving then. 56, Sam and I will also support you from the air. Wave to us if you find your missing person. Dixon said as he pulled back on his bikes handles and the hover bike raised into the air. Gillian turned back to go inform his team of what they were doing next. While Nathan started having everyone evacuate towards the dam. Momentster Gillian was about to start heading down the path to look for Lisa when Terisa stopped him. What are you doing? Terisa said throwing her hands up with exasperation. How am I going to block up the path again if you are going down there? We wont be long. Gillian replied casually, though he was annoyed by her pestering. We are going to look for Lisa really quick. Pfft, leave that annoying woman be. She is probably already dead. Terisa scoffed. No, she is not dead! Hanna yelled from the door of her Mover Mech. Aunt Lisa is strong, youll see! Got you! John said as he swung off the Mover Mechsdder to grab Hanna by the arm. She tried to pull away, but he easily extracted her from the cockpit. John then started to carry her down with Hanna being tucked under his arm. We are going to cross the river right now. You are done ying hero. But Aunt Lisa is still out there. I want to help search too! Hanna whimpered. There were tears brimming Hannas light green eyes and John forced himself not to look at them lest his mind be swayed. Absolutely not. I am not letting you any closer to those monsters. You cant take her away just yet. Terisa said crossing her arms defiantly. I need her to finish blocking up the path again. You can kiss my a**! John yelled pointing a finger at her. I saw what you ordered them to do before and I assure you that Hanna will never work with you again. Gillian sighed. Come on guys lets go. Terisa was about to let out a furry of insults at both John and Gillian when another deep rumble from the baby Hoard Mother rang out. Only this time it sounded directly below them. They all looked down to see a white head with six red eyes looking up at them. The Hoard Mother had arrived! A split secondter the rumble was followed by a series of brays, screeches, and roarsing from the paths bottom. There were hundreds of Twisted monsters all rushing out from the dust cloud and onto the path. Leading them was the in Strider the Party Badger had first shot with her rocket. Its eyes were full of vengeful furry, and now aiming for the Party Badger. Ah ha! You think you can take me on, my little piata? Party Badgerughed. Tossing her heavy sword down with a plop onto the sand, she reached back and grabbed the bow-staff like weapon from off her back. Well too bad! I am going to knock you into next year with this little baby right here! Turning a switch on the staff suddenly split into two parts and spread apart to cover the entire area in front of the Hunter Mech with a blue sma field! The staff was a portable sma shield, just like the one the Moab City used for its defenses, only smaller. The battery of the sma shield was only able tost for ten minutes and would overheat if left on for longer than thirty seconds. This incredible shield was only supposed to be used in emergency situations or in a gunfight, but Tammy was nning to use it like a bat and club the charging hoard! Just then, from within the swirling dust, just past the Party Badger, a figure leapt out from it to reach a height equal to that of the Hunter Mechs head. It was Lisa! Shended on the path and a puff of dust ringed around her. Without skipping a beat, she instantly started running at 65kmh down the path towards the in Strider. Gillian, Hanna, John, Tammy, Dixon, 56, and Terisa were stunned by the sight of her appearing and running at such iprehensible speeds that no human moved. Lisa zoomed down the path, spotted her katanas hilt sticking out from the sand, grabbed it, and disappeared underneath the charging in Strider before the beast knew what just happened. Lisa reappeared on the other side of the in Strider with her katana raised high into the air. The in Strider stopped running as a giant gash appeared lengthwise on its belly and all its guts gushed out covered in ck blood. Lisa had nearly split the in Strider in two with one swing! Nathan was the only one to see Lisas face as she stopped moving after cutting the Twisted in half. He couldnt get a clear look, but to himself he swore her eyes were glowing silver! Chapter 213: Take Shelter Chapter 213: Take Shelter That was so cool! I cant believe someone could kill a Twisted like that with their personal strength alone. Tammy gawked as she watched Lisa turn toe jogging back up the hill. She then turned off and copsed her sma shield-staff. But I wanted to kill it... Lisa had already deactivated her Stage Two before turning to face the everyone on the cliff top and she was now looking a bit worn out. The cause of her being tired was soon revealed. The afternoon wind was starting to pick up and the dust swirled away some to reveal a shocking sight, there on the open scrund where Lisa was sent flying by the in Striders kick was a ring of dead Twisted. At least a hundred Twisted wereying dead in a circle, all toting numerous knife wounds, dismemberment, and decapitations. However, no one had any time toment on what might have gone on down there in the dust for now halfway up the path behind Lisa was next wave of Twisted! Run! Lisa yelled as she passed by the Party Badger. She had an uncharacteristically somber expression as she spoke. We cant stop whatsing behind me here! There was another deep, heavy rumble from the baby Hoard Mother and at that same moment another gust of wind rolled back the dust cloud, this time for good. The baby Hoard Mother was already rounding the curve of the slopes wall toe up the path. Guarding close alongside the hoards leader were twelve in Striders, countess hundreds of smaller Twisted, and thete arriving Land Octopuss had joined the fray. Following behind this tight cluster of monsters out on the open scrund was the rest of the hoard numbering in the thousands! The entire cliff side, save for those faraway still shooting in Orins group, was stunned into dead silence. This overwhelming sight was enough to crush anyones soul. Beating back the hoard seemed like a pipe dream, even living to see another sunrise was seemingly out of the question. The townspeople were going to die, no ands, ifs, or buts. The only one that seemed to think otherwise was Lisa. Come on! Lets get moving! We can still make it across the dam and hold them off there. We are to spread out and disorganized to do any real fighting. Lisa went up to Jake and grabbed his arm to pull him away from cliffs top entrance. We can still make it in time. Start running! Jake dropped his gun and turned to run. His face was pale, and eyes zed over with fright. Lisa pulled back on his arm and scooped up the discarded rifle. She then shoved it back into his hand. Lisa yelled at him, both to wake him up and to be heard clearly by everyone else, Dont drop you gun, idiot! We still need it to fight with. Just take what you have in your hands and run! That is when all hell broke loose. Everyone started running as fast as they could to the dam in the west. Men and women screamed in terror as they all mored to escape. Pushing, pulling, shoving, trampling, tripping; there was not one person among them that did not use or receive these actions as they fled away in mass. Nathan and Gillian were no exception. There was a limit to civility, and they had reached that limit. Nearing starvation, worn out and tired, pushed to the brink of annihtion, and impending death with no real sight of survival, not many could keep a clear head bearing all these hardships. John turned against the crowds flow to go back to Hannas Mech. I changed my mind, Hanna, start driving this Mech back to the dam. It will be faster than running and keep us safe! Hanna was still frozen in Johns arms. The sight of the Twisted and Aunt Lisas fearful words and look had rocked her to the core. Hanna never expected her hero to look that way. She didnt even notice that John had climbed into the Mech until he ced her into the seat. Hurry up Hanna! I dont know how to move this thing. John called urgently. O-o-ok! Hanna stammered as she fumbled with the controls. As the electric engine and exhaust fans hummed to life Hanna looked through the slit of the Mechs window at Lisa and thought to herself. Aunt Lisa, please be safe ande back to me soon! The only ones that did not immediately flee were Lisa and the Hunters n members. Dixon was the one who spoke up first. Tammy, hold them off for as long as you can! We need to buy these people any time we can. The bounty can wait. You dont need to tell me twice. Tammy replied. She then opened fire with thest of her four rockets and it struck the side of the slope just ahead of the hoard causing a small avnche of sand and rock. The st narrowed the path considerably and created a choak point. Grabbing the Mechanized 76.2mm Rifle from her Mechs back, Tammy flicked the switch to full-auto and opened fire. Twisted were ripped apart and sted to bits by the bullets, but they kept steadily plowing forwards. There sheer numbers were going to easily be enough to reach the cliff top and overrun the Party Badger. Sam, go up front and start clearing off the cliffs up ahead. Dixon continued. We cant allow anyone to get cut off while escaping. Got it. Sam replied revving his hover bike to speed away. 56, you and I will Dixon started to say but when he looked back at 56, he was not there. Only Orville remained floating peacefully above the trailer. 56 had jumped off the hover bike trailer and was now approaching Lisa on the ground. Seeing him, Dixon shook his head and picked up his own rifle to take aim at the iing hoard. What is he doing? Well, well, look who it is. 24! I would have never guessed you would be so far west. 56 chatted casually as he approached her. He then threw his arms wide and looked around him exaggeratively. Why have you abandoned your duties? There is nothing for you to do here. Leave with me right now and you wont be court marshaled. Are you kidding me right now? Lisa, aka 24, replied putting a hand on her hip. She then used the tip of her sword to point at the baby Hoard Mother. Do you not see the situation these people are in right now? Besides, who would be court marshaling me, hmm? The United States is no longer around, and we have no obligation to fight under themand of anyone now. Oh, but you do still have an obligation to your fellow soldiers, you know, the ones you abandoned back there at the military base. They are fighting for the freedoms of the currently oppressed under that American Fascist Regime. 56 snarled. The Brigadier General will be overseeing what to do with you. We can go now and forget all about this unfortunate case. You have no reason to fight for them. Lisas grey eyes darkened as she red at 56. I am not going back with you, not now. They are on American soil too, so, I do have ties here. I am going to save everyone that I can here and start my own life over in the process. I am done with the Hazard Corps., and anything rted to the past. You can go fly off now and not tell whoever that self-proimed Brigadier General you ever saw me. I am MIA at that military base and want to stay that way. 56 raised an eyebrow. Are you sure? I know I cant force you to go, your undoubtedly stronger than me. Though Ive already been ordered to report anything important and you, an advanced cyborg Queen soldier, fits that report. Things might not end well for you. Lisa rolled her eyes. Screw off, 56. I got work to do. Advanced Armament: Stage One. Lisa then turned her back to him and started running back towards the dam. 56 watched her go and sighed to himself as her figure disappear. Shes as stubborn as ever. Still, I dont know what she thinks she will do in such a ce as this. There are much bigger things going on in the world right now other than one measly town getting wiped-out. Besides, if she knew who the Brigadier General was then she might not have resisted. They knew each other really, really well back then. 56 looked up at Dixon floating not that far above and jumped all the way up to him toond on the trailer. Alright Dixon, what do you need me to do? Startled by his sudden return and perplexed as to how he got back up here, Dixon just pointed at the Twisted below. Snipe the big ones and make sure Tammys Mech isnt overwhelmed by the monsters. Lisa! What is going on!? The dam is already full and the people that are stilling Bell is sending them to the north of the dam. Zane yelled at her as he pushed through the crowd now crossing the dam in droves. I wasing out to find you but there are too many peopleing this way. I tried to talk with some of them but its all ramblings and mixed messages. Are there any Twisted out there? Lisa had deactivated her Stage One and was brining up the rear of the fleeing townspeople. Yes, the Twisted will being here any moment. I had killed dozens already before leaving the forest. They already have climbed the cliff and I assume by now the Hunters n is retreating this way from the slope. We need to keep moving these people north out of town all together. Its no longer safe here either. I only regret we wont have time to warn the rest of the town to escape. H-how is this possible? Zane asked not believing her words were true. Monsters have never really attacked this town before. What are we going to do? Lisa shrugged. Everyone that can hold a gun needs to be brought to the powerhouse buildings parking lot. There I will exin what to expect. Everyone else, including those that we saved from the underground factory, needs to run north and not stop. I-Its that bad? Zane asked looking past Lisa towards the woods. Why dont we leave too? We still have time. If we leave, then everything we had done till now would be wasted. The Twisted would probably still chase after us too and we wouldnt have anywhere safe to hide once they caught us. Even if we did lose them, with no food and water, the desert will kill us next. Lisa replied somberly. Then looking up at the Mover Mech Hanna had brought back she gave a faint smile. I do have a n in mind. Its just going to take a lot of guts to pull off. Chapter 214: Dissention Chapter 214: Dissention There was a knock at the door and Jackson looked up from the papers he was working on. Jackson sighed and tossed the paper onto the desktop. Come in. The door swung quickly open and Tio came briskly into the room. Behind him were two red arm banded guards. As all three of them entered Jackson clearly felt the airs that they were putting on to appear tough. They had arrived at thepound early yesterday and they were making their presence known to the lower ranks, especially since the normal big shot lieutenants were not here now. Oh, now this is unexpected. Jackson said raising an eyebrow. What can I do for you, a newly promoted lieutenant? Cut the crap. Tio scoffed. I have got quite the number of questions for you, and I want answers. No games or half-truths. Jackson stood up and straightened his suit. Well, arent you all worked up. I am not sure why but calm down there is no need to act all tough. Ill answer your questions. I am not like Xander or Martinez who like to y around. Tio didnt like the posh, cool, and collected look Jackson always seemed to carry. Like he was better than everyone else around him. Though Tio didnt have any grudge against him specifically, so Tio visibly rxed somewhat and spoke calmer. There are some financial things I need to get straightened out. Particrly the meth factory workers and the serum production. Tio then grabbed the seat in between them and plopped into it. Then I need to ask about a particr rumor drifting about. Hmm, sounds interesting. Lets get to business then. Jackson said with a nod. Tio cleared his throat. Why do we bother working with the Raiders and buy people to work in our meth factory? I understand that we need to buy people for the serum testing, but we could save a lot of money in the long run if we bought machines to process the meth instead. We could even increase the production by thirty percent by my calctions. Ah, a very good question. I am d someone around here was promoted with a brain rattling around inside their head. Jackson answered giving a light grin. Tio saw his expression and sneered. Though he said nothing in the end. Jackson continued. The reason is rather dumb to say the least. The triplets wanted to have some fun with those that were not skilled enough to work and too pretty to be lowly workers. Though I guess you already knew that from what had gone on at the mansion. Tio nodded. Yah, some rather sick stuff happened in that ce. Indeed. Jackson said. Martinez agreed to let them do this, mainly because the triplets were an issue. They always wanted to be the top dog around here and Martinez used their request as a way to keep them distracted. The other reason was the Raiders were and still are a threat to us. However, if we remained customers of theirs and stayed out of their affairs, they wouldnt attack our town. I can understand that. But why are we still doing it? We could fend them off now that we have the numbers and resources. Tio asked. I too asked Martinez that, but he imed Xander, and Rodney were doing surveince of the Skull who were also buying the people. They were hoping to find a way to infiltrate their ranks through this tactic. Jackson said giving a shrug. Now that they attacked the Skull, I am sure we can lessen the trade with the Raiders and buy those machines you want so badly. Good, now we can just focus on the serum production. Tio said giving a satisfied smile. That stuff is going to be making us three times as much money than the meth ever could. I hope so too, but things are not looking good on the outside. Jackson replied pointing down at the paper on his desk. This is a message from the media in Moab City. It states that any international trade and production of serum on the North American continent will now be limited to only the threergest producers of the product. All three countries managed to agree on one deal, even during the precipice of a war between them, and its not a good one for us. You dont mean the Astra Aeronautical Industry, Titanium Technology Corporation, and Silicon Valley AI Robotics Products are now going to be running a monopoly on serum trade? Tio asked. Jackson ced both hands on the desk and hung his head. That is the case. We are going to be getting involved with some dangerous ck-market dealings now that the major countries are monitoring serum trade. Corporations sure do know how to run things and get governments to bow down to them so easily. Tio slouched in his seat. Damn, well then it might have been a problem shipping off all our goods to Moab City then. I had my guys send all the serum and rejects earlier today. No, you probably made the right decision. Jackson said looking back up. The restrictions dont take effect for another month. Our buyer in the Silver District will have to worry about what to do about it then. Until then we can figure out what to do next. Thats good. Tio murmured. Jackson smiled. See, now that wasnt so hard. Asking me things is a breeze. Tio nced crossly at Jackson. Im not finished yet. This rumor I heard, well, it is a bit of a touchy subject to talk about. One that might be the cause of a civil war in our gang. Jacksons smile faded. Tell me. Tio sat up in his seat and cleared his throat once more. I heard that someone is going to try taking over the gang by beating Martinez. A woman by the name of Queen. Any idea what that is all about? I never heard of her before. Jacksons expression darkened further. Care to tell me how you know this? Sure, a red guard from thepound here told me when she was at the factory. She said you knew about this particr rumor and that I should speak to you about it. Tio answered casually. Jackson felt a bit tense. Everyone here at thepound knew who Queen was and that she made a challenging motion at Martinez after she beat the Triplets. However, he knew Tio wasnt all that keen about what took ce in thepound and that the guards at thepound and factory hadnt yet done their monthly switch yet, so there was no way he could have heard the rumor from a normal source. Jackson wetted his lips before speaking. What did this guard look like? He had a hunch, but he had to be sure. I didnt get her name, but she was tall, like taller than Martinez. She was also very vocal to me about how the women were being treated in the meth factory. Which was odd, no one cared before. Tio answered. Jackson sighed heavily and sat down in his own chair. That was Queen herself. She infiltrated your factory already. What? Tio said unsure what Jackson said. Queen was that woman you saw, and she is intending on fighting Martinez. Jackson rified. She is too keen on finding things out about our gang. A person like that is dangerous to leave alone. So, what should we do? I can go back and tighten security on factory. I can even do a sweep of the ce to see if she is still there. Tio said standing up. Jackson waved a hand at him to calm down. There is no need to do that. She probably already aplished her goal, whatever that might have been. You see, she has also been making herself know to the rest of the gang, just as you have been doing today. There is a chance too that she could be a match for Martinez. Tio sat back down. What do you mean? I mean to say that she could be the new leader of the Mad Dogs. Jackson answered giving a shrug. Tio rubbed his chin in thought. I dont think she could pull it off. The rest of the lieutenants wouldnt just let her lead them. Perhaps not, or maybe she could get on their good side. Jackson said picking his words carefully. I wouldnt put it past her that shede up with some way to convince the gang to join her. You really think shes that good? Tio asked. I know she had a strong personality about her when we talked but what could she offer the Mad Dogs that would tame them? Opportunity. Jackson answered and he saw the confused expression appear on Tios brow. I had been keeping tabs on what the gang spends and buys on for longer than anyone else. I assumed we were making a lot of money from the factory, extorting the townspeople, and from the Match Fight betting, however, Queen found a way to make even more money than what we currently are. Also, she found we were wasting our options with this towns resources. Tios face lit up. You mean like putting everyone here to work instead of just letting them roam around in the streets? Jackson looked at Tio questionably. You were thinking the same thing as her? Care to exin your idea? Tio nodded. Instead of just having a single small factory why not arrest everyone in town and have a bunch of factories. With that many people working we could possibly even put those big shot corporations out of the serum business. Jackson sighed. Well, your idea was sort of close to hers. Though its too small. To small? Tio repeated. Yes, to small. Queen is thinking about getting multiple industries working in this town and producing more than just serum. Jackson answered. She seems to have this idea of building some kind of corporation herself and making more than we ever could guess. Tios eyes sparkled. Hmm, more money than we could guess. I dont want to hear any more about this. You are making it sound appealing enough to me that I might agree with her. But I am no traitor to Martinez and will stick with him. Jackson was interested to hear him say that. If he wasnt the only lieutenant to side with Queen if she won, then her taking over the gang and avoiding a civil war was possible. He had to be sure though. What if Queen did beat Martinez? Jackson asked carefully. Im not sure. I would have to see what the others would do. If she can do what she says she can and make us a lot of money it could be worth it. Tio answered. Though seeing Martinez loosing to anyone right now seems impossible. She wont win. I see. Jackson nodded. Well, was that all you wanted to talk about? Tio stood up and turned to leave. Yah, that was all. I am d I got straight answers too. You are a lot less of a snob than I thought. Jackson put on a cross look. Hey, watch yourself. I still out rank you. Whatever. Tio called from the hall as the door closed behind him. Jackson got up immediately after the door to his office closed and hurried out into the side hallway. He went across the hall to another door and opening it found Jerry napping on a couch. He hurried over to the couch and shook Jerry awake. Get up! Jackson shouted. I got work for you. Uh? What is it? Jerry said sleepily. Jackson waited for Jerry to stop rubbing his eyes and pay attention. I want you to go down to the vaults and find the deed to the dam. Then I need you to take it to Queen at the dam. Say to her, This is yours. Good luck. Chapter 215: Not Good Chapter 215: Not Good "Come on Hector, you can keep moving. We are almost there!" The gangster holding onto Hectors arm yelled encouragingly. "You got us this far, so don''t go dying on us now." Hector had been braving the pain since fleeing the stadium but now the arrow that had pierced his left shoulder had worked its way deeper into him. The taste of blood told him that the arrow had punctured his lung. If he took it out now, with no medical help, then he would suffocate on his own blood in no time. That would be the case if the Twisted pursuing them wouldnt eat him first. Hector and those Mad Dogs that had made it out from the stadium were just passing the halfway point between the gorge and thepound. At first, they were being hard pressed by the Twisted and so badly so that they couldnt even make a stand to fend them off. If they stopped, they were near immediately swarmed and devoured. However, as they reached the more residential areas of town the Twisted began to spread out and attack the mostly unaware civilians. Though Hector hated the sight of his townspeople dying and his inability to save them, he ordered the Mad Dogs to set fire to the buildings as they went, just as Martinez had ordered on the walkie-talkie. The only way they could block off the flow of Twisted effectively with the fire was for their force to split up into three groups. Hector was in the middle group and stuck with the residential route that eventually led towards the market area. One group was to head towards the dock to connect the fires burning there with the new ones. The other group was to spread deeper into town and hopefully meet up with Martinezs forces. It was clear to Hector after some time that the fire was doing little to slow the Twisteds advance. The fire did, however, break up the hoard into smaller groups and it was a help to warn and force the townspeople to run away. The townspeople had already been warry of the dock fire and the other fires burning downtown, so when a new fire started spreading they were sure to notice. The only problem was that there was no way to ce the me on the Skull for these fires. Everyone saw the mad Dogs were the culprits. He only hoped that the sight of the Twisted would be enough to sway their feelings to excuse their actions for burning their homes as a Twisted deterrent. I am sorry. Hector thought as he watched a building almost instantly be ingulfed in mes. The long dry rotted wood and peeling siding made for easy tender. This isnt what I wanted to do by joining the Mad Dogs. I wanted to help to protect the town not destroy it. They were now passing through an area that was once a joint strip mall and park. Though the buildings provided more cover it also limited their escape routes. If the Twisted caught them inside it would be a matter of time until their ammo ran out and then subsequently eaten. The park may have been more exposed but the mobility it offered was a much more appealing option. From their right, on the other side of the strip mall, there was a loudmotion of screeches and screams. As soon as it started the sound ended. Whoever the unfortunate soul that was over there was now likely dead. S***! Here theye again. The gangster seethed. I can hear their ws climbing on the rooftops. They must have our scent. P-prop me on that tree and form a perimeter in the park. Hector said weakening. But we cant stop, they will overrun us. The gangster argued, though he was already setting down Hector as he was told. Their numbers have been getting less and less. We have, lets see... Hector said ncing over the men following closely behind. A few others that were leading the way turned back and joined them. We have around eighty of us still here. There should be other splinter groups still nearby too. Lets take on this wave and wipe them out. Hopefully the sound of our shooting will bring those scattered towards us. Wont that just attract more Twisted? The gangster replied as he loosened his blue bandana some from around his neck before pointing his rifle at the rooftop. Its a risk we need to take. Hector said. He then painfully pulled himself upright and bnced the barrel of his rifle on top of his knee. As soon as thest Twisted is dead, fire a pair of triple bursts to notify the others nearby that we won. As soon as the words left his mouth the first Twisted, a Night Hound, stuck its ck elongated head over the roofs edge. The creature let out a warbled yell and it was echoed by another from further away. The Mad Dogs were spotted. Open fire! Hector shouted. The Night Hound was visibly struck as ck, bloody sshes of impact knocked it out of sight. That Night Hound was soon reced by three Logos Cutters that leapt over the roofs edge without hesitation. All the Mad Dogs took aim at them and off from the roof top, this was a mistake. Sure, all three of the Logos Cutters were instantly gunned down but this allowed the rest of the Twisted to look over the edge and spot the humans locations. Then like a waterfall of dark mutated flesh and fur the Twisted poured off the roof to the ground below. The Mad Dogs did their best to kill them, but their numbers were just too great. The Twisted quickly crossed the slim parking lot between the strip mall and the park. Both sides shed briefly and taking heavy damages in the process. The dried grass of the park was quickly painted red and ck with blood as the gunfight drifted into a melee. The entire skirmish took less than a minute and miraculously the Mad Dogs pulled through. The Twisted numbered around two hundred but since the Mad Dogs were prepared to shoot at them the Twisted were defeated. Only a fifth of the Twisted escaped from the area as they made their way back over the strip malls roof. Even though the closebat was disastrous for the Mad Dogs they were a hardy bunch and a few even made it through without a scratch. Firing the pair of triple round bursts the blue bandana gangster returned to Hector. We should move now. It looks like we lost fifteen or so on our side. We didnt kill all of the monsters either, they will lead more here very soon. Alright, lets move. Hector said reaching up to indicate he need help getting up. The blue bandana gangster lifted him up and Hector continued to speak. Once we get two blocks away from here shoot the signal again. Everyone will figure out we are still moving and drift this way. Understood. The blue bandana gangster replied. Hector then coughed and spat some blood. Also, we should move towards the river docks. That way we have one less area to keep watch on and its a straighter path towards thepound. How in the h*** did we survive that? Rile asked from his prone position on the deck of the only barge to escape the Twisted. Dumb luck and skill Id say. Ernest answered from the bow. If the Twisted hadnt been in such a rush to get into the rest of the downtown area they could have taken more of us out. What I dont understand is how they got behind us so easily. He then looked at Calvin who steering the barge. Do you have any idea how? You should have been the first to notice them. Calvin kept looking ahead at the narrow river before him as he spoke. I can only assume they crossed the river somehow. In case you hadnt notice yet the other side is already covered in Twisted. Ernest looked across the river and looking carefully between the buildings he spotted a few inhuman figures running about. It was hard to get a clear look though, for the afternoon wind was picking up and the smoke was starting to turn to go northeastward. The direction the inhuman figures were moving was towards the cliff. As to why, he knew not the exact reason, but from theck of gunfire or screaming he could guess that they were chasing the eastern humans that way. This is so screwed up. Ernest said looking away. We had a n to takeover the town but why did these monsters show up out of nowhere? We were so close. Who can say. Calvin replied. War is often a confusing time. Without intel we may never know. What we do know is that we have half of what forces we brought downtown, and we lost all our artillery in the process. We need to get back to thepound and regroup with the rest. Hey, I am the one calling the shots around here, remember? Ernest snapped. But what you said is correct. Get this bucket of bolts as close to thepound as you can. No telling how far they spread already. Though guessing by the fires spreading in the town Id say they are not even halfway yet. I guess one of the bright sides of this is the Skull have nowhere to run. Rile said sitting up to look towards the downtown area. Maybe the Twisted will kill them all for us and all we need to do is wait for the Twisted to leave. That is if they do leave. Calvin added. If I remember right, the Twisted almost never leave survivors in the ces they invade. Ernest scoffed. In any case, all we need to do is get back to thepound and resupply. Then we will show these stupid beasts that it was a mistake to take us on. They are all a bunch of small monsters and from the number I killed by hand, they are not all the tough. I hope you are right. Calvin said. There are bigger kinds of Twisted out there in the world, but we had only seen the little ones so far. Perhaps we can beat them. Then something on the westside of the town caught Calvins attention. Peering at the source of the movement he saw that it was a man waving at them. Calvin pointed at him, Who is that on the edge of the dock? Is he one of ours? Ernest ced a hand over his eyes to block the sun. The man had on a grey arm band and a gun in hand. A sure sign he might indeed be one of them. A momentter Ernest saw a second man join him. This time the second man had a red arm band. They were Mad Dogs. It looks like they are. Ernest said lowering his hand. Go ahead and pull up to His words were interrupted when an outburst of gunfire sounded out from beyond the docks. The two waving men turned around to go back when a pair of Night Hounds jumped onto their path to attack. Those on the barge saw the four have a brief struggle and after a lot of screaming and gunfire only the red arm banded man was left. A secondter the rest of the surviving Mad Dogs came out onto the dock, about fifty in all. Should we pull over and help them? Calin asked. No. Ernest said tly. But they are on our side. Rile countered. If we go over there, we could get attacked and loose the barge in the process. Ernest said before turning away from the docks. We are going to leave them to the hands of luck and get back to thepound. Those that make it back will be worth saving, no need to save the weaklings. Keep going Calvin. Thats wrong. We should save them. Rile continued. We are all on the same side! I dont care. If you want to help them so bad jump overboard and help them shoot. Ernest replied going back to his spot on the bow. Rile chewed his lip as he watched the Mad Dogs on the docks. This isnt right. We should be saving our won and stick together. Then he heard another warbling cry of a Night Hound and the Mad Dogs on the docks scattered back into the town. Its toote now I guess. Our situation right now is not good! Chapter 216: Unprepared Chapter 216: Unprepared The banks vault was quiet as dust flittered everywhere while Jerry went from one of the numerous file cabs to the next. Jerry was normally alone when he was tasked to do something by Jackson and being sent to the vaults to find some papers was no exception. Because of this he would often speak to himself out of habit. Lets see, the dam was called, Maple Valley Dam, so it should be in this file. He opened the file and found two official, decorative looking papers that had on them the words: Deed and Registration. Not knowing much about what these documents rified or if they were exactly what Jackson wanted, so Jerry chose just to take the entire file folder with him back to Jackson. If he had gotten the wrong papers all he needed to do wase back. After all, it didnt seem like that much of an important task. Leaving the bank vault Jerry headed for the hallway connecting the bank and Warehouse Arena and as he got halfway across, he heard yellinging from up ahead. Though he couldnt make out what was being said. Getting closer he realized the voices belonged to Jackson and Tio. Stepping out into the Warehouse Arenas hallway by the betting booths Jerry listened to them now being only a few steps away. I dont know what to do. Martinez is going to be furious! Tio eximed. You are the only other lieutenant here right now and I need a second option. Let me get this straight, one of the guards from the factory just got here and told you that all the workers have disappeared overnight? There was no sign of forced entry or escape either? Jackson asked. Yes, that and the cameras were all out ofmission as well. Plus, the guards on duty that night in the halls said that nothing was out of the ordinary. Tio said nervously. Jackson rubbed his hand through his ck and white striped hair and exhaled heavily. So, you have no information at all. Only that everyone is missing. Are you sure there was nothing different about the workers or the buildings structure? Well, the guard did say that there was a symbol painted on the floors of the rooms the men and women were being kept in. Tio said after a moments thought. Why didnt you say so earlier. Jackson sighed once again. Did they recognize the symbol? Tio shook his head. No, it was nothing rted to any gangs in or outside the town that we know of. It was a just a simple tiara. A tiara Jackson rubbed his chin. Oh, I think I see what has happened and its actually a good thing for you, sort of. Tio rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Tell me what it is! The disappearance