Oath of the Survivor

The early days travelling as a group were largely focused on organizing logistics and unifying the message, and now that they had parted ways Garth found that he wasn’t entirely sure what to say.  He and Kyle had traveled in silence for over an hour, neither man seeming willing to break it.  Even C.H.A.D.D. was uncharacteristically quiet.  As the hour turned into two, Garth decided to break the stalemate. 

“I thought you died, kid.  What the hell happened to you?  And what’s going on with C.H.A.D.D.?” 

“Short answer, a lot.  Including barely escaping the town you’re so eager to go attack.”

[DON’T FORGET TO TELL HIM THAT I CAN ATTRACT INSECTS NOW, DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle sighed.  “Also C.H.A.D.D. can attract insects now.”

[THANK YOU, DR. MAYHEW.]

Garth tried, poorly, to stifle his laugh with a cough. 

“Good for you, C.H.A.D.D.” 

Turning to Kyle, his tone got more serious. 

“The drone’s behavior is far off what it should be, Kyle.  Something’s wrong here.”

Before Kyle could reply, C.H.A.D.D. did.

[MR. BOLTSBURY, I AM WELL AWARE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME DEVIATIONS FROM MY PROGRAMMING.  I AM MAKING THE MOST OF IT, AND AM MOST CERTAINLY AN ASSET TO DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle nodded.  “What he said.  The pack should be able to insulate from much further deterioration, and to be honest I’m not entirely sure how necessary that even is.  Like I said, a lot has happened.”

Garth met Kyle’s eyes. 

“That’s good enough for me.  And C.H.A.D.D., I’m sorry I questioned you.  Still, I hope you both know I meant what I said before.  You don’t need to come with me if you’re so certain we’re just throwing our lives away.”

“I’m hoping I can get you to see reason before you get there.  Garth, you should have seen the way Cornelius looked at Valentine.  If he’s as strong as I think he is, you’re not going to win.  That’s not even talking about Carlyle, or any of the other awakened he has at his disposal.”

“I’m not going to sit on my hands anymore, Kyle.  If I go back that’s all that’ll be left for me.  Hell, they might throw me out entirely if they found out I didn’t report a Level 40 skill selection.”

Kyle paused for a moment before he responded, voice dripping with venom. 

“You’re right.  Probably better off dead than being thrown out by the Central Authority.  Rotting by the side of the road is much preferred to being considered deviant.” 

He spat the last word. 

“That’s not what I –“ Garth tried to respond, but Kyle didn’t give him the opportunity.

“It’s exactly what you meant and you know it.  Well guess what?  It turns out that you can still help people without being a card-carrying member of the thrice-damned DeRosa fan club.  And if you really think that death is preferable to being deviant, you’re welcome to try and start with me.  Because right now I feel like punching you in the face, and that would make a good excuse.” 

[I FIND IT PERTINENT TO REMIND YOU THAT STRIKING RESIDENTS IS GROUNDS FOR A DISCIPLINARY HEARING, DR. MAYHEW.]

“What if they deserve it?”

[I’LL SEE IF AN EXCEPTION CAN BE MADE.]

Garth felt the heat rise in his face as he fought back the urge to meet the Healer’s words.  At the end of the day, he knew Kyle was right.  So, despite his anger, he took a breath and met the younger man’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry.  My words were thoughtless.  I’m glad you survived, both of you.  At the same time, I’m asking you to understand that I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t get closure here.  She deserves it, if nothing else.” 

Kyle seemed to deflate a bit at that, the tension between them beginning to dissolve. 

“I know, Garth.  I have some questions I would like to get answered too.  Even though I wouldn’t choose to look for those answers now if I had a choice.” 

“Then why are you coming along?” Garth asked, no hint of judgment in the question.

“I don’t have many friends left, and I’m not going to let one of them die when I could do something to stop it.” 

The words were simple, without a hint of bravado.  Ordinarily, Garth would have dressed down any fighter in his command who would bluster like that.  Looking at what the young man had accomplished, Garth knew that this was something entirely different.  Still, he felt the need to push the issue, at least a little. 

“After that big speech about Valentine, you really think you’re strong enough to make that kind of a difference, huh?”

“I know I am.”

With a snort, Garth smiled. 

“You’ve come quite a ways, Kyle.  You said that it’s a long story, and I think we have time.”

The young man nodded.  “Then I’ll start at the beginning.”

