Sponsored Apocalypse, Chapter 12

The store was completely empty–we had the place to ourselves.  I figured that even without power, some silent alarm had probably gone off, but I highly doubted anyone was going to actually show up to investigate.  The police had bigger problems right now…if they were still alive.

We both moved to the pharmacy section of the store.  Since we were in a small town, there wasn’t any other type of security–no steel gate or anything like that.  Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered.  Aldina could probably get through any mechanical lock in a few seconds.

Without even discussing it, I kept watch, letting Aldina start scavenging right away.

I would not have understood what she was doing in the past, back before I’d started  preparing for the end of the world.  But now I could tell she was prioritizing antibiotics.  Amoxicillin seemed to be a primary target.  As I watched her look for and bag a number of different antibiotics, I figured I’d grab some once she was done.  At the moment, I was keeping guard.

Nothing was even moving outside the store, least that I could see.  That was good, but it meant I had a few minutes of relative down time to just think about stuff.  This was both a blessing and a curse.

It occurred to me that as we were rummaging through the drug store that what we were doing was pretty selfish.  Especially without knowing who was alive and who was dead, we were stealing.  “Scavenging,” only applied if the owners of a thing were pretty reasonably presumed dead.  Also, plenty of other people probably needed stuff here, and definitely would in the next few days.  But I argued with myself, pointing out that we weren’t taking all of it.

Not only that, the next person who came along would probably be really powerful, or maybe part of a group. Who would stop them from doing whatever they wanted?  Maybe they’d bring a truck and take all of it, use it to sell later.

I realized that I was rationalizing things and got frustrated.  None of this would have even been and issue if the asshole cyclops hadn’t destroyed my house.

Leaving money on the counter would be a pointless gesture, too.  I had no way of knowing what all the drugs cost, I didn’t have much cash on me, and cash was probably useless now, anyway.  The world had changed.  My original plan had been to use some of my loot I’d paid for on credit for barter.  Now I only had what I could carry.

With grim thoughts on my mind, I scowled and felt anxious.  Moving slowly and staying low so nothing outside would see me, I started searching the area in the rest of the store for things I might need.  A few minutes later, my pack had quite a bit of beef jerky.  I’d even found a water filter for faucets that I could probably jury rig to use on its own.

A few minutes later, Aldina and I switched positions.  I ended up getting a lot of the same stuff she had in the pharmacy, except I prioritized pain killers.  It made me feel a little dirty.  If I’m gonna survive, I need stuff to trade.  Getting high will always be important to some people, especially when the world sucks this bad.  Shrug Lindstrom, drug dealer.  Why not?  Maybe I  can even just trade to doctors and nurses and not feel like a total piece of shit.

I caught sight of some insulin and shook my head.  Diabetics were screwed without this stuff.  Hopefully they got some way to deal with it through their random skill, or found a way to handle it by buying skills.

With a decent amount of self loathing, I finished up and nodded at Aldina.  She nodded back but motioned me closer instead of heading for the exit.  When I was close enough to talk softly, she said, “It might be a good idea to hit the bathroom here before we go.  Maybe take turns with one keeping watch.”

“Good idea,” I said.  “You can go first.”

Without another word, she turned on a little flashlight she’d just acquired from the store and vanished into the ladies room.  I moved closer to the front of the store and kept guard until she was out.

After we were both done with our restroom breaks, it was time to go.  I stepped back inside of her magic stealth circle.  Then we moved to the back of the store and exited the way we’d come in.  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why we shouldn’t linger, even if Aldina wasn’t trying to get back to Amada.

Nothing was stopping something nasty and hungry from just breaking through the front windows.

Once we were outside again, the air felt heavier.  Just a short break back in the store, which although dark had been a relatively normal space, had kind of been a weird throwback to time before the current madness.  Reality of the surrounding warzone had crashed back in.  We ducked around the corner, checking whether the coast was clear.  This close to an area that had just been a resting place for a big, more dangerous monster, even getting into a skirmish with goblins would be dangerous as hell.

“Looks like the coast is clear,” I said quietly.  Aldina nodded.  There were some goblins in the distance breaking a window, and some other movement in the shadows, but nothing that was likely going to spot us past Adlina’s stealth field.

We scurried across the street to the antique shop and went around back.  Then we got inside the same way as before.  I made a mental note to find a crowbar soon.  Having Aldina around now basically meant any mechanical locks were laughably easy to get through.  After we got back to the gun store, she’d be leaving, though.

That meant the stealth field would be going away, too.  Damn.  She might be a little weird, maybe a little intense, and…callous, but she was sure as hell useful in a newly monster overrun world.

I’d driven past this antique store many times before, but I’d never actually been inside.  Now that I was seeing the place for the first time, I knew I hadn’t really been missing out on much–at least not back then. We’d come out into a small storage room in the back.  To one side was an office and a small, employees-only bathroom.  Past that area, through a door, the store itself was basically divided into two sides by one hallway down the middle.  The register was near the front door.

Each side of the store had multiple mismatched shelves and a few curio cabinets that had seen better days, all full of miscellaneous junk.

