Apocalypse online 2, p.34
APOCALYPSE ONLINE 2, page 34
He considered the problem at hand.
His first thought was to send them to the Hub. It was a great place with sturdy walls, and other than a lack of fences it was an easily defensible structure. The problem was space and comfort. The Hub was great for parties, get-togethers, and even having a small population live in it if they set things up properly, but Karen and her people would need a lot more space than the building could offer. Jake pulled up the map in search of a place and found just the one.
“Have you considered the RV park?” Jake offered. “It’s to the east, just outside our land claim, but it’s still well within our sensor range. You should have more than enough space there to house everyone comfortably.”
Karen’s eyes lit up at the mention of being outside the guild’s territory, but Jake didn’t think much of it. “That sounds wonderful, Jake. We’ll gather our things and get set up right away.”
Jake held his hands up. “Woah, slow down there. The RV park isn’t clear yet. There’s a seeder presence there, Karen, so you better go in ready for a fight.”
“Well, maybe you could just clear it for us.” Karen batted her eyes at him.
Jake shook his head. “I wouldn’t be doing you or your people any favors that way, Karen. You can’t get stronger without gathering aether, and you get that aether through fighting and killing monsters.”
Karen scowled for a flash of a second before returning to her sickly sweet smile. “You know, you’re right, Jake. We will clear that place out for ourselves. After all, those seeders can’t eat all of us, right?”
A nervous laughter rolled through the crowd, and Jake wasn’t feeling too optimistic about their odds.
Still, this would take out two, maybe three birds with one stone. Karen would be out of his hair, they would clear up some space in the Gaming Center, and Karen and her people would earn some desperately needed aether.
“You’ll do better than that,” Jake assured her. “Now, if you need anything just give me a call. We’re all in the same guild now, so you can reach out from anywhere.”
“We will. Toodles.” Karen walked off. Roger and Steve were right behind her.
The rest of her people followed along, but a few stayed. Most of them looked like locals except one of the larger men—a bearded fellow built like a football player with a thick, bushy beard.
He walked up to Jake and extended a hand. “Hey man, I’m Darius,” he said in a quiet, almost conspiratorial tone as he glanced over his shoulder now and then.
Jake gave it a firm shake. “Nice to meet you. Is something the matter?”
Darius seemed to relax when the last of Karen’s people were gone. “Yeah, man. I’m not really a big fan of following that Karen lady around. I’ve been stuck with her and her cronies since this mess happened.”
“Is she that bad?” Jake asked.
Darius rolled his hand back and forth. “Kinda, sorta. She gets this way-too-sweet, clingy attitude around people she’s trying to get to do what she wants, but turns into a real Karen whenever she doesn’t get her way.”
Jake couldn’t help snorting. “So the name fits, huh?”
Darius nodded. “Anyway, I was hoping it’d be cool if all of us could stay with you guys instead of her. We can pull our own weight, and we won’t be any trouble.”
“Sure,” Jake answered without any hesitation. “Like I’m sure Brad’s said a million times by now, we’re all here to work together. Have you picked a class yet?”
“Actually, that was the second thing we wanted to talk to you about,” Darius said with a sheepish smile that didn’t look at all right on a man of his size. “We heard from our muses, and from talking to other folks around here, that there’s another, harder path we can follow called cultivation. One that’ll make us even stronger than everyone who chose a class.”
Jake wasn’t terribly excited about where this was going, but he played along. “That’s right. I’m on that path myself right now too, but it’s not quite as strong as the others to begin with. It takes a lot of hard work and effort before you can even catch up to the others.”
Darius nodded. “I understand that, but it sounds like it’s much more flexible than the classes, too. Honestly, I liked a lot of them, but I couldn’t stand picking just one.”
Jake chuckled. “That’s a good a reason as any to take the hard path, I guess.”
“So we were wondering…” Darius trailed off.
Jake braced for the obvious question to come next.
“Could you teach us how to do this cultivation thing?”
I knew it, Jake thought.
Hazel laughed. Aww, but they are so cute asking you for help. How could you even dream of turning them down?
Jake wasn’t thinking about shooting them down, but neither was he too excited about taking that kind of responsibility for these people. There was every real possibility they could get themselves killed much faster and easier trying to harness the power of cultivation when they could simply pick a class and start kicking alien butt on the spot.
