Downtime and Death (Apocalypse Gates Author's Cut Book 5)

by Daniel Schinhofen

“Okay, we’ll do it,” Eric said. “Let’s go get the XP tokens.”

  “Bill, please secure them,” Alvin said as he checked over the IMI again. “Gods, it’s been ages since I used this thing last.”

  Bill, Becky, and Eric left to use the kiosk while James set up the course. Joshua kept smirking at Alvin and tossing the occasional look at Kuro, who sneered back at him. Susan shook her head, moving over to speak to Alvin quietly.

  “Back a day and already causing trouble. I see you haven’t changed,” she said.

  “I didn’t start this. He did, by being a whiny bitch,” Alvin replied, hooking his thumb toward Joshua and not bothering to keep his voice down. “Just wait until he loses this round, then he’ll be even more upset.”

  Justin looked uncomfortable and tried to change the subject, “Al, do you still have that car?”

  “Ruffian? Gothy owns her now,” Alvin said. “I own the Humvee.”

  “Humvee?” Joshua asked excitedly. “Where did you find one of those?”

  “Ely, at the marine base,” Alvin shrugged. “It’s been a lifesaver.”

  “Why don’t you have a launcher on it instead of the M240B?” James asked as he rejoined them.

  “It didn’t come with one, and they took it out of the store before I could. Besides, the bravo has done us a lot of good. If I find an old M2HB to switch it with, I likely will.”

  “We’re back,” Bill said, holding two cards in his hand. “There’s a total of thirty-nine thousand, six hundred XP between these two cards.”

  “Free XP,” Alvin chuckled as he looked at Joshua. “Ready?”

  “Joshua, you’re up first,” Bill called out. “We’re using our standard scoring: speed, with time added for less than perfect placements.”

  Joshua stepped up to the starting line, an M14 in hand. When Bill told him to start, Joshua rushed forward, his rifle rapid tapping targets as he sidestepped past the barriers. The rifle vanished and a shotgun appeared in his hands next, the boom of each shot followed by the song of metal striking metal. He let off five shots before he stopped next to a barrier for a few seconds, then fired three more shots around it. The shotgun vanished, replaced by a glock. Double taps and pings could be heard as he moved through the targets. Joshua stopped again after a single ping, waited three seconds, and shot the target again.

  “Done,” Bill said, walking out onto the range with a pad and pen. “Okay, Joshua, let’s score them. Al, you want to see this?”

  “Nah, I know you’re fair.”

  Joshua smirked as he followed Bill through the course. It took a few minutes for the men to return. “New course record,” Joshua laughed. “Good luck, sucker.”

  “Bill, can I get a quick walk through of the course? I’ve never seen it before today,” Alvin asked.

  “Go ahead. I need to reset the targets, anyway,” Bill replied.

  “As if that’s going to help,” Joshua snickered, slapping hands with Eric.

  Becky just shook her head. “This is going to be sweet,” she murmured to Kuro. “Watch them closely, but try not to laugh.”

  “You ready?” Bill asked once he was done.

  “I’m good,” Alvin said, summoning his Type 56.

  Bill called the start, and Alvin moved forward with deceptive ease as he rapid-fired the gun. He was faster than Joshua through the first section. The shotgun came out as the rifle vanished, and Alvin fired quick shots, only stopping when he ran out of slugs. The sudden cessation of movement while he waited for the shotgun to reload made the onlookers blink. Alvin came out from around a barrier and brought the shotgun on target. As soon as the safety came off, he fired, back in full motion again. When he summoned the IMI, Alvin laughed as he fired double taps. His speed mesmerized everyone. He reseated the magazine in mid stride and continued moving, the last few targets tapped without a single pause.

  “Done!” Alvin said a moment before Bill did. “Oops, sorry.”

  “Done,” Bill restated with a sigh. “Okay, let’s go score them, but I think I already know the answer.”

  “I’m going, too,” Joshua said. “There is no way he was as accurate as I was, not moving that fast.”

  “Sure, come along. Just try not to cry,” Alvin laughed as he handed the guns back to Becky and Kuro. “Thank you, Gothy, Mousie.”

  “Anytime,” Becky smirked.

  “It is yours. I only borrow it,” Kuro replied.

  Joshua’s voice was full outrage and disbelief as they moved down the course. When they came off the course, Joshua stormed off, not waiting to hear the news.

  “Al wins, and sets a new— and impossible— standard,” Bill said with a rueful snort. “Glad I didn’t challenge him.”

  “What!?” Eric screeched. “That isn’t possible!”

  “Go look yourself, but these are going to Becky,” Bill said, handing over the XP cards.

  Eric went onto the course, then stormed off as well, glaring at Alvin and Becky the entire time.

  “Well, that’s going to give me a headache later,” Susan sighed.

  “Assholes shouldn’t have spouted off to start with,” Alvin shrugged. “I could track him down to collect the XP he owes me, or maybe you’d rather visit my place for a bit? This range is nice and all, but it lacks something.”

