“Wait, don’t we get to hear what happened?” the teenager asked with a disappointed look.
“We plan to be here for a week or more. There’ll be plenty of time,” Alvin told her.
“I’ll go let the others know,” she said, racing out of the inn.
“All of the kids will be eager to hear what’s been happening,” Terry said, wiping her eyes and cheeks dry. “Go, go, relax. I’ll send up something to drink in a bit.”
“Keep the drink,” Becky told her. “We’ll come back down in an hour for dinner. We’ll be in his base until then.”
“Okay, but make sure you’re hungry,” Terry told her. “I’ll go help Susan with dinner. Frank, do you—”
“Go on, I’ll hold the place down for you,” Frank cut her off gently. “I’ll let Tadashi know that we’ll need him to cover for us during dinner.”
“See you soon,” Alvin said as he headed for the stairs.
Chapter Two
Jarvis greeted them when they walked into the base. “Welcome home. I’ll be holding off the dinner until tomorrow. Are you going to invite any of them into the base?”
“We should invite David, at least,” Becky said. “He’d geek out over the training room.”
“Training room,” Alvin murmured as he headed for the door. “I wonder...”
“Hero?” Kuro asked, following him.
Becky and Jarvis followed as well. Once they were all in the room, Alvin started listing out his request for the training session. Jarvis stepped back to the wall while the women waited for the room to settle before they touched the firearms on their sides.
“Why?” Becky asked.
“I wonder if this room knows what that thing is. If it does, maybe we can get a solid idea of how to kill it,” Alvin said as he looked toward the ruined bridge that used to cross the Green River. “Let’s go get a look. If this works, I’m going to invite Bill and James here so they can make up a plan for killing it.”
“Sir,” Jarvis said. “It won’t work. You haven’t seen the creature. For it to work, you need to have actually seen it. You can attempt to make a creature like what you’ve been told about, but it will only do what you’ve heard and won’t act like the real one.”
“Well, fuck,” Alvin sighed before chuckling. “All I need to do is get James to visit the room and have him set up the simulation. That will still give us a chance to see what it can do in a safe environment.”
“We should invite a few others since you can have ten people in the base now,” Becky said. “We can offer them the chance to use the automated rooms, too. Especially since we added the gunnery and smithy with what you’ve gotten from the Elves and the other Settlements.”
“I really expected them to have bought more than they have,” Alvin said. “Maybe they still haven’t kicked the war off yet.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out,” Becky said.
“May the Queen be victorious,” Kuro murmured.
“End simulation,” Alvin said, then turned to Jarvis. “Can you do up a big dinner for tomorrow?”
“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied. “Shall I count on the base being full?”
“David, Bridget, James, Susan, Terry, Frank, Bill, and Betty,” Becky listed off, then frowned. “Fuck, too many.”
“No problem,” Alvin said. A pad appeared in his hand and he purchased the next upgrade size for the base. “That hurt a bit, but now we can have fifteen people here. Jarvis, why does the cost keep doubling?”
“To make it prohibitive to have too many people in your base, sir.”
“Yeah, well... it’s doing that,” Alvin said as he looked at the one hundred thousand XP cost to upgrade to twenty people.
“I can prepare dinner for eleven easily, sir,” Jarvis said after a pause. “Do you wish to make it as elaborate as possible?”
“Yeah, let’s put on our best effort,” Alvin said.
“I shall make the very best attempt that I can, sir. If you wish, I can put together a small list of ingredients I don’t have that would allow me to prepare even more elaborate dishes.”
“I’ll one up that,” Alvin said as he upgraded the kitchen. “There’s the upgraded pantry for you. I’m glad they tweaked it. Looks like we don’t need samples for general foodstuffs from other worlds, now. Use the weekly allotment to make the very best you can.”
Jarvis stood up even straighter, clicking his heels together, “I shall make you proud, sir.”
“Don’t get too carried away, Jarvis,” Becky laughed. “Okay, let’s get showers and into comfy clothes for dinner tonight. Should we go with dresses and a suit tonight?”
“No, we can do that when they visit us, though,” Alvin chuckled.
“Enjoy your evening,” Jarvis said, heading for the kitchen. “I’ll begin preparations for tomorrow.”
~*~*~
They left the base, with Alvin trailing Kuro and Becky down the stairs. They all wore jeans and shirts, with jackets to keep them warm against the chill of the November air. Kuro stayed right next to Becky when they walked through the inn, and Alvin stared in challenge at the few men who looked envious of him. All of them turned away from his cold eyes.
Kuro walked with her head up, listening to the muttered whispers from a few of the onlookers in the taproom. Her lips twisted with disdain at their comments about what they would do with her.
