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

by Daniel Schinhofen

  A second after the gun reloaded, a burst of flame erupted along the line of fungals chasing them, ignited by the molotov Desiree lobbed. The fire made Alvin flinch a little and pull the gun off target briefly, but the dragon also broke off, not expecting the sudden burst of flame.

  The moment the dragon exposed his wings, time slowed down for Alvin. Pulling the gun back to his target, Alvin watched the rounds punching into the beast’s thinly armored wings. Feeling the delicate membranes being hit, the dragon folded his wings in and swerved away from the Humvee, almost crashing into the ground when he got around the peak of the mountain.

  “That’s right, bitch,” Alvin laughed, releasing the trigger and waiting for the gun to reload again.

  “Hero?”

  “Dragon deterred once, waiting for him to come back around. How are the fungals?”

  “Burning bright,” Becky replied as Kuro kept spraying down the horde of fungals. “They are starting to learn to fear us.”

  “Any sign of a leader?”

  “Not that we can see,” Desiree answered. “I’m looking for them.”

  Angry at being attacked, the dragon looped below the peak and came back at speed. Cresting the peak, he smiled as his eyes found the blocky shape that he associated with being attacked. Eyes narrowing, he made out the form of a two-legs standing up in the middle of the block. With a vicious smile, the dragon breathed in sharply, exhaling a thin and powerful line of blue flame.

  “Holy fuck!” Alvin shouted when he saw the thin jet of flame.

  Alvin fired just before the dragon exhaled, the rounds hitting the beast in the head. The dragon closed his eyes when he finished exhaling and flew over the Humvee in a rush. The six-inch diameter blue flame tracked across the Humvee and struck Alvin in the face, causing him to flinch away and drag the gun well off target. Blinking as his heart raced, it took Alvin a moment to realize that he was unharmed.

  “Ha, fuck you, lizard! I’m immune to your fire,” Alvin laughed as he spun the gun around to retarget the dragon. Frowning, Alvin failed to catch sight of him. “Okay, motherfucker, where did you go?”

  “Hero?”

  “The thin flame doesn’t hurt me, so I doubt the bigger breath will. The ring is working as intended.”

  “Good,” Becky sighed in relief. “Going to circle back toward the Gate. The fungals have currently retreated from us.”

  “Sounds good,” Alvin said distractedly, trying to find the dragon.

  Alvin’s frown deepened as the seconds ticked away and he still did not see the dragon anywhere. Becky drove them back around a large group of burning fungals, the gas still burning but beginning to sputter.

  “Going to get in close,” Becky said.

  “I might end up joining in; the damned dragon vanished,” Alvin said, grimacing as he took another long look at the sky.

  Alvin was just about to turn around and help out with the fungals when the dragon came back into view, rising over the edge of the plateau and rushing at them again. Alvin started to fire, smiling as he readied his next surprise. The dragon breathed out a huge ball of flame that washed over the Humvee.

  “Found it?” Becky asked when the temperature inside the Humvee spiked briefly.

  Alvin grunted, triggering the barrier glyph right behind them. The dragon slammed into it. He roared in anger as he broke through the barrier, brought suddenly to a dead stop and dropping to the ground. Alvin laughed and kept firing at the now stationary dragon. The sting of the SLAP rounds hitting him in the face made the dragon turn around, furious that this puny being would dare do this to him.

  “I will tear you from that thing and eat you,” the dragon growled.

  “Try it, come on. I can do this all day, but you’re going to die before then,” Alvin shouted back. The M2 ran empty and started to reload.

  With the barrage stopped for a moment, the dragon spun back to face them and rushed forward. The same beam of fire hit the Humvee, and Alvin winced when it jolted from the impact.

  “He’s going after our tires,” Becky said as she felt the tires repair themselves. “Hero, you need to get him off us.”

  “Reloading,” Alvin replied. He summoned the Type 56 and emptied it into the dragon twice while he waited for the M2 to reload.

  The dragon grinned, sending another lance of flame at the other side of the Humvee. “I will get you, morsel.”

  Alvin took another barrier glyph from his bag and set it into his accessory slot just before the M2 reloaded. Grabbing the handles to fire again, Alvin triggered the new glyph; the dragon caught them and had reared up to bite Alvin.

  “Not today,” Alvin grinned when the barrier stopped the bite. The M2 hammered into the dragon’s neck a moment later. “Your scales will break before we do.”

  “Hero, the fungals are turning on us,” Becky said as she jerked the wheel to go sideways to the fungals. “Mousie, you’re up. Hero, are you doing okay out there?”

  A taloned claw scraped along the barrier and the dragon breathed in again. He had an eager malicious smile on his face, even as the rounds continued slamming into him.

  “Not exactly,” Alvin said, watching the barrier start to crack. “Sammi wasn’t kidding about this being a damned raid boss encounter.”