of the workers was Queens doing. Jackson answered. Tio shifted ufortably from his tiptoes to heels once. How can you be so sure? Even if it was her, how does that help me? Well, for starters we assume that the woman you spoke with in the factory was Queen herself. Meaning she already knew where those people were being kept. Next, we know Queen is gearing up to fight with Martinez. She only needs to earn a valid reason to get him mad enough to get him to challenge her. Stealing valuable assets and crippling our sources of ie is an easy way to do so. Jackson said before patting Tios shoulder. As for you, you and Rodney were both not the factory at the same time, Branch was. Queen was probably watching over the area for theck of leadership to happen before making her move. You can shift most of the me onto Branch and leave yourself out of most of the ridicule. Tio was about to speak, but Jackson cut him off. Im not finished yet. Tio crossed his arms and Jackson continued. You were probably going to say we should confront Queen ourselves before Martinezes back, right? Tio nodded slowly and Jackson resumed. This is a bad idea for several reasons. One is that I know for a fact Queen is a skilled fighter. We would be outmatched, and all the decent fighters are out dealing with the Skull. Two is that this would make for a bad impression with Queen if she did happen to beat Martinez. We dont know what she is really like or capable of doing nor what her ns are. So, messing with a contending leader is a bad idea. The third issue would be if we did confront her and then loose. Martinez would be doubly furious and put a bad name on our gangs reputation as a whole, not just for ourselves. We should just let Martinez decide what to do with the situation and go from there. Tio was silent for a moment. You make it sound like letting this insult go would be a good thing. Basically I am. Jackson said giving a grin. Um, boss? Jerry said stepping up to Jackson. Oh, Jerry. I didnt know you were there. Jackson said ncing at Jerry. I got the papers you asked for. These are them, right? Jerry said handing the folder over. Jackson opened the file and nodded approvingly. Yes, these are the right papers. Go ahead and deliver them. Jerry took the folder and hurried off without so much as a word. Jerrys head was down, and he was moving at more of shambling pace which was not really like a run or walk either, just something bumbling in between. The two lieutenants watched him go curiously. Is he always like that? Tio asked. Pretty much. Hes an odd, weak fellow but he gets the job done, most of the time. Jackson answered. I see. Well, anyway about what to say too Tio started to ask but they were interrupted as a shout from the Warehouse Arenas entrance drew their attention. Looking up, the two of them saw that it was Rodney and his two dogs Zeus and Cooper. All three of them looked worn out and like they had just finished running a marathon. Jackson motioned for Tio to follow, and they headed for Rodney. Rodney, what seems to be the problem? Jackson called as they closed the distance. Rodney looked up from resting his hands on his knees and still breathing heavily issued out his warning. G-get everyone ready to fight. I am only just barely ahead of Martinez and the others, so we dont have much time left. What is going on? Tio asked. Did we loose to the Skull? Worse, far worse. Rodney answered still breathing heavily. As we were fighting, Ernest called on the radio to Xander saying monsters were attacking them. At first, we thought he was just talking about the Skull, but then the Skull sent a signal saying that there was danger from the area Ernest was fighting at. Both Hugo and Ernest called again and this time they said Twisted were attacking, hundreds of them. Twisted? You got to be joking. Jackson said giving a chuckle. Those beasts have never attacked the town before. I wish that were true, but I saw them myself. Rodney replied coldly. Jacksons smile faded as Rodney exined. We were retreating toe back here and when we got about halfway, we were suddenly nked by at lest a dozen of the nasty creatures. Night Hounds if I am not mistaken. We were burning the town buildings as we retreated, Ill exin that another time, and as such we were spread out. In that first attack we killed them all, but then they just kepting anding! We fought like h*** to get back here ever since. From the time we left the Skull to when we got here, we had lost a third of our numbers to just the Twisted hoard in mere hours. The Skull hadnt even inflicted that much damage to our forces the entire time we fought. Jackson gulped nervously. So, what is the next move then? Rodney looked around at the empty warehouse market. I assume no one from the outside is here or getting ready for a Match Fight? Jackson nodded. Yes, no one else is here. Good. Rodney replied standing up straight. Get this announced on thepounds inte. Have every single Mad Dogs we got that can hold a gun mobilized, all the ammo we have left brough out of storage, and to start manning the metal wall towers. Tell them to shoot anything not human. Tio, you know how to do that. Go ahead and make the announcement. Jackson said pointing towards Xanders ss security booth. I will help Rodney get everything out here organized. Once you get done, head straight for the ammo supplies and make sure everything gets cleared out. As Tio hurried to go, Jackson turned back to Rodney. What are we going to do? Try hiding in here until the Twisted go away? No, we need to fight. Rodney said turning to go back outside and Jackson followed him. The Twisted could climb over buildings and these walls will be only able to slow them down. Once everyone is inside thepound, we will block the entrances up and try picking them off as they climb up the walls. If they do manage to breach the walls, everyone else will be ready on the ground for them. We can also get as many snipers as possible on the three buildings roof tops to support the men on the ground. Sound good to me. Jackson answered. Just then Tio sounded the rm and started announcing the situation to those within thepound. Ill go ahead to the far side of thepound and work with the men there. You can handle the othersing from the dorms out back and get ready to receive the Mad Dogs on their way in. The two split up and Jackson was about to pass by the water fountain when he remembered something, Jerry! Jerry was already outside of thepound and on his way to the dam. If the Twisted found him, he wouldnt stand a chance. Jackson hesitated and looked at thepounds exit nearby. Should I go after him? He couldnt have gotten far. Then Tios announcement started repeating itself and a few Mad Dogs started to show up on the courtyard. Hes going to the dam and thats the opposite direction Martinez and the Twisted areing from, so there shouldnt be any danger over there. Besides Lisa is there too and she can protect him, I hope. Are you serious? Hugo said breaking out into a bloody cough. You saw Ernest on the barge, and he passed right by you? That is right. The gangster replied. We were on the dock waving to him for help, but the boat didnt even turn our way. He was even looked right at us and chose to outright abandon us. That kid has gotten on myst nerves. Hugo growled. Once I am better, I am going to beat his a**. The crack of gunfire rippled out across the river, which was soon followed by the sound of Twisted warbles and screeches. The Twisted were closing in from behind again, though now the gang was in a much better position. By the time had Hugo arrived at the river, the Mad Dogs forces doubled to nearly two hundred. His n had worked to get the scattered gang back together. Come on Hugo, its time we keep moving. The blue bandana gangster said shouldering the wounded lieutenant. You were right abouting this way. It has been a safer route. Hugo grunted in both pain and agreement. I just hope we can make it to thepound in time. If the Twisted keep following us like this, they might cut us off from the way back to thepound entirely. What if they do? The blue bandana gangster asked cautiously. Looking up with tired eyes at the east side of town. The smoke was thick now and he could barely make out the far shoreline. Then Hugo nced at the dam. We might have to cross over to the other side of town on the dam and try hiding there. Though if we keep talking like this, we wont make it to either ce. Pick up the pace, Im not dead yet! Chapter 217: A Ditch Effort (1) Chapter 217: A Ditch Effort (1) After Hanna drove the Mover Mech back to the dam and parked it right next to the river, John grabbed her arm and led her through the ustrophobic mass of townspeople crossing over the dam. The masses were going north along the river as Bell, Mr. nigan, and others were directing them that way in an attempt to escape the town. However, John took Hanna and headed south. Both knew that they had to find Mary and the others right away and get them to escape before the defenses at the dam broke. Just before John and Hanna left the dam and entered the town below, John noticed that the fires burning in the town were much closer. Though he didnt have time to wonder why for a distant rumbling from the baby Hoard Mother spurred him to speed up. Hanna was having trouble keeping up, but she did her best to follow. The two of them hadnt gone more than three intersections when they were passed by others hurrying northwards. At first it was only couples, or small family units and John assumed it was just a coincidence. Then the small groups turned into sizeable crowds and the pace of their numbers increasing worried John. Are the fires really that bad or have the Twisted reached this side of town already? John wondered to himself. I hope not. If the Twisted have invaded then Mary and the others might have already left the house and if that is true, we might not find each other in time! John looked back to check on Hanna and saw that she was starting to get separated from him in the thickening crowd. Come on Hanna, grab on to my hand. O-ok. Hanna answered reaching out to hold his hand. As she grasped Johns hand, she felt that his hand was twice as big as hers and the callouses covering most of the hand were rough and tough. But even though his hand was so much bigger and stronger, it was shaking, like John was afraid. Hanna looked up at him and saw the tense expression on his face, John was indeed afraid. This was the first time she had ever seen John fearful and this new emotion on a normally calm, stern face made her ufortable. We will make it in time, Mr. Weathers. Hanna said softly, not only tofort him but tofort herself too. John didnt look back as he guided their way through the pressing crowd. I hope we do. A few minutes went by before they arrived at their cul-de-sac. Everything looked normal so far and nothing seemed out of ce. As they started running towards Mr. Weathers house, they spotted Benny calmly sitting on his porch. Hey, what is the rush you two? Benny called to them. Benny, get ready to leave, now! Take anything of value you can carry and bring your shotgun too. John shouted without stopping on the way to his house. I have no time to exin, but the entire town is already evacuating. Tell Richard and Joan for me too! Benny didnt say a word. He just jumped up and disappeared into his house. Even he hadnt seen John this frightened, not since their years together as cops. John burst into through the front door and called out, Mary! Mary, we need to leave the town! Mary was in the kitchen cleaning something when she heard him. Poking her head around the corner of the kitchen wall to look at him she asked, What is it? Has something happened? Yes, something terrible! John answered breathing heavily from their run over here. He then hurried towards the stairs and Mary followed curiously after him. Lisa and the ERM are doing what they can to stop them, but the Twisted Hoard is too strong. I think the Twisted might be on this side of the river as well. The town is already in a panic and fleeing north. We need to leave now, or it will be toote. Twisted Hoard? Dear, what are you talking about? Mary asked. Hanna watched them go up the stairs and disappear down the hall. She could hear their voices as John exined the situation. However, she herself didnt know what to do now that they were back home. Her dull green eyes wandered around the house until they settled on the safe John kept his pistol in. I think I should take that gun with me. Hanna thought. I cant protect myself from monsters like Lisa can and I cant always rely on everyone else to protect me too. Cautiously she nced upstairs but the Weathers still sounded distant. She then tiptoed over to the safe. Taking a moment to clear her thoughts Hanna recalled thebination she had seen John use and entered it. She pulled back hesitantly when the lock clicked loudly, but she tossed her hesitance aside and opened the door. The pistol was there along with one spare, loaded magazine. Here goes nothing. Hanna said to herself as she grabbed the pistols handle. She then tucked it into the back of her jeans, just as she had seen John do, and shoved the extra clip into her pocket. Hanna? Marys voice called out. Hanna nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to see Marying around the corner to enter the living room. Hanna, go fill this backpack with clothes. We need to leave in five minutes. A-alright. Hanna stammered nervously. She took the backpack and thought to herself, Whew that was close. I thought she caught me! John was about to pass by Hanna on the stairs when he stopped her. Hanna after you pack, go find your friends by the stream and tell them to go back to their families and warn them of the danger. Make sure to say they need to run north. If you see anything remotely dangerous head back here without a second thought, ok? I will do that. Hanna replied. She then tugged at the back of her purple shirt nervous that he might notice the pistol. Good. John said patting her shoulder as he then started down the stairs. Mary and I will go make sure Richard, Joan, and Benny are getting prepared to leave. We will head your way before heading north. Hanna left the Weathers house running as fast as she could to warn her friends. Hanna dashed along the dirt worn path and jumped across the first ditch far faster than she had ever done before. If they were to be attacked by the Twisted Hanna wouldnt know what to do. Other than Lisa and the Weathers, her friends were really all she had left in the world. Soon she arrived within sight of therge oak tree and y area. She was relieved to see that not only were her friends there, but some of the parents were either just arriving to im their kids or already leaving with them. Hanna then got the idea that they might not know where to escape too and that John had told her to tell them to go north out of town. Hey, wait everyone! Hanna called out as she waved towards them. A few of the parents and kids looked back at her and she continued. Everyone, you need to escape north out of town, Mr. Weathers said its the safest route. Hanna, what are you talking about? ir asked. The fire is not that bad yet. Hanna jumped thest ditch effortlessly and finished running towards her friends. Its not the fire I am talking about. Its the Twisted! What game are you ying. Kirk, irs father, scolded. Go home. We dont have time for this. Come on ir. I am not ying! Hanna yelled and she grabbed Kirks arm. There really are Twisted in the town! We all need to leave town right now and go north. If you dont believe me, Mr. Weathers will be here any moment and he will prove I am telling the truth! Kirk hesitated and so did a few other of the parents. Just then Mrs. Goldsberry arrived, and Jillian ran over to her and repeated what Hanna had said. I did hear something about monsters near the fires from some people passing by not too long ago. Mrs. Goldsberry announced. Everyone turned to look at her curiously, Mrs. Goldsberry wasnt known to be someone that would make something up. I am not sure they were talking about Twisted though. Something more like the fight between the Mad Dogs and Skull was the cause for the fires and they were monsters for spreading the mes further into town. Kirk turned back to Hanna. Is that what you were talking about? The gang war and not actual monsters? Hanna shook her head violently and a tear started to breech her dull green eyes. No! I am talking about the Twisted! There are hundreds of monsters on their way here, right now, and we need to leave! Look, we need to get ready to deal with these fires before they reach our house. Kirk sighed disbelievingly. We dont have the time to listen to your stories. But they are not stories! Hanna pleaded. I am telling the truth! A mans voice finished loudly for her. Turning around Hanna saw that John had arrived and with him were Benny, Richard, and Joan. All four of them were carrying loaded back packs and guns. John cleared his throat and urgently told the news. Hearing him say these things everyone started to panic, but John calmed them down right away. I have a solution and we need to act now before its tote. Hurry home, get what you can carry, and meet with us on the road in fifteen minutes. We all need to escape town together. Almost everyone is inside! A gangster called from above on the metal wall tower. As soon as thest person enters, shut the gate! Martinez shouted. What have we got for ammo? I am all out already. Those f****** Twisted are everywhere! We emptied everything from storage and brought it here to be distributed. Tio answered right away. Martinez grabbed a loaded magazine angrily. Those monsters are going to be here any moment and I refuse to let them get in here. I dont want to see a single person not fighting. We all are in this together and if I spot anyone trying to run away, Ill shoot you myself! Well, so much for a motivational speech. Jackson thought as he looked at the already worn-out gang members. Their spirits are already low enough. I am going up top to shoot first. Ernest called out. Ernest and his group from the barge had arrived back at thepound first. Traveling on the river with nothing attacking them was much quicker than being on foot. Martinezs forces were not far behind them though and hot on their heels was the Twisted. Gunfire from the gangsters acting as the rear guards were now only a street away. Jackson, get a head count and start spreading them out around the walls perimeter. Martinez order. We cant let them get behind us in here. Already working on it. Jackson replied. Rodney is also reading snipers on the roof tops as we speak. The Twisted are in sight! Ernest called down. He then turned back and took aim with a rifle he had grabbed from below. They areing straight for the gate now and it looks like they are swinging towards the eastern side of thepound. Ernest then shot a few rounds at a Night Hound chasing a gangster as he ran for the gate. The Night Hound reeled back to fall dead as Ernest sted its chest open. Following his lead, the other gangsters atop the wall opened fire. The street was filled with a racket of screeches and ricocheting bullets in moments. Is everyone inside? Martinez called up from the gates entrance to Ernest. Ernest stopped shooting and looked around at the streets below. He was about to confirm that all were nearly inside when a movement from the road leading to the rivers direction caught his eye. Focusing his attention on it, Ernest saw that it was arge group of Mad Dogs hurrying towards thepound. Leading them was Hugo. Ernest smiled wickedly and thought to himself. It looks like if we waited a few moments, they might make it here in time, but why would I do that? Ha-ha, with Hugo out of the way I would get promoted! Letting the Twisted do all the dirty work for me is the perfect cover. Ernest looked back at Martinez and shouted. Everyone is inside. Close the gate! Chapter 218: A Ditch Effort (2) Chapter 218: A Ditch Effort (2) Are you really sure that Twisted are here in the town? irs father Kirk asked once more. John nodded while gazing straight ahead. I cant be more serious. They are here. John wanted to avoid going north with the neighborhood families because it took them too close to the dam, but going the other directions was foolish. To the east was the river and where the Twisted hade from. The south was currently burning down, and the dreaded Skull were just beyond the wall of mes. To the west of town was nothing but empty desert for miles on end and they would not survive out there for long. If they managed to pass by the dam in time and get ahead of the Twisted then his goal was to get everyone to the next closest, safe town, Grand Junction. As soon as they left the neighborhood the group was immediately engulfed by a steady stream of people fleeing along with them. John was concerned, not just for the numbers of people moving, but for the direction they all were going in, north. Listening carefully to the people as they passed by Johns fears were only heightened. He only caught bits and pieces of conversation but the repeated use of, fire, monsters, Twisted, anding this way, were a clear indicator that the Twisted may be on both sides of the river. Thinking carefully, it seemed now odd to him that therger part of town was not the first area to be attacked. The sheer numbers of Twisted and the ferocity of the baby Hoard Mother was more than enough to take over the entire town. Johns mind wandered as he tried to think of a reason. So why were they just on the east side? Could it be that there was no suitable area for the Hoard Mother to cross at or was the east side just where they first arrived at? Then he remembered the fires. Perhaps the fire was slowing the Twisted down too and we had just been lucky so far? There then came a sudden scream from far behind them. John looked back to see that his worries were confirmed, the Twisted were indeed here! The crowd surged forward like a wave in the ocean as everyone from the back tried to run. However, the streets were to narrow and those in front, unaware of the danger behind them, were too slow to move. The screams and wails of the unfortunate only grew more numerous and terrifying. Then, from the building behind and to the left of John and Hannas group there came a loud warbling scream. Looking up everyone saw that it was a Night Hound perched on the buildings edge! ir and Jillian were closest to Hanna at that moment and the two of them screamed as they clung to Hanna tightly. As if queued by the two girls screaming everyone else on the road panicked and tried running in all directions. The Night Hound let out another warbling scream and then it leapt off the building and into the crowd below. Itnded on an unfortunate woman and sunk its massive, serrated jaws into her stomach. This led to even further mayhem as people fled for their very lives. Stick near me! John shouted as he reached back and grabbed Hannas hand. The other two other girls held onto Hanna and formed a chain as John led the way through the crowd. Everyone else from their neighborhood group was also just as panicked as the rest f the crowd but seeing John remaining calm and still moving forward to the north, they all followed. John made a beeline towards an old restaurant he already knew to be empty and entered it. Once inside he didnt stop moving but headed for the exit in the kitchen on the other end of the building. The exit led to an alley that waspletely empty to both north and south directions. Benny, Richard! John called. You two stay at the rear and keep your guns at the ready. On it! Benny answered and he pumped his shotgun once to ensure that it was loaded. Everyone else move ahead of me and Ill do a headcount. John continued. We wont leave anyone behind. The screams and chaos from the streets grew steadily more terrifying as John counted a total of forty-seven people in the alley. More than he had expected to follow him, but John known all of them for years and wanted them to be safe too. He then made his way to the front of the group and pulled out his pistol from the back of his pants. Alright, from here on out everyone be quiet and only speak if you see danger. Just dont yell when you do. It will attract more Twisted to us. John said in a forced whisper. No sooner than had he said this when the sound of Bennys shotgun sted out. From above them on the roof came tumbling down a Logos Cutter. Its ck bloodied bodynded wetly at Mrs. Goldsberrys feet. She then sped both hands over her mouth as she stifled a scream. Sorry maam. Benny whispered. Sorry to you too, John. Hurry, lets move before the otherse! John said turning to run through the alley. The group had to zigzag through the debris that were piled haphazardly about, and it made for slow going. Even though the debris was slowing them down it ended up inadvertently helping them too. The sound of Bennys gunfire did attract the Twisted. But when several Logos Cutters and Night Hounds swarmed the area of the sounds origin, they only found the body of the dead Logos Cutter. They didnt stick around for long, the screams of humans in the streets and their unabated hunger drew them to return to the hunt. When John and the others reached the end of the alley, they found themselves on the far side of the market area. All thaty ahead of them were a few streets of businesses and storehouses, the dam, and finally the northern wilderness. John looked both ways before running across the road to see a lot of people around but far less than before. He was about to run out to lead the way when an uncountable number of gunshots riddled the air. The cause was many armed individualsing down the road towards them. Looking briefly at them and seeing their markings John cursed his misfortune, they were Mad Dog gangsters. The Mad Dogs were not onlying their way, but they were being chased by Twisted in numbers even greater than those attacking the people in the previous streets! Quick, run as fast as you can! We need to stay ahead of the gangsters if we want to make it out of here! John yelled back before sprinting out into the street. I am going to kill that brat as soon as I get my hands on him! Hugo shouted before breaking out into another fit of coughing. Ernest saw using and they still closed the gates on us. Hugo and the others hade to a stop in the middle of the street when thepounds gates close just ahead of them. They then watched with dismay as the Twisted Hoard swarmed the metal walls and started encircling the perimeter. At first the Twisted tried to find a way inside on ground level, but there was no such ce to be found. Then being attracted to the gangsters shooting at them from the guard towers, the Twisted started to climb. The pining of the Twisteds ws puncturing the metal as they climbed was like rain drops striking a metal roof during a downpour. The defending gangsters shooting never stopped once and the bodies of the Twisted were knocked from the walls in droves. The sight reminded Hugo of Fall leaves tumbling to the ground. It was truly a sight to behold. Should we try to go around to the back entrances? The blue bandana gangster asked. No, we are going to cross the dam. Hugo replied through gritted teeth. Look, the Twisted ahead spotted us. Sure enough, a group of Twisted was already breaking away from those assaulting thepound and were now charging their way. The gangsters started to turn back when the Twisted that had been chasing them since the stadium rounded the street corner ahead. They were about to be pinched from both ends. Go down that narrow road heading north! Hugo shouted. The gangsters readily obeyed. The road already had several towns people ahead of them and so they knew this route would be safe to take for the moment. They had only gone a block when the first of the Twisted caught up to their tired forces. Turn and shoot a volley! Hugo ordered. Responding immediately all the gangsters stopped running, turned, and fired. The nearest twisted were mowed down instantly. Those that were not killed right away jumped onto the nearby buildings walls or into the gaps between building to avoid being shot. This gave the gangsters some breathing room. When they turned back to keep running, they were bewildered to see arge group of townspeople had appeared and now were impeding their route of escape. Every one of the people in this group was carrying their belongings which further slowed them. This group was none other than John and the rest. Push by them and keep heading for the dam! Hugo shouted. John heard him say that and looked ahead up hill at the powerhouse building that had nowe into view. They must think that its safe to cross there, but its not. In fact, it is even more dangerous to go there. Should I warn them? Then he remembered that Lisa was still going to be there guiding the eastern townspeople across the dam. If the Mad Dogs saw her doing this, they might try to get in her way and make the situation worse. He had to decide fast for the desperate gangsters were about to pass them. Wait! Dont go to the dam. John called to them without slowing down. Why is that? Hugo yelled back. He was kind of surprised to hear a warning from someone not affiliated with the gang. The Twisted are already on the other side of the dam and trying to cross over. John replied between breaths. Hugo nced up hill at the dam and he took note of the barbwire fence that ran around the property. I think we will go that way anyway. What, no, its not safe! John replied anxiously. I hear gun shotsing from there and that means help. Hugo replied sounding just as winded from running as John was. We wont be able to outrun these monsters. Joining up with other armed people is our only hope now! It was then John notice the gunfireing from the dam and that could only mean the Twisted had arrived there. John looked back at the terrified neighborhood group and the exhausted gangsters, and he knew Hugo was probably right. Going north now was going to be impossible. They were going to have to pin all their hopes on Lisa and the dams defenses. Chapter 219: No Going Back Chapter 219: No Going Back "Get that spool rolling faster and keep the zigzag pattern as tight as you can! Lisa yelled from atop her perch on the damskeside wall. Tayvon and Willis were once again charged with moving the electric wire spool across the dams road. They had no idea as to why, only that Lisa had made them do it. After seeing so many people fleeing the from the eastern part of town they didnt question her one bit. Yin, I need you and your nonbatants to be ready to distribute the ammo and reload magazines right now. Lisa continued as she turned to look back at the powerhouse buildings sliding door entrance. Start unboxing all the ammo now and figure out who goes to help out where. I-I will try! Yin squeaked both nervous and excitedly. She then hurried about with a dozen others, mainly women, to do as Lisa wanted. Bell, are thest of the people from the east part of town gone out from the dam tunnel and the immediate area? Lisa yelled towards the western perimeter gate. They are gone. There are a lot of peopleing from the south on this side of town though. Their numbers keep rising but I am not sure why. Bell called back. Ok, assign a lookout to keep an eye on the situation. Lisa answered. Then thinking to herself, That better not be what I think is going on. If the Twisted are on that side too, I worry we might end up getting sandwiched by the Hoard on two fronts. Then there is John and Hanna, they went back that way to get Mary and the others. I hope they are alright and escaping north by now. She then shook her head to clear her thoughts and focus on the issue at hand. Looking up at the green roof of the powerhouse building she called out, Zane, are you in ce yet? Zane was just then taking off thest box of .50cal sniper ammo from Gillians hover bike. He set it down on the green roofs second level, just below the busted-out skylight, and called back, All set, just need toy into position. Good, you will be targeting therger Twisted and those that seem like trouble. Be sure to aim for the head or eyes. Nowhere else seems to be affective. Lisa added. Dixon, how much time do we have? Dixon raised his watch tomunicate with Party Badger and a momentter her replied with a somber expression. Party Badger says that at any second they will be breaking past her. She cant hold them off anymore. He stopped and listened to another message from his watch. Sam just told me the baby Hoard Mother might being into view and that is where the main swarm of monsters are located! Lisa looked back across the dam to see the white head of the baby Hoard Mother high above the tree line. Its three pairs of red eyes were angrily watching Party Badger shooting at the Twisted encircling itself. Party Badger was doing her best to swing her sword at the smaller Twisted with one hand so that she would not be overrun by the them as they tried shing at her legs and trying to get onto her main body. Party Badger was also using her other hand to shoot at therger Twisted, however, her attention was too scattered for her to aim properly and many of her bullets ended up being blocked by the Land Octopus. The Land Octopuss were acting as the vanguard for the hoard and protecting the in Striders and baby Hoard Mother from getting hurt with their hardening technique. This was also the main reason for the hoards slow advance and why the humans we able to escape across the dam so easily. The smaller Twisted too didnt stray faraway from the baby Hoard Mothers sight. It seemed that the baby Hoard Mother was being warry of the woods around her and keeping an eye out for humans that may have been hidden within. Party Badger stopped moving backwards for one moment as she reached the woonds edge. There was a Night Hound that had managed to climb onto her back, and it was gnawing at the back cover of her left shoulders rotator cuff. The Night Hounds bite must have been triggering a warning to notify Tammy inside and cause her to focus on removing the threat instead of retreating. The baby Hoard Mother saw this as its chance. Letting out a rumbling roar the neck of the massive white baby Hoard Mother started to quickly stretch outwards at the Hunter Mech. The gaping double mouths of the monsters alligator like head chomped down onto the Mechs leg and groin area at the same time, affectively stopping the Mech from moving. Party Badger responded by wriggling her Mechs body from side to side in an attempt to break free. The light metal armor of the Hunter Mech groaned in response and tear some as the Hoard Mothers teeth dug deeper into the machine. Frustrated, Party Badger tried to shoot at the elongated neck, but the baby Hoard Mother quickly hardened its body. The bullets were able to some damage the beast as numerous holes appeared along the neck, but only a little blood oozed out from each hit. The skin of the baby Hoard Mother was formidable already, but not imprable like its adult form. Sam saw all this and acted fast by flying over top of the core of the Twisted. Reaching into his satchel he pulled out an Armadillo buster bomb, armed it, and threw it down at the main body of the baby Hoard Mother. There was a tremendous boom that irrupted atop of the baby Hoard Mothers scaly torso which was soon followed by a huge puff of fire and smoke. The wounded Twisted let go of the Hunter Mech with an agonizing wail! Its neck recoiled as the huge monster staggered about. However, as the smoke cleared every hopeful eye watching the fight unfold was frustrated to see that the bomb had only seared off the scaly skin and some flesh right between its shoulder des. Seeing their leader hurt, a Land Octopus attacked Sam with its long, ck, and red extending arms. Sam was being warry of this kind of response and he was already flying far overhead to outpace the Octopuss reach. Likewise, another Land Octopus started to use its suction cupped arms to climb on top of the baby Hoard Mother and shield the exposed area with its own body until the baby Hoard Mother skin regenerated. Party Badger saw what its intentions were and took aim at the wounded baby Hoard Mothers back. Bursting out from the woods to her left, a in Strider that had been sent ahead of time by the baby Hoard Mother, tackled the Hunter Mech with its horns. The Hunter Mech fired as it was toppled over by the impact. None of the bullets found their mark. The in Strider started to pound and headbutt at the Hunter Mech pined to the ground beneath itself with it massive horns. Party Badger lifted her sword and tried to block the blows as best she could, but it was a loosing battle. The situation was looking dire for her when a stream of bullets struck the in Striders head causing the Twisted to back away from the Mech. Dixon had left the powerhouse building and was now joining the fray. Get out of here Tammy! Dixon called over the inte. Act like you are running away and hide in the woods nearby. Wait for Lisas signal and do exactly what we discussed before. The Party Badger started to rise back to its feet using the sword as a crutch. There were numerous areas of crushed armor, torn coverings, and several spots where wires were sticking out. The Hunter Mech was in bad shape. However, as soon as she got to her feet Party Badger swatted at the in Strider with her sword. The counterattack struck the Twisteds kneecap and it crumpled to the ground. Fine! Tammys voice wined. I cant believe that I was being beaten so badly by these monsters. I have fought way worse monsters! You were never good at defending, attacking is what suits you best, but never mind that. Dixon answered. Just start running. Lisa watched as the Hunter Mech lumbered off into the woods by theke before turning to address those that had chosen to stay. Zane, Sadie, Bell, Mr. Hans, Yin, Gillian, Nathan, Tayvon, Willis, Eva, Wayne, Jacob, Mr. Yates, Dan, Jennifer, Henry, and Orin were among the nearly two hundred people that were brave enough to stay at the dam and fend off the Twisted. There were people from the East River Militia, escapees from the underground factory, and other areas of town that had alle together to fight for amon goal. All were armed and ready to protect the town, their home, that they loved. We dont have much time. Lisa started to say as an angry sounding rumble came from the baby Hoard Mother. We need to stop them here, at the dam, with everything we got. If all goes ording to my n, we can dy the Twisted just long enough to give our friends and families escaping to the