But who was he to turn them down?
“It won’t be easy,” Jake began. “This path takes a lot of focus, and if you do it wrong you could hurt yourself pretty badly. I’m talking about breaking bones when punching something or throwing an arm out of its socket.”
Darius and the others behind him exchanged worried glances.
“But I’ve been able to survive a great deal of abuse with no armor thanks to my cultivation, and I’m sure it will only get better as I improve.”
Darius nodded. “We understand, sir. We’d like to do the same thing you’re doing.”
Jake still had far more to figure out about cultivation before he would even feel slightly comfortable teaching others, but he figured there was no harm giving them some guidance.
“Alright. Then lesson one involves reading.” Jake pointed up at the second floor. “Head on up to my room and find the stash of cultivation novels I have up there. Read through those books—all of those books—then we can start on your training.”
“Aww man, reading? Really?” one of the guys complained in the back.
Jake shrugged. “If you can’t handle a little bit of reading, you won’t be able to handle the focus required to cultivate properly. The choice is yours.”
Darius looked back at the man. “Come on, how much reading can it be? We’ll be done before the afternoon.” He waved for the others to join him upstairs. It took a second for them to follow.
Jake couldn’t help the grin spreading across his lips. They have no idea how much reading they just signed up for.
Hazel huffed. Did you really just have to pawn them off on your book collection? You could have started teaching them right now.
I’ve got my own cultivation to worry about, Hazel, Jake said. Besides, I’m still getting the hang of this, and those books will give them a better idea of what they’re getting into. If they’re still interested, then we can figure out what to do with them.
Hazel groaned in dissatisfaction. Well, the least you could do is check out that notification that has been bothering me since yesterday’s fight.
Jake chuckled. Oh? Let’s have a look.
World first!
Your raid has successfully defeated a deadly alpha mutant.
You have received 5,000 aether.
Jake blinked before a sudden surge of aether materialized from the air around him and flowed into him like a flood. He shut his eyes tight, expecting to be toppled over at any moment, but nothing happened.
What the hell was that for? Jake asked.
A world first, Jake. It says so right there on the notification, Hazel explained. The odd part is the reward. These things usually give out abilities, spells, sometimes equipment. Never aether.
Jake thought for a moment. He remembered his muse saying the cultivation path was rarely followed, and there was even less information on it. Do you think it’s because the system has no idea what to do with me?
It is possible, Hazel said. Cultivators are rare. And since all of their growth and development comes from the cultivation of aether, I suppose it makes sense to receive such a large chunk.
Jake already felt uneasy with the new flood of disorganized aether deep within him. He needed to fix this right away.
Better put this aether to work.
Jake headed out to the garden to get started on his cultivation. He began with his usual gardening while he took each new strand of aether and coiled it around his core, little by little growing the tight bundle of energy and making it stronger. It took a couple of hours of work, but thanks to the prior night’s efforts at improving his mind coupled with his own experience, the process was far smoother than his first attempts.
It’s working, Jake! It’s just like you’ve leveled up, but the effects are stronger. Hazel pulled up his stats window for him.
Jake Hicks
Strength: 16
Agility: 15
Constitution: 20
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11
Health: 100
Mana: 70
All of your hard work has increased your stats beyond what a level-two character would normally have, Hazel said. The only drawback so far is that you haven’t been given any skill ranks or abilities like they would.
Jake nodded. That’s because I have to make up my own abilities, don’t I?
Sort of, Hazel agreed. Like with your mana shield, you have to find how to manifest your aether in such a way that it will act as a spell or an ability.
Then let’s start with what I know, Jake said.
He began simply enough, with his Aether Shield. Drawing the aether from his core, he formed a barrier of energy around himself in just under a second, far faster than he was able to before. With a thought he shattered the shield and repeated the process, bringing it up over and over again. Each time he tried to pack his mana tighter together to form a stronger, more powerful barrier than the last. Progress was slow, as were all things with cultivation, but it was noticeable in the brief flickers of his shield flaring to life around him. After the twentieth attempt, Jake could tell the barrier was thickening.
Have you considered doing something else with your shield? Hazel asked.
Like what? Jake asked.
Projecting it onto others, like the mages do with their mana shield.
