Alpha Agent: A Post Apocalyptic LitRPG

Gunfire peppered Kate’s position and she ducked underneath the vehicles for cover, unable to do much against Allen as he rained down the heat. Adam leapt into action and threw the first punch at Dan.

Staring down the attack, Dan’s eyes fully comprehended the surprisingly slow movements of the Kodak agent. He simply sidestepped the punch and countered with a kick to Adam’s ankle.

Adam tripped and tumbled onto the ground.

Dan stood in place, not even looking over his shoulder. “I remember you being a lot faster than that. That booster must have really kicked you in the balls, didn’t it?”

Adam replied with a pissed-off growl and Dan spun around. As the Kodak agent was still getting up, Dan charged him. He ran as fast as he could and shoved his knee into Adam’s side and followed up with a swipe to the face with his elbow. Dan didn’t let up as he threw another few punches, each smashing into the skull helmet of the Kodak agent.

“What’s the matter, Adam? It doesn’t feel good when it’s your ass getting tenderized.”

“The fuck did you say, kid?” Adam said. “I’ll rip you to pieces.”

Dan moved in for another punch, but Adam surprised him by moving under his fist and countering with a punch of his own right to the chin.

Dan staggered back, feeling fortunate he didn’t bite his tongue from Adam’s sudden attack.

The Kodak agent wrapped his arms around Dan’s entire torso and tackled him to the ground. Adam put both hands together and brought them down for an attack. Dan barely managed to swerve his head out of the way when he heard the gloved hands smash the pavement. Even with his enemy weakened, Dan still heard the power behind that strike.

The next major problem was Adam being on top of him. Even with the Kodak agent being severely weakened, he was still bigger and heavier than Dan. Being trapped underneath such an enemy wasn’t doing Dan’s life expectancy any favors.

Dan swerved his head out of the way several times from Adam’s repeated punches. As long as his enemy was on top of him like this, Dan didn’t have a good way of countering. In situations such as this, Dan knew of only one way to turn the tide.

Fighting dirty.

He brought his fist up and crossed his arm along his chest, then jabbed Adam right in between the legs. The Kodak agent grunted and fell backward, giving Dan the chance to kick him off. Dan quickly got back on his feet and charged Adam while he was still on the ground. He wound his fist up and got ready.

Dan’s attack was stopped by a sudden boot to the abdomen, and he was sent flying back.

Landing on his ass, even Dan admitted that this fight was getting annoying. He grabbed the seventy-seven off his back and aimed the rifle at Adam, who was still on the ground. He pulled the trigger and fired a burst at the downed agent.

Adam was already on the move before Dan pulled the trigger, rolling to the side and narrowly avoiding depleted uranium that ate up the pavement. Adam flipped himself back onto his feet and charged Dan. Without his superhuman speed, Dan thought he could easily tag the Kodak agent and put him down for good.

A few rounds impacted Adam’s torso, which slowed him down but didn’t penetrate. Adam reached Dan and smacked the rifle out of his hands.

“It’s going to take more than that to penetrate my armor. A few rounds from your shitty ZK won’t be enough,” Adam gloated.

Dan ducked beneath a punch from the agent. He dodged another series of attacks while backing away. He glanced to the side and saw Kate running across the street and diving beside the two armored jeeps. To Dan’s relief, Allen kept her busy. Dan was thankful Kate hadn’t intervened as he was still having trouble taking on the weakened Adam Torrent.

The only way Dan could end the fight was his knife. With the poison on it, it should be enough to temporarily incapacitate Adam before delivering a fatal stab. The challenging part was slashing Adam on exposed skin.

The Kodak agent didn’t let up as he continued punching. Dan only just barely kept from getting hit. Adam overextended himself on one punch which Dan sidestepped. This was his chance.

He grabbed onto Adam’s skull helmet and pulled it off, exposing the face of his enemy.

Adam followed up with another punch, this one faster than the ones before. Dan brought up the helmet and blocked the incoming attack. But the unexpected power behind the punch knocked Dan off his feet and onto the ground.

