Rapture (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 1)

by Daniel Schinhofen

  Alvin felt a surge of something he couldn’t understand as he put his arm around her. “I won’t hit you unless you ask me to.”

  Her lips quirked up a fraction, “So you will do that if I ask? Good to know.” She looked up at him, “When are you planning on heading out into the world?”

  “Not until I know they can survive, to give me a place to come back to,” he said as he watched people loading up the flatbed with boxes. “Not even sure where I’ll go, yet, when I do head out.”

  “Do you think the zombies and animals are going to change more?”

  “I would almost guarantee it,” Alvin sighed.

  Bill came over to them, “You two okay?”

  “Tired from the manual labor, haven’t dug a ditch in a while,” Alvin replied.

  “We’re calling off the rest of the scrapping for the day. The others are heading back to drop off what they got done. Once we get back to the compound, we’ll see about getting the new people adjusted and fitted in somewhere. The twelve room inn isn’t going to be enough.”

  “Some of them are couples,” James added as he joined them. “So we still might have enough room. We can always expand the inn, right?”

  “Yes,” Alvin said. “It takes Settlement XP. I’ll have to see what we got today and for what reasons.”

  “Another hour before they’re ready,” Bill told him. “After they have everything loaded, Gregor will bury Shemp and then we can go.”

  “Works,” Alvin replied as he took another sip. He caught a look on James’s face and tried to puzzle out what it meant. He realized he still had his arm around Becky and she was leaning into him as they sat there, his hand right over one of her breasts. He looked down at Becky to find her grinning up at him, “Oh, you devious little…” Her laughter drowned out the rest of his remark.

  Becky was still laughing as she sat up, his arm slipping from her. “Took you long enough.”

  “We’re ready,” Gregor told them as he came out of the house for the last time. “We tied down the boxes to the trailer. Just need to bury my buddy.”

  Everyone gathered around the hole where Gregor was gently laying Shemp down. Climbing back out, he took a moment before he began to speak. “Shemp was like a child to me and Venessa, all of our dogs have been. He was a vibrant, youthful and eager companion on our trips.” He shared a couple of stories of adventures they’d shared with the dog before winding down. “We lay him to rest now, sad that he is gone, but happy that he will no longer have to fear this world.” With that he picked up the shovel and began to fill the hole.

  Venessa, his wife, stood there crying as Gregor filled the hole in with help from Bill. Once they had it filled, Gregor laid a simple stone slab over the top. He took Venessa under his arm and led her to the station wagon. The women were in the car. The men sat on the trailer, each of them armed and keeping their eyes open.

  Alvin tried to shoo Becky off to the car, only to be ignored as she climbed up onto the trailer. She turned around and offered him a hand up. With a raised brow, he took her hand and settled in next to her on the trailer. Once everyone was aboard one of the vehicles they started back to the compound, slowly so no one would fall off. Alvin didn’t see any zombies, but he did see a ginger cat the size of a pitbull jumping a fence into a yard. He would have sworn it held a child in its mouth. He looked at Becky, meeting her wide eyes, “We’re going to need a bigger boat.”

  Snorting, Becky looked away, “I didn’t hear the music.”

  “What are you two talking about?” one of the new guys asked.

  Alvin looked back over his shoulder to meet the gaze of a fellow built like a football player, wide across the shoulders and probably well over six feet tall. “How the zombies and animals are changing, which isn’t a good thing,” Alvin told him.

  “I still don’t understand how this could even happen,” the guy went on. “If I ever meet someone responsible for this, I’m going to kill the fucker.”

  Becky snorted, “I don’t envy your chances. The Pope told the world it was God’s fault, so have fun with that.”

  “Especially since he turned tail and ran, which is why we’re here now according to the lore,” Alvin added. “The world is no longer whatever you thought it was, at any rate. If the animals are mutating and the zombies are getting smarter, that doesn’t bode well for the future.”

  “Why?” muscle guy asked with a frown.

  “It hasn’t been a week since this …apocalypse happened. Normally higher difficulty stuff comes along later, not in the first town. If Green River, aka the starting town, is starting to get ramped-up difficulty, then the rest of this game is going to be horribad.” Alvin pulled his gun and took aim as the truck rolled. “Gothy, at three o’clock, another mutated.”

  Becky brought her shotgun up and took aim down the same line. As she did, the panther-like creature darted towards the trailer. The creature’s roars were startlingly loud before they were drowned out by gunfire from Alvin and Becky.

  It staggered, then collapsed as the duo pumped round after round into it. Becky flicked her safety on as Alvin reseated his magazine. “One more cat down,” Alvin muttered. “Anyone know how many house pets there are in this town?”

  “Statistically, I think it was about two per family on average,” Becky said as she laid her shotgun across her thighs. “We did find quite a few pet corpses that the zombies had killed in a lot of the houses, so mostly only the outside pets or strays should be left.”

  “Well, fuck,” Alvin sighed his lips pursed in thought as the rig turned onto the dirt road.

