Rapture (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 1)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I don’t see the point in fighting what is, like you humans always seem to do. Why are you back, this time?”

  “More work, since I can’t upgrade shit at the settlement,” Alvin sighed as he used the john real fast.

  “Actually…” Jarvis cut off and his voice went mechanical, “that data is not available at this time.”

  Alvin blinked, “Huh, really? I’ll have to take another look at the table tomorrow.”

  “What a fascinating idea,” Jarvis replied placidly. “Almost as if inspired by a higher being.”

  “Higher being, eh?” Alvin chuckled, “I do kind of miss the banter with you, since I’m not here much anymore.”

  “As it should be,” Jarvis replied.

  “Such an ass.” Laughing, Alvin pulled up his XP summary. His laughter cut off as he read the breakdown.

  World Mode Summary

  Total Experience Earned: 34,215 XP

  Breakdown: Settlement start-up 30,000 XP, Walkers killed 3,175 XP, Stockpile loot 540 XP, Viewer bonus 500 XP

  “What the fuck?” Alvin finally managed to say.

  “You gained the bonus for starting a settlement. That only happens once you have ten people all staying the night in a location that has a Draftsman’s table. There are other bonuses that can be awarded as well, for instance, if you build enough things.”

  “What about that Viewer bonus?” Alvin asked.

  “Your stream has gone live since you entered World Mode. You have had fifty viewers so far who have watched for at least an hour.”

  “So, the more people who watch me the higher the bonus?”

  “Correct,” Jarvis replied.

  “Okay. This is going to take me a bit longer than I expected. I still need to check a few things.” He pulled off the leather jacket and got the M14 out of his backpack.

  Leather Jacket (common)

  Armor: 5

  Durability: 50/50

  Upgradable: 0/2

  M14 (Uncommon)

  Damage: 25

  Durability: 334/400

  Ammo type: 7.62x51 mm

  Upgradable: 0/4

  Alvin looked at the items he had picked up and applied the upgrades he wanted for them, increased durability and Armor for the Jacket and the M14 got Unlimited Ammo, increased durability, and lowered recoil.

  Leather Jacket (common)

  Armor: 7

  Durability: 250/250

  Upgradable: 2/2

  M14 (Uncommon)

  Damage: 25

  Durability: 1,934/2,000

  Ammo type: 7.62x51 mm

  Upgradable: 3/4

  Alvin smiled, now he had a rifle that would make some things much easier. Say for instance when the zombies were a hundred or more yards away. He put the gun back into his bag, and he put the overly large jacket back on, then took it off again with a frown. He pulled up the store UI to see if he could fit it to his size. After a bit of poking and prodding he found the option for 500 XP. Sighing, he spent the XP since he’d already upgraded it.

  When he put it back on, the leather slowly shrunk until it fit him as if made for him. “Well, that’s nice if a little pricey over all, for something so minimal.”

  “Because clothing, fitted to your specific frame, is so easy to come by,” Jarvis remarked dryly.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Alvin replied as he waved off the comment as if it were a fly. “I’ve still got lots to do.”

  “Oh, this ought to be amusing,” Jarvis retorted before falling silent.

  Alvin shook his head at the sarcastic butler AI and started to upgrade all the guns. He added unlimited ammo and durability to the seventeen he owed Bill, plus the shotgun for Frank. He only added unlimited ammo to the Glock, though.

  He checked his total XP left after he had finished the guns, it left him at 17,500 XP. He picked up a medkit, figuring it might be handy to have one for emergencies, and dropped it into his belt pouch. He considered his options again, “Still need to upgrade my Personability.”

  “Only if you would like to be liked, or maybe even get a little action from a nurse or three,” Jarvis commented.

  “That would cost me,” Alvin fiddled with the store functions for a bit then whistled, “15,400 XP to get it to an even 3.00.”

  “It was designed to be expensive to upgrade your base stats,” Jarvis commented.

  Alvin chewed his lip for a moment as he thought. If he upgraded his Personability, that would leave him a little over 1,000 XP. It would be enough for any one thing he was used to for now.

  “Fuck,” Alvin sighed. “Without knowing all the costs of upgrading the settlement or even what it can be upgraded to, I’m stuck with going for a personal upgrade or hoarding it for now. Unless I want to dick around with coming back here again once everyone is awake.”

  “Choices,” Jarvis intoned with the barest hint of humor, “that can be a real bitch.”

  “Then again, Bill should have gotten a chunk of XP as well, though I don’t understand how he can upgrade things since he can’t come here.”

  “That is a good point,” Jarvis said simply.

  Alvin stopped for a moment then nodded, “I think I get it now. Well, I need to be more likeable if I want to try and get people to listen to me anyway.”

  He spent the XP and upgraded his Personability to an even number, leaving him with 1,100 XP after he was done.

