Chapter Forty-Two – Back Against the Wall

Chapter Forty-Two – Back Against the Wall

“You want to see a Samurai improve real fast and go from a non-threat to one scary motherfuck?

Put their back against a wall and place an entire army of enemies before them. If they’re not dead within the first few minutes, then whatever they’re up against is right fucked.”

–Extract from an interview with AussieMan, August 2041

***

Seeing the tiny black forms of the Model Ones around the busses with all of my friends–with Lucy and the kittens aboard–fall out of the sky like autumn leaves was like lifting a weight off of my shoulder.

The busses soon passed out of my range of sight, still hounded by a few flyers, but they were hovering over the faint outline of a barricade built across a distant street, with brightly glowing red flares marking safety, and a pile of wayward Antithesis proving that the safety was real.

My guns went quiet.

You have a few moments to purchase some things, I think. The AA gun will be attracting a lot of attention. By the way, here’s your new point total…

Targets Eliminated!
Reward… 94 Points
New Total: 207

That was a fair amount of points. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy. “Myalis. I need earmuffs.”

I see. Do you need literal earmuffs, or would any sound suppression system work?

“I want my ears to work tomorrow morning,” I said.

Forgive me, I didn’t think it was that big an issue. Combat Sonic Suppressors cost ten points for a pair. They should protect your hearing without impeding it.

“Please,” I asked while bringing my empty hand up. A box hit my palm with a satisfying smack. I was getting used to the whole teleporting boxes thing.

New Purchase: Combat Sonic Suppressors Mark I
Points Reduced to… 197

Popping the lid revealed two dark blue disks, the same colour as the armoured bits of my spinal mounting, with parts of the metal case cut away to allow a faint pinkish glow to escape. “What’s with the glowing?” I asked.

I changed the design somewhat to better match your other equipment. Vanguards tend to put a lot of stock in their gear looking like it is worth a lot, regardless of its actual value.

Now I felt as if admitting that they looked cool would make me sound vain. I placed the box down, took out one of the two padded disks out of it, and pressed it against my ear after moving a few loose strands of hair out of the way. It stuck on fast.

The other went on the opposite side. I turned this way and that and… couldn’t hear any difference.

They block all sound and absorb a fair amount of inaudible vibrations, then recreate those same sounds using an array of over two hundred micro-speakers inside the disk. Any sound at a level that could harm you is suppressed.

“Damn,” I said. It might have been because I was paying attention to my hearing, or it might have been dumb chance, but something had me turning around and looking down the side of the building. I had never had the good sense to develop a proper fear of heights, so hanging off the side of a sheer drop of twelve floors didn’t set my heart racing.

Seeing dozens of monsters crawling up the side of the building on the other hand, that had my heart jumping to my throat.

They were Model Fours, with long tentacles that grabbed at any crevice in the walls and whose wide, padded feet were clinging on like some sort of geckos. “Oh, shit,” I said as I whipped out my Trench Maker. The nearest was three or so floors down, but was climbing pretty damned fast.

I punched a burning hole into the mass of tentacles at its front.

They are probably attracted by the sound of the AA gun. They are rather out in the open though, and should be easy enough to eliminate. A point farming opportunity!