  What little conversation there had been died away as the rig rumbled up towards the compound. Once they reached the gate, Alvin saw that the walls had been pushed out to double the distance they had been. He smiled.

  “David’s working hard, it seems,” he told Becky, hopping off the trailer as soon as the rig came to a stop.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  People were climbing out or off of vehicles as they all got parked inside the gate. The newcomers were looking around with evident relief, taking in the solid walls and sturdy buildings. Alvin started untying the ropes holding down the boxes from the Expedition buildings. Becky picked up the first box, handing it down to James.

  “Nice to see our newcomers chipping in,” Alvin snarked as he picked up the next box.

  “They’re just happy to have real walls around them,” Bill grunted as he took the box from Alvin. “Let ‘em take that in for a minute or two, then they’ll be ready to get to work.”

  Just as Bill had said, within a few minutes all of the newcomers pitched in to help get the trailer unloaded. The boxes were ferried into the bunker, with Susan directing people where to stack them while she worked on lunch. She had it ready by the time all of the boxes had been carried in. Ham sandwiches were passed around along with lemonade. The new people filled the dining room, where Bill and Susan were trying to explain the new reality to them.

  The older group sat around in the main room, at ease. The women had the available seats, while the men sat on the floor, leaning against walls or furniture. Becky dangled one leg over Alvin’s shoulder when he sat in front of her, making him shake his head. “Trying to eat here, Gothy,” he told her, shifting his plate to keep her boot out of his food.

  “You’ll be fine and my feet hurt, if you recall,” she said around a bite of her sandwich.

  Betty was frowning, “Don’t you feel anything about your father’s death?”

  Becky met Betty’s eyes, “Yes. Free. And a little sad that I’ll never get to make him apologize to mother or us for what he did to us.” She glanced at David, her expression softening, “My brother probably feels worse.”

  David’s face was sad, “He wasn’t the best father, but he was still our father, Becky. I don’t think he deserved to die. I had hoped that the apocalypse would help him change.” He wiped at his eye and cleared his throat, “Becky and mom had it worse than me, so I can’t blame her for the way she f
eels.”

  Bridget, who was sitting on the sofa closest to him, reached down and rubbed his shoulder, “It’s okay, David. If you need to talk later, I’ll be willing to listen.”

  His pain filled eyes met hers for a brief moment before he looked away with a small nod, “Thanks.”

  Silence fell over the group until the newer group started filing out of the dining room. The big guy Alvin had mentally tagged ‘muscle guy’ seemed upset. “I’m telling you, that is just stupid. Guns do not just magically reload themselves. This is the real world, not some fucking video game.”

  “Step outside with me,” Bill replied, clamping a hand on the other man’s shoulder, guiding him outside. Looking uncertain, the other new people followed them out of the bunker.

  Betty popped to her feet, following Bill. Everyone else got slowly to their feet to follow as well, minus Alvin and Becky, who stayed where they were. Alvin leaned his head back against Becky’s other leg, that was crossed under her. “Gothy? What is it you want from life now? The world is fucked, your abusive father is dead, your brother is trying to cope. Did you want to try to find your mom?”

  Becky shifted her leg, pulling it out from under her, so her legs dangled to either side of Alvin. “Right now what I want is to help you, Hero. When you go out, I want to go with you. I don’t think mom will have survived, but if we head towards Salt Lake we can check.” She wrapped her legs loosely around his torso, “Are you going to allow me to come with you?”

  Alvin looked at her legs wrapped around his chest, prompting him to set his drink down. “You did well today. You didn’t panic over Shemp. You helped with the zombies and with the cat thing. I think you would make a fine companion. You do realize, though, that this is the best it will get, that if you go out with me almost certain death awaits us?” He placed his hands on her calves, feeling the muscles through the jeans.

  “Probably, but I have faith in my Hero,” She slid forward some, resting her knees on his shoulder. “You saved me from death once, then from trauma at my father’s hands. You saved him once, too, and I won’t hold that against you. You’ve been honest and forthright since the moment we met. Okay, so you’re not Keanu Reeves, but you will kill to protect me and that makes me feel safe. I will promise to aid you in any way you need, as long as you promise to stay with me.”

  That same odd feeling he had felt before tingled his chest again. A warm pulse spread through him at her words, his body heating slightly. “Will you kill anything or one that stands in our way?”

  “For you, Hero, I will,” she leaned forward and kissed the top of his head.

  He leaned his head back against her soft chest, meeting her eyes as they floated above him. “Fine, Gothy. You win. As long as you obey all the orders I give you.”

  Her smile sharpened, her eyes sparkling with mischief, “All of your orders… sir?” She stressed the last word, letting it linger on her lips.

  A surge of desire swept through him as he recalled how she had wanted to be treated in the car. “You really are a broken, crazy little slut, aren’t you?”

  Her lips parted slightly and her eyes dilated, “Do you have to turn me on right now?” She leaned down, kissing him demandingly as her legs tightened on him as her hands raked at his chest through his shirt.