  “Well, Jarvis I’m going to ferry all these guns back to the settlement. I might come back to sleep here or not. It depends on if Rahim is going to be an ass.”

  “Sleep well sir, wherever you are.”

  Alvin emptied his bags of everything so he could fill them with guns. He reappeared in the room with Rahim and James in a bright flash. Both men grumbled and rolled over as Alvin unloaded his bags and vanished in another flash. They both sat up, looking around for a moment before laying back down again. A minute later another flash caused them to sit upright again to see Alvin unloading his bags of guns.

  “Do you mind? We are trying to sleep, asshole,” Rahim snapped before he rolled himself back in his blanket.

  James yawned, shrugging as he lay back down, “Night, Alvin.”

  “Night, James. See you in the morning,” Alvin replied before he vanished again with another bright flash.

  Rahim jumped to his feet to berate Alvin, only to find himself with no target. Cursing, he laid back down again, muttering the whole time.

  “Trying to sleep, remember,” James said with a smirk.

  Rahim let out a long sigh before he turned over and went back to sleep.

  Alvin put all his stuff back in his bags before he curled up on his stone bench with newly acquired pillow and blanket, drifting to sleep himself.

  He woke sometime later and sat up, stretching, “Morning, Jarvis.”

  “Good morning, sir. Going out to battle the forces of undeath again today?”

  “Of course, I don’t have a spare life to give,” Alvin replied as he flushed the toilet. “Stay safe in here.”

  “I hope you don’t die horribly today,” Jarvis replied just before the light took Alvin away.

  Alvin returned to find the room occupied only by a snoring Rahim. James was not in evidence and the bed he’d slept in was neatly made. Getting up as quietly as he could, Alvin stepped out of the room. He shut the door quietly and turned to find Betty standing in the hall. She was wearing some baggy clothes that looked like they were Susan’s.

  “Morning,” Alvin greeted her.

  “Good morning,” Betty was frowning slightly as she looked him over. “Did you change something last night? Did you get a haircut or something?”

  Chuckling, Alvin shrugged, “Who can say, really? Is everyone else up already?”

  Chewing her lip slightly, Betty nodded, “Everyone but Rahim and you are already up. Breakfast should be ready shortly. Susan asked if I could check to see if you were in.”

  “Well then, shall we?” Alvin said, motioning her towards the kitchen.

  “Umm, y
es…” Betty said with another searching look at Alvin as she tried to puzzle out what was different about him.

  Alvin just grinned, glad that raising his Personability seemed to have an immediate effect. He followed her towards the kitchen, grinning at her reaction.

  When they entered the main room, all the seats were taken. Alvin nodded to the room in greeting, only to get puzzled looks from the group as they eyed him. “Morning. Did you all sleep well?”

  Terry replied first, “I slept fine.” She squinted hard at him, “Did you go spending your XP last night?”

  “Very perceptive, Gran,” Alvin chuckled. “Yes, I used a chunk of what I earned yesterday to fix my biggest weakness.”

  “That explains why I feel more inclined to trust you than I did yesterday,” Terry nodded. “What was it, Personability?”

  “That’s the one,” Alvin agreed. “Maybe now you can all accept me without all the frowns.”

  James snorted, “Still blunt, though. It was funny listening to Rahim bitch last night when you came and went. What was with that?”

  “Was ferrying the guns I upgraded for Bill back here.”

  “Oh, right. Do you have enough left to upgrade my pistol or my shotgun?” James asked sitting forward slightly. “I wanted to join you two today on point.”

  “Did you get my gun?” Frank queried from his spot in the rocking chair.

  “I can get yours done, James, but I only have enough to do one right now and that will tap me out. Grab whichever one you want upgraded first and I’ll take care of it before we head out. I do have to be in the bedroom to go back to my cell.” As he spoke, he pulled Frank’s shotgun from his bag and handed it over, “Did yours last night.”

  “Thank you kindly. I can’t tell if it’s your upgraded stat that makes me want to like you more or the fact that you did me a favor. Also, do you have to be in a secured room?”

  “That is the caveat, yeah,” Alvin agreed. “And it’s probably a bit of both, truth be told. Doing favors makes most people view you with a little more trust, but the stat boost will make you more predisposed towards me all around.”

  “Breakfast,” Susan called out from the kitchen. “Terry, you can stay where you are, I’ll have James bring you a plate.”

  Getting to his feet, Alvin chuckled, “The blessing of family.” Even though he chuckled there was a faint bitterness to his words.

  James got to his feet, slapping Alvin on the back, “You have pseudo-family now, though. This community will turn into a family-like environment.”

  Alvin paused while he considered the words. He was still considering it when Terry spoke up, “You do call me Gran, after all.”

  Looking back at the smiling grandma, Alvin nodded, “Thank you.” He got in line where Susan was handing plates of eggs and steak strips. “Wow, fancy today.”