“You okay, Mousie?” Becky asked, putting an arm around her waist when Kuro came closer to her.
“I’m fine, Gothy,” Kuro replied, happy to be held.
“You’re ready to go?” Terry asked from near the front door. Frank waited beside her.
“More than ready,” Alvin replied.
Frank opened the door, “Ladies, after you.”
“Thank you, Frank,” Terry smiled brightly at him and led them outside.
In the courtyard, a few people turned to look at the group as they crossed the open ground. Frank took off in a brief jog to catch up to Terry and walk beside her once everyone was outside.
“It’s so good to see you both again,” Terry said. “I’m guessing you improved your stats again.”
“A bit,” Alvin chuckled.
“You seem more trustworthy than I remember you being,” Frank said.
“That’s the stat increase,” Alvin nodded. “You’ve increased yours as well, haven’t you?”
Frank coughed, looking away, “Yes.”
“Frank wanted to make himself better for me,” Terry said fondly, taking the old man’s hand. “I thought it was sweet of him.”
“It’s definitely helped me working with Terry at the inn,” Frank said.
“Which is very nice of you,” Becky said.
Frank took a few quick steps ahead and opened the hatch door into the bunker. “Ladies.”
“Old school,” Alvin chuckled softly as he followed them.
“It’s the way I was raised,” Frank said agreeably, once again passing Alvin to rejoin Terry at the front of the group.
“They expanded this place even more?” Becky asked, looking around as they walked down a hallway that was longer and wider than she remembered.
“Yes,” Terry nodded. “It’s proved to be a good thing. We’d have been in a hard spot when the others showed up if Susan hadn’t been so forward thinking.”
“How did it happen?” Alvin asked.
“That can wait a little longer,” Bill’s voice came from an open doorway ahead of them.
Alvin looked around the large main room and whistled softly. “Really did increase this place. Does the hall still have the defenses it had?”
“And then some,” Bill grinned. “I’ll take you to the private dining room. Follow me.”
“Yeah, because I don’t know this layout,” Alvin said, eyeing the two sets of stairs on either side of the room.
“A lot has changed in the last month,” Bill snorted. “I’m glad you put Susan as the Overseer back when that was a thing. We’re where we are now because of her forward
planning.”
“Susan is a smart woman,” Terry agreed.
It did not take long to reach the private dining room. Alvin slowed his steps as he looked around the cafeteria they passed— it could easily hold close to two hundred people. Shaking his head, he caught back up to the others just as Bill opened another door.
“Here we are,” Bill said, motioning them in.
The dining room had a table for twenty, where the others were waiting for them. Everyone got to their feet to greet the new arrivals, and they spent a few minutes in conversation. Alvin, Becky, and Kuro took the right side of the table, sitting right next to Susan at the head.
“We’ll hold off on stories until after dinner,” Susan said, forestalling Alvin’s questions.
The only other door to the room opened and a young woman came in, pushing a heavily laden cart. A big smile was on her face when she looked up to speak, but her voice failed her when she met Becky’s eyes. “It’s you…”
Becky frowned for a moment until she recalled the young woman, “Nohel, how have you been?”
Leaving the cart, Nohel hurried around the table and hugged Becky. “Thank you, thank you, thank you…”
Becky patted the teen’s back awkwardly, “It’s fine. You’ve been okay, then?”
“Nohel showed up shortly after you left,” Susan said with a small smile. “Her mother is one of the people who does the cooking. Nohel works in the cafeteria normally, but she serves in the private room here when we use it.”
“There haven’t been any problems for them?” Alvin asked.
“No, though her mother has been very distant toward every man who even tries to talk to her,” James replied.
“Did either of them tell you how we found them?” Alvin asked.
“No!” Nohel exclaimed, abruptly letting go of Becky and staring at Alvin with wide, panicked eyes.
Alvin held up his hands when he saw her pleading look. “It’s your story, I’ll hold my tongue. No one has tried to hurt you, have they?”
Nohel shook her head vigorously. “No. Susan has been very kind to us, and everyone has been following the rules. It’s been peaceful since the others left.”
“Nohel,” Susan said softly, “they’ll be here for a few days at least… right?” She directed the question at Alvin.
“We’re hoping to take a small vacation here,” Alvin told her, nodding.
“Which means you’ll have plenty of time to catch up with Gothy,” Susan continued after Alvin answered.
“Right. Sorry.” Nohel hurried back to the cart, exhaling deeply before she pushed it to the table and served them. “I’ll be back in ten minutes with the next course.”
“Next course?” Alvin said. “Things have been that good here?”
“It’s just salad, dinner, and dessert,” Bill chuckled as Nohel left. “It makes her feel good, though.”
“She’s been a dear,” Betty said.