north time to get away. I am proud to see so many of you willing toy your life on the line to help. You all remind me of the soldiers I used to fight alongside of, and this makes me so proud! As she spoke to the crowd her grey eyes wondered from person to person. Everyone looked to be a mixture of scared, tense, worried, angry, or excited. Even Jerry was eagerlying forward to the front of the crowd. Wait, Jerry?! Stopping right in the middle of her encouraging speech, Lisa pointed at Jerry who had appeared out of nowhere. What are you doing here? Jerry seemed to not be fully aware of the situation. He had only just entered the powerhouse buildings property moments ago and he hadnt seen the Twisted across the river yet either. All he could see was those crowding around Lisa and knew he had to give her the deeds file. Jerry finisheding up to Lisa and lifted the yellow file to her. Here you go, this is for you. Jackson also says, Good luck. Totally confused by what he was doing, Lisa curiously took the folder and opened it. Scanning the contents quickly Lisa slowly smiled and began tough a little. Herughter suddenly got the better of her and she began to shake withughter. Everyone watching this shifted uneasily unsure what was happening. Ah, I am sorry everyone. Lisa said pulling herself together. Her smile was a refreshing sight as she spoke. We defiantly cant lose and there is no going back now! This paper now gives me full control of the dam and the power it produces. We can not only just hold back the Twisted, let uspletely destroy them! The future of this town and our livelihoods is going to be assured and bright if we win. Lets get ready to battle! The unexpected announcement from Lisa and what she might be referring too was hard to process at first. They all were expecting a hard battle to the end and the prospects of a bright future was not something they were expecting to think about. But one by one everyone lifted their fists into the air and cheered. They were all given an odd sense of hope. That is until the sounds of Twisted screeches, warbles, and roarsing from the dam brought their excitement to an end. Lisa turned to look at the hoard as the first of the Twisted stepped onto the bridge. There was a new fire lit in her grey eyes and with the deed in her hand she could almost smell the money she had nned to make from this town. There was no way she was going to let these stupid monsters ruin her chance at a new life! Chapter 220: Electrified Battle Chapter 220: Electrified Battle Form the line across the end of the dam! Lisa ordered from above on her perch. Take your shots carefully at my signal and try to conserve ammo. There are a lot more monsters toe! The smaller of the Twisted were alreadying across at them at full speed in droves. It would be moments before they finished crossing over and attacked the defending humans. On the upside, the wounded baby Hoard Mother was currently staying behind the cover of the Land Octopuss near the woonds edge. It had split up its forces so that the smaller Twisted attacked those on the dam while several of the in Striders chased after Party Badger, who had disappeared by now. There was no telling if she was all right, but Dixon was still calmly floating above the battlefield, so she must have been. Stand shoulder to shoulder. Lisa called out as she walked briskly behind the human forces. As she spoke, they responded to her voice. Raise your weapons to your shoulder. Pick a target directly in front of you. On the count of three, pull the trigger to shoot three times. Lisa paced behind them from one end of the dam to back where she had first given her speech. As she went, she adjusted their positions to be packed closer together. Any that were standing behind the line she made sure they fit. Everyone had to be ready to shoot. Lisa leapt up to her perch on the dam wall and overlooked the Twisted hurtling at them. Everyone now was waiting with bated breath as Lisa slowly counted down. She was waiting for the opportune moment and the suspense was suffocating for everyone. Their aim was wobbly, knees were trembling, breathing was shaky and sweat rolled down their brows but still they waited. One The Twisted were already halfway across the dam. There was so many crossing at once that asionally a Twisted was knocked off the dam into theke or over the dam itself. If someone missed their shot it would be a miracle. Tentatively a few began tapping their triggers eagerly hoping to shoot before they were attacked. Two At this distance they could now see every mortifying detail of the Twisted. The Night Hounds rows of fanged teeth, their long, slender arms tipped with fearsome ws. The Logos Cutters leapt about at distances that no man could ever hope to outpace and being equipped with knifelike ws only made them even more terrifying. There were only meters between the two sides now. At any second someones nerve was about to break and start shooting. The Twisted were almost upon them! Lisa then shouted at the top of her lungs, Three! There was a unified st of gunfire as the humans attacked with their first trigger pull. Bullets whizzed hotly from the guns muzzles before tearing through the flesh of the monsters with devastating effect. The closest of the Twisted seemed to rip apart as ck blood sprayed from every area struck. The humans fired two more rounds as instructed, though many of them shot more. Unswayed, the Twisted following didnt slow down even the slightest. It seemed like their numbers were unending and the humans attack did nothing at all. There was a slight pause before Lisa shouted, Again, fire! A second unified volley of bullets riddled the oing hoard. The next wave of monsters was killed so quickly that they fell on top of the bodies of the previous in Twisted. The humans this time were unable to hold back, and everyone shot until their magazines were emptied. Lisa was expecting this to happen and just as most were fumbling about trying to reload, she turned to yell back at the powerhouse buildings entrance. Do it now! Yin was standing at the entrance, and she immediately turned around to yell inside. Now Sadie! Sadie was standing inside the main control room at the mainputer. She had been waiting here for the signal with her hand hovering just above the Enter key on the keyboard. Hearing Yins call, she pressed down hard. Themand was immediately epted by theputer and the main part of Lisas n activated. Electricity shot along the power line that Tayvon and Willis hadid out on the dams road. Any Twisted that now stood on the line, or even touching the ones that were on the line, were instantly zapped with a voltage that no human could ever survive! Twisted screeched and wailed all along the dam as they were struck into a painful paralysis. Many were unable to stop running in time and collided into these stricken beasts to then be shocked as well. The entire hoard came to a confused standstill as the electricity broke their ranks into isted packs. The humans continued to shoot and kill all those Twisted that were stilling at them until only the electrified monsters remained. All this had happened without a single human casualty. Seeing the Twisted being stopped and vulnerable the humans, bolstered by confidence, started to advance, and shoot at them. It was then Lisa called out. Stop moving out of position and quit shooting! You are wasting your bullets on dead creatures! Lisa then jumped down from her perch and forced a few people nearby to lower their weapons. She continued going down the line until everyone had ceased attacking. A lone Logos Cutter jumped over the closest line of electrified Twisted to strike at Lisa from behind. Without giving much effort into it, Lisa curled her wrist upwards so that her katana stabbed the Logos Cutter right into its middle. The limp body of the Logos Cutter slid down the ckened de some before Lisa flicked it away to stter against the dams wall. Then turning to face and point at the closest Twisted, Lisa addressed the humans with the next step of her n. As soon as the electricity is stopped the Twisted will figure out the lines are dangerous and attack us again. In that moment we need to be ready. I want all of you to move up to the dead monsters piled here and push them on top of each other more. This is so that you can use them as a rest for your guns and provide some barrier for you. Though careful at first to touch the once dangerous, now dead, Twisted, the humans started to pile the bodies at least three high. There were plenty of corpses to do this and in moments the bloody wall was made. As they did this Lisa continued to exin the situation. We cant keep the electricity going forever, the transformer is already weak. Any prolonged activation will short out the breaker. I can only do this attack three more times at the most. Judging from the number of Twisted still on the other side, I can say it wont be enough. The bigger Twisted are probably too big to be killed by the shock too. Lisa pointed at the baby Hoard Mother that was peering cautiously at the frozen smaller Twisted. That big white monster can extend its neck extremely far and it might be able to reach all the way over here. Those other octopus looking Twisted probably can too. We are going need to watch out for theming our way, so be ready to run. Are you ready for our support? Dixon called from above on his Hover Bike. 56 too was looking down at Lisa with an amused expression on his face. Alongside him was Orville, recording all that was going on. Yes, you have those canasters of napalm ready? Lisa replied while ignoring 56s smirk. Sure do, and you want us to drop it on the Land Octopuss right now? Dixon asked. Lisa shook her head, Ill tell you when. Just keep giving us air support until then. Dixon gave her a thumbs up. You got it. Lisa turned to shout at the rest of the humans. Everyone loaded and ready? This next part is going to be dangerous, so shoot at will. We will hold this spot until the packs of Twisted we have now separated by the electricity turn into the main hoard once again. Until the transformer cools off enough to turn back on, we cannot retreat! Yin let out a shrill whistle. The time is up! Get ready to fight! Lisa shouted. Everyone looked up at the electrified Twisted expectantly with guns at the ready. All was silent, save for a few agitated Twisted snarling in the distance. Then, as if some unseen force was letting go of invisible strings, the shocked Twisted fell onto the road all at the exact same time. Sadie had now turned off the powerlines. In that very moment the baby Hoard Mother let out another rumble and the whole hoard surged to resume attacking. They were immediately confronted by the humans bullets and the monsters were getting cut down in staggering numbers. Though taking losses the Twisted were gaining ground. Everything was going as Lisa nned. It was slowly starting to seem like they actually might drive the Twisted away. As long as their ammosted long enough to cause the baby Hoard Mother to worry about taking on too many losses, if it did even care, and retreat. Suddenly someone tapped Lisas shoulder. Turning around Lisa saw it was the lookout, a young teenaged girl, Bell had told left to watch the western side of town. From the heavy breathing from running and the scared look on her face the news was going to be bad. Whats wrong? Lisa asked urgently. T-Twisted areing out from the town! They are chasing people right now too and they are headed this way! The young girl stammered. Zane! Whatsing from behind us? Lisa shouted as she checked the back of the property fence line for any sign of danger. For the moment there was none. Lowering his weapon to look back, Zane sawing out from the town were two distinct groups of people being chased by Night Hounds and Logos Cutter. His eyes widened with worry as he recognized someone within those groups. Zane turned his sniper around to confirm his suspicion using the sniper scope. Zane yelled back down to Lisa, Its John and Hanna, along with a bunch of others that were here before. The Twisted are hunting them down! They need out help!" Chapter 221: Attacked from Behind Chapter 221: Attacked from Behind Lisa gripped her katanas hilt tightly. Dixon, change of ns! Follow behind me and get those napalm canisters ready. Bell, hold out here for another minute then signal Yin. I might need help by then. Lisa turned quickly to leave the dams front lines to then cross the powerhouse buildings parking lot at breakneck speeds. She didnt even slow down as she leapt over the barbed wire fence with a single bound. While briefly airborne, Lisa saw the situation John, Hanna and the others were in. She ended up summing the problem in an instant, it was not looking good. John and the rest of the townspeople were burdened by their belongs and young children. They were alreadygging in the wake of the other distinct group of people. Just before Lisanded halfway down the hill, she spotted their arm bands telling her they were Mad Dogs. Though fully armed, they all looked ready to drop dead at any moment. If she didnt hurry, they were not going to make it to the dam. Lisa hit the sandy hillside and kept right on running at full speed as if there were no incline at all. Flicking her katana out to reach full length she carried it horizontally behind herself in preparation to swing it. A bullet whizzed over head to strike a Night Hound that was gaining on the fleeing townspeople, Zane was now providing support and it gave her the time needed to reach them. Hugo was starting to lose consciousness. His vision was fading in and out causing his limbs to not want to keep on moving. The blue bandana gangster was basically carrying him at this moment as they ran. Reaching the hillside, the two of them quickly fell behind the rest and were nowst. Hugo felt a tug on his boot as itsces caught onto a craggy rock. This caused him to lose his already fumbling bnce and fall. The added dead weight of Hugo falling caused the blue bandana gangster to lose his grip entirely and Hugo began rolling back downhill. Rolling over twice Hugo grunted with exhaustion and pain beforeing to a skidding stop in the sand on his back. Knowing he was about to die; Hugo went to pull the long knife off from his belt and prepare to stab the first Twisted that dared attack him. What happened next to Hugo, for the rest of his life, he would never forget. A Logos Cutter was already pouncing downwards at him as he came to a standstill. The Logos Cutters fangs were stark white, its tan raggedy hair was fluttering in the wind, the enraged ck eyes of the beast staired into the depths of his mind, and its ws that wererger than his own knife. All this spelled death for him. The image of this falling, maddened Twisted, backed by the deep blue sky, was painted into his mind. Then, as if he was seeing things happen in slow motion, a ckened de entered the Twisteds mouth and traveled cleanly through the head, torso, and hind legs of the Logos Cutter so perfectly that it split in two equal parts. A spray of hot, ck blood and bits of guts sttered onto Hugo as the split body of the Logos Cutternded on either side of him. Holding onto this de was a tall, fair skinned woman with glossy ck hair that was charging straight for the oing hoard. In the tinniest moment Hugo saw her face, he saw not one hint of fear or hesitation. This was his first impression of Lisa Cunningham, the Queen. Lisa pressed onwards to sh at a Night Hounds middle before turning sharply in the direction of the group of struggling townspeople. Benny and Richard were at the rear, shooting asionally behind them as they ran. Richard looked to have already taken a hit and his arm was bleeding heavily. Keep running! Lisa shouted as she passed by them to get between them and the oing Twisted. She then grabbed, barehanded, a Logos Cutter by the neck as it leapt at her as a Night Hound too was also swinging its long ws at her legs. Lisa responded by throwing the Logos Cutters body at the oing Night Hounds head. The two bodies collied and knocked both to the ground. Unable to follow up and kill them, Lisa was assaulted by another Night Hound from her right. Its serrated mouth snapped at her extended throwing arm, but it missed only by centimeters. Lisa then knocked the Night Hound on the side of its elongated head with her elbow before turning back to catch the mouth of another Night Hounds ws with her katanas de. The previous Logos Cutter had been in on impact, but the three other Night Hounds had her surrounded. Unperturbed, Lisa held her katanas hilt with both hands as she spun around clockwise to decapitate all three monsters in one swing. Matching her impressive disy of power, Zane sent bullet after bullet down range to ravage the Twisted trying to get around Lisa. Thanks to the amazing scope the sniper was equipped with, he almost never missed a shot. The twosbined attack created enough space between the Twisted and humans for their escape to be possible. Hugo was barely able to watch as Lisa continued to press deeper into the oing monsters, killing all in her path as she went. It seemed impossible to him to imagine any human taking on the Twisted in such a reckless manner. Thest thing he recalled before passing out was the blue bandana gangsters face as he returned to pick him up and the back of Lisa. Get through the gate! Come on, move! John yelled as they entered the powerhouse property by way of the hidden west gate. Both the townspeople and Mad Dogs flooded through the hidden entrance within the crushed car wall without a second thought. As thest child passed through, John looked back to see Lisa mowing down the monsters. There was already a sand-stained path of ck bloodied bodies lying behind her as she was still moving deeper into the oing Twisted. He then closed the hidden gate in disbelief that she was a human just like himself and that she alone could pull off fighting that kind of fighting style. John looked around him at the exhausted and in some cases sprawled out on the ground, people that he had help bring back to the dam. Then being drawn to the sound of gunfire at the dam his heart sank when he saw the flood of Twisted nearly stampeding over those defending there. It looked like the Twisted were about to crash into the defending line and end any chance of their survival. Then he saw Bell waving her arms wildly. At first, he thought she was yelling at the others to start running and he prepared to turn and reopen the hidden gate. Then he caught a glimpse of someone in the powerhouse buildings entrance copying Bells actions. He stopped turning just in time to see and hear the Twisted let out a collection of wails and roars. W-what? They stopped crossing the dam. Why? Kirk wheezed as he too saw what had transpired. I-I dont know. John panted in reply. The defending line also stopped shooting at them. I have no idea what is going on anymore! John! A voice called from behind him. Slightly bewildered, John looked back through the chain link fence at Lisa running his way. The Twisted were pursuing her still, but they were being far outpaced. In their hunger they stopped to cannibalize their fallen kind and had yet to reach the bottom of the hill. He then was dumbstruck as she leapt over the entire barbed wire fence andnded softly on her feet next to him. As soon as shended, Lisa yelled upwards. Bomb them now Dixon! Passing overhead was the rumble of a Hover Bike as Dixon and 56 prepared to strike. The Twisted were justing up the sandy hill when numerous metal cylinders came tumbling down. One Night Hound looked up just as one of these cylinders struck its forehead. The cylinder burst into liquid napalm mes, engulfing the Night Hound before spreading to those behind. Likewise, the rest of the napalm canisters exploded to wash red mes and deep ck smoke over the entire western side of the sandy hill. Zane was still sniping from above on the green powerhouse roof and shot down the few Twisted that were ahead of the napalm explosions. John and those that were also watching were relieved to now see this wall of mes hadpletely stopped the Twisted. This, however, was only going tost until either the Twisted passed around the mes or until the mes eventually died out. Lisa surveyed the current state of the battle and saw that the electrical lines were still on and shocking the hoard on the dam. The defenders there were finishing up reloading and preparing to reengage. Then looking over the people that had just arrived Lisa was happy, but warry, to see many of them had weapons still. Lisa turned to John. John, get those unable to fight into the dam tunnel. Everyone has already left there, and it is empty. Once you are done, I need you for something else. Alright. John sighed with both relief they escaped and disappointment his job was not done. Which one of you is leading the Mad Dogs? Lisa called out turning back to face the gangsters. Well, it was Hugo. The blue bandana gangster replied. But as you can see, he has passed out. Do you have any bandages or medical supplies? He has been fighting with an arrow in his back all this time. Lisa was curious to hear he had such an injury. How did that happen? We were fighting the Skull on the other side of town and just as the Twisted attacked us out of nowhere, he was shot from behind. The blue bandana gangster replied. Lisa came over and inspected the broken arrow. Wow, I have to admit that I am impressed he lived this long. Ill see what I can do. Take him into the big building and ask for a woman named Joan to help him. Alright. Can someone help me carry him? The blue bandana gangster called to the rest of the gang. It was at this time Bell hade across the parking lot to speak with Lisa. What are we going to do now? I heard the Twisted are attacking us from the back. Should we split our forces in two? No. Lisa replied shaking her head. Keep everyone where they are. Do you know how to pick a lock? Um, yes, I do. I learned how when I was being trained for security work. Bell replied. Good. Lisa answered. I need you to go and get the truck parked in the back of the powerhouse building. Get inside of it anyway you can. The fire wont fend off the Twisted for much longer and the fence is to weak and long to defend well. We will need all the extra firepower we can to hold them off. As Bell hurried away, Lisa faced the Mad Dogs. Alright you tired mutts. You are going to have to follow my instructions perfectly if you want to live! Anyone that doesnt will get us all killed. Chapter 222: A Change in Approach Chapter 222: A Change in Approach Those mes will be dying out soon and all that stands between you and the Twisted now is this chain link fence and some barbed wire. Lisa exined. You will hold your fire until they reach the fence, and you can shoot them without missing. Everyone must stand a few meters away from the fence too because the monsters will be climbing and jumping over it. If you are against the fence, you will be caught and killed right way. Lisa pointed at the blue bandana gangster that was just now returning. What is your name? Ethan. The blue bandana gangster replied. He then nced around him at the other Mad Dogs. I am one of three remaining squad leaders under Hugo. Lin and Bill are the other two. Ok then, I need all of you to split into three groups and spread out along the fence. Lisa then pointed at the south end. Whichever one of you is Lin will guard that south side and from the destroyed security building. There will be likely be a lot of Twisteding towards this area and so have the best gunners you have go there. Bill, you are to go the north end of the property and take the wounded gangsters with you. The Twisted will probably swing around to that sideter in their advance and it will buy you some time to collect yourselves. Then who will I be with in the center? Ethan asked. Youll be with whoever is left, any capable fighters from the people you just arrived with, and the backup thats being prepared as we speak. Lisa replied promptly. If you all have made it this far, I can trust you to holdout long enough. What about ammo? Ethan asked. Yin and her crew will be distributing the ammo in a moment. We dont have much so try to shoot sparingly. Lisa answered as she turned to leave. Where are you going? Ethan asked once more. I saw how well you fought. We need you over here. The others over there at the dam have more than enough people. Lisa sighed and turned to face him. You sure do ask a lot of questions. I am going to be fighting that. Lisa pointed beyond the dam at the baby Hoard Mother. The Land Octopus had now gotten off the back of the baby Hoard Mother to reveal that the leader Twisted had fully recovered without the slightest trace of a burn mark. It was now on the move towards the dam along with the numerous Land Octopuss and a handful of remaining in Striders. If I dont go fight there, those heavy Twisted might cause the dam to crack and break. Lisa exined. If that happens there wont even be a town left to fight for. I-I see. Ethan stammered seeing the baby Hoard Mother for the first time. Lisa then left him and hurried back towards the dam. As she passed by Yin, who was distributing the ammo to each of her team members, Lisa told her to provide the Mad Dogs with ammo too. I will do what I can. Yin answered. She then pointed to the pallet in front of her. I can see what weapons they have from here and I can tell we will have nothing for anyone once I dish out these boxs here. After that I am afraid, we will be fighting hand to hand soon. So, this is the only chance we got to stop the Hoard. Lisa sighed. Thank you, Yin. If things get bad start evacuating everyone into the tunnel. Ourst resort will be hiding behind those huge metal doors and praying that they will hold. I understand. Yin answered quietly. Lisa, time is almost out for the transformer. Sadie called from the main control room. Lisa gave her a thumbs up and started jogging towards the dam. Everyone, the electricity is about to turn off. This is ourst chance to takeout as many as we can, and I will see to it myself that the big white monster never crosses this dam. Yin then let out a shrill whistle and Sadie cut the power. Every single electrified Twisted once again copsed dead in unison onto the dams road and bodies of the already in. The townspeople immediately opened fire as the rest of the Twisted roared and screeched to resume their attack. It had finallye down to theirst stand and the Twisted were far from being defeated. Hanna and the other kids were ushered into the tunnel along with their parents by John. At first, they were all told to stay away from the entrance, but then John and several of the male adults left the tunnel to go fight. Then when Hugo was brough in Joan became fully engrossed in providing aid to him. She then got several of the otherdies to help her and soon everyone, including most of the kids, was distracted by her saving Hugos life. Hanna saw this as her chance. I am going back out there to help in the fight. Hanna whispered to ir, Rachel, and Jillian. What? I think there is something wrong with your mind! ir replied instantly. Why do you keep wanting to do such reckless thingstely? What good will it do for us to stay here? Hanna argued. Besides I saw how many Twisted were out there. If there is something I can do to help, then I should try too. Then seeing that no one was near the tunnel exit, Hanna made a move to sneak out. Hanna, get back here. ir hissed but it was toote. Hanna had already dashed out from the tunnel and into the warehouse. What do we do? Jillian asked. Should we tell the adults? No, we need to get her ourselves. Look, the adults are too busy right now. Rachel said. Come on, before she gets too far away! Rachel then began chasing after Hanna before the other two could reply. ir looked around her and saw that no one was paying any attention to what was going on at the door. ir sighed and thought to herself, Why do I always have to deal with the kids doing stupid stuff? She then grabbed Jillians hand, Come on Jillian. Lets go stop them. When ir and Jillian exited the tunnel, they were surprised to see that Hanna and Rachel hadnt even gone outside yet. Both girls were frozen in ce standing in the center of the doorway. Joining them, they understood why. It was absolute chaos. On all sides of the property people were rushing about, yelling, and shooting at the Twisted. The Twisted responded with roars of their own and leaping great distances to attack the humans. The four young girls watched in horror as several people on the dam were knocked to the ground, bitten, and thrashed about by the Twisted. The humans fighting nearby these bloody scenes responded by shooting the Twisted only to then be attacked from behind. It all was happening so fast none of them could discern what they could possibly do. There was a sudden st of fireing from their right at the west gate. Dixon had dropped another napalm canister and temporarily blocked the Twisted from reaching that area. They could see John, Kirk, and the other adults from their neighborhood moving towards the south to help the Mad Dogs. Meanwhile Ethan and the other Mad Dogs stayed put to deal with the monsters that had crossed over the fence before moving northward and out of their sight. Girls, get out of the way! A voice suddenly yelled at them from behind. The four girls spun around to see Bell sticking her head out from the armored electric truck. She had finally broken into it, gotten it jump started, and wasing to provide support. The vehicle was so silent they didnt hear iting. The four girls rushed over to one side of the entrance and Bell passed by them speedily. Lisa, where do I take this? Bell shouted over the noise of gunfire. Lisa had picked up a fallen rifle and emptied its clip into the oing hoard before turning around. Take the truck to John and park it on the other side of the destroyed security building. The corner of the fence is the best ce to defend right now for a turret! Lisa then turned back to look across the dam at the two in Striders that were now crossing. The baby Hoard Mother was still being cautious, and it couldnt trust the dams just yet. The path to the humans was just to narrow and it would be reckless to cross the dam because it still didnt understand how so many of its Hoard had been stopped by the invisible electricity. The baby Hoard Mother was trying a new approach by sending the in Striders to test if they could make it across safely before it tried too. Lisa had to try and stop them before they came any closer. Yin now! Yin heard her calling just barely over the noise of the fighting. Turning she called to Sadie to restart the transformer. This was going to be theirst chance to use the electrical lines to deter the rest of the hoard by stopping the in Striders dead in their tracks. Otherwise, the baby Hoard Mother and Land Octopuss were going to attack next confident the electricity couldnt stop them. Like the previous two times all the smaller Night Hounds and Logos Cutter were paralyzed by the electricity. The in Striders were about to reach the furthest of the paralyzed Twisted and they didnt stop running or slow down. Instead, they plowed right into them horns first! To everyones dismay all the electricity did was cause them pain to slow down. They were just too big to be stopped! Lisa lifted her katana high and took a deep breath. Yin, cut the power! I am going in! Chapter 223: Collide Chapter 223: Collide The two in Striders were moving slowly through the electrical line trap, knocking aside any of the paralyzed Twisted from the dams road with their horns. Their dead bodies were flung off the dams high wall or sent tumbling into theke. Those that were trapped between the electrical lines were no exception either and knocked aside. The baby Hoard Mother was controlling the in Striders with pinpoint focus and driving them to their limits. Soon, the baby Hoard Mother would be crossing itself to feast on the remaining humans, its hunger demanded it. The dead smaller Twisted too would also serve as extra food for its Hoard. Recing them would be easy over time. Lisa was no longer worried by the invading monstersing from behind, they were not the true threat. However, those people standing to defend the dam were going to get in the way. In order to push back these monsters toplete the final part of her n she had to get them out of the way. Lisa didnt even look away from the dam road as she called out. Nathan, Gillian, get everyone to go help defend at the fences. I will take it from here. Uh, are you sure? Gillian, who was closer, asked. There are still hundreds of Twisted beyond the electrical lines. Wont you need back up? No. I wont. Lisa said calmly. Just watch how strong I really am and why you want me on your side. I should have just done this sooner. Boss. Orville called out. Hmm, what is it, Orville? 56 asked lowering his gun. 56 had been doing his part to kill as many Twisted as he could. Not for Lisa or the townspeoples sake, but because he had already promised Dixon and the others that he would help them in exchange for taking him out from Moab City. It was only fair he held up the deal. 24 is getting ready to active. Orville answered. From the signal I am getting, 24 is already in Advance Armament: Stage One. Is that so? So, she is finally getting serious. 56 said and he raised his rifle back up to continue shooting. As he sted away Twisted after Twisted, his thoughts wandered absentmindedly. I was wondering why she had been holding back all this time. She is such a drama Queen! She would sacrifice others just to keep her abilities a secret and yet she always imed to want to help others too. Damn hypocrite. Yet, if that is not it, then something else might be causing her to not reveal her cyborg talents. I better ask her once this is over. 56 lowered his gun and looked at the Twisted still streaming out from the westside of town. There wasnt a single street, path, or alley that didnt have monstersing out from them. These people wontst much longer at this rate. Id say the Twisted numbers have doubled now and there is no end in sight either. I dont see any way for them to survive this. 56 took another nce at 24. I would also say she is hiding her abilities after all. She has been only using her katana and only her Stage One so far. Not once has she used her arm gun, nor her other hidden weapons, and oddly enough not even using her own guns. If she would have used that earlier, this battle would have ended back at the cliff. 