Chapter Sixty-Three - Rod of God


    Chapter Sixty-Three - Rod of God


    Theres no kill like overkill!


    --Motto of the Familys unofficial Orbital Strike Squadron


    ***


    I spun around the corridor and took in everything. It only took a split second to figure out what was going on.


    There was a room at the far end of the corridor. Unadorned walls, thick, made of cement. The shelter. Before that were some doors, heavy metal things. Not vault doors, but the sort Id expect to see in a well-secured warehouse or at the front of someone paranoids place.


    Theyd built a barricade in the middle of the corridor, but the people manning it werent there.


    For good reason too.


    Three Model Threes, a single Model Four.


    The latter looked injured, some of its tentacles shorn off, and it looked to be bleeding.


    I raised my Trench Maker up, pointing it at the back of the nearest alien, the big Model Four. My railgun shifted, and my plasma caster turned to aim farther forward.


    My finger twitched over the trigger just as my railgun bucked. A spray of superheated plasma shot out ahead with a snake-like hiss.


    The four aliens went down in an instant. The one hit by the rail thumping to the ground, a coin-sized hole smoking in its flank and the front of its chest bust apart, the Model Four slumped to the ground, the holes Id poked into it with my Trench Maker the size of both my fists together, and the other two were partially aflame around the places where my plasma gun had peppered them with fire.


    Targets Eliminated!


    Reward... 85 Points


    I stuffed my Trench Maker into its holster and let that get to work reloading it while I stepped around the bodies slumped across the corridor.


    The guys running away kept running, but they were looking back, and soon their run turned from a desperate scramble to a confused jog. They stopped. Are you a samurai? One of them asked.


    Yup, I said. You guys okay?


    There were some shared looks. We thought, one began.


    Were okay, another said, louder. He moved towards me, a gun in hand, but not pointed anywhere near me, and by the looks of it, the magazine was missing from it. It was only a hunting rifle though, all wood with a scope. These guys were armed, but not with anything fancy.


    I glanced around, taking in six or so more dead Antithesis. Theyd been holding them off, then.


    Did you see Bill? the one walking over asked. And Gatan and John?


    Whos Bill? I asked.


    He-- they were guarding the front door. Please, hes my son.


    The guy looked old enough to be a dad. Maybe in his late fifties or so. I... fuck, there were two people by the doors, dead, sorry.


    He reeled back, confusion and anger, then hope. Just two?


    I felt tiny particles pelt against my back, against my helmet and legs. None hard enough to hurt, or at least not hard enough to break through my armour.


    What the hell had that been?


    I rolled into a ball, the wind whipping past pushing me forwards. I think I ended up under the car with the guy in it. That didnt provide much cover, but it was somewhere to hide.


    Then the earth shook again.


    Another strike? Had they launched them sequentially?


    That minute was not nearly enough warning!


    I was going to find that Zeus asshole and tear him a new one.


    Are you well?


    Fuck! I screamed.


    I will take that as a no. Your undersuits integrity is still at 100%. Your vitals are fine considering the situation. You will survive, just hold tight and wait. Its just a little orbital strike.


    Myalis was being comforting and sarcastic, which actually helped a little. I didnt believe in those breathing exercises they taught at the orphanage much, but it didnt hurt to try one now. The rumbling continued, and my ears unmuted themselves, allowing me to take in the torrential roar of wind around me. There were other sounds mixed in. Things crumbling, a dozen car alarms going off.


    I was on the edge of Black Bear nearest the blast. That meant we were just about the hardest hit. Still, I could only imagine the town being a crater after this.


    The wind settled. It shifted back, rushing in the opposite direction, though with only a fraction of the force.


    Its over.


    I rolled over, then started to crawl out from under the car. I wasnt even sure how Id fit in so easily, it was a tough squeeze to get out.


    Standing up, I looked around, but couldnt see anything, that was, until I wiped at my helmet and cleared it of the dust and dirt caked on.


    The wind was settling down, and with it the crap in the air.


    The clouds, I noticed, were nearly all gone. They had to be, to make way for the multiple mushrooms dominating the sky right next to me.


    They were bigger than any skyscraper Id ever seen, massive bulbous things, dark grey and growing.


    Shit, I said.


    I paused and looked around. I expected cars to be flipped and all, but it wasnt quite that bad.


    A clod of dirt the size of my fist thumped to the ground a dozen meters away. Maybe it wasnt that bad, but it wasnt far from it.


    I... didnt quite know what to do.


    That man still needs assistance.


    Right, I said. That first. Then I could check on the civilians in the shelter. After that Id figure out my next move. I had to contact Gomorrah and maybe Cause Player.


    I had the impression that whatever that had been created more work for me, not less.


    ***