Jake actually hadn’t considered that and slapped his forehead for letting such an amazing and simple idea slip right through his fingers. If the mages could do that, so could he, and if he was learning to strengthen his shield then in time he may very well learn to make stronger barriers than they could.
He looked around for a volunteer to try this on, of which there were no shortage. Other survivors were out and about working the gardens, helping build the new concrete walls with the addition of battlements and so much more. But in order to test if his shield would work, he needed to attack his volunteer. He couldn’t risk that, not if he didn’t have any of their healers around in case something went wrong.
A solution presented itself in the form of discarded paint cans.
Jake picked it up with a grin. “This’ll do.”
What will do? Hazel asked.
Jake set the cans down on a waist-high wall and extended a hand toward the first. He focused his aether on forming a shield once again, but this time he tried projecting it onto the can.
His first attempt materialized a shield right in the middle of the can and split it open like a melon.
Jake jumped back. “Holy crap!”
Huh. It appears spawning a shield within something has less-than-desirable effects, Hazel commented.
“You can say that again,” Jake muttered to himself, and went for the second can.
He focused more intensely this time. A shield spawned off to the side of the can, which would have protected it were it not so close it toppled the can over. Oddly enough, the shield remained where it appeared and didn’t follow the can at all.
This one looks like it could be a makeshift barrier, Jake said.
Hazel gasped. We can use this to block off enemies in a hurry if you can figure out how to do it on purpose.
Jake nodded as he set the second can back on the wall and tried again. This time the shield came out the size of a human and it dug into the wall itself. Curious, Jake poked at the barrier. It wouldn’t budge at all, which lent more credence to Hazel’s theory they could use these shields to block off areas.
He dismissed the shield and tried again. This time the shield was smaller, more focused around the can, and rather than digging into the wall it simply flowed over it. Jake poked the shield again. This time the can toppled over, taking the shield with it.
I think I’ve got it. Jake grinned and drew his aether pistol. He took a quick shot and the shield shattered like frail glass. The can itself took a direct hit and bounced across the ground.
Jake hummed. “OK, that’s progress. Not great progress, but it’s something.”
You fired that pistol rather quickly as well, Jake, Hazel said.
Jake honestly hadn’t noticed, so he brought up the pistol again and fired. He squeezed the trigger and a bolt of aether blasted out of the barrel just as it would any other pistol he’d used before. In the past, his aether pistol always required some time to charge. Even small shots like the ones he was firing took a second or two to ready, where larger ones took almost a minute.
He observed each time he pulled the trigger how his aether flowed through his arm. The moment his finger was on the trigger his aether had already charged a shot within the pistol, and squeezing it fired out the bolt. But if he concentrated the aether into the pistol, it gathered far more quickly than before. Had he been able to use his aether this quickly during the fight with the mutant wolves, there was a good chance he would have taken far less damage.
Oh this is getting good, Jake said with a toothy grin.
It is rather impressive, I must admit, Hazel praised. Now focus, Jake. You were trying to cast shields on things.
Jake nodded and cast the shield onto the third and final can. He shattered it and remade it time and again to make sure the shield was properly placed on his intended target until he was confident enough in his ability not to accidentally murder his friends. Then it came time to apply protection. He hardened the shield he’d cast on the can as he would his own. It was a slow process of channeling aether, as the tendrils went wild now and again, making the shield weaker in some places than others.
By the thirtieth attempt, he’d finally had a sturdy shield with even protection all around it.
I think we’re ready, Jake said.
I have my fingers crossed, Jake, Hazel said.
Jake took aim at the shielded can. You don’t have any fingers.
It’s the thought that counts!
Jake squeezed off a shot. The blue shield flared to life around the can as the round impacted. The can flew off the wall and bounced across the ground. Jake feared the round had broken through the barrier, but it still held. More importantly, the can hadn’t even received a single dent from its tumble.
It worked, Jake cheered.
Interesting, Hazel hummed. It appears the shield will prevent damage from acting on its target, but it will not prevent physics from acting upon it. Maybe this is something you can improve on later?
Might be, Jake said. A shield that would prevent him and others from getting thrown around like rag dolls would be a great help.
“Hey Jake. Come in, Jake,” Mark’s voice came through Jake’s mind. “Is this thing working?”