24 has always been so selfish. Lisa braced herself as she heard Yin callout to Sadie to turn off the electricity. Keeping her katana at half its length, she nted one foot behind the other and held the katana horizontal to the ground. Just as the paralyzed Twisted copsed, Lisa started running right for the closest of the Night Hounds and Logos Cutters. Like a tornado, Lisa began to spin and bounce from one monster to the next cutting off arms, legs, and heads at speeds none of the smaller Twisted could keep up with. Unlike the first time when she fought the Night Hound in the tunnel, she was no longer afraid of fighting them. In fact, she found it even easier to deal with them than gun wielding soldiers. The baby Hoard Mother at that moment too let out a heavy rumble and the two in Striders charged at their full speed. They trampled over the other Twisted in their path leaving squashed ck puddles in their wake. It was going to be a matter of moments before the three shed and decide the flow of this battle. Lisa sliced clean through torso of thest of the Night Hounds near her and looked up to see the first of the in Striders was already baring down on her. Remembering how she had failed to stop them before; Lisa picked a new strategy. Lisa shouted as her de extended to reach its full three-meter height. You wont be kicking me anywhere this time! She then charged along the right wall of the dam towards the in Strider. In turn the in Strider moved closer to the wall as well to cut her off. The two were charging at near equal speeds and it was clear neither of them was going to back down. The in Strider attacked first by throwing its head back to swing its long horns at her. The horn came crashing down at her and it seemed there would be no way to avoid the strike. However, just at thest possible second, Lisa jumped. Her body tucked tightly into a somersault and the horn passed right underneath of her to smash into the wall. The horn tore off a huge chunk of the wall and even part of the road itself! Lisanded on both feet, turned with perfect precision, and jumped straight upwards. The in Striders neck waspletely exposed to her at this moment and her katanas tip sunk easily into the monsters flesh until it reached her handle. The de traveled so far that it stuck out the other end of the in Striders neck! She then grabbed onto the ugly red, leathery skin of the in Striders neck with one hand and with her other hand turned the de inside the in Striders neck so that it pointed downwards. The in Strider let out a gargled roar. The katanas de had traveled through its esophagus and blood was draining into its throat. It then tried to shake her free by throwing its head from side to side, but it was no use; Lisa would not let go. Lisa then began to pull down on the handle repeatedly in a sawing motion. The downward facing de began to cut through the neck flesh and blood vessels little by little. ck blood fell out of the growing wound in great globs and sttered all over the road below. Then, just as it seemed like Lisa was about to slit the entire throat of the in Strider, the second in Strider headbutted into the first squarely on its side. The force of the blow knocked the first in Strider off its feet and off the entire dam. Both Lisa and the dying in Strider were now freefalling towards the dark colored river below. Lisa pulled the katana free as she nted her feet on the falling in Striders neck and pushed off to jump back towards the dam. The distance back was fortunately not that great when she did jump, and it became clear that she was going to make it. However, the second in Strider was already waiting. The second in Strider used its horns to try and bat at Lisa like a baseball. Seeing this, Lisa swung her katana downwards to intercept the oing horn. The two blows caused a resounding crack to echo off the dam and cliffside below. However, Lisa was not knocked away like a baseball homerun, but instead she was sent flying upwards like a pop-fly! Lisa shot so far into the air that it looked like she might have traveled twice as high as the dam! As Lisa continued to go upwards, she couldnt help but marvel at the situation. Now this is something you dont experience every day! I had been skydiving from military nes before, but never have I been thrown into the sky. Reaching the peak of her assent, Lisa prepared to n a way for herself tond. She also spread her arms wide to control and slow her new skydiving experience. If a in Strider can give me this much trouble, I better not hold back against that big white one. I just hope my n works. Lia was reaching max falling velocity when she said to herself, I dont think I can survive a normalnding. So, I guess there is no helping it now. Everyone was bound to find out about me sooner orter. Activate Armament: Stage Two! As her Stage Two began to transform, Lisa noted that she wasing straight back towards the in Striders back. Beingunched so far up, both the in Strider and baby Hoard Mother lost track of her, and the in Strider was just about to turn back to charge at the humans when Lisa arrived. Like a meteor falling from the sky, Lisa crashed onto the in Striders back, feet first, right between the shoulder des. Buckling from the impact, the in Strider copsed belly first onto the road with a heavy, meaty thud. Lisa then raised her katana high and stabbed straight down, ending the in Strider for good. Hanna and the other girls were the only ones able to watch Lisas full fight on the dam. Everyone else was too busy fighting to see it all. All four of them were rooted in ce with awe as Lisa charged the Night Hounds and Logos Cutters. They still didnt budge even when Lisa first engaged the first in Strider. However, all of them let out a unified gasp when Lisa wasunched into the air. No, Aunt Lisa! Hanna shouted and cupped her hands over her mouth. ir jumped out onto the parking lot and ced a hand on her brow to block the sunlight so she could watch for Lisa falling. I think she is alright! Lisa has gone straight up, and it seems like she is still moving! Really? Hanna answereding out from the building to watch. The other two girls hurried out as well to look just as Lisa was activating her Stage Two. It was these four girls that were the first from town to see Lisas transformation into Stage Two. Though the airborne anime like transformation happened so quickly, and they were a bit far away, it was something none of them could ever forget. Lisas legs and arms opened to mechanically spread apart at every joint, doubling the length and width of her limbs. The panels covering the areas between these joints also lifted sightly and reconnected to form a bulkier version of Lisa. At every crack and joint a bright, neon green glow appeared, and unbeknownst to the four girls, this was the visual light from the energy sources that gave Lisa her cyborg strength and speed. Her ck skintight suit also began to glow with a green circuit board like pattern and suit spread out to connect to all her limbs together. There was much more going on to her transformation, but the girls couldnt see it all happening. Lisa not only changed physically but the energy flooding her systems was double the adrenaline rush and hyperawareness as Stage One. However, they understood one thing, that there was still so much they didnt understand about the world. As soon as Lisanded to crush the in Strider to death, it was then the four girls saw than not only had Lisas body changed but her eyes had too. They were glowing bright silver, just as brightly as the neon green from her body. Then as Lisa looked away from them at the baby Hoard Mother the silver eyes seemed to leave contrails in their wake. So, that is what her cyborg body look. Hanna said softly in awe. Y-you knew about this? ir stammered. Hanna nodded. Yes, but not this much. Its no wonder Aunt Lisa is so strong. There is no way the Twisted will win now! Chapter 224: Stage Two Chapter 224: Stage Two Lisa rolled her shoulders and bent her knees twice to get a better feel for her Advanced Armament: Stage Two. Now that the tes and joints were further apart and herself a bitrger in stature, she had to get reintroduced to the feeling of her erged form. However, this was not her first time being in this stage and quickly getting over the increased flow of energy, she turned her attention onto the baby Hoard Mother. There were still a great number of Night Hounds and Logos Cutters crossing the dam, but they were no threat to her now. The baby Hoard Mother could sense this as well and it let out a slow, deep throated rumble. Oddly the smaller Twisted locked their legs and skidded to an immediate halt. They then proceeded to turn tail and go back the way they came. They didnt stop running until they entered the woods and disappeared. Well, that makes things easier. Lisa remarked aloud to no one in particr. Lisa then jumped off the in in Strider tond gently on her toes without so much as a sound. This was a stark contrast to how much bigger she now looked, for one would assume a heavy, pavement cracking,nding to have been more appropriate. She then flicked her ckened katana to one side and drops of ck blood sttered on the road. Lisa took in a deep breath as she lowered her katana back to half length and held it vertically alongside herself. Well, here goes nothing. Crack! The sound of her feet pressing off the pavement reverberated noisily as she sprinted towards her quarry. In the exact ce where her feet were was ayer of rubber that had melted onto the road due to the intense speed of her takeoff. The four girls watching lost sight of her for a moment and didnt see Lisa reappear until she had reached the other end of the dam. Without thinking, all four girls ran out to the dam to stop at the roads center to see what was about to happen. They were so engrossed by Lisas actions they didnt even notice the dead Twisted around them. By the time they reached the spot, Lisa was already engaged in her battle with the Land Octopuss and baby Hoard Mother. When Lisa first charged at the group of Twisted, she intended to go right for the big white Hoard Mother andnd the first strike. She passed over the entire dam in four seconds and was zooming across the sandy path at speeds only a race car could match. If Stage One caused her to reach 65kmh then at Stage Two she was going almost 130kmh! However, the Land Octopuss were not going to let her have her way. Lisa was instantly met by a wall of hardened ckva colored tentacle spears. Lisa tried striking at the first of these tentacle spears with her katana, however, the biological hardening of the tentacles was too great to be cut. All the katana de did was leave a small and faded mark. The rest of the tentacles came flying at her in rapid session. Pulling back from her initial swing, Lisa jumped backwards in a zigzag pattern to avoid being skewered by the tentacles. Though the tentacles traveled in a straight line and acting just like the phnx from Greek battle strategy, with so many spearsing at her at once it was impossible to dodge. Lisa ended up falling back all the way to the dams midpoint before the tentacles stopped extending. As the ckva-colored tentacles began to recede Lisa took note that only the front half of the Land Octopuss had tried to stab her. The rest remained solidified in their tight circle around the baby Hoard Mother. Hmm, you are not going to let me get close, are you? Lisa called out to the baby Hoard Mother. I guess Ill have to make it so that I can. Lisa then began to run back across the dam once more. Only this time she didnt do it at the speed that she managed before. Instead, she intentionally maintained her Stage One speed. Seeing this, the baby Hoard Mother gave a rumblingmand to the Land Octopuss, and they all started to advance together. Lisa chuckled, Lets see how many I can kill before you figure out my n. Her right arm started to unpack itself once more and she revealed the .50cal arm gun! At that same moment the Land Octopuss attacked using the same phnx manner again. In the face of this wall of death, Lisa did not try to run away. This time she jumped, at least five meters high! Spinning head over heels three times Lisa came to an abrupt stop, aimed her arm gun, and fired. The heavy boom of the gun going off was almost copied by the noise of the bullet exploding the red bulbus eye of the middle Land Octopus! The bullet rattled around in the solidified head of the Twisted destroying any bit of brain and guts that was within. Before any of the others could react, she fired off three more shots to strike down three more Land Octopuss as she began to descend. All four Land Octopuss were in in mere moments. Seeing the defensive line fall apart infuriated the baby Hoard Mother and it let out a rapid set of rumbles. The entire formation shifted and the Octopuss from the back move up. As Lisanded with a soft thud on the pavement, she also saw that the eyes of the Land Octopuss were all closed now. Yet she had no time to figure out why, the next attack was already happening. The baby Hoard Mother let out a quick bass drum sounding rumble and a single tentacle came shooting out from the formation. Lisa dodged to her right to avoid the strike and as she did another bass drum rumble sounded out. A second ckva colored tentacle came flying out from another Land Octopus. Oh, so that is how it is. Lisaughed. You are controlling the Octopuss one by one to attack me since they cant do it themselves without looking. Arent you a clever beast! Lisa dodged a third, fourth and then a fifth spear before she responded by raising her arm gun to shoot once more. Only this time she was not aiming for a Land Octopus but rather at one of thest remaining in Striders nking the baby Hoard Mother. The shotnded squarely between the eyes of the intended in Strider and the entire beast stumbled back unprepared to be taking a hit. The in Strider let out a roar of pain as a rivulet of blood rolled down its brow, but it did not die. Instead, the in Strider charged out from formation and began to chase after Lisa. Lisaughed and closed her arm gun to be back into its Stage Two form. The baby Hoard Mother let out a dissatisfied rumbling noise seeing the in Strider breaking rank, but the in Strider didnt respond. Lisa smiled as she dodged another tentacle spear. So, you cant control them perfectly if they are in enough pain. This is good to know. As the in Strider came charging across the sandy path at Lisa, she turned right and ran along the wood line. Leading the in Strider out of the normal range of the Land Octopuss attacks and away from the road. Lisa turned around to face the in Strider, only this time her sword was not poised to strike. The in Strider hooves were thudding deeply into the sand leaving meter deep tracks behind and its head was bowed low to ram Lisa. Lets see how good your hide is against my Stage Twos brute strength. Lisa shouted. Then rearing her arm back, Lisa threw an absolute bomb of a haymaker tond it right above the left eye of the in Strider. There was a sh of green light that emitted from the arm upon impact and a meaty sound followed as well. What should have happened was the speed, momentum, and weight of the in Striders charge should have caused it to continue going forwards, however, the entire body of the in Strider knocked sideways headfirst instead! The in Strider let out a moo like gasp of air as it was then sent tumbling away. The Twisted rolled twice before it was sent plummeting over the edge of the cliff where the rockslide had happened. Unable to stop itself, the in Strider kept rolling over and over until it fell over the edge to the river below. There was a faint, satisfying ssh as Lisa turned back to look at the baby Hoard Mother. Then in the blink of an eye, Lisa resumed her attack on the baby Hoard Mother and crossed the distance in massive strides quickly reaching her 130kmh speed. The baby Hoard Mother responded a bit to slowly and the tentacles it sent to impale the speeding human were always behind by several meters. Lisa was just too fast. Lisa began to run full circles around the defensive formation and a swirl of dust was beginning to form. The dust she created decreased the baby Hoard Mothers ability to track Lisa and masked her location. Then from an unexpected angle Lisa struck. Her katana sprung out to hit a in Strider right behind the shoulder and it traveled deep enough to reach the creatures heart. Not even slowing down, Lisa spun once to free her katana and continued her charge deeper into the formations center. The baby Hoard Mothers three pairs of red eyes caught sight of her attack and turned just in time to see Lisaing for the left back most of its eight legs. She grabbed her katanas hilt with both hands and swung it at the massive brown hairy leg, aiming specifically where the Achilles heel might be at. Striking the leg, it felt to Lisa like she had hit a light pole with a bat. If her arms were not cybeic, they would have undoubtedly been tingling with painful reverberations. The leg didnt budge as the de sunk only a few centimeters into the baby Hoard Mothers hairy leg. Both the hair and scaley skin sessfully stopped her attack. The baby Hoard Mother let out an annoyed puff of breath from its nostrils and then attacked at Lisa with its two sapling sized tails. Lisa wrenched her katana free and jumped up to avoid being struck. Yet the baby Hoard Mother was quick, and it sent its tail back at her twice as fast. The twin tails struck Lisas back while she was still in the air, and she was sent spiraling out from the defensive formation. Branches and limbs struck her all over as she was knocked into the woods. Eventually arge Por tree trunk stopped herpletely. She sat up lean on the trunk while rubbing her back to look at the baby Hoard Mother through the hole she had created in the foliage. Ouch, now that hurt. Lisa moaned. I guess its time to call for back up. Lisa then reached into her now ripped jeans back pocket and pulled out an orange ir gun. She had taken this earlier when everyone was being given their weapons to fight with. Pointing it straight up, she shot it. This was the signal Dixon and Party Badger were waiting for! Chapter 225: Grind Chapter 225: Grind Tammy, are you alright? Dixon called over his watchs inte. The signal ir has beenunched. We need you back here, now! There was an ufortable pause as only a hiss of background noise followed. Normally Tammy would reply to him immediately. He tried repeating the message again, but nothing happened. He was feeling a bit worried and was about to try again when Tammys voice answered back. I see it now. I am a bit tied up at the moment. This woond terrain is uneven and hard to move around in. Why you Themunication seemed to breakdown as a series of scuffling and heavy grunt noises broke out. Then Tammys panting voice returned. Sorry, these in Striders are hard to kill without any bullets. I keep having to fend them off by jabbing my sword at them or tacking them and tossing them out of the way before the next one charges out from the woods. I am only at thirty percent power too. Hold on, herees another! Got you Im on my way, Dixon just give me some time Dixon lowered his watch and lifted his rifle to rest it over his shoulder. 56, I am going to put you on the green roof. I will be going across the river to help. 56 emptied thest round from his magazine. You are the boss. Ill do what I can for now. Dixon wheeled his hover bike around and slowed down just enough to let 56 jump off. 56 hurriedly grabbed two boxes of ammo from the hover trailer before Dixon speed off over the dam to assist Lisa. As he came closer, Dixon became worried about the Land Octopuss recalling thest time he faced them and chose to gain altitude. Coming to a stop at a safe distance he aimed his rifle down to where the ir had originated from. He was intrigued to see a faint neon green glow through the foliage. Zooming his scope in, he was surprised to see that the glow was actually Lisa herself. Huh, so she uses an Altercation: cyborg type. That would exin her confidence and a few other things. Never seen this model type before. It looksplex. Dixon then raise his rifles scope to look for Tammys Party Badger. There was a clear path of entry in the woods nearby the river where the Party Badger and in Striders had leveled trees and bushes. However, the path wound back and forth through the trees and quickly became impossible to follow. There was no sign of her Hunter Mech poking above the trees either. She must have been trying to put a lot of distance between herself and the in Striders to lose them in the forest. Putting the rifle scope down, Dixon nced to see if Lisa or the Twisted had made any moves on each other. To his surprise Lisa had bolted out from the woods and was already engaging the baby Hoard Mother during the few seconds from when he had looked away. If there would have been a caption for what he was now witnessing it would say, Dont blink! Lisa jumped and spun a double axel over a ck spear attack from a single Land Octopus andnded heavily in the sand on one knee just as another biological spear came soaring towards her. Raising her halfway extended katana she braced herself to deflect the blow and caused it to travel right over her shoulder. The ckened de and the solid tentacle grated harshly but neither yielded. The ridged Land Octopuss tentacle continued to grate noisily past her for a moment when it suddenly softened and went ck. As it did, a double row of centipede like legs emerged out from the tentacles underside with an unsavory juicy sound. All these ck writing pen sized legs could easily shred and tear her apart if they made contact. Surprised by their appearance Lisa tried to jump away but the tentacle receded and began to curl around her from behind. Desperate, Lisa ventured to chop at the ck tentacle. Her katana sunk halfway into the rubbery ck and red flesh, causing the Land Octopus to react and harden itself to prevent further damage. Taking advantage of the frozen state of the tentacle, Lisa made her escape by running away. Lisa dodged another tentacle spear as she verbally insulted the Land Octopus. Not today, not today buddy! I am not into tentacle porn. So, there is no way you are going to catch me in one of those wriggling arms of yours! As if attempting to deny her request three more tentacle spears were sent flying her way all at once. Lisa then took a sharp turn inwards towards the baby Hoard Mother to avoid the assault and prepared to take on the white beast again. This time she was going after the allegator like head of the baby Hoard Mother. With no hair to cover the scales on the Twisted neck, she hoped that her katanas de would be able to inflict more damage. The baby Hoard Mother was keeping a close eye on the small human attacking it now. Unlikest time it was ready for her. Its three hairy, bone tipped, scorpion shaped tails came arcing over its back and to strike at Lisa. Lisa was then forced to give up her assault and focus on dodging. The three tails kept stabbing at her over and over, making any chance for her to get closer impossible as she danced around these attacks. Lisa then tried to sh at these segmented tails as they came for her, but it was useless. As soon as she dodged a tail and then went to swing at it, the tail was already receding. She could only manage to just bare nick a tail every other time they came to stab her. Lisa then began to converse with the Hoard Mother as she dodged its attacks. At this rate Ill never be able to make any progress. Come on just let me hit you! Just then she felt a presence approaching from behind and ducked. A Land Octopus tentacle zoomed over her head to barely miss her. It then stopped and went limp to release its sharp tipped centipede legs directly above her. Lisas silver eyes shed knowing the danger she was in and rolled out from under the tentacle. Thump! The heavy tentacle thwacked the dusty ground right next to her. Lisa was about to rise and attack the tentacle when a heavy object mmed into her side. The blow knocked her to the ground once more and she could feel a jolt of pain rock her ribs right where she had been injured before during the triplets Match Fight. The baby Hoard Mother had stabbed down on either side of the tentacle with two of its tails aiming for where Lisa might appear and timed it just right. Lisa rolled onto her back and looked up to see she had no time to move as the third bone tipped tail was alreadying right at her center. Raising both her arms up, she activated her arm shields just in time to shield herself. There was a sharp metal ring as the bone tipped tail struck her shield and nced away leaving a light indentation in the metal. In the process of being stuck, the force was much greater than any bullet she had ever blocked before, and her arms were knocked away to expose her body. She waspletely vulnerable for just a moment and the baby Hoard Mother seized that moment to stab at her again. Unable to do much, Lisa rolled to one side to barely miss the full brunt of the tails strike. Instead, it grazed her lower back and knocked her tumbling away across the sand. Seeing that it had missed her again, the baby Hoard Mother struck at her with its third hairy tail. Lisa was in pain but knew that the next tail would being. So, instead of stopping her rolling, she tried to continue rolling and avoid being hit. This caught the baby Hoard Mother off guard and the third strikended right behind her creating arge puff of dust. Feeling the heavy thud of the tail missing her, Lisa pushed off the ground like she was doing a push up and broke out into a run. She had started running without looking up and when she did, she saw that she was about to collide with a Land Octopus! Unable to stop running, change direction, or use her katana to attack with, Lisa braced herself and tacked the beast around its bulbus head. The Land Octopus was still under the control of the baby Hoard Mother and as such, had its eyes closed. The Twisted was taken by surprise, not only because it was being tackled but that Lisa had picked it up and was now carrying out from the defensive line! The size of this Octopus should have been over three metric tons, yet she was carrying itke a sack of flower over her shoulder. Being in such an unustomed position the Land Octopus panicked and started to break free from the baby Hoard Mothers control. This time the baby Hoard Mother did not try to stop it. The tackled Land Octopuss tried to defend itself by wrapping its arms around Lisa and crush her with a hug. Felling the tentacles beginning to wrap around her, Lisa shouted, Not so fast! Lisa then dropped her shoulder to body m the Twisted into the ground. Unprepared to be hit in such a manner, the Land Octopus was squashed like chewed gum under a shoe. Lisa released her grip to stand upright, and in the process, she twirled her katana high above her to point it downwards. Without hesitation, she sent it plunging into the dazed eye of the Land Octopus. Its arms wriggled and thrashed furiously as it slowly died. Lisa had no time to watch as the creature died and immediately wrenched her bloodied de from the oozing red eye to face the remaining Twisted. She locked eye contact with the baby Hoard Mother and for a moment the two of them red at each other trying to n out their next move. Neither were making any good progress. Lisa was only whittling down the other Twisteds numbers and had caused no damage to the real threating monster. While in turn the baby Hoard Mother had only slightly harmed Lisa. Something had to change or either side had to slipup for a winner to be clear. Then faintly at first, from beyond the road, came a repeating crashing noise. As it slowly got closer and the crashing more frequent, both Lisa and the Hoard Mother nced that way. At the edge of the tree line arge pine tree suddenly fell t and standing atop its trunk was a Mechs foot. Party Badger had returned. Ah, finally back and ready to rumble! Party Badgers electronic voice announced. About time! Lisa called back. Do you remember the n still? Yep! Party Badger replied while mming her Mechs fist into her other hand. Lets give this Hoard Mother a bath! Chapter 226: Hard Pressed Chapter 226: Hard Pressed The baby Hoard Mother let out an annoyed rumble seeing that the Hunter Mech had returned. At the sound of its rumble, the remaining six in Striders also left the defensive ring and charged towards the Party Badger. This was a lucky break for Lisa. The in Striders had been in her way when she tried to attack the Hoard Mother earlier. Just by them being there, they limited the number of ces she could approach from or move to attack. Awe, more in Striders. I am tired of dealing with you guys. Party Badger responded dully. She then took off her massive sword from its ce on her back and pointed at the charging Twisted. No matter, Ill just crush you like the others. Lisa took a nce at the baby Hoard Mother and seeing it wasnt making at move at her, she looked back at the Party Badger. The Hunter Mech was in bad shape. The leg, arm, torso, and back armor was bent, mangled, and torn away in just about every conceivable ce. There was wiring sticking out at odd ces and on asion sparks would jump out from some of them too. Lisa sighed and spoke to herself. I could let her handle the in Striders, which would help me out, but I need her to help me with the Hoard Mother immediately. I can hear the gunfire across the dam has gotten worse and there is no telling how much longer their ammo willst. This next set of attacks needs to end this invasion right now or we all are going to get killed. Lisa copsed her katana and stuck it onto her belts maic strip. Well, here goes nothing. Lisa then changed directions to dash away from the Hoard Mothers defensive ring and make for the nks of the in Striders. Party Badger wasnt going to sit back and let the in Striderse to her, no, she wasnt that kind of fighter. The Hunter Mech instead charged straight for the oing Twisted, fully intending to fight head on. The baby Hoard Mother saw what was going on and it could sense the danger the in Striders were in. However, the baby Hoard Mother had been holding back for some time now and it wasnt just idlily trying to take on Lisa or the Hunter Mech one by one. Now that both of its obstacles to hunting down the humans were going to one ce, it was time to enact its own n. Party Badger engaged the lead in Strider first and tried to chop the Twisted in the head with her massive sword. The strike struck true; however, the horns caught the brunt of the blow and the two locked weapons instead. The in Strider was stunned for a moment and Party Badger tried to throw it off bnce while she had the chance, yet the legs of the in Strider held steady and the Twisted only stumbled to the right. This allowed a second in Strider an avenue to charge right at the exposed nk of Party Badger. Party Badger knew of the danger she had been put in and pushed off from the in Striders Horns to jump out of the second in Striders path. However, she wasnt quick enough, and the second in Striders horn struck her Mechs thigh. The force of being hit spun her around once but she managed to catch herself by stabbing the ground with her sword. Where is Lisa at? Tammy said through gritted teeth as she looked through her Mechs sensors. She was on her way here, wasnt she? Meanwhile, Lisa had easily caught up to the slowest of the in Striders and jumped onto its back. Annoyed by her appearance the in Strider stopped running and began to buck about and throw her off from itself. Lisa wasnt going to be acting as a bull rider though, and instead she jumped off the raging bull like monster andnded on the back of the next closest in Strider. The same thing happened as with the first, her appearance annoyed the in Strider and caused it to stop running. Lisa jumped off once more to a third in Strider and that is when Party Badger noticed what she was doing. A third in Strider had also tried to ram into the Hunter Mech after the second one did, but Party Badger was watching and dodged safely this time. In that moment was when Tammy saw what Lisa had done. Nice, slowing them down so I can take on these guys in fewer numbers. Party Badger raised her sword and eyed the three in Striders that were lining up to attack at her together. Three for you, three for me, seems fair. This wasnt going to be the case, however. The baby Hoard Mothers throat suddenly puffed out slightly and it let out three deep, drawn out hums. In response to these unique sounds the woods suddenly became alive with the sounds of screeches and roars. Night Hounds, Logos Cutters, and more in Striders came pouring out from the trees from the direction of the cliff revealing that there were even more Twisted than what had first appeared with the Hoard Mother! Unbeknownst to Lisa and others was that the Twisted they had been fighting up until now were only the ones that had not yet eaten. The baby Hoard Mother had been keeping her healthier Twisted in reserve and it was waiting to see if a moment of disadvantage appeared for the ones that were desperate to eat and then swoop in with the stronger Twisted and crush her human foes ns. The baby Hoard Mother was wisely using its weaker forces as bait! Lisa felt her heart tighten; they were in trouble now. Party Badger, forget fighting with these in Striders. We need to bum-rush the Hoard Mother now as nned! We wont be getting another chance once these new Twisted reach us or the dam! Got it! Party Badger shouted. Party Badger quickly tossed her sword onto her back and charged at the left most of the three in Striders surrounding her. Likewise, the targeted in Strider went to ram headfirst into her Mech. But Party Badger unexpectedly nted both hands onto the shoulders of the in Strider and leapfrogged over it! The confused in Strider could only watch as the over five-meter tall Mech sailed overhead. Lisa had also attacked her third in Strider by stabbing it in the back with her katana. The wounded beast toppled to the ground as Lisa leapt off it before running alongside the Hunter Mech. The two of them matched pace as they headed for the defensive ring of Land Octopuss. How do we get by those tentacles? Tammys voice called out. As soon as theyunch at us, jump high over them and activate your smokescreen. Lisa called back. Ill go ahead of you and try something then. Just as she finished speaking the line of Land Octopussunched their phnx spear attack. The ever growing ck,va-colored tentacles provided no other alternative for them to react other than to jump or retreat. As nned the two of them jumped and a thick grey-blue smog irrupted from the heat exhaust fan of the Party Badger. Circling to the left to get in between the Twisteding from the trees and the baby Hoard Mother they quickly blocked the two sides view of each other. The grey-blue smog was very slow to dissipate, and it clung to the ground closely. As designed the smog was meant to act this way and it was even injected with heat and thermal sensor blocking micro chemicals. The baby Hoard Mother was not happy to see that its n was already starting to unravel as the rest of its hoard began calling out their confusion. The other Twisted were being warry of the smog as it was not only blocking their vision but smell and hearing were also being affected. The baby Hoard Mother had seen enough. Letting out a high pitch rumble the Hoard Mothers neck began to stretch, just like the Land Octopus tentacles, to go after the Hunter Mech with both mouths wide open. Keep going! Lisa shouted. Lisas right arm changed over to her arm gun and sliding to a stop in the sand, she took aim at the iing allegator like head. She fired once just as the head closed half the distance between them. The .50cal bullet struck the top right ruby colored eye of the baby Hoard Mother and it exploded into a ck spring of blood and whitish red puss. The entire neck of the monster recoiled in pain as it wailed angrily and along with this pain the baby Hoard Mother also lost control of the Land Octopuss. Lisa turned her aim onto the Land Octopuss as soon as she saw their eyes flutter open. This was what she had hoped would happen. Lisa fired her arm gun rapidly at the bulbus red eye targets, switching from one to the next after every round. Every time she shot a crimson eye exploded, signaling the undoubtable death of another Land Octopus. Charge the Hoard Mother! Lisa shouted again. This time there were no Land Octopuss able to attack Lisa and the Party Badger or they would risk striking the baby Hoard Mother. Unhindered, Lisa and the Party Badger collided into the the baby Hoard Mother and started pushing with all their strength. The Hunter Mech was grappling the torso of therge white scaled Twisted, while Lisa initially shoulder mmed the body alongside the Hunter Mech. Then uponnding she started stabbing with her katana at the legs supporting the baby Hoard Mother weight. The baby Hoard Mother was not expecting to be hit and stabbed by them in this manner and it lost its footing in the loose sand. Feeling the body of the baby Hoard Mother giving way, they doubled their efforts. They were slowly pushing the baby Hoard Mother closer to the cliff that led down to the river. Lisas n was working. They were getting ready to try wounding or kill the Hoard Mother by using gravity as their weapon! However, the baby Hoard Mother was far from finished in this fight. Ignoring the pain stinging its eye, it attacked as its double mouths swooped down to bite down on the right shoulder and forearm of the Party Badger. There was a loud crunch as all the already damaged armor was ripped off from the Hunter Mechs frame. Lisa, stop it! Tammy cried. Another attack like that will kill me! On it! Lisa replied as she dashed out from under the belly of the beast. Lisa then jumped up onto the back of the Mech with her gun arm deployed and just in time too. The baby Hoard Mother had spit out the foul-tasting metal and hydraulic fluids from the Mech and wasing back for another bite. Lisa fired her arm gun twice and from close range, she could not miss. Two more red eyes on the lower left of its allegator like head were torn to shreds! The bullets must have traveled deep, for the entire body of the Hoard Mother shook and twitched in pain. The baby Hoard Mother began to stagger backwards as it reared back to stand on its hind four legs while the other four kicked out futilely with its cat paw like feet at the Hunter Mech. Unable to see what was going on from inside the cockpit of her Mech, but able to feel the change in the creature stature, Party Badger moved to grab under the body of the baby Hoard Mother and push from there. If she could manage to knock the creature onto its back it was going to fall into the river far below for sure. They were only just meters away from the edge. Letting out a desperate yelp, the baby Hoard Mother used its three tails to stab into the sandy rock ground behind itself. Effectively stopping Lisa and Party Badger progress entirely! To make matters worse, when Lisa tried to shoot at the head of the baby Hoard Mother again, nothing happened. She was out of bullets and now they were nearly out of options. Chapter 227: Three is a Crowd Chapter 227: Three is a Crowd Lisa steadied herself on top of the Hunter Mechs back as the Party Badger jostled to maintain her grip on the baby Hoard Mothers torso. Partially blinded and enraged the leader of the Twisted hoard was not going to just let itself be beaten and pushed around. The baby Hoard Mother kicked furiously into the air with its cat paws while its long brontosaurus like neck was strung out trying to reach under itself and bite at the Hunter Mech. Lisa stabbed and swiped vigorously with her katana at the baby Hoard Mothers head each time it came in too attack. The baby Hoard Mothers neck was now stretched out to three times its original length. The head was snaking all around like an unmanned firehose trying to find an opening to strike from. The double alligator shaped mouths were more than enough to gobble her up whole in one gulp, but Lisa fended the Twisted off knowing that both Party Badger and the townspeople were counting on her. All she needed was some miracle to happen. As the baby Hoard Mother came swooping in from the left, Party Badger called out her situation. Lisa, I am getting system failures on all of my Mechs limbs. Hurry up and get this thing to fall. I wontst another minute! I am trying! Lisa called back after stabbing the baby Hoard Mothers lower mouths tongue. If I left you now to attack the lower legs youd be eaten in seconds. Cant you press harder? We are so close! I cant squeeze out another volt of power. Party Badgers voice groaned. I just got another warning, the smokescreen I deployed is beginning to dissipate! Lisa looked back at the blue-grey smog and saw that it was indeed looking thinner. Then from the far left of the smog circle a lone Night Hound appeared toing stumbling out from it. The nasty alien looking Twisted caught sight of them and let out a warbling screech. They are already starting toe this way! Lisa called back. Feeling desperate, Lisa ventured to stab at the underbelly of the Hoard Mother. The young scales of the baby Hoard Mother were nowhere close to being as strong as its adult form would be and yet the de felt as if it was hitting a brick wall. Lisas katana only managed to break the topyer and draw an insignificant amount of blood before the head of the baby Hoard Mother came charging downwards to defend itself. Lisa pulled her katana free before ducking just in time for the mouths to missed her by mere centimeters. If it were not for her Stage Twos speed and strength, there would have been no way that she could havested this long. Punching angrily at the Twisteds neck as it past by, Lisa got back up and aimed the tip of her katana at the chink she had made in the creatures torso. This time when she stabbed at the small wound the de prated deeply. The howl the baby Hoard Mother made was unbearable. Lisa was forced to let go of her katanas hilt so that she could cover her ears from the noise. The de had struck deep into the liver and intestines of the baby Hoard Mother, and though not a fatal blow and not an injury the healing powers of the Twisted couldnt handle, it was excruciatingly painful! Taking a risk, the baby Hoard Mother lifted its center hairy scorpion tail out from the ground and began to stab at the Hunter Mech. The first unexpected blow struck the Hunter Mechs chassis to leave behind a