“Oh,” Victoria said, one hand drawing her sword and flexing around the hilt experimentally.
It also means I really can’t afford to spend any points until I know what’s going on.
“Sorry, Victoria, I’d fix you right now, but I have no idea what we’ll be up against here. I mean, for all I know we’re still under attack.”
People were forming squads and teams to begin rounding up the wounded and then triaging them.
Ioana’s people were trained well. Very well.
Even if she isn’t here to lead them.
“That’s fine. I’d do the same. What do we do now, though?” Victoria asked, sheathing her sword.
“Contact the Telemedics, get them out here, sta—”
Felix’s wrist started buzzing softly, interrupting him. Lifting up his hand, he looked at the scratched and fizzing display.
“Kit’s calling,” Felix said apologetically. He had to tap the icon several times before it recognized he was trying to accept the call.
“Felix? What’s going on? The Telemedics are saying they can’t get back to you. There’s a magical barrier between them and your location.”
“We were attacked. An explosion. Everything blew up. Everything. Ioana’s dead. So is Andrea. I… don’t even know where to start.”
“I’ll send people over immediately. We’ll get this sorted out and then—”
Kit stopped mid-sentence. Felix could hear someone telling her something in the background.
There was a pause.
“Felix, we’re under attack here. I’ll do what I can to hold them off, but we’re seriously understaffed. We’ll do all we can.”
“Kit, they’ve already gotten through the security hallway. They’ll be here in a second, we need to go!” shouted a voice.
“I’ll call you when I can. Be safe,” Kit said, then disconnected.
Felix let his arm fall down to his side.
“They played us. They brought us here deliberately. Deliberately so they could cause the most damage without us being able to resist.
“And now that that phase is done, they’re attacking HQ. We walked right into this,” Felix muttered.
Victoria grimaced, her burnt, hairless face scrunching up.
“What’s the call?” she asked him.
Felix sighed and shook his head.
He wasn’t a warrior. No combatant. He was a glorified CEO at best.
“Felix, you need to give everyone orders,” Victoria said softly, for his ears alone.
Looking around, he realized a few people had started to turn towards him. Waiting. Watching.
Steeling his resolve, he held up a hand above his head for a few seconds, gathering his wits and what he wanted to say.
“Protect and gather the wounded. Provide medical treatment as best as you’re able. Get them into a building for shelter and let no one on the school grounds. Though I’m doubting anyone will show up. I’m betting everyone was paid off.”
Several heads nodded at that.
“Beyond that, gather our dead. Try to get as much of their body as you can. Don’t start doing that till all our wounded are taken care of, though. Prioritize those who are alive, but let’s not neglect our dead.”
Felix looked around himself to make sure everyone had heard him and had no questions. “Spread the word,” he said, dropping his arm.
Dropping down to Andrea’s side, he stared at her dead face.
This wasn’t the first Andrea Prime. She’d suffered quite badly in her knowledge of not being the original Andrea. He imagined a third Andrea Prime would only make that worse.
A piece of light-colored fabric lay nearby. It was about the size of what had probably been a t-shirt.
Snatching at it, he laid it flat on the grass. Taking a breath, Felix then haltingly dipped his finger into the ruins of Andrea’s rib cage. Taking his bloodstained finger, he began writing on the fabric.
Do not Absorb. This is Prime.
Eyeing the work, he felt like it’d have to do. Then he carefully took the stained canvas and wrapped it around the upper half of Andrea’s remains.
Any Other would be sure to see it and read it first.
He hoped it would convey the message clearly enough.
Looking to Victoria, he shook his head, not quite sure what to do next.
Then his mind kicked into gear and went back to his previous thought.
I’m so tired of only reacting. Reacting to their attacks. This needs to end. Now.
“Get your gear. We’re taking an armored car back to HQ.” Felix turned and started off towards the front of the school. Tossing his broken helmet to one side, he realized it was time to act.
Time to do something—anything—rather than sit around and wait for others to act.
“We should have washed your armor,” Victoria said as they cranked the armored car into gear and down the main street leading in.
“Probably. But at this point, I didn’t want to waste time on smelling fresh. Need to get home and help if we can. They’re under attack.
“An armored car showing up in your flank is a good way to get your shit kicked in, I’m betting.” Felix pulled the shifter into gear and looked around through the portholes.
Behind him, the other armored cars were heading into the grounds to take up defensive positions and protect everyone.
Up ahead, Felix saw ever more proof that they’d been outplayed and set up.
Armed enemies behind a barricade of cars, preventing anyone from driving in or out.
Angling the front of the vehicle at a spot between two vehicles, he floored the engine.
Bullets began pinging off the armored front. After a second, it went from a light rain sound to a hailstorm to rival that of an angry god.
His foes had underprepared on this one point, though. All the arms they had didn’t seem as if they had enough power to penetrate the armor of the vehicle.
They hadn’t counted on actual armored vehicles.
With a deafening crash and a jolt, Felix smashed into the makeshift barrier.
Twisted metal and sparks showered everyone nearby in wreckage as the cars were torn asunder and pushed to the side.
Holding tight to the wheel, Felix wrestled with the behemoth to keep it straight. The wheels bounced and shuddered one way and then the other, the vehicle careening off as it broke through.
Fishtailing wildly, the rear end cracked against another car before it evened out.
With the pedal still pressed to the floor, they began to accelerate away.
“Get back there and take a peek through that rear hatch. In fact, maybe get into that gunner’s seat and get that turret spun ‘round,” Felix called to Victoria.
“What? You want me to use the turret?”
“Sure as hell isn’t there for decoration. What’re they going to do, shoot back? They already did.”
“What about the police?”
“If they’re not responding to an explosion, I’m betting they’re not responding to anything today.”
Victoria sat there for a second. Then she got up and went to the back.
One of the lights on the complicated dash turned red and started flashing.
Giving it his attention for a moment, he realized it was a safety switch.
Thumbing it quickly, it turned a solid red.
The moment it did, the turret came to life, the chattering of rounds being fired out of the beefy cannon echoing throughout the hull.
The clatter of brass tinkled over the top and sides of the vehicle.
It didn’t take long for Victoria’s sustained fire rate to become the trained burst fire that Andrea had drilled into everyone.
Dreading the results, and with a great trepidation, Felix activated his points screen.
Received
Spent
Remaining
Daily Allotment
150
0
150
Miu Miki
1,000
0
1,000