Jake smiled. “I can hear you just fine, Mark. How’s it going up there?” He pulled up the map to see that Mark was driving down from the radio tower.
“You know, the usual. Alan got the radio working, and as soon as he got comfortable he was acting like he was the king of the castle.” Mark groaned. “A man can only take that kind of attitude for so long.”
“You be nice to Alan,” Angie said. “He got us that radio working before this fancy guild communication system came online. Speaking of, Jake, are you still there, sweety?”
Jake chuckled. “I’m here.”
“Nora and I were thinking we should turn the radio tower into an outpost when we get the chance,” Angie said. “There’s all sorts of wild, interesting alien life out here, and plants, too. It might be useful for us to gather them up here. You know, since we don’t really need a radio tower anymore.”
Jake smiled. “That’s a good idea. We’ll have to set it up as soon as we get the aether for it.”
“By the way, did you guys see those ships coming down?” Mark asked. “We saw a trio of them head up into the mountains, and at least five more heading south of the tower.”
Jake frowned. There were a lot more alien ships than he thought. “We saw some of them, yeah. Sam’s checking out the western one right now.”
“Hope she’s being careful about it,” Mark said. “The trio we saw up here didn’t look like they were coming in peace at all.”
Jake hoped that was just a safety precaution to travel the void with rather than weapon systems to be turned against them. He feared he was being naïve. “Sam can take care of herself. Always has.”
25
Sam
What should have been a quick, one-hour drive on the highway was dragged out by roads clogged with ruined cars. Vehicles had been ripped open, burned, or crushed under whatever assault had taken place on the road as hundreds, if not thousands of people tried to flee the city.
Instead, they all died.
The path these people had chosen to escape had become their tomb. The only trace of their existence were the thick smears of industrial green drenching the roads, vehicles, and spilling off into the nearby forest. Exotic alien plants sprouted from those fields of green.
Useful as those plants may be in the long run, Sam didn’t want to hang around in a mass grave any longer than she had to.
Aron took them off the road, and their journey continued to their destination.
It was early in the afternoon when Sam’s party reached the outskirts of Kamloops.
“Nothing too out of the ordinary so far,” Chet said as he scanned their surroundings. “It looks abandoned for a city like this, but I’m not seeing any alien ships.”
His first thought was to send them to the Hub. It was a great place with sturdy walls, and other than a lack of fences it was an easily defensible structure. The problem was space and comfort. The Hub was great for parties, get-togethers, and even having a small population live in it if they set things up properly, but Karen and her people would need a lot more space than the building could offer. Jake pulled up the map in search of a place and found just the one.
“Have you considered the RV park?” Jake offered. “It’s to the east, just outside our land claim, but it’s still well within our sensor range. You should have more than enough space there to house everyone comfortably.”
Karen’s eyes lit up at the mention of being outside the guild’s territory, but Jake didn’t think much of it. “That sounds wonderful, Jake. We’ll gather our things and get set up right away.”
Jake held his hands up. “Woah, slow down there. The RV park isn’t clear yet. There’s a seeder presence there, Karen, so you better go in ready for a fight.”
“Well, maybe you could just clear it for us.” Karen batted her eyes at him.
Jake shook his head. “I wouldn’t be doing you or your people any favors that way, Karen. You can’t get stronger without gathering aether, and you get that aether through fighting and killing monsters.”
Karen scowled for a flash of a second before returning to her sickly sweet smile. “You know, you’re right, Jake. We will clear that place out for ourselves. After all, those seeders can’t eat all of us, right?”
A nervous laughter rolled through the crowd, and Jake wasn’t feeling too optimistic about their odds.
Still, this would take out two, maybe three birds with one stone. Karen would be out of his hair, they would clear up some space in the Gaming Center, and Karen and her people would earn some desperately needed aether.
“You’ll do better than that,” Jake assured her. “Now, if you need anything just give me a call. We’re all in the same guild now, so you can reach out from anywhere.”
“We will. Toodles.” Karen walked off. Roger and Steve were right behind her.
The rest of her people followed along, but a few stayed. Most of them looked like locals except one of the larger men—a bearded fellow built like a football player with a thick, bushy beard.
He walked up to Jake and extended a hand. “Hey man, I’m Darius,” he said in a quiet, almost conspiratorial tone as he glanced over his shoulder now and then.