basketball sized hole. Lisa didnt need to hear Tammy calling for help, she was already swinging down from the Mechs shoulders to defend from the ground. As soon as shended the bone tipped tail was alreadying back for a second stab. Flicking her ckened de out to reach full length Lisa chopped downwards to deflect the tail into the ground. In response to being struck, Tammy could feel the pressure from the center tails support being released and that the weight of the Hoard Mother was starting to lean backwards. Even though her Mech was crumbing and full of holes, she lifted the right leg of the Mech closer to the cliff by half a meter. The entire Hoard Mothers body wobbled unsteadily as it was then pressed back once more. The center tail then quickly disappeared back behind the giant Twisted and buried deeply into the rock sand to stabilize itself. Hearing the quickening rustle of scales overhead, Lisa jumped straight upwards to strike her katana against the neck of the baby Hoard Mother before it bit at the Mech again. The de didnt deal much damage; however, the blow made the baby Hoard Mother choak some and pull back from its assault. Lisa thennded back on top of the Hunter Mechs back and resumed her defense position. Suddenly there was a loud crack! Both the baby Hoard Mother and the Hunter Mech wobbled precariously as the ground suddenly jolted downwards. Lisa looked down at the baby Hoard Mothers hind four legs and saw that a crack had appeared on the edges of the cliff. The ground by the cliff was giving way! Keep pressing! Lisa called. If we can keep moving the Hoard Mother closer to the cliff the ground will give out before we could push it off. What if we fall too? Party Badger replied. Her left arm suddenly slipped as the machines arm motors were starting to wear out and the baby Hoard Mother nearly rolled free. Party Badger repositioned herself and regained control of the situation. I dont think Ill be able to hold out longer than the ground will either. The ground shook and sagged once more and this time the noise came from three separate cracking sounds. From the right, nearer to the dam, the crack widened and arge boulder broke free. It tumbled silently down several meters before it struck the dams spillway and shattered into three separate pieces. I know you can do it! Lisa shouted encouragingly. Ill keep us from falling with the Hoard Mother if the ground takes us with it. The baby Hoard Mother let out another deep rumble and numerous roars and screeches came answering from behind. Looking back Lisa saw that the blue-grey smog was nearly gone now, and the entire hoard wasing their way. It would be only a matter of moments before these reinforcements would swarm over them and save the Hoard Mother. Lisa raised her katana once more as the head of the baby Hoard Mother came down to attack once again. Then from right next to them a horn red out to surprise both Lisa and the Hoard Mother. The two of them looked over just in time to see a ck and yellow mechanical figuree crashing into the back right legs of the Hoard Mother. It was the Mover Mech that was parked near the dam and from the open door of the cockpit Lisa saw that Hanna was the pilot! Hold him still! Joan called out to Mary and Mrs. Donovan. They were helping to hold down Hugo who had woken up moments ago, so that Joan could finish stitching him up. Sir, I need you still so I can finish suturing your lung. I dont have the right thread for the job and need you still otherwise it might end up worse! Hugo pounded his fist angrily onto the cold concrete floor of the dam tunnel as hey still. I told you, my name is Hugo. How can I sit still when my guys are fighting out there? Well, if you will give me some time you just might be able too. Joan quipped. Now hold still. Mrs. Goldsberry was watching nearby at the gruesome sight of Joan working on Hugos wound. She was not at all the type that enjoyed pain or blood. Looking away in disgust as Joan sunk her fingertips into the mans shoulder to work on his lung, she noticed that Tilly was wandering around the tunnel by herself. This was very unusual; Tilly never left her daughters side. Tilly dear. Mrs. Goldsberry called to the girl in her soft British ent. Where is Jillian? I am not sure. Tillys timid voice replied. She and the others were by the door just a moment ago. By the door? Mrs. Goldsberry repeated with concern as she looked that way. She saw no one there and asked, Surely they did not go out there? Tilly shrugged in reply. They then both were distracted by the sound of Hugos yelling. Joan was fingering deeply into his body now and without any medicine to numb the pain, he was bound to yell. Gah! Are you finished killing me? Hugo yelled. Shut up! Joan ordered trying to concentrate. A secondter she pulled her fingers out from him. There, I did what I could, and you can move now. Though from a medical perspective I dont think you should. Well, I am going too! Hugo snapped. He then sat up to begin slowly standing back up. I really think you shouldnt move yet. Joan continued. You lost a lot of blood already. Mrs. Goldsberry approached Mary as the two others bickered. Mary, have you seen Jillian and some of the other girls? Mary looked around and her brows drew closer with worry. No, I dont know, and I dont see Hanna anywhere either! Mrs. Goldsberry pointed towards the tunnels exit. Tilly saw them near there. You dont think they could have tried going outside to watch the fighting? Marys eyes widened. They better not have! She then ced a hand on Joan before she could chase after Hugo who was now going for the exit. Joan, Hanna and some of the girls might have left the tunnel. We cant find them! Joans face turned from annoyed to worried. We better go out and check. Mrs. Goldsberry and Mrs. Donovan, can you two check the rest of the tunnel, just to be sure? Both women nodded and the fourdies split up. Mary and Joan followed behind Hugo who had already opened the tunnel door and hurried into the powerhouse. Hugo was about to turn to go towards the defenders by the south and western fences when the two women caught up with him. As all three of them reached the sliding doorway the sounds of shouting from the dam drew their attention. ir, Rachel, and Jillian were yelling at Hanna who was now running across the dam! I can go help them! Hanna announced suddenly breaking the silence. The four girls had been watching Lisa and the Party Badger fighting by the cliff in total silence up until now. The moment where Lisa and the Hunter Mech had tackled the Hoard Mother was just now happening. All three of the girls were stunned to her Hanna speak. What are you talking about? ir cried. She then went to reach out and grab Hannas hand. Absolutely not! We are going back inside the tunnel right now! Hanna pulled her arm out of reach and took a step further out on to the dam. They cant push off that monster with that Mech being in such bad shape. I can tell from here its abut to fall apart. I can use the Mover Mech to help push the monster away. I dont care that you think you know stuff about Mechs or whatever. It is ridiculous for you to even think of going out there. ir argued. Rachel stepped towards Hanna and held out her hand. ir is right. Even I know that its too dangerous to go out there. Hanna shook her head. You dont understand, I must go. Something is whispering for me to go, its faint but its saying, Get in. Now you are just sounding crazy! ir shouted. ir then went to grab Hanna once more. Hanna pulled quickly away again, and ir missed just brushing by Hannas sleeve. Then without saying another word, Hanna started running as fast as she could for the Mover Mech on the far side of the dam. Hanna wasnt lying about hearing something urging her to go though. There indeed was a small nagging voice telling her to get into the Mech. She hadnt realized it before, but the voice had been speaking to her ever since she first saw the Twisted. It was only now that she was vaguely aware of it. ir yelled let out a shout and started to chase after her. ir was faster and was about to catch her when Hanna jumped over the dead bodies of the electrified Twisted. ir was mortified to realize that they were so close to so many dead creatures and stopped giving chase. She then yelled at Hanna toe back, but it was no use. Just then Joan appeared and passed by to chase after Hanna. Hanna had just passed by the second pile of electrified and gun downed Twisted when two wounded Logos Cutters suddenly got up from the pile! One blocked Joans way while the other started chasing after Hanna, who hadnt yet seen the creatureing for her! Chapter 228: Over the Edge Chapter 228: Over the Edge I dont know why I want to do this, because this is crazy. Hanna thought as she ran away. I know I shouldnt go out there, I know I dont know how to fight, and I know I am just a kid. Its just this voice keeps telling me to go and going feels right. Hanna could still hear the others calling to her toe back as she ran. However, she refused to look back otherwise she might give up on helping Lisa fight. Hanna wanted to apologize though; they were only doing what was best for her. Blinking hard to keep a tear from blocking her vision, Hanna looked over her shoulder, Im sorry but Screee! Instead of seeing people there was a mangy brown furred face with huge yellow fangs! Hanna let out her own scream as she was confronted by the wounded Logos Cutter that was right behind her. The blood thirsty mutated bunny was only two meters away and gaining! Hanna turned around and started making her little legs go as fast as she could. The Logos Cutter let out another frightening screech as it lunged out to swipe at her with its long knife-like ws. Hanna could feel them brushing at the back of her as they missed, and that close brush with death was a feeling she didnt want to ever feel again. Fortunately for her the Logos Cutter had been wounded by a bullet that had prated its hind legs. That jump it used to try and catch Hanna was so painful that it knew it couldnt do that again. Hanna didnt look back the entire time she ran for the Mover Mech. All thoughts of the voice in her head were gone now and all she could think about was getting into the safety of the cockpit. She assumed that once she made it to the Mech then all would be alright, well, she was wrong. As soon as Hanna reached the base of the Mech she realized thedder was not down and it was still tucked inside the torso. Reaching up and twisting thedders lock on the Mechs back leg she anxiously looked back at the Logos Cutter. Since the Twisted was wounded and unable to jump, Hanna managed to put some distance between them. Thedder was sliding down at a safe speed but not fast enough and the Logos Cutter had almost caught up. Theddernded with a soft thud on the roads pavement just before Hanna started climbing up it. She had only just reached the third rung when the Logos Cutter let out another screech and gave a small hop to sh its ws at her. The swipe caught her jeans pants leg and knocked her off thedder. Hanna somehow managed to hang on with her hands. She kicked and iled around trying to find thedders rung again. The Logos Cutter let out an annoyed but painful sounding moan as soon as itnded on the ground and sat down hard as its leg wound reopened. Hanna found her footing and resumed climbing. Her heart ponded and hands were sweaty, but she made it up thedder safely. Then, just as she grabbed the edge of the cockpits entrance, Hanna heard somethinging up thedder behind her. Looking down between her legs she was mortified to see that the Logos Cutter was also climbing thedder! Hanna pulled herself into the cockpit just as the Logos Cutters ws struck the edge of the entrance. Jumping into the leather seat Hanna looked back to see the sharp fanged face of the Logos Cutter appear in the doorway. A bit of gloopy saliva dripped from the Logos Cutters mouth as it let out an intimidating growl. Hanna pressed the button to close the door, but the Logos Cutter was already climbing inside. There was no way the door would close in time, she was trapped! Nervously Hanna scooted further back into her seat and thats when she felt the pistol poke her back. Reaching behind her she pulled the pistol out from her pants and looked at it dumbly. The Twisteds long ws slipped on the metal as it was climbing inside, and the door started to close on it. However, when the doors sensors felt an obstruction, the system forcibly reopened the door and let the Logos Cutter finishing in. The Logos Cutter got fully inside and now only the controls separated them. Snapping out from staring at the gun, Hanna grabbed the pistol with both hands and pointed it at the Logos Cutter. Her hands shook fearfully as she tried to aim at the Twisted who saw the gun and let out a scream, as if daring the little girl to pull the trigger. Hanna squeezed the trigger and closed her eye in anticipation of the st. Click. Nothing happened. Hannas stomach did a flip upon realizing the safety was still on! The Logos Cutter heard the guns click and lunged at Hanna with its ws to stab the little girl. Hanna threw herself to one side and the ws prated the leather seat where her head once was. Looking down at the pistol Hanna flicked the safety off from ck to red, just as she had John do before. Annoyed the Logos Cutter looked down at Hanna who was now pointing the gun right at itself. Not fearing the gun now, the Logos Cutter went to bite Hannas arm! Pow! The Logos Cutters right cheek suddenly blew off as the bullet shattered its jaw. The Logos Cutter reeled back and freed its ws from the leather seat in the process. Hanna sat back up breathing heavily and pointed the pistol at the Logos Cutter once more. The Logos Cutter looked at Hanna crossly and then jumped at her with both sets of ws ready to rip apart the little girl. Pow! Hanna pulled the trigger once more and the force kicked her hands upwards while still gripping the pistols grip. The Logos Cutter was struck in midair as the bullet lodged into its chest. Falling to the cockpit floor and creature let out a moan. It then staggered upright to look at Hanna with a wild look on its bloody and mangled face. Get away from me! Hanna screamed as she pulled the trigger for the third time. The Logos Cutter didnt make a sound as it fell backwards out the cockpit door and to the pavement below. Hanna was staring wide eyed at the entrance while still holding the pistol up at the ready. She was half expecting to see the creature reappear at any moment and dared not look away. When nothing happened, Hanna didnt even dare to go check. She just looked down at the gun trembling in her hands and came to the realization that she had just killed a living creature. The adrenaline pumping in her veins numbed her to the gravity of the situation, but she still tossed the gun onto the controls in front of herself in disbelief. The only sound now herbored breathing and the ringing in her ears from the gunshots being fired in the confined metal cockpit. Then, from off in the distance, she heard the baby Hoard Mothers rumbling call. With her hands still shaking, Hanna grabbed the controls and turned the Mech on. Hanna took a nervous, dry gulp. I-I aming Aunt Lisa. The electric engine and heat exhaust fans whirred to life as the control panel lit up with its brilliant-colored buttons. The wave of information flooded into her mind once again and immediately she felt rxed and focused. Looking ahead through the open cockpit door she saw Lisa, Party Badger, and the baby Hoard Mother struggling for control on the cliffs edge. Here goes nothing! Pressing forwards on both controls the Mover Mech started to walk. After a few steps, Hanna began to make the Mech speed up as fast as she dared. Even over the noise of the Mover Mech Hanna could hear the rumblings from the baby Hoard Mother. She was halfway to where the three were fighting by the cliff when some movement caught her eye. The rest of the Twisted Hoard wasing out from the blue-grey smog to her left and they were right next to her! Knowing she was still moving fast, and they couldnt reach her just yet, Hanna didnt change course and kept her aim steady. From her experience with learning how to bnce and move the Mech she knew where to ram into the baby Hoard Mother. The Hoard Mothers back legs. The Mover Mech was also feeding her the same information. The system was telling Hanna that the cliff was approaching and that there was an unstable structure ahead. This further fueled her to act and ram the legs of the massive Twisted. Pressing the controls to full speed and hitting the Mechs horn, Hanna braced for impact. Ka-thunk! The Mover Mech hit the leg of the baby Hoard Mother perfectly. The wide bucket dug into the monsters scaly leg and though it didnt cut into the scales, the flesh still gave way. This caused the whole leg to get knocked backwards and slide in the sand. The force of the speeding Mech, added to the pressure Party Badger was already putting on it, seeded in topping the baby Hoard Mother! Hanna! Lisa yelled as she watched the little muddy red headed girl sailing out from the cockpits door. Hanna was not strapped down by the seat belt and was flung out by the impact! Both she and Hoard Mother were free falling over the edge of the cliff! Throwing cation to the wind, Lisa took a running jump off from the Hunter Mechs back and at the helpless little girl. Just as she did jump, the cliff also gave out. There was nothing to stop them from falling together now. However, Lisa raced towards the little girl like a rocket as debris tumbled around them in the air. The bottom of the copsed cliff struck the dams spillway and started to shatter causingrge boulders and rocks shoot back up at them. Lisa grabbed the little girl by the hand and pulled her close to her chest to shield her from everything that was about to happen. Lisa tightened her arms and legs around Hanna as they fell helplessly to the bottom of the dam. They were just about to reach the bottom when Lisa shouted, Hold your breath! There was a loud bang as the world shook around them, only to be instantly followed by pain on all sides, lots of spinning, and then a cold wet darkness. Water flooded and sloshed around them and neither of them could tell which way was up. Hanna felt as if her lungs were about to burst the entire time. She was about to give up when they broke the rivers muddy surface. Hanna gasped right away and looked frantically about her while pawing at her wet hair that was matted to her face. Lisa was still holding onto her, but she wasnt looking at her. Instead, Lisa was looking further ahead in the river. Hanna looked that way too and wished she hadnt. The baby Hoard Mothers head and neck were rising out from the water. Letting out a defiant roar from both mouths the water rippled violently around the two women. The Twisted was not dead! Chapter 229: Gone from Town Chapter 229: Gone from Town Water rained down on the two soaked women as the baby Hoard Mothers head wavered above them. There was nowhere for them to go. The dam was towering behind them, the copsed cliff was to their left, and the fuming Hoard Mother blocked any route they might take to reach either of the rivers shores. It wouldnt be long before the baby Hoard Mother would spot them floundering in the water and gulp them up like soup. Hanna? Lisa whispered. You can swim right? Hanna could feel the current tugging at her legs as she was still holding onto Lisa. She then nodded. Yes. I can swim a little bit. Lisa let go of Hanna and swam around her to get in between her and the Twisted. Stay behind me and swim as quiet as you can for the dam. It hasnt seen us yet and looks confused. Hanna did as she was told, and doggy paddled with her arms under the waters surface towards the dam. Meanwhile the baby Hoard Mother let out another roar and looked around itself to get its barrings. Looking up it saw the cliff had copsed and that was how it ended up down here. Also up there was the rest of the hoard peering over the edge to see what had be of their leader. The baby Hoard Mother growled as it spotted something else dangling from just below the copsed cliffs edge, the Party Badger. Somehow, Tammy had managed to keep moving her Mech despite the damages it had already sustained and grabbed onto a bolder that now jutted out from the new cliff face. Seeing that Hunter Mech reminded the baby Hoard Mother of the other smaller Mech that ultimately knocked it into the river. Looking back down around itself at the muddy, swirling river the baby Hoard Mother caught sight of the Mover Mechs bucket arm and leg sticking out from under a pile of rocks. Swinging its allegator shaped head over to the crushed Mech, ittched onto the Mover Mechs arm and vengefully ripped it out of its socket. Feeling satisfied that it had gotten revenge on the Mover Mech, the baby Hoard Mother tossed the arm away into the river and thats when it spotted the two swimming in the water. The sounds of a low rumble echoed off from the dam and Lisa looked back to see the baby Hoard Mother was looking right at her. Hurry Hanna! We have been seen! Hanna was tired already from the stress, running all day, and now swimming, however, she gave onest effort to reach the bottom edge of the dam. There was a small lip that ran along the bottom of the dam and when she tried to pull herself onto this ledge the slippery algae and moss wouldnt let her. Then the sounds of heavy sloshing reached her ears and looking back she saw the baby Hoard Mother wadding their way. Lisa caught up to the little girl and grabbed her under the arm to toss her out of the water and onto the ledge. Quickly following behind Hanna, Lisa too climbed out of the water before turning to face the Twisted. Pulling out her katana, that she barely managed to hold onto during the fall, Lisa flicked it out to its full length. Without even slowing down the baby Hoard Mother wadded confidently through the river towards its quarry. Even with its body fully submerged in the river, its head still towered over Lisa. Lisa took a threatening swing at the baby Hoard Mothers eyes, who in turn, leaned its head back to avoid the swing. The baby Hoard Mother then reared its head back to let out a victorious rumble, for atst the pest it had been fighting was about to die. Lisa gritted her teeth. This sucks. I came all the way out here to the middle of nowhere after surviving so many battles and getting a second chance at a new life, only to be beaten by this monster. All my ns are screwed now, but Ill at least save Hanna first before I leave this ce. The baby Hoard Mother opened both mouths with an angry sounding hiss in preparation to strike. Lisa gripped her katana and let out a defiant shout of her own. Hanna folded herself up into a ball behind Lisa and started to cry thinking this was the end. Pffssss! The sound of a rocketunching from behind the baby Hoard Mother sounded out. The baby Hoard Mother turned and looked back just as an explosion struck it in the face! Greenish yellow smoke bloomed out from the explosion and enveloped the baby Hoard Mothers face. Seeing this as her chance, Lisa grabbed Hanna and started running along the edge of the dam. Lisa thought it was the Party Badger that shot the rocket, or perhaps Dixon was finally being useful and was giving her some support. However, after getting further away from the baby Hoard Mother Lisa was surprised to see a river barged wasing upriver and had fired upon the Hoard Mother. Even more surprising was the one that was holding the rocketuncher. A man being covered in what looked like mud and wearing a bison skull was standing on the bow was reloading to shoot again. Lisa was d someone had shown up to distract the baby Hoard Mother, but there was no way a single rocketuncher could take down that monster. Lisa then took a nce at the baby Hoard Mother and stopped running right away because she couldnt believe her eyes. The greenish yellow smoke was still hanging thick around the Twisteds head and even though there was no damage to the beasts body it was acting hurt. The baby Hoard Mother was shaking its head around and acting like someone that had been pepper sprayed in the eyes. A second rocket came flying from the barge to strike the baby Hoard Mothers neck. Again, the gas clung tightly around the Twisted head and the baby Hoard Mother began making what sounded like gagging noises! The baby Hoard Mother began to blindly wade through the river to escape the gas, however, the effects seemed to still be hurting the beast. Then it tried to dunk its head under the water and wash out its eyes and mouth. This seemed to help and as soon as its head popped out from the water it let out a tremendous roar! Everyone, fire together! The bison skull man yelled. From behind him came several others dressed simrly in muddy clothes and joined him along with people who Lisa summed were Skull, based on the tattoos covering their shirtless torsos. They all were holding rocketunchers and together loosened a simultaneous volley at the baby Hoard Mother. Almost all the rockets struck the giant creatures head and neck causing a huge plum of gas to almost swallow all signs of the creature. One rocket missed and flew towards the dam in the twodies general direction. Lisa saw iting and threw herself over Hanna just as the st went off. The explosion didnt have as much effect as Lisa expected and the two of them were fine, however, the gas engulfed them. Lisa held her breath thinking that it might be poisonous gas or chemicals and tried to run away with Hanna. Yet her nose noticed that this gas smelled sweat, and it didnt hurt her at all. Still, she ran further down to the dams middle and jumped atop of the big rusting pipes to get a better view of the situation. The baby Hoard Mother was thrashing about violently now as the gas was surrounding it on all sides. It wailed and roared in protest, sshing water everywhere, and even tried dunking its head back in the river, but it was all in vain. Whatever that gas was its affects were recking havoc to its senses. From the cliffside above the Twisted were running back and forth helpless to do anything to assist their leader. They were to high up and with the only way down being hundreds of meters away going back would take to long. All they could do was brey and howl in protest. Fire again! The bison skull man shouted. Another equallyrge number of rockets sted all over the devastated Twisted and this drove the baby Hoard Mother insane. Without seeing where it was going the baby Hoard Mother appeared on the eastern side of the gas cloud and crashed its entire body into the small cliffside embankment that nked both sides of the river. Then with all eight legs scrambling blindly to find a foot hold the baby Hoard Mother tried to flee! Shoot the grapples! We need to catch it! The bison skull man ordered. From the sides and back of the barge four grapple guns opened fire at the Twisted. With its body being so big, they couldnt miss. All four grapples attached to chains rapped around the neck, body, and two of the baby Hoard Mothers legs. The baby Hoard Mother was not going to be stopped by this, however. Finding a foothold, the baby Hoard Mother pulled itself out of the river and onto the t scrund that was between the eastern part of town and the cliff. Along with its escape, the barge was pulled through the river to crash into the bank. Zap it! Throw the engines to full speed! The bison skull man ordered as he clung to the railing to avoid being tossed over. A few people on the deck ran up to these chains and hooked a bunch of car batteries to the chains with jumper cables. The baby Hoard Mother let out a wail as the electricity coursed through it, but it still wasnt enough. The giant Twisted gave a mighty surge as it started to run and, in the process, the entire barge was dragged out from the river! Everyone abord the vessel shouted fearfully as they clung onto anything to keep from falling off the barge. There was nothing Lisa could do for them, and she could only watch in awe as the mighty beast fled with its boat chariot in tow. Then a figure jumped off the barge and caught her attention. The brown-haired man had Skull identifying tattoos all over his torso and he was carrying arge firemans axe with both hands. When he jumped off the boat, he didnt run away but instead ran after the baby Hoard Mother. Lisa then watched curiously as he managed to catch up to the Twisted and then go from grapple to grapple and chop the chains to free the barge. Feeling the burden from the boat lessen, the baby Hoard Mother ventured to turn around and attack once more. However, this was short lived when someone from the barge shot another gas rocket at the beasts head. The return of the noxious gas was thest straw for the baby Hoard Mother. Tossing its head around in disgust, the baby Hoard Mother let out the loudest rumbling roar it had ever made so far. Everyone that was watching this scene covered their ears as the mind-numbing sound went on for several, long seconds. As soon as the noise stopped it was immediately repeated by all the Twisted in the entire town! Twisted from on top of the cliff roared, the Twisted attacking the defenders on the dam roared, those by the Mad Dogspound stopped their assault to roar, and even as far away as the downtown area the sound of Twisted roaring could be heard. Then all at once, they chased after the baby Hoard Mother who was now running at a full galop to the east. The Twisted that were on the westside of the river jumped in mass into the river to swim across and catch up. It didnt matter if there was a human in the way or not, they fully ignored them and ran. Twisted crossed in droves at numbers than no one could ever hope to count! All the Twisted were finally leaving town. They had survived! Chapter 230: Broken Aftermath Chapter 230: Broken Aftermath Get thes and catch them before they all get out from the river! Garth yelled out. We lost the big one, but the minions are still within our reach! The barge had tipped over on its side after n cut the grapple chains and nowy beached over thirty meters from the water. Even with their boat bing useless the Sun People were not worried. Every one of the two hundred fifty Sun People were hurrying way from the barge to spread out to cover the eastern bank and prepare to capture the Twisted. The Night Hounds and Logos Cutters were easy targets as they floundered across the brown water and were easily picked off as they tried to climb the steep, sandy shale banks of river. In moments there were dozens of weighteds wriggling around as the Twisted inside of them struggled to break free. Adding to the mayhem a few of the Sun People shot their gas rockets at the Twisted, and in their confusion, tried to physically tackle these monsters using nothing but their own strength and tie them up. A few other deliberately attacked the Twisted with a small taser like devices. The affect the shock made was enough to disrupt the baby Hoard Mothers mind control and this caused the fleeing Twisted to be aware of the humans trying to attack them. This was exactly what the crazy Sun People wanted, a fight. The Twisted were unprepared to take on these humans who were specifically trained to fight these monsters. The sheer skill in which they moved, tried attacking or defending with their various handheld weapons, and working together to take on the rowdier of Twisted was breathtaking. In some cases, it looked like they were dancing with monsters rather than killing them. The Sun People wereughing and really enjoying the moment. With so many of their hated enemy fleeing without so much as putting up a decent fight was well worth the trip. Death to the Radiations Spawn! Was amon call among the zealot Sun People after every time they killed or captured a Twisted. Along with chants saying, The Suns challenge has been won. Or Twisted scum are not worthy to bask in the Suns light. Go back to hell! Could also be heard echoing off from the dam and cliffsides. The Skull, on the other hand were not participating with such glee. Instead, they vouched to warily stay huddled together near the boat incase the Twisted ever came to their senses. Though as the monsters numbers grew fewer and the baby Hoard Mother slowly faded off over the horizon, they began to rx. This is such a bore! n sighed tossing his firemens axe onto his shoulder. I was expecting us to have some huge battle defending the town, but as soon as we got here, fired a few rockets of gas, they all gave up and left. Why did we bother even going to recruit the Sun People if they were this easy to fight off? I dont think it was all that simple. Ashen One said as he surveyed the town. Have you not noticed that the entire westside of town is burning to cinders and that not a single other human as shown themselves so far? Hemlock scratched his head as he spoke. What if the rest of the Skull have been wiped out already? I didnt see any signs of our lookouts on the downtown rooftops either. Even the boats docked along the river werepletely empty. It could be that the poption had been battling for some time now and the Twisted were already tired. Wind Talker added. Just take that glowing green woman and the two Mechs that were battling the Twisted at the top of the cliff moments ago. They seemed to have been having quiet the duel. Now that you mention it, could one of them be the person from the prophecy? n said rubbing his chin. It could be possible. Wind Talker answered with a shrug. Holding onto the tip of his russet hooded cloak to keep his face hidden, he looked up at the Hunter Mech dangling motionlessly from the cliffside. There had to be some elements that revolved around a person saving this town from the Hoard. Otherwise, this whole endeavor does seem unfruitful. n looked up at the Mech as well and as he thought about the prophecies words. Well, the Twisted Hoard came here, the fire is burning the town in ash, and someone saved the town. I am going to assume it wasnt Garth. n and the others listening to him nced over at the mud-covered Garth who was presently trying to ride a Night Hound like a horse. The ck skinned alien like creature was not a happy monster and it was trying to bite at Garth who was sitting on its back and trying to shove a rope in the creatures mouth like reigns. Every single Skull member began to chuckle among themselves seeing such a ridiculous sight. n cleared his throat and continued. Then there is the part about fighting alone against insurmountable odds to prove their validity. I wonder how I am supposed to figure that out if we all missed the battle with the hoard. All we saw was the end. Everyone was silent as they mulled over this question. It was then Ashen One that broke the silence. What about the other part Lady Cassandra said, for the Speaker, you Bone yer, to find the one that desires to avenge the lives of traitors? She said that that person is also the one from the prophecy. A good point. Wind Talker noted. I would say that it would be one of those two, the Hunter Mech pilot dangling above us or that green glowing woman. n looked back at the Hunter Mech curiously. You might be right. It could be one of them. Lisa sheathed her copsible katana into its hilt and then ced the de onto her maic belt. There was no more need for it, the oue was clear to her now. All these monsters were leaving and not even one of them fought back. Lisa whispered, Release Armament. Her body began to systematically revert into her normal looking self. First her neon green glow shut off as the panels between her joints closed on her arms and legs and slimmed back down to look normal like before. The joints too closed and fused back together leaving no trace of a break in her skin showing that she had cybeic limbs. Her skintight suit also receded back to its normal size and the green circuit pattern disappeared leaving only the faint hexagonal pattern to be seen. Turning quickly around Lisa knelt to tend to little Hanna who was sitting on the pipe with her legs pulled up to her chest. Are you alright Hanna? You arent cut anywhere or feeling any pain? N-no. Hanna stammered. I am j-just cold and t-tired. I dont think I want to e-ever do that again! Nether do I. Lisa said giving a small smile seeing that she was indeed alright. Though I do have to say you really shocked me when you came out of nowhere driving the Mover Mech right into the Hoard Mother. How and why did you do that? I saw you two were in trouble and I had been hearing this voice in my head telling me to get in the Mech. So, I did and came to help. Hanna answered pushing back her wet muddy red hair out from her face. You mean you werent in the dams tunnel and the others just let you get into the Mech? Lisa asked. No. I kind of ran away from them Hanna replied quietly. I almost didnt make it too. There was a scarry bunny looking Twisted that tried attacking me before I made it to the Mover Mech. How did you get away from it? Lisa asked. Hanna was about to say she shot it with Johns pistol, but she caught herself. I-I just made it to the Mech first and then came to help you. Lisa was silent for a moment as she looked at the little girl. Hanna thought she might have sensed that she had lied and fiddled nervously at her wet purple shirt. Then Lisa sighed, nodded, and stood up straight. I see. Well, lets get back up to the dam and let everyone know that you are safe. Lisa then reached a hand down to help Hanna up. And, just between you and me, if you hadnt crashed into the Hoard Mother when you did, I might not have been able to win. Everyone is going to be very mad at you for a while, but you probably just saved everyone. Just dont let it go to your head. Hanna saw that Lisas expression hardened as she spoke. What you did was incredibly stupid, reckless, and idiotic. Going out there to fight a huge monster merely because a voice in your head told you too? Ridiculous. No one is going to buy that story. Hanna hung her head. Your right. Lisa reached down and lifted Hannas chin up so that their eyes met. I will buy it, however. Because I am interested in both your strange connection to Mechs and that voice. This tells me that there is something special about you. I promise to find out what. Just helping avenge your parents doesnt seem like enough now. Hey guys! A distant voice called out to interrupt their conversation. I am still stuck here! Lisa and Hanna looked back towards the copsed cliffside. They saw Timmy waving at them from the open cockpit door in her Mechs chest. For some reason she hadnt