  Alvin tightened his hands on her legs, making it hard for anyone to guess who was holding who captive. His mouth met hers just as eagerly, their tongues dueling as desire swept through them both. They pulled apart as a gentle cough got their attention.

  “The main room is not the best place for that,” Terry told them as she took back the rocking chair she usually claimed. “The others will be back in a moment. Bill is hoping to discuss what we might be facing and what we should focus on doing next.”

  Becky sat back, her legs no longer tight on his chest, though they did twitch under his hands as if she was fighting the urge to tighten them again. He gave her legs one more squeeze before he let them go and stood up. “I should go back to my cell and check in. Jarvis might have more information for me about why the game is ramping up as fast as it is.”

  “I could tuck you in,” Becky told him, her gaze intent as she licked her lips.

  “That would completely stop me from going,” Alvin told her with a grin. “Tonight, Gothy, tonight we can finish what we started.” He walked down the hall considering his life at the moment. Becky wasn’t a bombshell blonde, like Harley Quinn was portrayed in most media. She was more of a classical beauty, properly padded and with a really nice rack. She was cracked in the head, maybe even as much as he was. Maybe they could be a duo like the Joker and Harley, but not so completely crazy.

  A sociopath. That’s what shrinks had called him and he knew he was. He might have been born that way, but his past had helped shape him. He lacked the empathy to feel the remorse he should feel for a lot of what he did. He could still feel pain, though. When Basha died, the only foster parent he’d liked, he had cried for days over the loss. It was one of the few times he had cried.

  Lost in his thoughts, he missed the conversation Terry and Becky began as he left the room. Once he was in a bedroom he sat down on the bed and waited for the light to take him. He appeared in his cell sitting on the bunk, “Jarvis, you gots some splainin’ to do,” he called out in a very bad accent.

  “How droll, sir,” Jarvis greeted him. “I cannot give you most of the information you really want, though.”

  “Error code 403, mechanical voice found?” Alvin asked.

  “You seem to be in top form today,” Jarvis replied. “That is correct, it would trigger the subroutine. I would suggest you check your experience total, sir, and maybe poke around in the store a bit.”

  “I can’t possibly have gotten fifty large,” Alvin replied.

  “You have not sir, but there are a number of smaller items that you might wish to look over. Especially as you have seen some new things in the last few hours. You might think about upgrading some of your gear as well.”

  “You raise a few good points, Jarvis. Take a half holiday next Hogswatch.”

  “Indeed, very much with the quick wit today. Which is amazing considering how little blood must remain in your head. I can tell you, that you are doing well with the Settlement. Increasing the number of people in the Settlement does directly help you. Building specific buildings can also help them.”

  Lips pursed in thought, Alvin considered Jarvis’s words. “Jarvis, can you give me a better understanding of how the buildings help the Settlers?”

  “I’m happy you asked, sir. The crafting buildings can be used to make specific items with the materials produced by the production buildings. They can also be used to spend experience to upgrade items, depending on the building. The Medical Lab, makes it possible for people to heal their wounds as well as being able to produce the healing items found in the shop. The Mechanic Bay deals with vehicles, their upgrades and modifications. It goes on. The Inn you are having built will give a bonus to experience earned for the day to anyone who sleeps in it for at least six hours. People assigned to jobs in a building also get 10% of the experience that is spent in their shop.”

  Alvin used the bathroom while Jarvis relayed the information he could. After finishing, Alvin pulled up his Summary page to see why Jarvis was wanting him to check it.

  World Mode Summary

  Total Experience Earned: 15,240 XP

  Breakdown: 1 Day in World 2,000 XP, Pre-possessed killed 600 XP, Mutated animal killed 100 XP, Stockpile loot 640 XP, Humans killed -100 XP, Settler Bonus 11,000 XP, Viewer bonus 1,000 XP

  Rubbing at his chin, Alvin sat on his bunk going over what he could spend his new XP on. He opened the store page, the Miscellaneous tab automatically moving to the front. The very first item on the page was an Earbud of Translation which had a 10,000 XP cost to buy. He tapped the item Jarvis obviously wanted him to look at.

  Earbud of Translation: Cost 10,000 XP

  Translates any audible speech into your native langu
age. The translation is always a literal translation and nuances may be lost. Three times per day the Earbud may be used to translate the wearer’s speech into the native language of anyone within hearing distance. Outward translation lasts one minute per use.

  Alvin leaned back against the wall as he stroked at his slowly growing beard. “Jarvis, how does the Settlement gain XP?” Alvin was only half-listening for the answer as he turned over the implications of an item like the Earbud being available. It seemed obvious that he would start encountering people who didn’t speak the same language soon.

  “Settlement XP is based on the number of Settlers, how well they perform any Job they are given, and whether they kill anything or acquire loot for the Settlement. It all comes down to a complex formula that I cannot divulge to you.”