  “Have to get through the perishables,” Susan replied, eyeing him for a moment with her lips pursed. “You upgraded?”

  “Yup,” Alvin chuckled as he took his plate. “Thank you for the food.”

  James stopped next to him with a smirk, a plate in each hand. “Want to hand this off to Gran for me?”

  “Thank you,” Alvin said as he took the plate for Terry. He heard a few whispered conversations pick up behind him, which he ignored. He handed Terry her plate, then handed Frank the other plate. “I’ll go grab another.”

  Frank nodded, “Mighty kind of you.”

  “Thank you,” Terry added.

  Alvin smiled to them both only to meet James bringing a second plate out of the kitchen. “I had one for Frank, but I guess it’s yours now, Alvin.”

  “Call me Al,” Alvin said as he took his seat. “I don’t care for the full name, too much teasing in school.”

  “I normally go by Terry myself, though my real name is Teresa,” Terry added as she finished a bite. “Though Gran works as well.”

  Conversation died away as everyone dug into their food. Bill came in, nodding at everyone and headed for the kitchen to get his own plate. He came back in with a loaded plate and found a spot to settle. “Coffee will be up shortly. We need to go over what that table can do.”

  “After breakfast?”

  “After breakfast is fine,” Bill agreed.

  “I also need to take a quick trip back to my cell, for James.”

  “That’s fine, as you’ll finish before me,” Bill said as he took his first bite.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Everyone headed out to the firing range after breakfast. Alvin handed James his improved shotgun.

  “Pump shotguns reload differently since they don’t have clips. You’ll need to flick the safety on for a three count before it’s ready to go again. However, it does fully reload the gun, which means it will have one in the chamber ready to fire when you take the safety off.”

  “Mine as well?” Frank asked.

  “Yes, looks like all pump guns reload that way. Revolvers reload if you open the chamber and give it a spin. I can’t wait to find out how a belt-fed works, I’m sure we’ll find out eventually.”

  Alvin looked around and realized that everyone but Rahim was gathered around, watching and listening as Alvin went over the gun modifications. “Group outing?”

  “We’re all curious about that table, and what growing the Settlement is going to entail,” Terry replied.

  Bill stopped by the table, motioning Alvin to it. Alvin stepped over and brought up the 3D holographic display of the Settlement. This time a single item was lit up, Scrapper. Alvin tapped it to get information on it.

  Scrapper: This building may be placed for free. The Scrapper converts unwanted junk into material usable for other buildings. Anything placed inside will be scrapped. There is a one hour cooldown between scrap cycles.

  Alvin took his hand off the table and stepped back, “Okay, so we build the Scrapper and then have to get stuff up here for it to break down. Then use the material it gives for other buildings. Seems pretty straightforward, which means we just haven’t found the catch yet.”

  Susan nodded, “We get to place it for free though, so it doesn’t hurt to do so. I was thinking of putting it in the far back corner from here so it’s out of the way.”

  “If we have to take stuff to it, though, then either of the front corners closer to the gate make more sense,” Alvin replied.

  “Aesthetic against functionality,” Bill sighed. “I prefer functionality, every time.”

  Susan shook her head, “I know, but we don’t know what it’s going to look like, smell like, or sound like. I’m not sure the front is the best place for it.”

  “I have to say your father is right on this one, Susan,” Frank opined.

  “Do we want it close though, if it winds up belching smoke and smells?” Betty asked, looking at the redheaded nurse, who shook her head.

  “Bill, it’s actually your place,” Alvin said, stepping back, “I recommend the front, though. I don’t think we want to be dragging big stuff, like ruined cars, all the way through the compound.”

  Susan paused, then nodded, “He has a point there. Okay, front it is.”

  Alvin touched the table, selected the Scrapper and indicated where he wanted it built. A bright light flared over in the front corner of the yard. When it vanished a large metal structure, sixty feet in length and thirty feet high now stood there.

  “Well, that is a big building,” Alvin chuckled.

  The whole group walked over to look at it. The entire front of the building was a huge sliding door that was raised and lowered with a hand crank. On the side was a conveyor belt, with a small sign that said output.

  Alvin touched the metal building and got a pop-up, so he looked it over before smiling. “Okay guys, this is how it works. You place the items you want to scrap inside, then roll the door down. Once the door is closed you press the red button, it begins to scrap the items, and the material will come out the side conveyor.”

  Bill touched the building and frowned, examining the building
information for himself. “This can be upgraded. Looks like we’ll get more material out of it per scrap when we do.”

  Alvin went back to the table. “Okay, so we have new plans going forward. We want to drag everything we possibly can back here. Dead cars, anything not nailed down really well, and eventually we’ll probably even want to tear down the houses and bring the pieces here” Alvin was flipping through information provided by the table as he spoke, “The Settlement is built and upgraded using Settlement XP. Oh, hey, we can also get all the beginning production buildings for free now that the Scrapper is built.”