moved at all from that spot on the cliff. My Party Badger is out of energy and the mechanical arm release is jammed. Tammy continued. Can someone get Dixon or Sam toe pick me up? The inte is short circuited. We will be right there! Lisa called back. Come on Hanna, lets go. Oh, and in the future lets work on telling me about strange things happening to you. I dont want any more surprises like before. Ok. Hanna answered felling happy that Lisa had believed her and wanted to help further. She didnt understand much of anything going on with her and having someone to rely on was a huge relief. After a few moments the two arrived under the Hunter Mech. The area around here was very unstable, and the cliff looked like it could copse further at any moment. Lisa stopped and looked around at the rocks and sand that had spilled to cover half of the river at the base of the dam. Its going to take to long to walk back up there and I cant climb up to save her myself with the cliff looking like this. Lisa murmured aloud to herself. Oh, I know. I still got another ir in the ir gun. Reaching into her pocket Lisa pulled out her orange ir gun and shot it over the edge of the cliff. Momentster Dixon came zooming down from above and he stopped flying just below the dangling Hunter Mech. Well, there you are! Dixon eximed looking at Tammy. I didnt see you because of all the dust and smoke. I thought you were still chasing after the Twisted when they started to run away and was flying over the woods looking for you. Tammy huffed and puffed out her cheek pretending to be annoyed. What do you take me for, a crazy person? Even I know when to stop. Come on, jump on down and Ill carry you from here. Dixon said ignoring herment. What about the Mech? Are you two just going to leave it there? Lisa called up to them. We have a truck that has an industrial wench on it for asions just like this. Dixon answered as Tammynded on the hover trailer behind him. This isnt the first time shes gotten her Mech stuck like this. Tammy heard this and pped his arm yfully. Hey, now is not the time. I see. Well, are you going to make us walk around the cliff or can you give us a ride to the top as well? Lisa asked giving them a cheery grin. Meanwhile, Hanna was listening to them talking when she stepped back a step and felt something hit her shoe. Looking down she was amazed to see that the object was Johns pistol! Somehow it had found its way back to her. Looking carefully at Lisa and the others she quickly scoped it up and tucked it back into the back of her jeans. No one saw her do this. Chapter 231: Licking Wounds Chapter 231: Licking Wounds Dixon brought his hover bike down to rest just above the ground for Lisa and Hanna to get on. Hanna was nervous at first, this would be her first time flying. Though after facing the Twisted and other traumas she didnt even realize her nervousness until they had already taken off. Hanna clung to Lisas arm as she marveled at the sight of everything shrinking below her. As they rose over the cliff and headed for the dam, Lisa looked back at the people below by the barge. Its a shame I cant go ask them what those gas rockets were made of. If we had them, we wouldnt need to worry about the Twisteding back here again. Dont fret yourself about that. Dixon said with a bit of a sigh. That is an invention of the Sun People, those crazy guys with all the mud on them. They keep the important ingredients as a secret. The Hunters n and other big business entities have tried to buy or coerce the information from them but, for years now, they have kept it a close secret. All I know is that they use a desert weed called Creeping Mahonia. It smells sweet and has edible berries, but it alone does nothing to irritate the Twisted. Whatever its mixed with the nt is key but no one has figured it out yet. Is that so? Lisa asked looking at the Sun People with a bit more curiosity. Are they really that smart? Dixonughed. Smart is an iffy word to use for describing them. They know a lot when ites to the Twisted and calling them an expert in that field would be correct. However, when ites to modern social standards or lifestyle choices, they act like primitive vige people. You can go try asking them yourself if you really want to know. It doesnt look like they will be going anywhere soon with their vessel beached like that. I think I will try. Lisa replied. Then to herself she thought, There is no way I would let an opportunity to find out about such a useful item! Even if I cant find out what the gas is made of, I might be able to get a sample. Soon they arrived at the dam and even before theynded, they were faced with an unbelievably gruesome sight. The bodies of human and Twisted alike were clustered together in tangled masses all along the fence, or what was left of it. The fence had been knocked down and it was clear closebat had ensued. There were countless dead Twisted and maybe a fourth from the humans side were dead. The after math of a battlefield was Lisas least favorite part of war. Though the killing parts were bad, it was seeing the still bodies of allies or friends, dried ky blood stered to everything, and the smell of guts and crap was nauseating. Those that had somehow survived were gathering at the Powerhouse building and thats where Dixonnded to let the three women get off. Hanna! Mary shouted as she was the first to meet them. What were you thinking!? Are you alright, you are not hurt? Mary grabbed Hannas shoulders and looked her over. Seeing that she was only wet and alright, her worried expression turned into a rare look of anger. When I tell John what you did you are going to be in trouble. John is alright? What about Henry and Benny? Lisa asked. Oh yes, thank the heavens. All three of them survived, though Benny got his leg injured but Joan is helping him right now. Come on Hanna. Lisa watched as Mary hauled Hanna away by one arm to go back into the main building. However, she was more concerned about how everyone else was doing. She quickly headed into the exhausted crowd and began to go from person to person. Yin? Lisa called to the first person she came to. Are you alright? Can you tell me what happened? Yin had a nk expression on her face as she turned to look at Lisa. Then sitting down heavily next to the powerhouse buildings outer wall she gave her reply. I thought I was going to die today. The Twisted just kepting anding. All I did was run and hide. Well, I am d you are alright. Lisa answered just as another person plopped down next to Yin. Lisa was d to see that it was Bemy. Bemy closed her eye to rest as she spoke. Lisa, you survived too, huh? I didnt expect you to make it. Going out there to fight by yourself made me think we were going to be attacked from behind once you had got yourself killed, but as the Twisted kepting up the hill I didnt have the time to look back. Seems I underestimated you. Lisa noticed that Bell was holding her left arm tightly to herself. Are you wounded? I can help you bandage that up. Bell lifted her right hand to wave her off. Dont mind me. Its not life threatening. Lisa could see a deep gash was on the back of her arm and a lot of blood was already dripping down her arm. Are you sure? Yah, I am fine. Bell answered with a tired voice. Go help the others. Most are worse off than me. Lisa gave a shrug and hurried towards the others. Everyone she went by was eitherying exhausted on the ground, bleeding somewhere, or shellshocked and wandering aimlessly around. She passed by numerous Mad Dogs and other ERM soldiers who she didnt know until she passed by Eva who was crying. Lisa quickly came up to her and ced an arm around her shoulder. Eva, whats wrong? Where are the others? Eva didnt even look Lisa in the eye as she spoke. Its Willis, I think hes d-dead! I cant even look at him right now, I just cant. So much blood Lisa gave her a reassuring squeeze. Shh, its going to be ok. Where is he? Eva pointed behind her and Lisa saw Henry and Tayvon standing nearby the fence. From here Lisa couldnt see what they were doing though. Ok, Ill go there and see what I can do. Lisa said to her before pointing ahead. Go over there with Yin and Bell for now. Eva nodded as a fresh batch of hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Leaving Eva alone, Lisa jogged over to the two men to see what might have happened. When she got closer, she could see the two were standing above Wayne who was on his knees. On hisp he was cradling the head of Willis. Williss eyes were closed and across his face and chest were deep cuts from what was likely a Logos Cutters ws. Henry heard Lisaing up behind them and turned to speak in a hushed tone to her. Willis is dead. He just stopped breathing a few seconds ago. He was my best friend. Wayne sobbed. We would always joke around and do pranks together. Why did he have to die? Lisa felt her heart ache. A deadrade being held by a dear friend, it was a sight all tomon to her. Regrettablymon. Lisa then knelt onto one knee next to Wayne. Can you tell me how it happened? Wayne shook his head as he continued to sob. It was clear he wasnt going to be speaking for a while longer. Tayvon cleared his throat and Lisa looked back at him. I saw how. Tayvon said pointing ahead of them. That f***** right there jumped over the fence and was about tond on Wayne when Willis pushed him out of the way. I tried to shoot at it before the monster could attack him, but I was out of ammo. I can still see the look of pain on his face when the ws ripped through him. I felt so helpless. I was able to avenge him though. Henry said still hushed. If only I had seen the Twisted sooner Wayne let out another heavy sob hearing the other two speaking and Lisa patted his shoulder. You had a great friend. Someone that would risk their life for you is irreceable. I too lost several people just like him, so I understand how you feel. Take your time and when you are ready, I can help you get through this. I-I dont want to believe hes gone. Wayne said through his sobs. I know that you dont. Lisa said softly. Just dont do anything rash and take your time to grieve. Lisa then stood back up and turned to leave the three alone. She felt bad that she promised to keep them all safe while at the dam. Though the circumstances were out of her control, there had to have been something more she could have done to prevent all this loss of life. Just then Zane came up to her with his Tigger ws all bloodied and her sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. He was the probably the liveliest of anyone around here. Though he too held a dreary expression; no one could look otherwise right now. Hey boss, I saw you go over the cliffs edge. Did you kill that big Twisted and thats what made all the other ones leave? Lisa shook her head slowly. No, the Hoard Mother is still alive. Even falling from that high off the cliff didnt hardly faze it. Then why did they all leave? Zane asked and his brow furrowed deeply. For some reason a bunch of Sun People showed up with a gas that drove the Twisted mad. They shot rockets filled with that gas at the Hoard Mother and it, I guess, called for the other Twisted to retreat. Lisa answered. Then she snapped her finger. You are not hurt right now, are you? No, I am fine. Zane replied. Good. Lisa nodded. I want you to go right now and keep an eye on them. The Sun People also came with members of the Skull. I dont think they have ill intentions right now but thest thing we need is more trouble. I understand. Zane said patting Lisas sniper rifle. I am out of bullets, but I can still watch them through the scope. I also want you to keep an eye out for anything that might be rted to that gas, like their rocketunchers or boxs of ammo they use to hold the gas in. Lisa continued. We need to get our hands on that stuff incase the Twistede back. We cant even dream of taking them on again. Zane nodded. You are absolutely right. Ill keep a close eye on everything they do. Just as Zane hurried off towards the dam, Lisa was approached by Hugo and Ethan was by his side. Hugo was holding a hand over his arrow wound and grimacing from the pain, but he refused to have Ethan help him move around. So, you are the one that is in charge of this ce and took us in before the Twisted caught up to us? Hugo asked with abored voice. I also saw how you took on that big Twisted on the other side of the dam. You yourself are quite the monster. Lisa gave a small grin. Ill take that as aplement. I also see Joan patched you up already. Yes, she did. Hugo nodded. I already paid her back too. When she took off after that redheaded kid that ran across the dam a Twisted tried to get her, but I shot it before any harm came to her. I cant say the same for the kid though. I hope shes not been killed. That little girl is fine. Lisa said. Somehow she got away from it and I already brought her back. Huh, is that so? Hugo said eyeing Lisa. You are oddly capable to handle all this craziness going on here. All I really wanted to say was thank you for taking us in, saving the town and the townspeople. We owe you one. You are wee. Lisa replied. It was only the right thing to do. I dont n on abandoning anyone. Now, I dont mean to be picky, but why did you thank me for saving the townspeople? Because I used to be one. Hugo replied matter-of-factly. I have family in town too, I just hope they are alright. They were in the Mad Dogspound, but that ce was attacked before we came here. I am sure they got attacked by way more Twisted too. I see. Well, I better not hold you up and you should be careful as you go back there. Lisa replied. Even though the hoard left there could be remnants still in town. Ha, if there are I will be sure to put an end to them myself. Hugo answered resolutely. Come on guys, let go. Lisa turned around to look at the ruined area and still burning town beyond. Well, there is a lot more work to do now and I better get to it. We all have suffered enough and it''s time things got better around here." Chapter 232: Bring them Back Chapter 232: Bring them Back The smell of smoke was strong as it wafted over the townspeople as they worked. Lisa had given everyone time to rest and reorganize their thoughts, but the day was growing dim, and they had to burry the dead. This task was not easy for most of them. They knew those they buried as acquaintances, friend, or kin. The area just north of the dams property was chosen as the final resting ce of over a hundred lost souls. The vacant area was peaceful and being next to theke made it a perfect ce toy them to rest at. Nathan had just finished digging out a shallow grave for a man whos name he didnt know, but he recognized his face. The man had worked as one of the clerks for Mr. nagan and had always been adamant in his work to do anything to help the ERM provide for the town. Weeping alongside the sandy grave was a woman, much older than the man he had buried, that was holding the dead mans hand tightly. Maam, I know this isnt much, but I want you to know his sacrifice was not in vain. I truly am proud to have had him with us. I only regret that I couldnt do more. Nathan said softly. The older woman patted the corners of her eyes with an old handkerchief. My son was always so willing to help others. Who would have thought he would have gotten killed for doing just that? She then looked up at Nathan with reddened eyes and gave a forced smile. I am not upset at him or you, Mayor Dees, for what happened. I too know his actions were not in vain. Many of us are alive now because of him. He would have made his father proud knowing that he followed in his footsteps. Nathan cleared his throat as he held back his emotions. Can I ask, what was his name? I hadnt learned everyones name that worked with me yet and I dont want to forget anyone that used too either. Yes, I understand. The woman nodded. His name was Greg, Greg Holt. Greg Nathan repeated softly. I will remember it. The older woman sniffed and patted Gregs hand once. Before you burry him, can you give me more time to be with him? Nathan stuck the broken wooden board he was using to dig the grave with into the sand at his feet. Of course. Ill give you some space. Nathan left the grieving mother be and started to walk among the others digging somber graves. There were so many that had died that it almost didnt feel real. It was humbling, to say the least, seeing how quickly things can get out of control. In the blink of an eye a normal day can turn into one filled with death and chaos, to then go back again as if nothing happened. Nathan then spotted Lisa who was speaking with Sadie, Dixon, and Tammy near thekeside. They seemed to be speaking excitedly about something. Seeing as the area around him was filled with sadness, their conversation interested him. Excuse me, Lisa? Nathan called out to her. I hope I am not interrupting. Lisa turned around and saw it was Nathan. Not at all. What do you need? Nothing at the moment. Nathan shrugged and he stuffed his hands onto his pants pockets. I just saw you all talking and felt curious. Well, we were talking about something that will eventually concern you. Lisa said motioning for him to join them. Its about the papers I got from Jerry earlier. Oh? What are they? It seemed very out of ce when you reacted the way you did after getting them. Nathan said. Lisa ignored hisment and went to answer the question instead by pointing at the papers in Sadies hands. These are the deeds to the dam. Meaning I legally can provide electricity to the ERM and the rest of town. Of course, this is good news, and it will help the town recover quicker, but that is not what were talking about right now. I am just too excited. What we are talking about is Dixon, Tammy, and Sam are part of the Hunters n and they were following the Twisted here from Moab City. They too were attacked by an evenrger Hoard Mother and hoard. Apparently, what we fought was just a newly hatched Hoard Mother and there are dozens of others like it out there. Newly hatched? Nathan gasped raising his eyebrows in surprise. That is just too hard to picture. I was wondering, Dixon, how did you guys find us then if there were so many others to pick from? We just happened to hit that baby Hoard Mother with a tracking dart. See? Dixon said lifting his wristwatch up for Nathan to see it. He then selected an icon on it, and it opened a screen with a predownloaded map and on it was a green dot next to the old name of their town, Maple Valley. That dot is the baby Hoard Mother and its still going away from us. One thing we do know is that Hoard Mothers are migratory. So hopefully that hoard will not being back this way anytime soon. Thats a relief. Nathan sighed. What about other hoards? I am afraid we dont know where they are. We only tagged that one small hoard. Though when they all split up outside Moab City, they all went different directions. Dixon replied. Dixon then went on to exin how the battle at Moab City went on. How the mother Hoard Mother was defeated, and the babies were born to takemand of smaller hoards. He also mentioned how soon they left Moab City to pursue the tagged baby Hoard Mother. I see. So, we just need to be even more careful then. Nathan said. If an organized city state had to go to such lengths to protect its boarders, then the ERM needs toe up with our own ns in the future. You are taking this well. Dixon said patting Nathans shoulder. Nathans lips twitched a fleeting smile. If you say so. I think Im just too tired to get worried right now. Well, we are going to need you awake. Lisa said. Even with possible other hoards out there, we need to get everyone that fled town toe back. Safe or not safe, being out in the wilderness could spell death to many of them. You are right, we do need to get them toe back. The problem is, how do we catch up to them, much less convince them toe back? Nathan asked. I can do you the courtesy of giving you a ride on my hover bike and catch up to them that way. Dixon answered. Sam already left to go get the truck our Mech rides in and it will bete tonight before he gets back. Then getting our Mech off the cliff will take most of the following day too. I will be most grateful if you can do that. Nathan said. Lisa held up her hand to get Nathans attention. Now they will be hesitant toe back, especially after so many of them saw the size of the hoard at the cliff. That is why you need to tell them that I and the others will be doing a personal sweep of the town for any left over Twisted. Maybe mentioning the Sun People are here too will be helpful. They seem to have a good reputation. I will do that. Nathan nodded. I have a few more unrted questions. Dixon, why did you guyse after the Twisted so quickly and why are we not burring them right now? That is because hunting the Twisted is how we get our ie. Their blood and certain body parts are very valuable to sell. Dixon answered. Once the truck gets back, we will try to collect as much as we can from the Twisted before their blood coagtes. You can help us aspensation by gathering the Twisted corpses in one ce on the other side of the dam. Lisa heard this and an idea came to mind. Dixon, is the blood perchance turned into Inducement serum? Hmm, sometimes it is. Dixon replied rubbing his chin. The blood is used for medicine mostly, but serum creation is done by privatepanies, and I dont know the specifics. So, you have to hunt and collect the blood from the Twisted to then sell through the Hunters n? Why not try to keep the Twisted alive and harvest their blood that way? Lisa asked. I am not saying killing the Twisted is a bad thing, but couldnt it be done in an easier way? Tammy burst out intoughter at that moment. She clutched at her sides as she spoke. What, like start a farm and milk them? I thought I had crazy ideas, but that one is nuts! Dont mind her, Lisa. Dixon sighed. But she is right, no one is foolish to even try something like that. I am sure you know about the sma walls that cities use to protect themselves from the Twisted? Yes, Gillians cousin, Terisa, mentioned it. She ims to have worked on creating them at one point too. Lisa answered. Then you should also know that those sma walls are the only way to keep Twisted contained. Anything else like concrete walls or metal fences have proven to be destroyed by the Twisted over time. Just forget about it. Dixon exined. He then turned to Nathan. Come on, we should go before the sun starts to set. Alright. Nathan replied. Oh, one more thing Nathan. Lisa called out. I will try to get Gillian and the others to catch fish from the river, everyone is going to be starving and maybe we can help out a few of them. Perfect. Oh, and onest thing. Nathan said pointing back towards the graves. That woman right there, she still needs her son buried. Can you do that in my absence? That is no problem. Lisa replied. I was going to go help anyone over there soon anyway. Thanks Lisa, I am d I can rely on you. Nathan said giving her a thumbs up. Nathan and Dixon climbed onto the hover bike and were soon flying away north to follow the river. Come ondies. Lisa gestured towards the somber gravesite. Lets go help out while we can. As the threedies went to help with digging or covering the graves, Lisa still wondered about her farm idea. Sure, it was a crazy idea, but if sma walls kept Twisted out couldnt they keep them in too? The whole idea was preposterous to even think about doing right now with the condition the dam, town, and its people were in. So, she instead made a mental note of it for the time being. She needed to focus on the present and there was a lot to think about. Chapter 233: An Unexpected Answer Chapter 233: An Unexpected Answer After a sad afternoon of burring the dead, Lisa, with the help of Gillian, managed to convince everyone to stay the night in the dams tunnel. They couldnt be sure that all the Twisted were gone and it was best to stay put for the time being. No one really argued the point for they were all just to tired to do so. As the night fell everyone was silent. Even the children, who would normally be overjoyed at the opportunity to have suchrge sleepover, were silent. Seeing such monstrosities, chaos, and death all within the span of one day everyone seemed to just want to be left alone and think things through. Though tired, Lisa elected to say awake and give the others a peace of mind knowing that the only entrance to the dam tunnel would be protected. However, throughout the night she wasnt alone. Zane was the first to stay up with her. The dim glow of the yellowed bulbs from the tunnel streaked out from the cracked metal door and out onto the concrete floor of the powerhouse building. This glow separated the two of them as they sat in silence on either side of the doorway. In contrast to the yellowed glow, the unobscured moonlight cascaded through the open sliding doorway and busted out skylight window to cast a myriad of shadows all about the room. The pale blue moonlight mixed with the intangible shadows only added to the eeriness that permeated their worries of if the Twisted might return. Well, the Sun People didnt so that much today. Zane finally said breaking the silence. I didnt see them moving anything that might be a hint as to what that gas was either. They just went about tying up the Twisted they caught and unloaded some boxes from the beached barge. I think they were nning on spending the night down there in the open. Lisa didnt reply. Instead, she was aimlessly looking out the sliding doorway at the cold blue hue of the moon on the distant buildings. Then beyond that was the fiery red glow of the town wide fire consuming silently all in its path. Are you listening to me? Zane asked cautiously. Lisa blinked twice and turned to face him. I am mostly. It is just I cant help but wonder what the next best thing to do is. So many people are going to be relying on me to get answers or find a solution to an ever-growing problem; where is this town headed and will we all survive?. Zane was silent for a moment. You have all of us to help you make those decisions. Isnt the saying, teamwork makes the dream work, something to live by? You dont have to go about this on your own. Lisa gave a small smile. Look at you, trying to sound all cool. I already know what you mean. I am just referring to my role in the broad sense. Oh, I see. Zane said as he fidgeted a bit with a loose string on his pants. Tell me Zane, how would you try to feed several hundred to up to a couple thousand people by tomorrow? Lisa asked. Uh, I have no clue. Zane replied. Neither do I, not for all of them anyway. Lisa sighed. We could try catching fish like before, but I bet between the Twisted swimming and sshing about, along with all the smoke ash umting in the river, has driven them away. The ERM has only a handful of rations and I doubt the Mad Dogs will spare any of their food. Zane interrupted her. Why not just go take it from the Mad Dogs? You said you wanted to take them over, so why not use this as an excuse to do the takeover? It would be a convenient option, but it wont be the best way to win them over. Lisa replied shaking her head. No, I need to get them to willingly let me lead them. Zane gave a shrug. That will make it easier if they want you in charge. I know I wouldnt want to be put under themand of someone I resented. What about being under mymand? Do you not resent me? Lisa asked giving him a sideways nce. Not at all! Zane quickly answered. If I hadnt been, then I might have already been dead to the Twisted or from my injuries. Thats good. Lisa replied as she turned to look back out the moonlit town. They were quite again and for how long, they didnt really know. Zane felt awkward the entire time, not because Lisa was intimidating to talk to, but because she was supposed to be his boss. Her action earlier that day were beyond impressive, and he didnt want to make things awkward between them if heplemented her and got harshly put down. Then a thought popped into his mind, Wait, do I like her? Just because I am impressed by her fighting skills or that she might be opening up to me? Zane looked back over at the tall, fair skinned woman next to him. Her long ck hair was draped over her shoulder and onto her chest. The cute way she was now resting her hand on her chin as she looked away from him almost made him forget she was so dangerous. This might be the first time he felt this way about her. Every other time before it seemed to him that she was always about to beat him up at the drop of a hat. No, I must be getting tired. Zane thought shaking his head. There is no way I actually like her. Zane? Lisa suddenly spoke up. Zane jumped slightly as he perked up hearing his name. Then, unintentionally, he stammered a reply. Y-yes. I think we can try using the fire to our advantage. Lisa continued paying no attention to his stuttering reply. The people returning to the tomorrow will need help getting the fire put out. If we can offer our services, they will be willing to let us protect them, just as a gang might. If we can cut in on the Mad Dogs turf it will hurt their efforts to rebuild themselves with the townspeoples tribute. If I recall correctly, Hugo said many of the gangsters were former townspeople. It will be a good way to cause a rift between Martinez and them. I can see how that might work, but it probably wont be enough to convince them. Zane replied regaining some of hisposure. Perhaps not, but that is just another step in my ns. Lisa answered. The fire will also have destroyed a lot of homes too. When the people starting back, they will have nowhere to go. The Mad Dogs likely lost a lot of members to the Twisted and against the Skull. They will be looking to recruit from these people to rebuild their numbers and I bet many of them will be family members hesitant about joining forces with a gang. We can put a dent in that n as well. How? Zane asked. He was surprised Lisa was thinking so far ahead and what she was saying made sense to him. It sounded like something Garret would have tried doing. All those storage units we have been clearing out will be perfect. Lisa replied pointing in their general direction. I had noticed that powerlines run from the dam to a small power station across the street behind the third building on the right. It would be easy to get power running to the units, if the power station is still in working order and guessing that because the equipment here works, then it should be working there too. Lisa then turned to face Zane and there was a silvery twinkle in her eye. All the storage units are climate controlled, meaning they have air conditioning as well as lights! Lisa then raised her hands to perform an air quote motion. We can Rent those units to them and as payment they will work for us on anything we will need them too. At least until they can pay us. Woah, thats an unexpected idea. Zane said scratching his head in thought. It would be like recruiting people to join us with out actually joining a gang. Exactly. Lisa replied. Then she let out a sigh. This n wont work unless we have food. Thats the real issue now. I think I have a solution for that. A male voice in between them suddenly announce. They both looked back to see Gillian wasing out from the tunnel. Sorry, I hope I wasnt intruding. You arent, but tell us, what is your solution? Lisa asked as she adjusted her sitting position. Well, its kind of a controversial idea and it might not work. I had been unable to sleep in there and the idea just came to me a moment ago. Gillian exined as he walked between them to head for the sliding door. I was just about to go give it a try. Well dont leave us in suspense. Tell us! Lisa replied getting up. Zane too got up and curiously followed them. Gillian stepped outside and pointed towards the Twisted piled on the dam. Those Logos Cutters, they look like rabbits. I wonder, do they taste like one too? Zanes jaw dropped. Eat a Twisted!? You cannot be serious. Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. Lisa remarked. Zanes head snaped as he turned to look at her. Please tell me that was a joke! No, I am not joking. Lisa replied. Gillian, go get one and bring it over to the firepit. Ill start getting a me going. Zane, go find some firewood. We are really going to try this? Zane said still unable to believe his ears. Yes, and I know the Dixon and the others want their blood aspensation for their help, but there is more than enough blood from the other Twisted. Lisa replied as she hurried for the firepit. This is an unexpected short-term solution to our food shortage, why would we not try? Not muchter the three of them were sitting around a good-sized fire and hanging on a spit was a Logos Cutter. Without its mangy fur or long sharp ws the creature did indeed look like a rabbit but three times the size. The smell emitting from the meat dripping with grease was agonizingly good smelling too. It was not long before the meat turned a juicy golden brown and Lisa took it off the mes. Here goes nothing. Lisa said as she cut off a hind leg. The two men watched carefully as she bit into the white meat and steam burst out. Lisa cupped a hand over her mouth as the hot meat hit her tongue. She chewed slowly for a few moments and the two kept an eye out for any faces of disgust she might make. Lisa swallowed. Its good! Its a lot tougher than normal rabbit but I think we can eat this. I tasted nothing unusual. Gillian picked up the knife Lisa had used and cut off a front leg from the Logos Cutter and bit into it. Oh my! It is good. If it wasnt the middle of the night, I would go get everyone to start collecting these Logos Cutter right away! Maybe you can convince us. Another voice called from the direction of the powerhouse building. All three turned to see John, Richard, and Daning out to them. All three were eyeing the fire and the creature next to it. The smell from the cooking meat undoubtedly had brought hem here. Lisa stood up and motioned for them to join them. Eat and see for yourself. If you like it then lets get to work. There are hundreds of Logos Cutters out there and soon to be lots of mouths to feed! Chapter 234: Tipping the Scales Chapter 234: Tipping the Scales I can not believe him! Hugo shouted as he plopped down onto a couch in the Warehouse Arenas market area. This action sent a shock of pain through his wounded shoulder. He immediately grabbed at the spot and gritted his teeth. That was something I cannot forgive. Ethan was the only one with him at the moment. All the others that survived the battle at the dam, including Jerry, had already gone to rest at their apartments behind the Bank. They were surprised on their return to see that thepounds metal wall had been torn down in several ces and a in Strider shaped hole had been made through one of the outer gates. Inside they found a host of dead Twisted and Mad Dogs. From what they surmised was that thepound was indeed invaded byrger numbers of Twisted than the dam was and that it was likely because the Twisted were chasing the Mad Dogs in the first ce. It seemed like the wall only slowed down the Twisted and acted against the Mad Dogs by putting them into a cage like scenario. This, however, was not what concerned Hugo, it was what Martinez was doing. It was indeed most disturbing. Ethan said as he sat down next to Hugo. Disturbing isnt even a good description. Hugo huffed. When I saw him pulling his weapon out from one of our own gang members backs, I couldnt understand why. Then when I asked him why, Martinezughed it off! Killing our own just because they were running away during a monster invasion is just going too far. If I hadnt announced that the Twisted hoard had retreated and that the town was safe again, he might have killed the others too. I knew the guy he killedst too. His name was Don. Ethan said nting his face into his hands. He was only seventeen and lived just up the road from my parents ce here in town. Hugo shook his head and scoffed. It was absolutely shameful that the boss would do that, even if he wanted to make a point, killing our own is never a good idea. The others might leave or rebel. Shh, someone ising. Ethan suddenly said nudging Hugos arm. The sound of two sets of footsteps could be heard taping on the white tile flooring their way. Careful Martinez doesnt hear you say that. Rebelling is a serious issue. He has been in a foul mood the entire time since the Twisted broke in here. The two men on the couch looked up to see that it was Jackson and Jerrying towards them. Jacksons usual formal attire was scuffed and torn in multiple ces and the white under shirt he had on was sttered with ck Twisted blood. It seemed even the normally reserved Lieutenant had engaged in the battle. I dont really care what mood he is in. I cant just let what he did slide. Hugo scowled. Jackson stopped to stand in front of the couch and looked Hugo over. Are you going to try and stand up to him? From the looks of it, you wont even be able tost twenty seconds. Hugo nced at the wound and sighed. I know that I am not up to the task, nor do I think I could beat him at full health either. Ill just try to verbally confront him and make things out to show what he did was costly to his position. Jackson gave a small chuckle. You know that wont really do much. Hugo sighed. No, it wont. Its just hes been getting more aggressivetely. At first it was just collecting more money and goods from the townspeople. Then it was forcing them to give more than what was necessary and even at times hed said to openly beat those that refused. He was supposed to be protecting the people from other gangs but now that there are almost none left, hes turning on them. This is clear especially now too since he ordered the town to be burned down. I agree he had been getting more aggressive, but that was to be expected. He is not from this town like you are. There is no loyalty for him to give. Jackson replied. It still doesnt make since for him to kill our own though. Hugo replied. If he burns everyones homes and they find out, the people wont want to join him. He is getting frustrated. Jackson said lowering his voice some. I heard he pretty much lost in a one-on-one duel with the Undertaker. If it were not for the Twisted showing up, he might have lost his life. The number of people we lost in these fights is also more than he expected. Even if the people dont want to join the gang, they have no ce to go and no food to eat, what else can they do? The gang is their only sensible option. You are right, they wont have a choice but to side with us. They wont think of joining the Skull