A few days ago, nothing in the small store would have interested me at all.  But now, I already caught sight of something that drew my attention like a magnet, just like my bonded hammer had.

Aldina ghosted behind me, not saying anything and watching the front of the store just like I had at first in the drug store.

The object that had caught my attention turned out to be an ugly, weathered old egg beater, one of ye olde mechanical kinds.  It was obviously ancient.  I picked it up and felt a tingle.  Then I saw a familiar prompt pop up in my vision.

[You have been recognized by the spirit of this tool.]

Not specified what kind of tool, just a ‘tool’ eh?

Then the second prompt popped up.

[Would you like to establish a contract with the spirit in the tool?]

I chose Yes.

[Better Days Auto Whisk]

A cherished and well used kitchen appliance, once owned by a scholar.

Ability to stir up or move any medium for a limited distance for ten seconds.  Unlimited activations.

I was not even sure what that meant, much less what I could use it for.  There was no use in leaving it behind though.  I opened my pack up and stashed the weird new egg beater.  As soon as it was inside, I got a new window.

Alert:  [Better Days Auto Whisk], like all spirits bonded through [Skill Name] can only be activated if it is being physically worn or otherwise easily accessible.

I frowned.  The implications of this limitation were not making me happy, but it was something I could think about or explore more later.  For now I put the weird egg beater in a pocket that it only sort of fit in, and begain touring the store again.

The next item that supernaturally caught my attention was a chunky, blocky necklace that looked like it was made of purple and faux gold beads.  Curious, I picked it up.  The prompt came up instantly this time, without any delay.

[You have been recognized by the spirit of this tool.]

[Would you like to establish a contract with the spirit in the tool?]

I chose yes.

[Beaded Benediction of Delayed Solace]

A mysterious necklace that has been washed in the light of sun and moonlight.

When activated, creates a bright flash of divine light. Two activations per day.

That’s quite a name, I thought.  Pretty grandiose for some plastic or wooden beads or whatever.  At least it had an interesting effect.  This was the first time I’d seen an effect that had a limited number of activations.  The necklace was a little too big for me and way too chunky to put under my shirt, but I put it over my head anyway.

The last item in the store that actually caught my metaphysical attention was an ancient, ugly looking iron skillet.  It was so thick and heavy, it might have been used in the revolutionary war or something.  It was seriously something I would have never in a million years had any desire to own, much less for the ridiculous price I saw on the tag.

Again, I admitted to myself that I was probably currently stealing.  In this case, I didn’t care all that much.  The price this store had been asking for such a piece of junk must have been highway robbery.  “What a scam,” I muttered, and wondered what kind of bullshit story customers might have been told to convince them to buy this hunk of junk.

I got the now-familiar prompts, bonded with the skilled while making a face and then my eyes flew open.

[Stalwart Pan of the Lonely Mountain]

A cooking tool that has been used to craft truly exceptional culinary pieces despite the worst of conditions.  It also once saved its original owner’s life.

Upon activation, the bonded user will attain natural armor for two hours.  Activation: Twice per day.  Effect: Armor 1

That’s what I’m talking about! I thought.  But then I hefted the damn thing and scowled.  I was starting to get a sneaking suspicion about why [Tsukumogami Embrace] had also come with some Endurance increases.

If I was going to need to lug around fifty million metric tons of junk everywhere, I was gonna need a lot of extra energy.

Aldina had been quietly and patiently waiting for me to finish.  She was a weird chick, but definitely true to her word.  As I poked around the store a little more, I thought about how glad she was going to be to finally get rid of me and it almost made me chuckle.

Nothing else in the store was really calling to me the same way the other items had, but I spotted a couple things that would probably be useful.  The first was an old, folding pocket knife.  tI wasn’t really fancy, but it seemed solidly made.  Despite its obvious age, it was in great shape.  I tested the edge.  “Still sharp,” I whispered appreciatively.

The pocket knife went into my pocket.

Buried under an old flag, I’d found a big bayonet.  It looked like it’d been through hell and back, but was definitely still functional.  I was not an expert, but I figured it probably dated back to about the first World War, the last time in human history that bayonets actually got used fairly often.

I pulled it out the sheath enough to take a look at the blade’s condition and grunted, satisfied.  Then I put the sheathed weapon in my belt.  My glaive was a great weapon, but it felt good to have other options now.  I had my holstered pistol on one side, and the antique bayonet on the other next to my hammer.

Now I needed to figure out what the hell to do with the [Stalwart Pan of the Lonely Mountain], which was the biggest pain in the ass to carry, but also the most powerful and important antique I had.

I settled on putting a thong through the hole in the handle and attaching ti to the back of my belt, letting it dangle over my ass.

If things keep up this way, I’m gonna need suspenders, I thought.

With that cheery thought in mind, I checked all my gear again, adjusted my backpack’s straps, and got ready to go.  But before I got a chance to turn and tell Aldina I was done, the glass at the front of the store shattered.

I spun, weapon in hand, eyes flying wide.