James led the way, fire-axe propped over his shoulder, gaze fixed on the empty street ahead. Streets lights came on, burning with a toxic orange light, illuminating the remains of dead demons and the occasional sign of destruction. A car abandoned where it had slammed into a light post. Shattered...
2022-09-08 12:01:05 +0000 UTC View Post“No way,” said Serenity, glancing about rapidly if about to cross a busy street, then striding right up to him. “No way am I going to let you go in there alone.”
“You’re out of ammo.”
“So let’s resupply. James, if you’re going in, there’s no need to do it this se...
2022-09-07 21:02:08 +0000 UTC View PostThe hotel bar was unattended; an air of controlled panic was palpable and turning in a slow circle James saw few hotel employees in evidence. The front desk was swamped, and a couple of valet guys out front were running themselves ragged trying to keep up with demand.
But soothing backgroun...
2022-09-07 21:01:27 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour later they were back in the Marriott. It was surreal to enter that spacious, clean, luxurious building after their expedition into the heart of horror, and there blood-spattered and battle-weary appearances drew startled stares from guests and staff alike.
But nobody moved to interc...
2022-09-07 21:00:50 +0000 UTC View Post“Lead us in,” said James, grip tight on his fire-axe.
Becca had her Bushmaster up, and her voice was taut with tension. “I’m going to drop down. You guys better be right behind me. The edge is right where I’m at, the drop’s about five feet.”
Then she was gone.
Jame...
2022-09-07 21:00:20 +0000 UTC View PostJames felt a surge of cold panic that made him want to stand rooted to the spot and stare, wide-eyed, at where the kid had gone down.
Maybe the old James would have done that. Given Yadriel up for lost, turned away, blamed himself.
But instead he powered forward, fire-axe swinging, au...
2022-09-07 20:59:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe Hydra squads were attacking the target dead zone from the south, coming up Franklin Ave in an arrow formation, with the Golem triad following right behind. The avenue was a one-way street with traffic heading south, cars parked bumper to bumper along each shoulder, trees growing out of dirt p...
2022-09-07 20:59:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Thanks for bearing with me,” said James, shoving the phone back in his pocket. “Let’s get to the details. First off, I’d like to introduce Serenity. She’s a Supplicant Level 1, and I’d not be standing here today without her.”
Serenity stepped forward and waved, her smile br...
2022-09-07 20:58:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe Marriott was as fancy and grand as James had imagined. Its main tower soared up into the cloudy sky, pale gray stone with hundreds of blue windows embedded seamlessly in its face. The front was snarled with official cars of all stripes, including a hummer and limousine. James guessed they wer...
2022-09-07 20:57:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe Marriott was just down the street. They walked and ate Manna bread as they went, James having decided to bow out of the last slate of meetings, consequences be damned.
“You’re looking upset,” said Jessica. “But you’re about to make a lot of first impressions. Do you need a mom...
2022-09-07 20:57:20 +0000 UTC View PostJames and Serenity texted Jessica and headed down to the NYCEM. No buses were running, dawn was on the horizon, and the air was thick with the pungent, cottony smell of an unseen fire. In the end they’d not had enough to get trashed, just enough to keep them warm and alive and able to inhabit t...
2022-09-07 20:56:51 +0000 UTC View PostSanta Marta Slum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 4:13 AM EST
“João!”
Paulo’s yell was lost in the narrow streets of the slum, in the sound of automatic gunfire, the screams, the wail of the sirens. He ran, machete in hand, his cheap plastic flipflops smacki...
2022-09-07 20:56:20 +0000 UTC View PostThe hummer was wrecked, so Mancini radioed in and was told he needed to hoof it down to the NYCEM, a distance of about four miles.
“We can make that in an hour if we go carefully,” said Mancini, putting his radio away. “Nothing we’re not used to.”
“Let me guess,” said Se...
2022-09-07 20:55:24 +0000 UTC View PostJames’s breathing sounded impossibly loud. He wasn’t used to this kind of silence. The past few days had been non-stop noise, sirens, shouts, gunshots. A tapestry of continuous panic and the sound of society collapsing.
But it felt as if he was entering a bubble, each footstep crunching...
2022-09-07 20:54:55 +0000 UTC View PostJames watched the hummer drive off and turned to stare at the demon symbol. “I got a bad feeling about this synergy.”
“Walk and talk?” said Serenity.
“OK Jessica.”
She grinned and they fell into stride together. “You were saying you had a ‘bad feeling’ about th...