either, that is if the Skull still live. Even some of the rumors about them scare me. Hugo said leaning his head back onto the top of the couch. What if they do have another option? Jackson said quietly. Hugo lifted his head back up. What do you mean? Jackson leaned forwards and spoke in a whisper. Do you know about Queen, how she is nning on challenging Martinez? That woman from the Match Fights? Hugo replied raising an eyebrow skeptically. Isnt she just some random person that wants to move up in the Match Fighters rankings? Not quite. Queen is actually nning on taking over the gang as its leader. Jackson continued to whisper. Thats ridiculous. Hugoughed. None of us lieutenants would support an outsider like her. She has nothing to do with this town either, because from what I heard she is from out of town. Jackson held up his hand. That is where you are wrong, she does have a lot to do with this town. Hugo paused for a moment as he looked at Jackson carefully. Go on. Let me ask you this, where did you hide from the Twisted? Jackson asked. He then snapped his fingers at Jerry and pointed to a nearby chair. Jerry hurriedly grabbed it and brought it over for Jackson to sit down on. Once he was seated, Jackson continued. You had to of been somewhere good and defendable to have had so many of your forces left. I was at the dam. There were already a bunch of armed people there and one unexpectedly strong woman was leading them. Hugo suddenly stopped speaking as he noticed Jacksons expression changed. You mean to tell me that was Queen? Yes. Jackson replied. You saw how she had earned the peoples support and that she ns on providing for them. Wouldnt supporting someone that has the interests in the townspeople be better than someone who is not? Are you saying you might be in favor of her leading us? Hugo said putting on a grim expression. His voice then began to match Jacksons whisper. Are you nning on betraying the Mad Dogs? Oh, not at all. Jackson answered spreading his arms wide. I fully intend to support the gang regardless of who is in charge. Its just Martinez is going down a bad path that doesnt seem to lead to a bright future for the gang. You hadnt arrived yet, but before he started killing those he assumed were trying to run away, he was talking about taking on the Skull again. There was not much reason to attack them in the first ce in my opinion. Sure, gaining control of the entire town would make us more money but then what? Martinez has no other ns beyond that, or at least none that he has shared with others. What makes you think that Queen would be any better? Hugo asked. Jackson leaned back in his chair some. Queen had mentioned, not only to me but some others in the gang through ways I cant go into yet, that there are ways we can improve the town for the people and have them a lot of money for us in the process. You noticed that the dam had electricity, right? Hugo rubbed at his wound tenderly as he thought. You know what, I was so focused on the Twisted that I didnt even notice but, yah, that tunnel did have electricity. Jackson nodded. Queen ns on using that electricity to power the towns infrastructure and own all of the business via the deeds that are collecting dust in our bank vaults. Think about it, if she can convince the townspeople to work in regr jobs for her and use her ce in the gang to transport the goods safely, we can make three or four times as much than what we currently make. Then on top of that both the gang and the townspeople benefit mutually. Hugo stopped rubbing at his wound and gave a small grin. I am starting to like the sound of that. I had seen how well she fought too and if Martinez fights her now, I cant say for certain who might win. Jackson nodded. She is indeed formidable. Also, depending on who wins, we have nothing much to lose either way. Why are you telling me all this? Hugo asked. Because I know you are in favor of the townspeople more so than the gang. Jackson replied. That was clear when you first joined us and even to this day. You had already been letting off a lot of people from having to pay tribute. Xander has been keeping an eye on everyone and even acts of kindness were not missed. Hugo scoffed. Screw Xander. Tell me why you are really telling me all this? Because a civil war within the gang will likely happen if we dont support the winner of these two. Jackson said holding out both hands palm up to Hugo. On the other hand, just as you saw from the executions, the gangsters are bound to leave or rebel. It is clear that we need to all agree on some leadership if the gang is to keep from falling apart from within. You make a good point. Hugo nodded. I can keep my guys from doing anything rash for the time being. I still want to know more about Queen before making any kind of choice. Jackson stood up and looked down at the destroyed jacket he had on. Well, I am d you see things my way. I too am not entirely confident in her either. Well, I better go change. You need to as well; you look like a zombie. As Jackson and Jerry left, Ethan leaned over to Hugo. Are you really thinking about siding with this Queen if she does beat Martinez? Isnt that risky, because I dont see the other lieutenants letting someone else take the leadership role way from them. Like Jackson said, there is not much for us to loses if either side wins. Hugo repliedying his head back onto the couch. Lets just watch and wait. Chapter 235: Partake Chapter 235: Partake Riding on Dixons hover bike made it far easier to catch up the fleeing townspeople. The path most of the people took was easy to follow because their footprints were easy to spot in the sandy ground and they rarely deviated from following the river too. The sun was already well on its way to falling into sunset by the time he caught up with the slowest of the townspeople. The first of the people they caught up to were made up of the elderly or sick. Their conditions were so bad that many of them had not even traveled out of sight of the town yet. Lagging far behind, be it due to abandonment or by choice, there was hardly any sight of the younger generations. Seeing these old wrinkle souls hobbling and shuffling along was a heart wrenching sight. At first Nathan would ask Dixon tond so he could speak with them directly, full well knowing that their hearing would be bad or that they would be too stubborn to return. After a few timesnding then taking off again it was clear to him that this was going to b a lot more challenging than he expected. It took him a long time to exin the situation individually to them and he often had to repeat himself over and over. In time he was able to get them to go back and go towards the dam. Though as he flew off to find the others he worried if these old and sickly people would be all right. They were already in poor condition and with little to no food or water in this young summer heat, it was entirely possible that heat stroke or other medical conditions might kill them. Yet there was not anything more he could do for them other than swiftly get them back to Lisa and the others. Finding the rest of the fleeing townspeople ended up not being that hard. Traveling inrger groups and tossing up dust clouds as they went, the townspeople were easy to spot from above. What ended up being hard was getting them all to go back. Many feared he was lying to them or trying to purposefully slow them down so that others ahead of them would escape. Nathan had to exin the situation carefully and make sure he addressed each persons worries in a way that made since to them. This kind of exining was much different than what he had done back at the ERM headquarters. Delegating the right wording and exnations to calm their fears was much harder than answering questions with half empty promises and assurances. Another issue that was most evident was that the people from the westside of town had no idea who he or the East River Militia were. To them he was just a nobody that just happened to be flying on a hover bike and telling them to go back towards the supposed danger looming behind them. He ended up having exin what and who the East River Militia were and that they were organizing themselves to be the governing body for the town. If it were not for the eastern townspeople scattered among these western groups supporting Nathans argument and ims, it might have been impossible to convince everyone. The hardest part to exin was how the Twisted Hoard was forced away from the town. No one on both sides believed that a handful of people could have stopped such a monster force. Many of them had seen the hoard themselves and they were the hardest to convince. However, Lisas tip to use the Sun Peoples name and reputation helped significantly to win them over. As well as the prospects of being able to get food and water again, rather than suffering for weeks in the desert scrund, also made for apelling argument. He continued to go from group to scattered group until the sun had already fallen below the horizon. Thest group he could spot in the dying light happened to be thergest group thus far. Nathans voice had already turned scruffy and hoars by now and was not looking forward to shouting to all these people so that his message could be heard by all. As soon as he got Dixon tond at the front of this group, he was relieved to see that Mr. nagan was leading them. Mr. nagan, I finally found you. Nathan called down hoarsely as Dixon descended. Looking above him with an unexpecting look on his face, Mr. nagan was relieved to see that it was Nathan. I didnt even hear that hover bikeing this way. What happened to the hoard? If you are here, then something must have gone wrong. Are the Twisteding our way right now? Dixon came to a stop just a meter above the ground and Nathan hopped off. He then calmly stretched his back before speaking. I am actually bringing good news, the Twisted have left the town. Mr. nagan acted as if he couldnt understand Nathan. All the Twisted are gone? Yes, all the Twisted are gone. Nathan said with a grin. We managed to hold them off somehow. Lisa and the Hunter Mech, with a surprising assistance from a young girl named Hanna, pushed that big white Twisted off the cliff and into the river. It was then the Sun People showed up on a barge and shot some sort of gas at the monster. The gas drove off thatrge white monster and all the rest followed it out of town. Lisa and Gillian will be doing an organized check of the town to be sure. So, at this moment it is safe to return. Mr. nagan was so relieved to hear this news he instantly sat down on a nearby rock. Finally! I can stop trying to run. Everyone! He called to everyone that was curiously gathering around them by this point. Let me tell you all the good news. As Mr. nagan ryed the news Dixson got Nathans attention. Hey, I think we will have to postpone searching for the others that might be further ahead. The sunlight is nearly gone now, and we might end up passing by them in the dark. Nathan sighed. Your probably right. Besides its not like everyone is going to want to wander back to town in the dark. We will need to make camp right here then. It waste afternoon by the time Dixon and Nathan made their return to the dam. They had traveled almost fifteen kilometers during their search for everyone from town. They hadnt been able to find any more tracks in the sand further than that distance and it was safe to assume everyone would be returning. As they approached the dam Nathan could not believe the mouthwatering smell rising from below. There looked to be dozens of fires burning all over the parking lot, on the dam, and even surrounding the powerhouse building property. Around these numerous fires were hundreds of people and more were still arriving back in town to join the throng. Now that smells good! What could Lisa and the others have found to be able to cook on so many fires? Nathan called up to Dixon. Dixon nced back over his shoulder. I am not sure but my guess from the smell is that its meat. There was nowhere easy for them tond at near the powerhouse building but on the far side of the dam it was open. As they came in for anding, they found that Gillian was already there. He and many from the ERM were gathering the dead bodies of the Twisted together as requested. Gillian! Nathan called out getting off from the hover bike for thest time. What is going on over on the other side of the dam? It looks like a festival is going on. I guess it does. Hmm, who knows, today might be a town festival. Gillian replied wiping his ck blood smeared hands on his already stained pants. Last night I came up with a short-term solution to our food shortage. Lisa agreed that it was a viable choice too. Though I need to check on one thing. Dixon? Are you ok with not collecting any materials from the Logos Cutters? Dixon turned off his hover bike and came over to join the other two. He looked over at the pile of dead twisted and let out a shrill whistle. Wow, in that pile is way more Twisted than I expected. So, yah, we shouldnt need to get anything from the Logos Cutters. Their ws are really the only thing about them worth keeping. Gillian nodded. Good, because the food we found are the Logos Cutter themselves. You are eating Logos Cutters!? Both Nathan and Dixon said in unison. Yes, they looked just like rabbits and after eating them they taste the same too. Gillian answered. Thats borderline crazy! Dixon said giving a nervousugh. I have never heard of anyone trying to eat the Twisted. Well, I thought it was an original idea, but look over the edge of the dam. The Sun People eat Twisted too. Gillian said motioning with his thumb to point behind him. Dixon and Nathan hurried to the dams edge and peered over. Sure enough, the Sun People had a few fires going and the bones scattered around these fires looked to be the same size as a Logos Cutters. Nathan turned away from the dams edge and looked back at the smokeing from the fires across the dam. Gillian, are you sure that the Twisted are safe to eat? Everyone knows that the Sun People are not the sanest of people. I had eaten them this morning and felt fine all day. Gillian replied. I havent even had any diarrhea either, which is a pleasant change for once. All the rations back at the ERM headquarters did not sit well with my stomach. Nathan took a big whiff of the breeze wafting his way. Ill trust you this time, Gillian. My stomach is getting the better of me. So, what do you all think about my offer? Lisa asked. Once the dam gets working at full force with the energy production, there will be so many opportunities for employment. That sounds amazing! I might not be able to give up running my stall in the market, but I could possibly sell some of the products in town for you. Tusk said waving a Logos Cutter leg bone at Lisa. That would be a promising idea. Local sales are also something that needs to be done too. Lisa replied. I am d you survived the Twisted too. As am I. Just let me know what you got, and Ill see if its seble. Tusk replied. Lisa then looked over the rest of the people gathered around the small fire eating happily. What about you all? Sounds good to me. One man with a yellow baseball jersey replied. I came from the southern end of the river and all the docks are burned down. There wont be as much river tradeing here now that they are gone. Id look into working for you. A few other people around the fire also voiced their agreements or murmurs of consideration. Their reaction had been like the others gathered around other fires. Most merely liked the idea of new employment opportunities, while a fair amount of them were actually interested in working for her. This was good news for Lisa, for now all she needed to do was keep spreading the word and then take over the Mad Dogs. Lisa said her goodbyes to everyone and headed for the next group of people. She smiled and thought to herself, Two more days to check the town for any leftover Twisted and get things in order with the storage units for future employees to move in. Then it is time for Hanna and I to finally deal with Martinez once and for all! I n on taking him down hard. Chapter 236: Sample (1) Chapter 236: Sample (1) Special Officer Hawkins had done as he wasst directed and made his faux exit of Moab City. He and the rest of his forces boarded their Hover Transport Ship ss 3 being sure to allow the Moab City surveince units to see them doing so. They then proceeded to fly out of the citys air space, which was only twenty kilometers past the city limits as per the International City State Conglomerate ord (ICSCA), before proceeding to engage their astral projection cells and radar deflection optimized to its maximum. Then taking further evasive maneuvers, the ship was then piloted to rise above the ground to two thousand meters. It was here they would be safe from being in danger of collisions with other aircraft and wait for the Light ss Robotics Transportation (LCTR) hover craft to arrive. While they waited Hawkins and his men were not going to be idle. They had left behind their Osprey Drone, still under IO Gills watch, to monitor the site of the dead Hoard Mother and all that was going around the area outside of Moab City. Sitting in his captains chair, which was situated at the center of a horseshoe shaped control panel, Hawkins watched the footage the Osprey Drone sent and began to n how the new unnamed robotic soldiers would proceed. He had undergone numerous simtionsmanding robotic soldiers before and even live missions to contain riots. However, these new types baffled him. From the redacted information he had been given it did not give much insight on how these robotic solider would manage during the operation. What was their top speed, the strength and variation of their firepower, or was their AI reaction speed good with receiving ever changingmands; these we all unavable to them. These were all crucial in the way he would map out their movements and strategies. Yet these redacted files listed nothing of the sort; meaning he was going into this mission mostly blind. Hawkins sighed heavily before addressing a soldier on his right. What is the status of Second Lieutenant Caswell and the Twisted back at the town? The soldier quickly opened a yellow colored holo-projection of listed reports from the Second Lieutenant. Last message says briefly that the base is untouched, the town poption suffered heavy casualties, yet the Skull, Mad Dogs, ERM, and the Cyborg Units 56 and 24 are still alive. The mini hoard was eventually forced away by the unexpected arrival of the Sun People. The report says the Sun People used their secret gas concoction to do so. Hmm, that is indeed unexpected. How did the two cyborg units handle fighting with the baby Hoard Mother? Hawkins asked. Did they show off any of the skills we need to be aware of? Report states that 24 was the only one to directly make contact with the Twisted, whereas 56 remained passive and only provided minimal sniper support. The soldier replied scanning the message further. 24 did use her Advanced Armament: Stage Two tobat the baby Hoard Mother, but only in a limited manner. As to why, remains uncertain. Hawkins raised an eyebrow hearing this. Oh, did the Second Lieutenant attach a video of the incident? Yes sir. The soldier replied as he double tapped the holo-projection with his index finger twice. The image of a paused video appeared on the Hover Transport Ships front window. Here is the specific edited clip. The video began to y nearer to the end of the fight, and it showed Lisa, 24, in her Stage Two form. She was currently on the back of the Party Badger protecting it from the baby Hoard Mothers attacks as it was being pushed towards the cliffs edge. Her neon green glow and erged form was easily recognizable. It does indeed look like the videos we have on file. Hawkins said after watching for a moment. I would also like to point out that even in this form she was still unable to deal much damage to the baby Hoard Mother. Either she was holding back, or the Twisteds hide is just that imprable. I only see the eyes of the baby Hoard Mother are still in the process of healing. Hawkins then recalled how 24 had attacked and destroyed the Hummer when they first came in contact. He then opened his own controls to minimize the video on the window screen and in its ce open a document of his own. This shows that we have all the more reason to seed in this mission. If we can take the subsequent list of materials here, our robotics and Mech forces defenses will be improved greatly. There is no room for failure, and nothing is out of the question. Is that understood? Yes sir! All the AFR soldiers around the horseshoe shaped control panel chanted in unison. As soon as they finished saying this a small beeping noise drew a soldiers attention. Special Officer, a transmission ising in from two of our own ships. The signal code matches the one for the LCRTs that were sent our way. Good. Have them go to the predetermined Landing Zone (LZ) and begin deployment. Have the robotic units from ship A go into ce first and have ship B remain in reserve. Hawkins replied sitting up in his seat. Opening the footage from the Osprey Drone to disy it on the window screen, Hawkins then used aser pointer to exin the following n. As you all can clearly see here the main target of interest, the Hoard Mothers corpse, is on an open teau of rtively open desert scrund. It will be hard for any forces toe anywhere near it without being seen by the Moab City defenses that have already been ced in a double ringed circr patter around the corpse. Both ICAD-18s and artillery trucks are poised to take on anything within their range. As such we will not be attacking the Hoard Mothers corpse. We are attacking the supply lines, correct? One of the soldiers on Hawkins left announced. Exactly. Hawkins answered forgoing the interruption. The problem is the transportation vehicles are being guided by ICADs along a road being surveilled by tanks ced on peak points along the way. In order to get to these vehicles, the unnamed robotics forces we have will supposedly need to takeout these tanks and ICADs, seize the materials, and get away without leaving evidence behind, all before the Moab City reinforcements can react with additional ICADs or worse, air support. If the unnamed robotic soldiers are anything like the new models, they shouldnt have to many issues doing this. Our firepower and AI targeting is much more advanced. Another soldier from the right said. This maybe so, but the strength of these units is not going to be key. It will be their speed. Even if we shootdown anything that tried to overtake them, if a single one of our own units ispromised, destroyed or identified, this will eventually link us to the crime. Hawkins replied. We need to remain covert. So, how will the n go? A soldier on the left asked. Hawkins pointed hisser pointer at the window screen and began circling a spot. One third of the distance away from the corpse is a low spot in the terrain. Running lengthwise to the cities sma wall in this low spot is a small cliff enclosed creek. This creek runs north towards the LZ and ship A before turning westward and back to the Colorado River. The main force of unnamed robotics will sneak down this route to intercept the transportation vehicles we will target. The vehicles we target must be determined minutes before they leave the corpse and in the few additional minutes before they reached the creek interception point, our unnamed units must first make it there unseen. I do not need to stress how hard this will be, especially considering how little we know about these units speed and agility in rough, cramp terrain. To further their chances, a small detachment of these unnamed units will use a long-ranged attack to hit the tanks stationed just outside of the Citys sma wall. Thus, drawing the attention of the defenses and human personnel. It will be then the main force will engage the transport vessels and seize the materials. Hawkins looked about him at the soldiers expectantly. Are there any questions? Yes sir. One soldier on his right at the far end of the control panel said while raising a hand. What if the Citys defenses give chase to either the main or detached unit? Will we engage or retreat leaving the materials behind to slow them down? Hawkins thought for a moment. I will assume they will engage regardless of whatever happens. We will do neither option, or at least not directly. Hawkins then pointed theser back at the window screen. The LZ is located behind this row of hills. The detached unit will be sniping from here and will be able to provide enough distraction from the air defensesing from the city. It will be up to the main unnamed unit to retreat with the materials away from the defenders surrounding the corpse. It will be from these ranged based units that we will be likely to have the most trouble with. I will prioritize giving up our identification rather than the materials. Even if we receive political bacsh from this, not many other countries will be in favor of siding with an isted City State with only local strategic importance. In the long run its better we have the materials to strengthen ourselves. So, in light of that, the ship B units will be setting up a two-sided trap if the main unit is followed. The most direct route to the LZ is through this small canyon. It will be here the trap will beid. The soldier that was keeping watch on the LTCRs progress spoke up. Sir, the ships have arrived at the LZ. Shall we begin? The program and instructions you have input are ready too. Hawkins closed the window screen and opened it back to the Osprey Drones footage. Lets begin by getting all the unnamed units into ce. Then we will specifically watch for the materials being loaded at the corpse. I want all eyes watching the contents being loaded. Once we exceed half of the list, we will strike. Chapter 238: Authors Notice 2 Chapter 238: Authors Notice 2 Thanks everyone for reading this far! I am always amazed to see people actually read my book and it never gets old reading all yourments. Please keep writing morements! Just a quick update, myptop is having trouble staying charged, so my publishing speed will be slow for the month of November 2021. I will either get it repaired or buy a new one soon. Until then, please bare with the slow chapter releasement. I will try to do the Webnovel Win-Win Event again for December 2021, so hang tight! I will also be updating my numerous errors, misspellings, and ugly paragraphs for previous chapters during this month of November. I will still be asking you all to keep pointing out my mistakes so I can fix them and improve the future chapters for your better reading experience. Noment or suggestion is a bad one! Like I had mentioned in thest Authors Notice, if you have any thing you want to see in the uing story and the idea fits the storyline, I just might add it! Leave a chapterment on this chapter and I will read over them! Thanks for your understanding. Chapter 237: Sample (2) Chapter 237: Sample (2) "Mayor Bakersfield!" The mayors head popped up from the papers piled on his desk to see his lead secretary had busted into his office with a worried look. What has happened now? The secretary quickly brushed her ear length blond hair behind her ear as she ryed the message on her tabloid. "There has been an attack on our forces outside of the sma wall! Three drones and a defensive line tank are already damaged by sniper like attacks." Mayor Bakersfield jumped up from his seat and hurriedly pressed past the secretary who followed closely behind him as they headed down the wide ck tiled floor of the Capitol building. The mayors face looked exhausted but the glow in his brown eyes and the pep in his step told everyone he still was serious. The lead secretary matched his hurried pace and further updated him as more information arrived in her inbox. The city Defense Minister, Zacharia, is already organizing the situation. As of yet, no identification of the attackers has been made, nor their intentions. The citizens are so far unaware of the attack as well, so no threat of rioting like when the hoard attacked. There is always a silver lining to things, however, their intentions are clear. Mayer Bakersfield snorted indignantly. He then came to an elevator and pressed his ID badge to its control panel. Raiders and bandits would not dream of openly engaging ourrge forces and hope to win. So, the town is not going to be directly in danger. The only thing that could interest anyone, or a government I should say, is the Hoard Mother corpse. The scientific prospects alone would tempt even the most conservative of governing bodies to try and im a piece of the corpse for themselves. The elevator door opened with a heavy woosh and the two entered. The blond secretary quickly typed a few lines of dialogue into the tabloid and submitted it just moments before the elevator started to drop. For when it did drop, the speed was ufortably fast that the both of them were forced to hold onto railing that lined the elevator. They were going down the Basement as it was nicknamed. The Basement was where the cities defensive and emergency measure headquarters was located and being directly under the Capitol building made essing it for the cities governing officials easy to reach. Being far underground and in the exact center of the city made it the best ce to be in during any event of attack or disaster. Like a spider in the center of its web, this headquarters mirrored that concept by providing all the cities information, CCTV video surveince, power structure, and emergency supplies were organized from this location. The elevator made a tummy tingling stop as the air brakes halted its near free-falling speed. A half secondter the doors whooshed open to reveal a long grey ck marbled hallway lined with several secure looking metal doorways. Mayor Bakersfield and the secretary marched straight ahead towards the main doorway nked by two human soldiers dressed in the citys pale green military uniform and two white stic humanoid robotic security droids. Mayor Bakersfield quickly lifted his badge up to one of the security droids chests center where just above the blue Police paintedbel was a camera. The secretary did likewise with the other Police droid. As the cameras scanned their badges QR code the closest soldier raised a hand to his ear radio. Giving a nod the soldier addressed to the mayor. Mr. Mayor, the Defense Minister is already at the surveince station and mobilized a retaliatory force. He asks that you join him there. The Police droids eyes blinked blue just then under the blue police hat it wore. Confirmed. Its cheery male voice announced. Please proceed. The main doors slid silently open, and the mayor and secretary entered swiftly. They entered the high ceiling, circr room that was full of hubbub and never-ending urgency as civilian and military personnel hurried about to handle the ongoing situation. Phones range, people yelled over one another, and the furious sound ofputer key ricocheted from every angle. At the center of all this organized chaos was the Defense Minister Zacharia Quin. With a confident expression on his aged, ridged face Zacharia was every centimeter a military man. From his gray jarhead buzzcut to pale green uniform and sharp ck shoes, he looked like being in charge was where he belonged. Currently he was silently looking upwards at a globe-like disy of monitors that hung down from the ceiling. For now, these monitors showed what was going on all around the attack site and of the dead Hoard Mother from both drone and CCTV footage. What are you thinking, Zacharia? Mayor Bakersfield called out as he joined the defense minister. That its all a diversion. Zacharia replied gruffly in his normal military manner. Its a fairly obvious sporadic attacking from the hills outside of town. The drones and tank attacked so far were only doing surveince and its clear they want eyes on those hills. I suspect there are AI controlled units doing the shooting, far to urate to be otherwise. I doubled down on the number of cameras to keep an eye on the Hoard Mother corpse, which is clearly going to be the attackers objective. I suspected the same. Mayor Bakersfield answered as he and the secretary nked the defense minister. Though with our defenses there isnt any way they can try to steal something thatrge from us and get away with it. True enough. Zacharia replied. All we can do for the moment is wait for them to make the next move before sending out the retaliatory force. Three attack choppers and four ICAD 18s squads are ready to engage as we speak. Good. Mayor Bakersfield said giving a nod as he surveyed the monitors that showed very little action save for a few tanks or artillery units that were moving into position. Once we find out who these attackers are there is going to be hell to pay. Its been bad enough dealing with the hoard, the riots in the lower districts and convincing all the foreign investors that it is safe to business here again. I dont need any more paperwork on my desk. Zacharia gave a tight grin hearing this and he nced sideways at the mayor. Dont we all? Special Officer Hawkins had his hands sped nervously in front of his face as he leaned forwards onto his knee. His eyes were glued to the ships window screen which disyed the twenty-five unnamed robots camera feeds. Each of the Light ss Robotics Transportation (LCTR) hover crafts could carry thirty of these units and these twenty-five were the main attacking force sent to im the target. The other five units were put under IO Gills charge while the Assistant Observer took over the Osprey Drone. Hawkins and the other soldiers monitoring the missions progress could see that these unnamed units were swiftly making their way through thepletely dry rocky creek bed at an unprecedented pace. Clearing boulders and skirting tight spaces with ease not one of them exposed their selves to the surface above. For now, it seemed they were not spotted. IO Gill, have the city defenses taken the bait? Hawkins called out without looking way from the monitors. Doesnt look like it. Gill replied from behind the Special Officer. The entire hover ship had been hollowed out to amodate a mobile control room. Aside from the horseshoe shaped control panel at the front of the ship there was a secondary circr control station amid the supplies and weapons stored onboard. Also, from behind came the Assistant Observers voice. The defenses around the Hoard Mother are all active and look to be prepared for an attack. They arent moving to engage the detached forces either. What of the target? Is the transportation unit still underway? Hawkins asked. Yes sir. The Assistant Observer answered. No changes in their speed or route. Our unnamed units will intercept the target in less than two minutes. Hawkins unsped his hands and typed a code into the control panel before him. Alright men, report anything right away. The A group robots have nearly arrived at the creeks crossing and now we see how they handle the ICADs. I just authorized the manual takeover of the units if the situation demands it. Though I want as much AI managed attacks as possible for the sake of the mission. Understood! The rest of the soldiers lined up next to him at the horseshoe shaped control panel chanted together. These eight soldiers then all put on ck virtual reality (VR) goggles that were all connected to the iing feed from the unnamed units. Additionally, they attached to their temples a device that monitored their thought process and eye tracking so that their minds would covertly control the movements of the unnamed units. Then holding two handheld controllers they got them ready to use them to aim and shoot the weapons the unnamed units had installed in both arms. Focusing back on the unnamed units progress Hawkins could see the lowying bridge that crossed the creek. Its simple arch structure and twone road was nothing impressive nor did it proved any cover for the unnamed units to hide under. As programmed the units were to attack as soon as they came within sight of the transportation force approaching. Splitting into two equal groups, one on each side of bridge, the unnamed units raised their weapons in preparation. Rather than using conventional weapons these unnamed units had one arm reced with a midsized, mountedser rifle called an Arc Beam Cannon (ABC) which is capable of shootingsers far superior to the ZKZM-7000 that the standard AFR personnel used. They were currently equipped with theseser Arc Beam Cannons due to the stealthy aspect they provided. Then, if need be, these units could have the arm reced with a conventional gunpowder LMG weapon called a FiNN Series X2G. Thisrge gun was belt feed with bulletsing from arge backpack that would incase the alreadyrge power battery installed on the small of the robotic units back. The other arm of these unnamed units resembled a humans and not used for normalbat situations. The hand was highly sophisticated for touch and gentle handling of small items so that it can interact with objects or equipment designed for humans, likeputers, doorknobs, or even lightbulbs. In mere seconds the unsuspecting transportation force would be under attack and the unnamed units of group A would only have seconds to take out the ICADs, disable the transport truck, and deploy a smokescreen. Hawkins could only hope that the attack would not be anticipated, and they could get to the trucks contents before reinforcements arrived. If he failed, he knew any chances of staying in his newly promoted ce within Operation Chess would be gone. His eye suddenly caught sight of movement on the footage from the unnamed unit A-14 as somethingrge began to cross the bridge. It was the lead ICAD and behind it was the transportation truck! Chapter 238: Sample (3) Chapter 238: Sample (3) Not a single unnamed unit budged. They all were pre-painted in realistically mirrored camouge specifically for the desert andced in heat dampening materials that prevented thermal sensors from spotting them from the front or sides. Then with the addition to being underneath the bridge the ICADs had no way of knowing they were there. The element of surprise was still at hand. Hawkins kept a strict eye on the feeding from A-14 as his finger lingered above the Sendmand button on the control panel. A-14s video feed was the most central of the unnamed units on the window screen and thus easiest for him to keep watch on the situation. The transportation truck was