At the same time, a boom filled Dan’s ears as one of the armored jeeps exploded. He had just enough time to glance over and see Kate on the ground, bleeding. Dan’s momentary satisfaction ended when Adam kicked him across the face. His body rolled, along with his perception of the world. Dan’s jaw felt the force behind Adam kick. Had the Kodak agent been at full strength, that kick might have torn his entire jaw off.

Dan rolled over onto his stomach and reached for the handle of his combat knife. He only got the knife halfway out from its sheath before getting stomped on by Adam. Luckily, the blade didn’t penetrate Dan’s armor. Adam got off him and kicked him over, then stomped on Dan’s hand that held the knife.

“If you’re so tough, you should be able to take me on without cheap shit like that. How about you fight me like a man and use your fists?”

Adam bent down and grabbed the knife, chucking it away. “Now, where were we?”

Dan was pinned down and couldn’t move. One of Adam’s boots was on his wrist and the other was right on top of Dan’s abdomen.

“You’ve annoyed me enough today,” Adam said. “You lasted longer than anyone thought possible. But it's time for you to die.”

Dan could only watch as Adam winded up his fist. The Kodak agent aimed lower, meaning he was going for a shot to Dan’s throat.

Dan stared directly at the fist as it made its sudden descent to his throat.

It stopped just a few centimeters away from Dan’s skin.

Someone had grabbed Adam’s wrist. Dan saw the white sleeve and for a moment forgot to take a breath. He glanced over and saw the last person he expected.

Jane Sunheiser had entered the fight.

Adam looked beside him and Dan swore the agent’s skin went even more pale.

“Sorry to ruin your victory, but I have plans for my new recruit,” Jane said. “He won’t be dying while I’m around.”

A sudden crunch ended the entire fight.

Faster than Dan’s eyes could track, the weight on his body suddenly lifted and Adam was no longer on top of him. Jane sent the Kodak agent rolling across the pavement. Sudden staccatos ripped through the air and Dan’s ears. All of which happened faster than an eye blink. A path of blood and armor bits on the ground separated Jane and Adam’s body. Jane had her elbow extended out and in her other hand, the smoking barrel of her Aero SMG. It was all Dan saw of the attack, an attack so fast he only saw Jane’s pose and the aftermath.

Dan propped himself up and glanced at Adam’s body. The agent was left sprawled out on the pavement, not moving.

“Thanks, Jane.” Dan coughed, trying to catch his breath. “You came just in time.”

Jane glanced down at him and responded with a nod. Her expression didn’t budge from her usual straight face. She raised her hand, which had an SMG, and she fired at the jeeps.

Dan looked over and saw an agent he hadn’t seen before carrying Kate over her shoulder. The agent took a smattering of bullets, none of them penetrating as a familiar green shimmer protected her. He also recalled the spikes that jutted out from the torso and shoulder pieces of Kodak armor and winced.

“That’s gotta hurt. Imagine getting stabbed while being carried to safety,” Dan said.

“Since Kate is the one feeling the pain, I don’t feel particularly sympathetic,” Jane said. “And neither should you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

As Jane’s SMG clicked empty, the female Kodak agent looked over and seemingly waved at them before accelerating into a sprint down the street and escaping.

“Let them go. Even Kodak knows when they’re beaten,” Jane stated. “That particular one was the one I fought and who broke both my arms. My revenge will have to wait until another time.”

Dan kept staring at Jane. Seeing his squad leader in action was a sight that he would never forget. Seeing Adam Torrent get put down in one strike, not even seeing the attack with his own eyes, truly showed how underpowered Dan was.

Jane rammed a new magazine into her SMG. After placing the weapon by her side on her white coat, she glanced down at him and extended her hand out. Dan grabbed it, and she pulled him up.

Rumblings of thunder and brief flashes of lightning in the sky interrupted the eerie quiet of the night.

Jane tapped him on the shoulder. “We still have a mission to complete, Dan. Loot whatever equipment you can and let’s get going.”