  “I can break away,” Becky said, glancing out the window at the dragon, “or try to, at least.”

  “I will break this feeble attempt to stop me, then I’m going to eat you and the others inside that box,” the dragon growled.

  Alvin’s eyes narrowed as the M2 ran empty again. “Think so, worm?”

  “Worm? WORM!?” The dragon reared back, clearly pissed at the word. Both of his front legs shattered the barrier and his head whipped down at Alvin.

  Alvin grunted. The dragon’s upper teeth hit him in the back, and his lower teeth hit the gunner plate around him. “Yeah, worm,” Alvin hissed, yanking the item he wanted from his inventory and triggering the switch on it. “Eat this, bitch!” He shoved it into the dragon’s throat, and the dragon pulled back. Alvin was happy about that, even though his teeth dragged along his back.

  “Hero!?” Becky yelled, hearing the noise of the dragon trying to bite Alvin and slowing them down.

  “Fine,” Alvin grunted. “Go hard right, now!”

  Becky yanked the wheel hard at his shout, driving them into the group of fungals that had been covered in gas. Desiree almost dropped the molotov in her hand, but was able to keep hold of it. She lit it and threw it out the window. The whoomph of the gas going up was followed a fraction later by a much louder boom, when the explosive Alvin had jammed into the dragon’s throat exploded.

  A wordless scream of rage and pain came from the dragon as he turned and ran from them. Alvin grabbed the M2, grinning because it had reloaded, and fired after the dragon. Kuro and Desiree both used their barriers, helping shove the fungals back from the Humvee as it drove into the burning mobs.

  “Did you drive him off this time? Becky asked.

  “Maybe— he dove off the mountain,” Alvin said as he checked himself for wounds. “Fucker did a number on my armor with that one bite. The Turtle is going to need some tender loving care, too.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay, Hero. You scared me.”

  “Sorry, Gothy.”

  “Hero, my people are pushing out of the portal,” Desiree said. “The fungals are breaking.”

  “Keep the pressure on,” Kuro said. “I don’t know how much fuel is left, but we can use it all.”

  “I hope they know we’re on their side,” Alvin said as he watched the dragon fly off into the distance. “Damned thing is a raid boss... that was one of David’s new explosives, and he ate it.”

  “Think he’ll come back?” Becky asked, driving them through the fungals and trying to get Kuro as much exposure as she could.

  “In time. We pissed him off,” Alvin replied. “By the way, they hate being called worms. I wonder what that meant in his language?” Turning the gun around, he started firing into the fun
gals, making sure his shots stayed clear of the armored figures pouring out of the Gate.

  “I doubt we’ll ever know,” Becky said as Desiree threw another molotov out the window.

  “Seeing cracks forming in the barrier,” Desiree announced.

  “It’s okay; we can withstand the rest of this since they’re fleeing. Let’s run down the ones we can, then come back and talk to the Dwarves,” Becky said.

  “The more we kill, the better,” Desiree nodded.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Becky looped back around, driving slowly, stopping them fifty yards away from the Dwarves, who were building a makeshift barricade in front of the Gate. Alvin kept the gun aimed at the Dwarves, just in case things went wrong. When the Humvee came to a stop, ten of the armored figures brought their hands up, but lowered them when they saw Desiree.

  “Sister, where is your unit?” one of the armored figures asked, his helmet melting away as he strode forward.

  “Likely dead,” Desiree replied stiffly. “I was saved from half the horde you faced here by the natives of this world. They brought me back so I could return home and make a report. Fortuitously, it seemed that we arrived in time to assist you, brother.”

  The blonde Dwarf had a short-cropped beard when his face was exposed. The family resemblance between him and Desiree was obvious. Hard eyes went to Alvin, who still had the gun aimed in their general direction.

  “These are the natives?”

  “The ones who rescued me and returned me to report,” Desiree nodded. “They wish to speak with the King about trade. They have weapons, food, and more that could be of great use to us.”

  “He looks weak,” her brother snorted.

  Alvin’s smile was cold, “I would have thought that thanking the person who helped you would be more appropriate than insults.”

  Desiree’s brother turned to Alvin, clearly surprised. “You speak our language?”

  “I can speak every language,” Alvin shrugged. “Do you need to debrief her here, or can we take her to see the King?”

  “Considering you helped drive off the beast and break the fungals, I can send you to see the King, but you’ll need an escort.”

  “Got one— her,” Alvin said, pointing to Desiree. “Only Dwarf I really need.”

  “Hero,” Desiree said quickly, “you are unknown to our people. To avoid any unfortunate events... brother, let me introduce you. Hero is the leader of the group who saved me. With him are Gothy, who is driving their machine, and their companion, Mousie, who was putting fire to the fungals. Hero, this is my brother, Commander Eoforhild Brightblood.”

  “What did... Hero... do in the battle?”