  “I need to get back to work,” Justin said, clearly impressed by the display. “I’ll see you around.”

  “I’ll collect it for you,” Susan told Alvin.

  “Your place?” Megumin asked.

  “Our base,” Becky grinned. “Hero, give her a key so she can come, too.”

  Summoning a key, he gave it to Megumin. “We’ll need that back after we’re done.”

  “What base?” Bill asked.

  “Remember my cell?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s been improved,” Alvin said, stepping into the nearest building and summoning a portal. “Follow me.”

  The visitors stared in awe after crossing the threshold, none of them expecting the penthouse level of comfort the base had.

  “Welcome to Alvin’s not so humble abode,” Jarvis greeted them. “It is good to see you all again.”

  “Jarvis,” Bill greeted the butler, “this place looks good.”

  “Thank you. I do endeavor to keep it that way,” Jarvis bowed his head minutely.

  “Okay, so what did you want to show us, besides flaunting your home?” Susan asked with a raised brow.

  “Over here,” Alvin said, leading them into the kiosk room.

  “This is a big room just for a kiosk and some cabinets,” Megumin stated when they went inside.

  “I haven’t gotten any of the upgrades for it yet,” Alvin shrugged. “It’ll be used in time. This isn’t what I wanted to show you, though. This room over here is.” Opening the door to the training room, he motioned them inside.

  “An empty room… that is very you, Al,” James laughed.

  Once everyone was in the room, Alvin shut the door. “Simulation, Green River the day after the apocalypse. Increase difficulty to current zombies, about fifty of them, and a handful of mutated animals.”

  “What are…?” Susan began to ask but cut off when they were suddenly standing in an exact replica of Green River, in the middle of town. Cars littered the road around them.

  “All your weapons are replicas that won’t damage your real ones,” Becky said as her Tommy gun appeared. “Pain is reduced, but it still hurts. If you die, you become paralyzed and have to wait for the simulation to end.”

  “Oh... my... fucking god, are you serious?” James asked, his eyes going wide. “This is insane.”

  A gunshot and ricochet caught their attention, making everyone drop low and look around. Alvin chuckled, “Now let’s see what you can all do.”

  A shadow passed overhead, and Kuro and Becky were first to bring guns to bear, firing at the large condor flying above them. When Bill and Susan followed their example, the bird cried out as it lost altitude and turned away from them.

/>   “This…” Megumin shook her head, crouching beside one of the cars. “No wonder the contest wasn’t a challenge for you.”

  “Pretty much,” Alvin laughed as he popped his head up, then ducked again. “I see ten zombies with guns coming from the east. You all ready?”

  Bill reloaded his Tommy gun, “Damned right I am. Does this thing keep score?”

  “Simulation, keep track of kills, or the percentage of kills if it takes multiple people to down a target,” Alvin said.

  “One thousand XP from me to the highest score,” Bill said, standing up and spraying down the oncoming zombies with bullets.

  “Sounds fun,” Alvin laughed.

  Chapter Four

  Relaxing while they waited for the others to return for dinner, Alvin kissed the women to either side of him. “Think they’ll be ready for the fun?”

  “I’m sure they’ve told the others,” Becky murmured happily. “This is nice. Downtime with no expectations… I could get used to this.”

  “I’d rather we were home,” Kuro added, “I understand that we’re keeping Hero company because he must be in this world for a minimum of eight hours, but that seems silly.”

  “Yes and no,” Alvin said. “At this point, I could probably stay in my base and never need to leave again if it wasn’t for the requirement to be here. Hmm... With the world running on its own and people being able to follow non-players, it begs the question if players are really necessary anymore.”

  “Do you think—” Becky began to ask in a worried tone.

  “No. Jarvis has said his company was doing some kind of research and that I’m a part of that. They won’t just scrap the players.”

  Exhaling, Becky kissed his chest, “Good. I’d hate having to try to find someone even a twentieth your equal.”

  “As if that’s possible,” Alvin chuckled.

  “No other male would compare,” Kuro added.

  “My ego is inflating rapidly,” Alvin chuckled.

  “Is it?” Becky smirked as her hand found his groin. “Not yet, but we could fix that…”

  The knock on the door stopped their conversation. “Looks like we’ll have to see about that later,” Alvin said, getting to his feet. “It’s time for dinner, and then a show.”

  Answering the door, Alvin greeted them. “I hope you’re all ready for food. I don’t know what Jarvis is whipping up, but he let me know that we’d better be hungry.”

  “I’ve barely eaten today,” Susan said, brushing at the black dress she wore. “Here’s the two grand from Joshua.”

  Pocketing the card, Alvin chuckled. “Bet that was fun to get.”

  “They left the settlement to go hunt,” Susan replied with a frown. “I don’t think they like any of you at the moment.”