2022-09-07 20:54:23 +0000 UTC View PostSingh drove the hummer down the avenue. It was that still, magical hour of the night when the city seemed enervated, the streetlights causing the iced over pavements to glitter, coronas of orange light flaring around their lamps. Cars had been pushed up onto the sidewalks. Shattered glass reflect...
2022-09-07 20:53:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe military meeting wrapped up an hour later. A bunch of people chimed in with updates, many of which were being revised on the fly, but all pointed out one key fact: shit was fucking grim.
The First Wave had been relatively tiny, but anybody who’d seen a Nemesis 1 thereafter could see t...
2022-09-07 20:52:15 +0000 UTC View PostJames took his seat. The vibe was different from last time, with less people both in the chairs and on the monitors. Folks were quieter, most not making eye contact, the strain and exhaustion and quiet desperation obvious.
He glanced at the monitors. No Department of Defense.
The mayo...
2022-09-07 20:51:38 +0000 UTC View PostNemesis 2 Defeated
You are #178 to survive Global First Wave Nemesis 2 Incursion
16 Days till Nemesis 3 Released
86 Days till Pits Open
James stared at the text that had replaced his level-up in...
2022-09-07 20:42:30 +0000 UTC View PostThey rolled out in the hummer, four in the back, Mancini and Singh up front. The roads weren’t always passable, but Singh didn’t let that stop him. They’d bounce right up onto the sidewalk, bust through trashcans, scrape past vehicles, force a path.
Huffman stared out over the tailgat...
2022-09-07 20:41:45 +0000 UTC View PostJames awoke to the sound of someone moving around the kitchen. Blinked, palmed his eyes, then sat up. Jessica had set a bunch of to-go boxes on the counter, some bags on the floor, and was digging out plates and cutlery.
He checked his countdown timer:
2 Hours till ...
2022-09-07 20:41:07 +0000 UTC View PostJames pushed open their apartment door. Serenity staggered inside, dropped her Sigs on the counter, and without a word entered her room and face planted on the bed.
With extreme effort James straightened, closed the door, and entered the little kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water an...
2022-09-07 20:40:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe Fourth Wave was the largest yet.
With all the progress and meetings and killing of gremlins, James had momentarily lost track of the shitstorm that was spreading across the world. He’d started to feel empowered, important, with an executive assistant ready to guide him through the hal...
2022-09-07 20:39:37 +0000 UTC View PostSerenity staggered in just after lunch. Her eyes were glazed, her clothing shredded, her left arm sleeved in dry blood.
“Oh wow, you guys wait up all this time for me? How sweet.” She swayed in the doorway, then stared at Jessica. “What’s office girl doing here?”
Jessica ros...
2022-09-07 20:39:04 +0000 UTC View Post33 Hours till Nemesis 2 Released
James groaned and draped his arm over his face. Clanging and voices came from downstairs. His head throbbed. How much had he drunk? Enough that he should have been useless till the Nemesis 2 arrived, but instead he only felt wretc...
2022-09-07 20:38:36 +0000 UTC View PostJames told them everything. Never had he had an audience so breathlessly rapt. He’d had his moments over the past few years when he’d gotten into the flow of telling a good story, though those had usually involved a bellyful of wine and a handful of fellow street warriors around a fire.
The wave of gremlins finally began to die down. Perhaps he’d pulled in all of them within the chitterer’s radius, and there just weren’t enough left right now to respond to the summons. How far did the chitter cry reach? Five blocks? Ten?
Regardless, the last of the gremlins had given...
2022-09-07 20:37:32 +0000 UTC View PostSerenity bit her lower lip and forced herself not to glance at the fire team again. Three hours they’d been waiting, and her new Sig Sauer’s were as perfect as they were going to get. She missed her Glocks, but knew the longing was bullshit; the Sig Sauer’s were almost the exact same size, ...
2022-09-07 20:37:04 +0000 UTC View PostJames stopped walking.
The gremlins kept ashing upon him, the chitterers working themselves up into a frenzy, but he ignored them and focused on the words.
Your choice of Benediction is your first step
in determining your class.
James tooled along the street, windows down, listening.
Nothing good came in with the night air.
The sounds were nightmarish, a tapestry that would have had him sweating bullets only three or four days ago.
Now, the blurred cacophony of screams, shouts, car horns, gun fire, and ...
2022-09-07 20:35:41 +0000 UTC View Post