  “Just drove off the dragon. You know, the one that was trying to melt all of you. Your armor looks a little worn. Now, if we’re done, you can have two people who have no chance of keeping up with us try to keep up.”

  “Hero... please,” Desiree said as she came back to the Humvee.

  “Gothy?”

  “They can’t ride with us. No room.”

  “They can keep up as long as you don’t go too fast,” Desiree replied.

  “Fine. Commander, pick out two of your— preferably fastest— people,” Alvin said.

  “Of course,” Eoforhild bristled at being told what to do. “Before that, I need to debrief Sergeant Brightblood.”

  Desiree paused halfway back to the Humvee. “Of course, Commander. This will take an hour or two, Hero. If you’d like to come back for me, I understand.”

  “We can do that,” Alvin nodded. “Question first: when meeting your King, is it normal to bring a gift?”

  “Yes, and he will give one in return, since you are an ambassador for this world.”

  Alvin’s eyebrow went up, “I’m not sure—”

  “Hero, don’t. We need all the pomp we can get to sell this,” Becky cut him off.

  “Of course,” Alvin said. “We’ll loot and hang out. Hope it doesn’t take too long.”

  “I’ll try to make it quick,” Desiree nodded.

  “We are handling the looting,” Eoforhild said firmly.

  Alvin kept the smirk off his face, but only barely. “Fine, we’ll just wait here.”

  Staring hard at Alvin for a long moment, Eoforhild looked angry, then stormed off toward the barricade. “Sergeant, with me!”

  “See you soon. If he gets too uppity, we can come in and get you,” Alvin said softly so Desiree could hear it over the mic, but her brother could not.

  “It’ll be fine,” Desiree said, following her brother.

  “Well, ladies, looks like we have an hour or two to kill. The only reason we aren’t doing it in the base is because we’d lose out on our loot.”

  “That’s fine, Hero,” Becky replied. “We can just listen to Desiree’s side of the debriefing, if you’ll keep your mic open for us, Desiree.”

  “Roger.”

  “We’ll go silent so not to distract you,” Alvin added before turning his mic off.

  “Roger.”

  Becky and Kuro followed his lead, turning their mics off, as well. Becky glanced back at Alvin, “You know, we could kill time like we did back in Green River.” Her wink was anything but subtle.

  “Secure area and time to kill. Just let me button up the hatch,” Alvin chuckled. “Good thing we turned the radios off, or Desiree might have a difficult time trying to keep her face straight.”

  “Oh, I can always ‘accidentally’ turn it back on if we decide to,” Becky purred as she set the parking brake.

  ~*~*~

  Two hours later, Desiree came marching back toward the Humvee with two other Dwarves in full armor following her. Getting into the back, she exhaled loudly, “You made those last twenty minutes painful.”

  “Make it up to you later,” Becky giggled. “They following us?”

  “Leading us, actually,” Desiree said. “The route back to Mithril has shifted in the time I’ve been gone. The new route is being held by our entire army, because the old one has fallen to the fungals.”

  “We still have half a tank of gas,” Alvin chuckled as he unlatched the hatch. “You get to be sprayer if needed.”

  “That would help me vent some of my anger at him,” Desiree grimaced, sitting back in her seat. “He’s being unreasonably stubborn today.”

  “We noticed,” Kuro agreed. “I’m sorry that our little prank made things worse for you.”

  Desiree shook her head, “No, it helped, actually. Gave me something to think about besides hitting him. That would have gotten me sent to the armisters to be judged.”

  “Good thing it didn’t happen, then,” Becky said. “Hero, let them know we’re ready.”

  Standing up in the gunner’s spot, Alvin waved to the two armored figures, “Ready when you are.”

  A single nod from the one on the left was the only response before the two Dwarves took off running toward the encampment.

  Becky snickered, dropping the parking brake and taking off after them. “Ten miles an hour is okay for running, I guess.”

  The figures looked back once before increasing their speed and crossing through the Gate. Alvin and Becky were both surprised to receive pop-ups when the Humvee passed through.

  You have crossed the threshold of three Gates.

  You can now sense Gates within ten miles of you.

  “Must be new,” Alvin said. “Ask Jarvis when we get home.”

  “What’s new?” Kuro asked.

  “New power to sense Gates within ten miles,” Becky replied. “They’re doing twenty now, Hero. That armor is looking even more amazing. How long can they keep that up for, Desiree?”

  “If they were fully stocked with lumios, without extra dust on hand... they can keep up that speed for six hours. If they engage in combat, less.”

  “I take it we can’t be told how the armor works yet?” Alvin asked.

  “I’m sorry, but that is a secret. The King would have to approve you knowing,” Desiree said. “With what you hav
e as potential trade, it is likely you will be trusted with the knowledge.”

  “Pass. Would rather that we either get armor we can use, or some other items of note from this world,” Alvin shrugged. “Lumios stone powers everything for you?”

  “Not everything, but most things,” Desiree corrected him.