  “Good. It’s mutual, then,” Alvin grinned. Following them, Alvin chuckled when he saw the expressions of the people who had not visited earlier.

  “Welcome,” Jarvis greeted them. “Sir, dinner will be ready in an hour. You have time if you want to show them around first and run your experiment.”

  “Sounds good,” Alvin agreed. “Okay, if you’ll all follow me.”

  They followed Alvin, the few who had been there earlier trying to hide their grins while the others were curious what the big deal was. Their puzzlement grew when Alvin led them into the empty training room.

  “James,” Alvin said, eyeing the man’s light blue suit. “I want you to ask for a simulation of Green River today with everyone in their gear.”

  “Sure,” James replied. “Simulation, everyone in full gear. Main Street, Green River today.”

  Shocked cries and gasps came from the group when the room was replaced by Green River. “No fracking way,” David exhaled with wide eyes. “A holographic room like—”

  “Yeah, just like that,” Alvin laughed. “Noncombatants, just hang out here. Simulation, add in three copies of the Turtle.”

  Three Humvees appeared next to them, earning even more appreciative exclamations. “I’m not much of a combatant, but I take it this isn’t real? If that’s the case, I can drive one of these,” Frank said.

  “I can, as well,” Bridget was quick to say.

  “I can, too,” Betty added, not wanting to be left out.

  “I’ll just sit here,” Terry said.

  “Simulation, a comfortable chair for Gran,” Alvin said.

  Terry tentatively took a seat. “It is very comfortable. Thank you, Al. You all go have fun.”

  “This isn’t about fun,” Alvin said seriously, turning to the others. “Pain here is dulled, but is still real. If you die, you get paralyzed until the simulation is over. With that said, what I wanted was to check the river.”

  James, Bill, and David all looked uneasy. “Al,” James said slowly, “if this is Green River today, then that thing is there.”

  “Exactly,” Alvin said intently. “I want to see it. If we can see it, maybe we can find a way to help you deal with it.”

  “It’s not that easy,” David grimaced.

  “Why?” Becky asked, wondering why they all looked so uneasy.

  “Ladies, stay here,” Bill told Bridget and Betty. “You two don’t need this. Susan… you, too.”

  “I’ve heard from James,” Susan said, stepping back. “I’ll wait here.”

  “I will go,” Megumin said. “I will drive one of the vehicles.”

  “Gothy, you want to drive the last one?” Alvin asked.

  “I will,” Becky nodded.

  “Okay, split up and let’s go see this thing,” Alvin said.

  Once everyone who was going was ready, Becky led them toward the river. “Everyone hear me?” Alvin asked over the radio.

  “Clear,” Frank replied.

  “Good here,” Megumin added.

  “Bring us close, but be ready to peel away, Gothy. I want to see it before we do anything else,” Alvin told her.

  “Copy,” Becky said.

  Getting closer to the river, Becky slowed a little when she saw the lack of greenery. “Didn’t this river have a lot of plants around it?”

  “We think the thing pulled them down,” David replied. “We’re not sure if it’s an omnivore, but the lack of greenery suggests that. We do know it eats people.”

  When they got within a hundred feet of the river, a sudden wave of water surged outward from the middle. Alvin locked the M240B onto the wave, but his finger failed to tighten on the trigger.

  What Alvin was staring at could only be described as a nightmare. It was a large fishlike creature with three red glowing eyes in a vertical line, a mouth that could easily swallow a person whole, and four massive tentacles coming out of its sides.

  Becky blinked and turned the Humvee away, frowning at the lack of gunfire. “Hero? You okay?”

  The question helped bring Alvin back to himself. He was still terrified, but his finger tightened on the trigger. A stream of bullets flew at it as it started rushing toward the bank.

  The other two Humvees suddenly turned away.

  “What the fuck is this thing?” Alvin asked, thinking of ancient old ones.

  “We don’t know,” David yelled over the radio.

  “Stop simulation,” Becky said. The moment the words left her mouth, the room went back to a plain white room. “Everyone okay?”

  “No,” Frank replied, his face pale. “I never want to see that thing again.”

  “Same,” Megumin added. “That was…”

  Alvin’s brow furrowed, “Something about it is familiar to me. I thought the Cthulhu mythos, but that’s not quite it. You didn’t have any trouble, Gothy?”

  “None at all. It’s an ugly fucker, but I was fine.”

  “Maybe her ring?” Kuro suggested.

  “Mental immunity,” Alvin nodded. “It was projecting the terror…” he trailed off again. An old memory was trying to get his attention, but he could not bring it to mind.

  “That would explain why you all had trouble with it,” Becky said.

>   “It uses its tentacles as weapons,” David volunteered. “It was able to pull the bridge apart pretty easily.”

  “After it dragged Marvin into its mouth,” James shuddered.

  “Do we know if that thing’s brain fuckery has a range?” Becky asked.

  “We didn’t try to test it,” Bill grunted.