Jake gave it a firm shake. “Nice to meet you. Is something the matter?”
Darius seemed to relax when the last of Karen’s people were gone. “Yeah, man. I’m not really a big fan of following that Karen lady around. I’ve been stuck with her and her cronies since this mess happened.”
“Is she that bad?” Jake asked.
Darius rolled his hand back and forth. “Kinda, sorta. She gets this way-too-sweet, clingy attitude around people she’s trying to get to do what she wants, but turns into a real Karen whenever she doesn’t get her way.”
Jake couldn’t help snorting. “So the name fits, huh?”
Darius nodded. “Anyway, I was hoping it’d be cool if all of us could stay with you guys instead of her. We can pull our own weight, and we won’t be any trouble.”
“Sure,” Jake answered without any hesitation. “Like I’m sure Brad’s said a million times by now, we’re all here to work together. Have you picked a class yet?”
“Actually, that was the second thing we wanted to talk to you about,” Darius said with a sheepish smile that didn’t look at all right on a man of his size. “We heard from our muses, and from talking to other folks around here, that there’s another, harder path we can follow called cultivation. One that’ll make us even stronger than everyone who chose a class.”
Jake wasn’t terribly excited about where this was going, but he played along. “That’s right. I’m on that path myself right now too, but it’s not quite as strong as the others to begin with. It takes a lot of hard work and effort before you can even catch up to the others.”
Darius nodded. “I understand that, but it sounds like it’s much more flexible than the classes, too. Honestly, I liked a lot of them, but I couldn’t stand picking just one.”
Jake chuckled. “That’s a good a reason as any to take the hard path, I guess.”
“So we were wondering…” Darius trailed off.
Jake braced for the obvious question to come next.
“Could you teach us how to do this cultivation thing?”
I knew it, Jake thought.
Hazel laughed. Aww, but they are so cute asking you for help. How could you even dream of turning them down?
Jake wasn’t thinking about shooting them down, but neither was he too excited about taking that kind of responsibility for these people. There was every real possibility they could get themselves killed much faster and easier trying to harness the power of cultivation when they could simply pick a class and start kicking alien butt on the spot.
But who was he to turn them down?
“It won’t be easy,” Jake began. “This path takes a lot of focus, and if you do it wrong you could hurt yourself pretty badly. I’m talking about breaking bones when punching something or throwing an arm out of its socket.”
Darius and the others behind him exchanged worried glances.
“But I’ve been able to survive a great deal of abuse with no armor thanks to my cultivation, and I’m sure it will only get better as I improve.”
Darius nodded. “We understand, sir. We’d like to do the same thing you’re doing.”
Jake still had far more to figure out about cultivation before he would even feel slightly comfortable teaching others, but he figured there was no harm giving them some guidance.
“Alright. Then lesson one involves reading.” Jake pointed up at the second floor. “Head on up to my room and find the stash of cultivation novels I have up there. Read through those books—all of those books—then we can start on your training.”
“Aww man, reading? Really?” one of the guys complained in the back.
Jake shrugged. “If you can’t handle a little bit of reading, you won’t be able to handle the focus required to cultivate properly. The choice is yours.”
Darius looked back at the man. “Come on, how much reading can it be? We’ll be done before the afternoon.” He waved for the others to join him upstairs. It took a second for them to follow.
Jake couldn’t help the grin spreading across his lips. They have no idea how much reading they just signed up for.
Hazel huffed. Did you really just have to pawn them off on your book collection? You could have started teaching them right now.
I’ve got my own cultivation to worry about, Hazel, Jake said. Besides, I’m still getting the hang of this, and those books will give them a better idea of what they’re getting into. If they’re still interested, then we can figure out what to do with them.
Hazel groaned in dissatisfaction. Well, the least you could do is check out that notification that has been bothering me since yesterday’s fight.
Jake chuckled. Oh? Let’s have a look.
World first!
Your raid has successfully defeated a deadly alpha mutant.
You have received 5,000 aether.
Jake blinked before a sudden surge of aether materialized from the air around him and flowed into him like a flood. He shut his eyes tight, expecting to be toppled over at any moment, but nothing happened.
What the hell was that for? Jake asked.
A world first, Jake. It says so right there on the notification, Hazel explained. The odd part is the reward. These things usually give out abilities, spells, sometimes equipment. Never aether.