Days passed as the two men traveled, Kyle sharing the bulk of what had happened to them after their parting.  Kyle was open about everything they’d been through, punctuated by C.H.A.D.D. projecting scans of the events.  Garth was frankly shocked at the kinds of creatures they’d overcome.  Still, he wasn’t sure if he bought Kyle’s idea that the destruction of their world was related to this strange presence he claimed he’d encountered. 

Garth thought it was more likely that they were experiencing side effects of their prolonged time out in the wild.  Even so, he kept his thoughts to himself.  Those were issues that could be dealt down the road, for now they had more pressing matters.  Garth looked at the familiar road in the midday light.  Even though so much had happened, he could still picture in his mind’s eye his first battle with Carlyle.  He could smell the burnt flesh.  He looked to where Gwen and Stephanie were nearly killed. 

“Are you okay?”  Kyle asked, genuine concern in his voice. 

“I will be.  We’re almost there.” 

With that, the two men fell silent.  Just minutes later, C.H.A.D.D. warned them of a Liberation patrol approaching.  Circling the settlement, they had a stroke of luck. The northernmost entry to the city was almost entirely unguarded.

“I don’t like it, Garth.  Something’s wrong here.” 

“Yeah, they just took massive losses and are regrouping.  This is exactly the kind of opportunity I expected we would find.  C.H.A.D.D., you confirmed that there are no life signatures in the area, right?”

[THAT IS CORRECT, MR. BOLTSBURY.]

“See?  There’s no ambush waiting here.  We get in, find Valentine and Carlyle, and take them down.”

“And then what, Garth?  It won’t bring her back.  I told you I’m in this with you, but if there’s any way you’re willing to stop I’m asking now.” 

In response, Garth simply stood up and started making his way towards the perimeter of the city.  As they got closer, Kyle’s Auric Perception began to pick something up.  It was faint, and he almost missed it.  Focusing, he was able to barely make out thin threads of mana. 

“Garth, stop!” 

It was too late.  The threads began to glow, illuminating a web that covered the unoccupied northern portion of the city.  Garth jumped back, and glowing tendrils seemed to be slowly reaching for him.  Suddenly they sprang forth, dozens of thin lances of fire.  The grizzled fighter dodged most, though a few were able to graze him with light burns.  Kyle immediately went to work, channeling HEAL to bring his friend back to full health.  As he did, he turned to Garth.

“We need to get out of here, there’s no way they didn’t spot us.” 

“At least you’ve got enough brains to know that much.” 

Carlyle’s voice rang out, and they both turned. A thin man in mottled clothing appeared near the entrance to the city, facing the duo with hands in his uniform pockets. 

“You did a number on our forces, but I can’t believe you were stupid enough to come here alone.  I was really hoping to catch a bunch of you in the web.  Oh well, you’ll die here all the same.  I warned you not to come back, Mayhew, and now you’ll pay for it.” 

Kyle and Garth had both taken their stances, facing the Mage.  He seems way too calm to be facing down both of us.  Kyle’s gut told him that something was wrong, and before C.H.A.D.D. could even finish his warning Kyle was turning.  His baton met a sword, then a dagger.  The impact from Valentine’s swings nearly threw him off balance, and he struggled to hold on to his stance.  The Liberation leader pressed his attack, vaulting back just in time as Garth launched an AIR BLADE at him, creating room.  Valentine took a comfortable stance as he addressed them. 

“I heard so much about you, Boltsbury.  I really wish you could have seen reason, would have loved to have you.  Same to you, Mayhew.” 

His voice grew hard. 

“You bastards ruined decades of work with your little stunt the other day.  Cost me some good men.  You’ll die for that.” 

With that, Valentine charged.  At the same time, a glowing sphere flew towards them from the Fire Mage still standing near the entrance of the city.  Kyle intercepted the orb with a ball of his own, rancid smelling gas exploding in a cloud as it met the FIREBALL. 

“Get Carlyle!  I’ll hold Valentine until then.” 

Garth’s tone left no room for discussion, and Kyle jumped to follow his orders.  He heard the clash of steel behind him as his friend engaged the Liberation leader, and with a steadying breath focused his attention on the Mage.  He hadn’t wanted this fight.  Unfortunately, now that he was in it he didn’t have a choice.  Another FIREBALL came flying in his direction, and he realized what Carlyle was doing.  He wasn’t aiming for Kyle; he was aiming for Garth.  With no immediate options, Kyle activated HASTE and blocked the skill with his body.  Heat seared him and he cried out in pain.  He was thankful not to be wearing metal armor, or he would have been cooked where he stood.  Looking at his opponent as the smoke cleared, he knew he was about to be in for the fight of his life.

 

 

~~~

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