“Nohel is very timid,” David said between bites. “I’ve checked in with her a few times to make sure she’s okay.”
“Because you care,” Bridget smiled.
“Eat,” Susan said with a sigh. “We’ll never get to hear from them or get them caught up with us if we don’t.”
Silence fell over the room as they ate. Nohel returned with chicken and vegetables after ten minutes, and later again with a pudding dessert and coffee. Alvin held his tongue about how much better Jarvis could cook; the meal had been good, but not up to the standards Alvin had gotten used to. As people finished, the anticipation in the room began to build.
Susan finished last, pushing the small bowl away from herself. “Sorry for the delay, I’m sure you’re all past ready for stories. We should go to the command room so we can be sure that nothing is overheard.”
“Good call,” Bill agreed, getting to his feet. “This way.”
It took a while to walk to what Susan had called the command room, but when Alvin entered, he understood why it was named that. Monitors filled most of the wall space, and in the middle of the room was a table with a digital map of the compound and surrounding area. A dozen chairs surrounded it.
“Damn,” Alvin said. “What does this room do, besides look like the government is watching you?”
Bill chuckled, “It’s the nerve center for the automated defenses and lets me coordinate with the groups that go out hunting.”
“It was a big expenditure for us, but well worth it,” Susan said. “We all want to know what’s been going on with you, but I’ll start with what we’ve been doing first.”
Susan broke down what they had been facing, from feral mutated animals, the wyvern attack, and lastly, the fish-creature in the river. She told them about Claudia and Randy and their doomed attempt to start a revolt. Alvin snorted at the idiocy of it, especially because the command room had been up and running by that time.
“Those two are fucking stupid,” Becky snickered. “The people following them are just as dumb.”
“I’m glad it’s worked out for you,” Alvin said. “It sounds like things just fell into place. I didn’t know there was a defunct base just across the river.”
“We were happy to find all the salvage,” Bill said. “That was the windfall that let us manage all this before the first big change.”
“How do those automated guns work, exactly?” Alvin asked.
“Not positive, but they seem to go by how aggressive the people or things coming toward us are,” James said. “We can also program them to know specific people, either to let pass or attack on sight.”
“Glad I showed my face, then,” Alvin chuckled.
“You could have just told us you were coming,” Susan said.
“Surprise, we’re coming,” Alvin snickered.
“We have our own surprise,” Susan said, smiling at James. “We’re expecting.”
“A kid?” Alvin asked with a raised eyebrow. “Bill, you let him live?”
Most of the people in the room laughed at Alvin’s question, including Bill. “Susan made it clear that I can’t kill him now. It wouldn’t be fair to their child.”
“Well, grats,” Alvin said. “That’s big news. When did you find out?”
“We had it confirmed a week ago,” Susan said.
“Our first known pregnancy since the change,” Bridget said. “There’s more news, though…”
“Sis… I asked Bridget to marry me,” David said.
Becky smiled at him, “I saw the ring and was wondering when you’d tell me.” Looking to Bridget, her smile stayed, but it was a touch thinner. “I know you’ll take good care of my younger brother.”
“We’ve been making each other happy,” Bridget replied, taking David’s hand.
“Well, that’s big news twice, and it should be celebrated,” Alvin said as he summoned keys to his base. “To that end, I’d like to invite you all to dinner tomorrow night.” He handed one to each person. “Those will let you enter my base. I’ve upgraded it a number of ways, and I’ll explain everything about that tomorrow night. Tonight, let me tell you about the trials we’ve been through.”
Alvin gave them a condensed version, careful to include descriptions of the different creatures they had encountered and both of the Gates. Everyone held their questions until he was finished.
“Are they really going to war?” Betty asked.
“The Queen has never once attacked in over a thousand years,” Kuro said stiffly, “but she is done waiting for the King to admit his errors, especially since his brother tried to kill her.”
“That wasn’t what I meant,” Betty said. “Wouldn’t she accept their surrender?”
“He would never,” Kuro said coldly. “The King and his followers are…” she trailed off, trying to find the right words.
“The worst chauvinists you’ll ever find,” Becky said. “Hero didn’t make it very clear about how obviously fucked they are. Both sides have issues, but the Queen seemed at least willing to bridge the gap.”
“Th
at’s where the glyphs come from, right?” David asked.
“Yeah, and these new knives,” James said as he placed a knife on the table. “These started showing up yesterday.”
Alvin took it and examined it. With a laugh, he handed it back. “Istel is a damned good crafter. I see she accepted my idea... I need to contact her about mine.”
“It’s a damned sight better than my old K-bar,” Bill nodded. “I picked one up, too. These are going to start selling fast. The crafter is doing it right by putting up only a couple at a time.”
Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 5) Page 2