Jake thought for a moment. He remembered his muse saying the cultivation path was rarely followed, and there was even less information on it. Do you think it’s because the system has no idea what to do with me?
It is possible, Hazel said. Cultivators are rare. And since all of their growth and development comes from the cultivation of aether, I suppose it makes sense to receive such a large chunk.
Jake already felt uneasy with the new flood of disorganized aether deep within him. He needed to fix this right away.
Better put this aether to work.
Jake headed out to the garden to get started on his cultivation. He began with his usual gardening while he took each new strand of aether and coiled it around his core, little by little growing the tight bundle of energy and making it stronger. It took a couple of hours of work, but thanks to the prior night’s efforts at improving his mind coupled with his own experience, the process was far smoother than his first attempts.
It’s working, Jake! It’s just like you’ve leveled up, but the effects are stronger. Hazel pulled up his stats window for him.
Jake Hicks
Strength: 16
Agility: 15
Constitution: 20
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 11
Health: 100
Mana: 70
All of your hard work has increased your stats beyond what a level-two character would normally have, Hazel said. The only drawback so far is that you haven’t been given any skill ranks or abilities like they would.
Jake nodded. That’s because I have to make up my own abilities, don’t I?
Sort of, Hazel agreed. Like with your mana shield, you have to find how to manifest your aether in such a way that it will act as a spell or an ability.
Then let’s start with what I know, Jake said.
He began simply enough, with his Aether Shield. Drawing the aether from his core, he formed a barrier of energy around himself in just under a second, far faster than he was able to before. With a thought he shattered the shield and repeated the process, bringing it up over and over again. Each time he tried to pack his mana tighter together to form a stronger, more powerful barrier than the last. Progress was slow, as were all things with cultivation, but it was noticeable in the brief flickers of his shield flaring to life around him. After the twentieth attempt, Jake could tell the barrier was thickening.
Have you considered doing something else with your shield? Hazel asked.
Like what? Jake asked.
Projecting it onto others, like the mages do with their mana shield.
Jake actually hadn’t considered that and slapped his forehead for letting such an amazing and simple idea slip right through his fingers. If the mages could do that, so could he, and if he was learning to strengthen his shield then in time he may very well learn to make stronger barriers than they could.
He looked around for a volunteer to try this on, of which there were no shortage. Other survivors were out and about working the gardens, helping build the new concrete walls with the addition of battlements and so much more. But in order to test if his shield would work, he needed to attack his volunteer. He couldn’t risk that, not if he didn’t have any of their healers around in case something went wrong.
A solution presented itself in the form of discarded paint cans.
Jake picked it up with a grin. “This’ll do.”
What will do? Hazel asked.
Jake set the cans down on a waist-high wall and extended a hand toward the first. He focused his aether on forming a shield once again, but this time he tried projecting it onto the can.
His first attempt materialized a shield right in the middle of the can and split it open like a melon.
Jake jumped back. “Holy crap!”
Huh. It appears spawning a shield within something has less-than-desirable effects, Hazel commented.
“You can say that again,” Jake muttered to himself, and went for the second can.
He focused more intensely this time. A shield spawned off to the side of the can, which would have protected it were it not so close it toppled the can over. Oddly enough, the shield remained where it appeared and didn’t follow the can at all.
This one looks like it could be a makeshift barrier, Jake said.
Hazel gasped. We can use this to block off enemies in a hurry if you can figure out how to do it on purpose.
Jake nodded as he set the second can back on the wall and tried again. This time the shield came out the size of a human and it dug into the wall itself. Curious, Jake poked at the barrier. It wouldn’t budge at all, which lent more credence to Hazel’s theory they could use these shields to block off areas.
He dismissed the shield and tried again. This time the shield was smaller, more focused around the can, and rather than digging into the wall it simply flowed over it. Jake poked the shield again. This time the can toppled over, taking the shield with it.
I think I’ve got it. Jake grinned and drew his aether pistol. He took a quick shot and the shield shattered like frail glass. The can itself took a direct hit and bounced across the ground.
Jake hummed. “OK, that’s progress. Not great progress, but it’s something.”
You fired that pistol rather quickly as well, Jake, Hazel said.