the only wheeled vehicle on the bridge and as such it would be unable to get away easily once fully on the bridge. It was at that moment when he would send themand. Gentlemen. Hawkins announced as he then pressed the button. Begin the assault. A-1 was designated with the Leadership roll amongst the other units and was the first to lead the ambush. Leaping sideways to briefly grasp the creeks craggy rock wall A-1 took aim at the closest ICAD 18 that was positioned on the right of the truck. The ICADs sensors spotted and responded to engage the A-1 unit but it was toote, A-1 had already sted the ICAD with aser straight into its visual cortex for a headshot. Following the lead of A-1 the rest of the unnamed units climbed or jumped out from the creek bed to surround the bridge. As they made their move the unnamed units shot at the ICADs in silence, neither themselves nor theirser rifles made any sound. All the other ICAD 18s were instantly put onto alert as the connection to one of their own was cut off and responded with a hivemind mentality to engage the rising unnamed units. Likewise, the ICADs and their ownser rifles made no sounds. Redsersshed out between the two sides striking at key points in their defenses. These included limb joints, fittings in between armor tes, sensors scattered about their chassis, and heads where the visual cortex and central wiring harness were most vulnerable. Shooting any of these ces required fast processing AI systems to deal with a hostile moving target while also being on the move. It was a strange battle to witness. The two robotic sides fought and died with the only sounds being their feet nking on stone, their metallic bodies copsing with heavy thuds as their systems failed due to the damage they sustained, and thesers striking targeted robots and the surrounding rocks. There was no blood, no screams, and no orders being verbally issued. Everything was done digitally within their closed systems by the AIs that ran them. In essence it was a battle between AI systems and their adaptive software processing speed. Even though the ICADs were twice the size as the human sized unnamed units, they were outnumbered two to one and being ambushed the ICADs were defeated within moments. In fact, the entire battlested only thirty seconds. Within that time frame the transportation truck tried to reverse and return towards the way it came. Its efforts were dashed as A-14 shot out the back three left tires supporting the trailer and sparks flew about as the backmost axle grinded into the pavement. Being driven by an AI the transport truck emitted an emergency signal to alert the Moab City defenses of the attack and its inability to move. Without a moments hesitation after disabling the truck movements, A-14 proceeded to the back of the trailer. Where the unit discovered a number lock was preventing the doors from being opened. Using its robotic hand, A-14 began to hack the number lock by connecting to a USB port. Being a simple system, the lock was soon overridden, and the doors then were opened manually by two other unnamed units that had joined alongside of A-14. Hawkins had already submitted the list of materials that the unnamed units needed to collect from the truck, and he had even submitted the order of which the items they observed going into the truck was in. So as A-14, A-2 and A-8 entered the trailer they knew what to collect first. Most objects of interest were loaded into aluminum backpack like containers attached to the backs of these particr units. Meanwhile, the rest of the unnamed units gathered up their allies that had fallen to the ICADs and in total there were seven disabled units. Additionally, four of the unnamed units beganunching smoke grenades on and around the bridge. The smoke also contained thermal inhibitingponents to keep outside AIs from observing them. The collection of the materials, gathering of the disabled units, and some deploymentsted one minute. This was all the time they could afford to lose because the Moab City defenses were already responding to the ambush. Rather than trying to save the materials being transported Zacharia gave themand to the nearby defending artillery units by the Hoard Mothers corpse to bombard the bridge. Rockets rained down on the smoke covered bridge, ttening anything left there into burning rubble. Following closely behind the barrage came the three attack helicopters to assess the area. The unnamed units, however, were able to all escape into the creek bed and began making their way back to the extraction point. Those are some slick robots. Zacharia muttered before yelling at a Moab City soldier. Order the helicopters to split and search the creek in both directions asap. We need to find them right away and engage. Sir! Another Moab City soldier called out from nearby. Swarm drones are armed and ready to beunched. Good, as soon as the invaders are spotted send all of them at once. Zacharia replied. All of them? Mayor Bakersfield said raising an eyebrow. Surely it would be less costly to send just enough to disable those robots. The cost of losing those valuable samples to an unknown enemy would be far more. Zacharia retorted. I am not sure of all that was in that transportation truck, but it clearly contained something of great enough importance to warrant such an attack. If they can discover or utilize properties of the Hoard Mother before us, anything we might learn will no longer be considered a tactical or economical advantage. Mayor Bakersfield rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. I guess you are right. It''s just those kamikaze drones cost us too much to manufacture Targets spotted. A third soldier called out. One of the monitors on the circr disy above changed to show a camera angle from the attack helicopter. Eighteen enemy forces are making their way northward within the creek bed. The helicopter is hanging back at a manageable distance, but we might lose a visual of them soon. Permission to engage? Granted. Zacharia replied promptly. Sensors are picking up movement from behind. An AFR soldier on Hawkinss right announced. By the looks of the pings getting picked up its Swarm drones. Those f******. Hawkins seethed. Get the units from B group ready to provide cover fire. Those suicide drones are more than enough to stop the units from escaping. We cant lose now that we have the supplies. Hawkins quickly started typing outmands to send to the unnamed units. I need rearguard units engaging the iing drones now. Two of you men start a manual Override Dive now to get a clear picture of the situation. On it. Two soldiers replied eagerly, and they activated their virtual reality goggles to connect to the units A-4 and A-5. I have a visual on the iing Swarm drones. The Assistant Observer called out from behind. Numbers exceed a hundred and more are beingunched from a pursuing helicopter. Running scan software now. Permission to disengage from harassing the city defenses. IO Gill asked while pushing back his chair from his monitor. Granted. Have those units return via autopilot back to the LZ and set up a secondary defensive line. Hawkins replied while continuing to update themands being issued to the unnamed units. Once you do that prepare to make an Override Dive too. I too have a visual on the Swarm drones. One of the soldiers in Override Dive announced. They are within range anding at us from above and within the creek bed. Open fire! Hawkins shouted. Looking up on the window screen Hawkins could see the rearguard unnamed units and the two manually controlled units were firing at the oing Swarm drones. The redsers ripped through the air at full auto to strike the flying onught. Every time a drone was struck a mini explosion resalted due to the explosives packed in them. Despite being struck down; the Swarm drones were still closing in and getting dangerously close. Chapter 239: Sample (4) Chapter 239: Sample (4) What are their numbers? Hawkins shouted behind him. The Assistant Officer shook his head. The software is still running a sweep of the area. The current number is over six hundred and still rising. Assumption is a thousand drones in all. Thats all I need to know. Hawkins replied. Are the group B units in ce? Nearly there. A soldier on his left reported. Thirty seconds until they reach the designated position. A brilliant series of shes drew Hawkins attention back to the window screen. Some of the Swarm drones had nearly caught up the rearguard of the unnamed units and began blowing up in order to trip up or cause the AI systems shockwave damages to slow them down. If any single one of the unnamed units was lost now, then the entire AFR operation would ultimately be found out. Before Hawkins could react to the situation, A-1s Leadership AI activated evasive procedures. Just like before, four of the units beganunching smoke grenades ahead and behind of them in the creek bed. This would block the drones views of them to potentially cause them to crash or stall out before giving up the chase until the smoke cleared. However, this was a double-edged maneuver. Byunching the smoke ahead of them the unnamed units would also be subject to the loss of thermal visibility and subsequently be slowed down in their escape. This was where the human soldiers manual Override Dive woulde in handy. The human eye was still more adept with making out what routes were safest to take in a foggy, or in this case smoky situation. The technology existed to be able to handle this situation in real time, but it was a feature too bulky to adapt to the AI memory or to install the equipment into individual robotic units of human-like size. Cover fire iing! The soldier overseeing group Bs movements called out. From overhead, noiseless waves of red bolts rained down into and around the creek bed to destroy numerous Swarm Drones. Though the additional firepower helped to cull the Swarm drone''s numbers, it was not enough. Being in the confines of the winding creek was also proving to be a hindrance rather than a help to the unnamed unit''s movements as well. They are going to be targeted by the artillery and tanks if theye out from the creek now. Hawkins thought to himself. The units have thermal masking material installed in them, its a standard for human-sized robotics, so they will be manually targeted by the tanks. Also, at this distance the travel time for the rounds might be enough for evasive maneuvers to work. Lets try it. Fire a round of irs above the creek to scramble their sensors further and prepare to move on open ground. Hawkins ordered as he submitted these newmands to the unnamed units. Dont travel in a straight line or bunched up. Also, have the group B units split so one half can target the tanks or artillery attempting to target the units. Letting them go untouched would be a waste of an opportunity. At this rate we are going to be in the clear! irs sted off upwards into the azure sky above drawing the attention of the Swarm drones nearby causing many to detonate prematurely. Following not far behind the unnamed units jumped out from the swirling smoke and onto the rocky desert before scattering for the hills. They hadnt taken more than a dozen paces before the Moab City tanks zeroed in on their movements. As Hawkins guessed spreading out the unnamed units was the right move. Explosions tore up thendscape as the unnamed units weaved about heading further up into the hills. The unnamed units in B group retaliated and beganying cover fire on the Moab City tanks positions. The tanks were forced to retreat from their positions and take cover behind the sandy slopes. From there the tanks only resurfaced to fire two rounds, plot out the positions of the fleeing units, and ry the coordinates to the distant artillery who joined in to try and take out the unnamed units. The attack helicopter was also forced to fall back as numerousser impacts threatened its flying stabilizers and hull integrity. Additionally, the Swarm drones had already fully deployed from its cargo bay and there was little else it could do on this battlefield. Circling back, it returned to the city defenses where the other two attack helicopters had already returned. The Swarms drones numbers were falling increasingly faster as the distance between them and the group B unnamed units decreased. The AIs in the unnamed units were able to better track and counter the fast-flying drones. One by one the unnamed units from group A joined the group B defensive line and aided in firing at the drones. Only A-14, A-2, and A-8 continued beyond the defensive line to secure the captured materials. Even under the constant bombardment of the tanks and artillery, the unnamed units were able to remain entrenched well enough in the uneven, rocky hills and ravines until the tanks lost visuals on all of them. Not long after this achievement the high-speed chase reached an end as thest of the drones was smashed into bits. The AFRs unnamed units finished traversing the hillyndscape and made it back to the LZ to load up into the Light ss Robotics Transportation hover craft right away. Once airborne the Moab City defenses were helpless to pursue even if they wanted too. Of the sixty unnamed units that were sent back twelve had been disabled, seventeen others damaged, but not even one unit was left behind. It was an undeniable victory for the AFR. Zacharia sat down in an unupied office chair nearby and smashed his fist on the desk disheartened by the loss. This was a disaster! If only we had put in more funding to increase are militarys attack abilities, we could have been able to better pursue those sted robots. Like a jet fighter or even missiles would have been enough. You know we cannot do that. Mayor Bakersfield sighed. The International City State Conglomerate ord (ICSCA) explicitly limits our military capabilities beyond protecting our borders. Increasing our military is a clear vition and could lead to sanctions. The mayors lead secretary cleared her throat and added. Besides, the financial repercussion and need to increase taxes to pay for the military would not be supported by the people of the city. That as well. Mayor Bakersfield nodded with agreement. The city is still handling the riots in the lower districts, and we dont need any more reason to add fuel to those mes. It is better that we focus on studying the Hoard others corpse and prepare ourselves for the future. I know all this. Zacharia said waving a hand above his head dismissively. Let an old man wonder. Though what abut the idea of bing our own nation? We wouldnt need to deal with the ICSCA then. If only we could. Mayor Bakersfield answered. Even if the Union recognized our ims to nationhood the American Fascist Regime or even the Texas Coalition would not like having a new threat on their horizons. They could easily orchestrate an embargo on us and squeeze our food imports until we begin to starve. They then could use this as an excuse to takeover us under the guise of providing humanitarian aid. The lead secretary then picked the conversation from there. Also, we wouldnt be able topete with them anyway. The trade flowing through our borders is limited to mainly banking, medical, and technology studies. Being in the ICSCA means we have lower regtions and can provide a tax haven to the rich seeking ie asylum. Even if we did discover groundbreaking results from the Hoard Mother corpse, that still might not be enough to provide us with enough means to solidify us as an economical trade prospect with foreign nations that might aid us in defense against the Regime or Coalition. Mayor Bakersfield said and he was about to say more when Zacharia stood up. Alright, alright. I give up. You political types are so chatty its making my ears hurt. Zacharia then turned to go towards one of the circr rooms many exits. Ill be taking my leave to do check over of the units damaged in the fight. Perhaps I can find clues as to the identity of the attackers. Alright, good luck. Mayor Bakersfield replied. I guess Ill go face the board and tell them of the loss we incurred. I am going to end up with a headache from all the arguing thats about to happen. Chapter 240: Last to be Introduced Chapter 240: Last to be Introduced Lisa was about to head for the next group of people to discuss her future ns when Lane, one of the Mineral Mover Mech pilots, came up to her. Hey, Lisa, there is a situation on the other side of the river. The Skull and Sun People are asking to speak with you about something. Gillian thought it might be best to avoid a conflict and get you to find out what they want. The Skull and Sun People are asking about me? Lisa repeated curiously. Whatever for? Lane shrugged. Dont know. Max also went to get the woman that piloted that Hunter Mech too. Hearing this Lisa grew even more curious. Alright, Ill be there right away. Lisa and Lane were about to start crossing the dam when Max and a sleepy looking Tammy joined them. Tammys brown curly hair was pressed in on one side as she yawned heavily and shuffled her feet. Whereas Max was rubbing his chin and looked rather glum. Whats going on with you two? Lane asked. She backhanded me just a moment ago. Max grumbled. Tammy finished her yawn and said, You startled me when I was napping. What else was I supposed to do? Laneughed while Lisa stifled a smile and spoke. Well try to wake up some. Those guys that drove off the Hoard Mother want to talk with us for some reason. Tammy rolled her eyes. We can just ignore them. I want to go back to sleep. You can go back to sleep once we figure out what they want. Lisa replied. Come on it wont be long. Are you sure this is a good idea? Garth whispered to n as he gazed at Gillian who was standing nearby keeping a watchful eye on them. Behind Gillian were a dozen of ERM militia that looked tired but capable enough to shoot the rifles in their hands. n and the rest of the Skull were present while Garth was only here out of curiosity. He too was interested to meet someone outside of the Sun People that handled the Darknesss minions so well by killing countless monsters. Even if one of them was from a rival group like the Hunters n. We are not here to fight, just to ask questions. n replied casually. Youll be back gathering that ck blood in no time with the rest of the Sun People. Just then n spotted Lisa and the others crossing the dam and he pointed them out to Gillian. They are crossing now; can I move past this point? Gillian nced over his shoulder, and he let out an agitated sigh. Fine, but just you. n gave a curt nod and walked cautiously past the highly skeptical Gillian with a confident smile on his lips. Then turning towards the fouring his way he gave a wave. Hello there,dies. Sorry for calling you all the way here but I have some questions I would like to ask. Lisa and Tammy kepting closer to the Skull gangster while Lane and Max joined up with Gillian. Tammy let out another yawn and pulled at her hair to straighten it back out into its normal frizzy, rounded shape. Lisa looked An over for a moment before replying and recognized him as the one that broke the grappling chains off from the Hoard Mother. Lisa stopped walking and crossed her arms. Go ahead then and ask them. I dont have much time to spare now. n nodded understandably. Ok, I hear you. My name is Bone yer, and I am a Hand of the Skull. I was sent to get the help of the Sun People to fight off the Twisted, but it almost seems like you two had it handled before we got here. What I wanted to ask was what is your rtionship with this town? Rtionship? Lisa said cocking her head to one side. Yes, you both fought against insurmountable odds and saved the town. Why? n reiterated. Tammy spoke up first. Because its my job. The Hunters n has a big bounty ced on the Hoard Mothers and killing the rest of the hoard pays good too. I only just showed up yesterday. Lisa then followed up with her own answer. I am trying to get this towns dam working again and help the people here out in the process. If the hoard had killed everyone, then what was the point? The couple of months Id been here would have been wasted. Hearing their answers ns real question was basically answered. His thoughts were excited, but his face remained cid. This tall woman has to be the one from Lady Cassandras prophecy! Let me just ask the other questions, just to be sure. So, you want to rebuild this town I take it? Like maybe rebuilding it from the ashes? na asked trying to remain cryptid and truthful to what the prophecy mentioned. Lisa raised an eyebrow hearing his odd reply. Not exactly the original n I had, but if the town ends up burning all the way down then Ill have too. Thats why I want to hurry up and check out the rest of town to see if its safe so we can go put out the town fire. n pointed a thumb over his shoulder. We from the Skull would be d to help you with that too. After all, where we live is on the far end of town and cant get there with the fires burning. Just one more thing, are you trying to avenge the lives of any traitors? What kind of question is that? Lisa said giving a quickugh. No, there is no one I know that was a traitor to anyone. n felt his expectations drop some but thinking quickly he encouraged himself. Hold on now, dont give up just yet. Perhaps this part of the prophecy hasnt happened yet, or she is not the one. Ill just need to stick close to this woman and figure out if she is the one. n cleared his throat. I see. Well, thank you for answering me. May I ask your name? My name is Lisa, but I also go by Queen. Lisa replied. Now, if that is all you wanted, we need to get the search underway. Lisa then called out to Gillian. Hey, these guys are going to help us with the search and the fire. Go ahead and start gathering any volunteers that want to put out the fire and get them to muster at the Powerhouse building. Gillian seemed taken back by her words. But they are Skull, they are the enemies of everyone in town. We cant just let them do as they please. They might be at odds with everyone, but not with me, not yet. Lisa replied but when she said yet her voice hardened. Ill deal with them if ites to it. n took notice of her voices change right away. Though he had only just met Lisa and barely seen her fight, his Eagle spirit instincts were on high alert. They were telling him that the vibe Lisa was giving off was liken to an apex predator that even an eagle feared. The felling was equally simr to how he felt in the Undertakers presence, and he knew it would be best if he didnt do anything risky for now. Oh, you will have no trouble from us. n said trying to sound reassuring. Getting home is all we are interested in. I hope so. Lisa replied turning to go back across the dam. Come on lets go. Is this everyone? Lisa asked as she looked over therge group of townspeople, ERM, and Skull gangsters gathered around her. Standing next to her Nathan gave a nod. For now. We only have enough weapons withpatible ammo for these people to survey the town for any Twisted remnants. The rest will follow after wee back to give the go ahead. Alright, I guess I will exin what the n is then. Lisa said stepping forward to address the group. As you all know we need to check out the town for any Twisted left and since this side of town is where most of you all are from, we will check it out first. The second part of this mission is the fire needs to be stopped before its spreads further. Of course, this is obvious. To do both of these tasks we will go along the river and secure routes to start a bucket brigade to handle the fires. This will be handled and organized by Nathan. Additionally, those with weapons will work inwards with Gillian and I to see if the Twisted are all gone. Any questions? No one spoke up and Lisa nodded. Good, now lets hurry and get the river checked out quickly before the sun starts to set. I dont want anyone getting attacked and lost in the night. Therge group of people made their way down the steep hill from the dam and towards the river as the rest of the townspeople looked on hopefully. Beyond was the towering ck smoke of the raging fire that edged slowly closer. Many of them wished to go help right away but Lisa, Nathan, Mr. nagan, and Gillian all emphasized that until they knew the Twisted were gone, no one was to venture into town. Still, earlier several people had ignored these warnings and tried venturing into town. If not for Bell and Anthony keeping a watchful eye on them and having the rest of the ERM helping too, they might have done so. There was a lot of protesting and distrust when they were confronted but eventually things settled down and reason won the townspeople over. Lisa led the way along with Gillian, John, Nathan, and Bone yer while everyone else followed warily behind them. Everyone was staying close together while staying silent and at every road, alley, or gap in between building was met with anxious gun barrels pointing into them. Though nothing happened even when they made it to the river, they came across nothing dangerous. There was plenty of destruction though. All around them building walls, doors, roofs, and windows were clearly shed by ws or horns from monsters. There was also the asional bloody patch from where an unlucky human was killed and fully devoured. This creepy silent destroyed town was making everyone nervous. Bone yer let out a low whistle. Wow, I guess we were wrong about being able to fight off the Twisted, eh Hemlock? Hemlock bobbed his head wordlessly as he tightened his grip on his weapon. He didnt want to tell Bone yer what everyone else was thinking and to shut up. But Gillian did that for him. Hush and keep your eyes peeled. Gillians gruff voice said lowly. Bone yer raised a hand apologetically and stayed quiet. They continued along the river until they came within sight of the Ulsters Shop. Beyond here they only needed to go a few more blocks before reaching the closest of the dock fires. From there the front line of fires were angled further back and closer to downtown. The smoke was already getting hazy in the air and some people were already covering their mouths with cloths to filter the smoke. They were about to pass the shop when a board covering the shops door copsed with a bang right in front of them. Everyone instantly took up arms and braced themselves for what was about to happen. In the swirling smoke it was hard to get a proper view of the entrance, but something was indeed there. Chapter 241: Smoked Out Chapter 241: Smoked Out Murky river waterpped the pilings under the dock as the distant humming-crackle of fires burning in the distance were the only sound to be heard as everyone braced themselves. A shapeless dark form moved closer from within the ckness of the doorway, but it was unclear as to what it was and even more so as another column of smoke drifted in the way. Lisa held out her hand to signaling for everyone to wait. Dont shoot! An old voice called out. Then from the dark entrance an old man leaning heavily on a cane came into doorway. Lisa let out a sigh of relief. Mr. Ulster? Seeing that the cause for rm was just another human made everyone more rxed. One of the men from the Skull even snickered seeing everyone elses reaction to the false rm. Yet no one bothered to indulge his action and instead focused back to the smoke-filled town. Yes, it is I. Mr. Ulster answered as he shuffled out onto the dock. Then turning back, he called, Tom, hurry up out here. The smoke is getting worse. From the dark entrance Tom, wearing a blue bandana around his mouth and lightly tinted goggles, came jogging out. In his hands were two suitcases that looked full. Lisa surmised what their intentions were. Mr. Ulster? Lisa asked. Are you nning on leaving your shop? Mr. Ulster sighed and nodded slowly. Regrettably yes. It was a suitable ce to hide from the Twisted, but from the smoke settling inside from the fires, we will have to abandon this ce. Lisa raised an eyebrow curiously. You two hid in there rather than flee town? Mr. Ulster gave her a crafty look. Aye we did. After all you know what my profession is and having a ce toy low is to be expected. Speaking of that profession. Lisa said while ncing over the old man''s head. Is your son and his wife not with you two? No, they left long before the Twisted showed up. Mr. Ulster replied. Ah, but dont worry. They only told me you gave them a job but nothing about what it might be. Confidentiality and all that. Lisa chuckled. I see. I guess that is one less thing to worry about then. Well, once we confirm that there are no monsters left, the townspeople are nning to ban together and put out the fire. You wont have to abandon your shop. You mean there are others that survived? Mr. Ulster asked looking at the group of volunteers and gangsters behind her. Lisa smiled with a prideful look while waving her hand in the air nonchntly. Yes, many from the town were able to escape while I and several other brave souls held the Twisted off at the dam. Mr. Ulster had a questioning look on his wrinkling face. I am not going to bother asking about that. Seems like a long tale. He then let out a heavy cough due to the ever-present smoke and gestured to Tom. Ahem, give me a wet bandana boy. Tom set down the two suitcases and pulled out from a small pack on his back a water bottle and an identical bandana to his own. Tom then doused the bandana with the water and handed it to his grandfather. Mr. Ulster quickly tied it around his mouth and his coughing slowed. You wouldnt happen to have any more of those bandanas, would you? Lisa asked. If we are going to be putting out the fires everyone from the town is going to need them. It could be profitable for you in this time of need. Mr. Ulster instantly picked up on what she was hinting at. Tom, get back in there and check for more bandanas, rags, towels, t-shirts or anything else made of cloth. We are going to be providing supplies to these people. Lisa then asked another question as Tom went back inside. What about buckets or any kind of items we can use to move water with? Hmm. Mr. Ulster replied while tapping the top of his cane in thought. We have a handful of buckets, but nothing of much use for a fire of this size. Just then a sizable clump of burning ash floated between them. Its red fringed glow was dazzling as it flittered and floated about in the hot breeze. The two watched it as itnded on the ground nearby where arge patch of dead grass once grew. No sooner than it hadnded a puff of grey smoke erupted from the grass as it burst into mes! Acting fast, Lisa stomped on the newly budding fire and put it out. Seeing this happen, Mr. Ulster seemed to have remembered something. His finger wagged in front of his face as he spoke his thoughts. You know what? Just up the road two blocks away is the towns central fire station. Mr. Ulster then cleared his throat. It has, uh, already been looted long ago, but there might be hoses or hand cranking water pumps. No one probably had any uses for them until now Ill bet. If they are still in working condition these fires might get put out much sooner. Lisa perked up hearing this. We will head over there right away. She looked up ahead and noticed that therge hand cranking crane that she had seen during her first time in town was right across from the forementioned road. Turning back to address the group following her, Lisa pointed at the crane. Alright everyone, we are going to reach that crane and set up that area as the ce we are going to collect water from. Then we will investigate into town more until we reach the fire station. Hopefully we can get materials that we will need from there and if there are still no more Twisted, we can send word back to the rest of the townspeople toe and help put out the fires. Sounds good to me. Nathan replied. We need to hurry lots more ash ising down and I can see a few other little fires popping up. Then as if to emphasize his point a nearby desert bush began crackling as mes rose out from it. Gillian calmly went over to it and kicked sand over it killing the mes. Lets get moving before the main town fire gets any closer. John said pointing towards the ck column of smoke ahead. If the town is burned away that will leave us with no shelter and all of our stored food will be gone as well. We wont survive theing summer heat. Hearing this the other townspeople murmured in agreement. Then just as they were all about to head for the crane, Tom returned carrying loads of materials in his arms. Tom let out a sigh as he dropped the cloths onto the dock. I got all the bandanas I could find and a few bed sheets that could be ripped to make more. Who wants some? Everyone looked at the pile of cloth and looked up at Mr. Ulster who was smiling slightly. They had been listening to Lisa and him talking and knew it was going to be a free hand out. However, the smoke was growing ever thicker, and it was only going to get worse. Even the healthiest of them wouldntst long without some breathing protection. Nathan sighed seeing no one else made a move and reached into his pocket for any change he might still have. Lisa saw their reactions and held out her hand. Dont worry everyone, this one is on me. Mr. Ulster, just put the price of these bandanas on my tab. Are you sure? Nathan asked. It wont be cheap. Mr. Ulsterughed. Im not so cruel as to rob the woman. Besides, price gouging during a crisis has always been frowned upon by my family. So, I will be fair. Nathan stifled a cough by putting his closed fist by his mouth. Very well then, I guess we really dont have a choice in the matter. Everyone else quickly picked out a bandana or torn chunk of bed sheet and dipped the makeshift air filters into the river to soak. It wasnt the best or most sanitary solution to stave off the smoky air, but it was all they had. Even Lisa picked up a pink bandana for herself to use. A momentter everyone had gathered under the hand crank crane and began moving objects away from the dock to make the river more essible. Boxes, crates, barrels, random assortments of rope or rusty chains were cluttering the wooden dock and were moved aside. The process didnt take long, and they quickly made a path heading towards the road leading into town and back the way they came on the dock. To better reach the river surface Lisa even had them remove portions of the dock itself just south of the crane. This would allow them to not have to rely on lowering buckets or leaning over the dock edge to reach the water. Though there was another reason she wanted the dock to be torn up. The fire was being pushed towards them by the wind and the dry, and in many portions, rotting dock was being consumed far faster than the buildings in the town. As they all worked Lisa and Nathan were keeping an eye, as best as they could, on the ck wall of smoke covering the entire town. A daunting orange glow pulsated within the smoke just above the tops of the buildings as the humming mes jutted up into the air. Even though it was still a few blocks away the heat it generated was already being felt on their skin. To say the fire was out of control would be an understatement. How did it get so bad so fast? Lisa asked aloud in thought. It was only burning downtown just a day ago. Nathan tightened the green and yellow bandana he wore higher up on his nose. I heard from some of the townspeople that they caught sight of the Mad Dogs lighting some homes on fire. A few said it was to slow down the Twisted, but others said the Mad Dogs were iming the Skull were to me. In either case the fire was spread deliberately and now its beyond what anyone could ever imagine. Lisa squinted through the smoke at Gillian and some others ripping dock boards away. I dont see how we can stop the fires now with out any equipment or n. Come on, lets get moving towards the fire station. If were lucky, we might find a solution there. Momentster they all were once again cautiously moving deeper into the town with weapons at the ready. asional chunks of smoldering ash floated around them, and it was starting to look like a grey snow was beginning to settle on everything around them. The sun was blocked by the thick smoke but the scattered patches of new fires sprouting around them lit their way well enough. The choaking smoke hung low and danced about them casting fake shadows of monsters or creepy figures at every turn. Everyone was on edge and anxious when someone let out a shout. One of the men marching up front turned back and leaned over to start gagging. Quickly moving ahead to see what was going on, Lisa first spied the cause of the man''s reaction. In the middle of the road was a bloody mess of what once looked like a family. Clearly ripped apart by ws and fangs the bodies of a father, mother, and two children were scattered on the street. Their torsos and guts were already chewed away leaving only their scattered extremities behind to identify them. All four of their faces were ck jawed and contorted in painful fear, while their nk eyes stared out at nothingness. If not for the battle-hardened mind of Lisa, she too might have joined the man to throw up; though she wasnt immune and hurriedly looked away. Go around to the right side of the street. Lisa called back to the others. You all dont want to see this. Keep an eye out though, the blood on the bodies still looks wet and maybe there are still both people and Twisted still here in town. Moving somberly around the terrible scene everyone felt a renewed sense of dreed wash over them. It was clear to Lisa that many of the people were already showing signs of wanting to leave and give up the search through town. However, they had to move on together because she wasnt sure that it was safe to split up just yet. Fortunately, only a blockter they spotted the red and white colored fire station. Being the central fire station of the town, it was by far thergest. Taking up the entire block it was built on, the central fire station was three stories tall with two sets of eight fire truck doors lining two sides of the building. A tall baby blue water towner was also situated on the far side of the station. Even the water tower was being obscured by the smoke they all could tell it was no longer capable of working thanks to a gaping hole at its bottom. Lisa would have told everyone to hurry inside and start looking for supplies if not for one problem. Smeared on the road leading towards the fire truck doorways were blood trails. The Twisted had undoubtedly killed people and carried them inside to eat. The question was, were they still in there? The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!