Jake honestly hadn’t noticed, so he brought up the pistol again and fired. He squeezed the trigger and a bolt of aether blasted out of the barrel just as it would any other pistol he’d used before. In the past, his aether pistol always required some time to charge. Even small shots like the ones he was firing took a second or two to ready, where larger ones took almost a minute.
He observed each time he pulled the trigger how his aether flowed through his arm. The moment his finger was on the trigger his aether had already charged a shot within the pistol, and squeezing it fired out the bolt. But if he concentrated the aether into the pistol, it gathered far more quickly than before. Had he been able to use his aether this quickly during the fight with the mutant wolves, there was a good chance he would have taken far less damage.
Oh this is getting good, Jake said with a toothy grin.
It is rather impressive, I must admit, Hazel praised. Now focus, Jake. You were trying to cast shields on things.
Jake nodded and cast the shield onto the third and final can. He shattered it and remade it time and again to make sure the shield was properly placed on his intended target until he was confident enough in his ability not to accidentally murder his friends. Then it came time to apply protection. He hardened the shield he’d cast on the can as he would his own. It was a slow process of channeling aether, as the tendrils went wild now and again, making the shield weaker in some places than others.
By the thirtieth attempt, he’d finally had a sturdy shield with even protection all around it.
I think we’re ready, Jake said.
I have my fingers crossed, Jake, Hazel said.
Jake took aim at the shielded can. You don’t have any fingers.
It’s the thought that counts!
Jake squeezed off a shot. The blue shield flared to life around the can as the round impacted. The can flew off the wall and bounced across the ground. Jake feared the round had broken through the barrier, but it still held. More importantly, the can hadn’t even received a single dent from its tumble.
It worked, Jake cheered.
Interesting, Hazel hummed. It appears the shield will prevent damage from acting on its target, but it will not prevent physics from acting upon it. Maybe this is something you can improve on later?
Might be, Jake said. A shield that would prevent him and others from getting thrown around like rag dolls would be a great help.
“Hey Jake. Come in, Jake,” Mark’s voice came through Jake’s mind. “Is this thing working?”
Jake smiled. “I can hear you just fine, Mark. How’s it going up there?” He pulled up the map to see that Mark was driving down from the radio tower.
“You know, the usual. Alan got the radio working, and as soon as he got comfortable he was acting like he was the king of the castle.” Mark groaned. “A man can only take that kind of attitude for so long.”
“You be nice to Alan,” Angie said. “He got us that radio working before this fancy guild communication system came online. Speaking of, Jake, are you still there, sweety?”
Jake chuckled. “I’m here.”
“Nora and I were thinking we should turn the radio tower into an outpost when we get the chance,” Angie said. “There’s all sorts of wild, interesting alien life out here, and plants, too. It might be useful for us to gather them up here. You know, since we don’t really need a radio tower anymore.”
Jake smiled. “That’s a good idea. We’ll have to set it up as soon as we get the aether for it.”
“By the way, did you guys see those ships coming down?” Mark asked. “We saw a trio of them head up into the mountains, and at least five more heading south of the tower.”
Jake frowned. There were a lot more alien ships than he thought. “We saw some of them, yeah. Sam’s checking out the western one right now.”
“Hope she’s being careful about it,” Mark said. “The trio we saw up here didn’t look like they were coming in peace at all.”
Jake hoped that was just a safety precaution to travel the void with rather than weapon systems to be turned against them. He feared he was being naïve. “Sam can take care of herself. Always has.”
25
Sam
What should have been a quick, one-hour drive on the highway was dragged out by roads clogged with ruined cars. Vehicles had been ripped open, burned, or crushed under whatever assault had taken place on the road as hundreds, if not thousands of people tried to flee the city.
Instead, they all died.
The path these people had chosen to escape had become their tomb. The only trace of their existence were the thick smears of industrial green drenching the roads, vehicles, and spilling off into the nearby forest. Exotic alien plants sprouted from those fields of green.
Useful as those plants may be in the long run, Sam didn’t want to hang around in a mass grave any longer than she had to.
Aron took them off the road, and their journey continued to their destination.
It was early in the afternoon when Sam’s party reached the outskirts of Kamloops.
“Nothing too out of the ordinary so far,” Chet said as he scanned their surroundings. “It looks abandoned for a city like this, but I’m not seeing any alien ships.”
