Jake's story, ch 2

You might have noticed by now that I'm writing with a different narrative style than I usually use.  Honestly, it's been a lot of fun to experiment with.

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Jake was trying to hide it, but he was beginning to feel truly freaked out.

He’d never seen the Warren Company, nor Allied American Military do anything in such a timely manner before, much less jointly.  The speed and efficiency that the FOB administration had displayed in re-gearing his team, then putting all the adventurers who’d “volunteered” for the emergency mission on expensive, armored, government transportation had been astounding.  In fact, he wouldn’t have believed it was possible if he hadn’t witnessed it himself.  Now everyone was heading toward the s-tear.  He kept trying to shake the feeling that something was massively wrong, but the traces of terror he saw in the Warren Company personnel’s eyes was making it tough.

“What do you all make of this?” asked Brast, speaking barely above a whisper.  The nature mage sat across from Jake in the troop transport that the group had been herded into.  It was good that the team had legitimately volunteered, because they’d gotten to ride in style like this, and the adventurers who had refused or tried to run had been conscripted anyway.  Now the conscripts were in the older transports and under guard.

“I don’t know, but I think Jake was right.  This is serious.”  Tracy Main was sitting to Jake’s left, and she fidgeted as she looked around nervously.  The woman was unfalteringly brave most of the time, but didn’t like small spaces.  The troop transport really did feel cramped with the Grasshopper Mice and one other adventuring team that Jake didn’t know all crammed inside.  Larger weapons like spears had been stowed on the outside of the vehicle, but Miller had refused to part with his .338 Lapua rifle.  He had it between his knees, his hands resting on the barrel.  The military people loading the vehicles had only let him keep it because he could fold the stock.

To Jake’s right, Landry scoffed and the big man said, “Whatever.  It’s probably some pencil necked pussy or new-age-y adventurer with a flashy title getting everyone worked up.  Have you seen the firepower in this convoy?  This group could kill a dragon.” 

Jake shook his head and looked out a porthole on the side of the APC, watching their surroundings pass.  This area of Ohio had been hit hard by the apocalypse, likely because a lot of people had been outside when the Purple Rain fell.  The news had called the end of the world, “Violet Rain.”  All of the survivors had called it, “Purple Rain.”  Jake had always figured the people who wrote the news were color blind or something.  

His eyes fell on a strip mall and he sadly noticed old signs of violence.  Windows had been shot out or smashed.  One of them had been boarded up, probably a survivor’s attempt to make defenses against zombies and other lower level monsters that the Purple Rain had created.  

He would never forget that day, the confusion, the horror.  There’d been no warning.  One minute there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky, and the next, the sky had turned dark and overcast with violet clouds before fat rain had started to fall.

Later, before the internet and television had failed completely, videos and images from all around the world had shown the terrifying reality.  Monsters, creatures from myths and legend had appeared from portals as people exposed to the purple rain had turned into monsters, or more rarely, super powered versions of their old selves.

Then a small portion of the population had awakened, feeling tendrils of magic crawling up their souls.

The entire earth had been engulfed in confusion and terror.  Millions, maybe billions of people had died.  Nobody really knew the real death count.  Communication could still be difficult, and a lot of people who’d been killed had been eaten.

“It’s true that we have a lot of power in this convoy,” admitted Main.  The wind mage had her chin in her hand, and grimaced at Landry even as she agreed with him.

Miller popped some gum into his mouth and absently wiggled the barrel of his rifle back and forth.  “They grabbed up the entire military from the FOB and every adventuring party they could get their hands on.  I’m kind of surprised there wasn’t more fighting.”

Brast shook her head.  “The Company had one of those hot shit esper-types with them and a really high ranked, sell-out adventurer or two.  I think most folks chose to go instead of going anyway with a broken arm or leg.  Smart money on the fact that the heavy hitters aren’t with the main convo, though.  They’re probably following from a distance.”

Jake shook his head.  “It’s kind of messed up that people needed to be scared into going in the first place.  If this is a repeat of what happened in Mexico…”

Miller and Brast both looked thoughtful.  A couple members of the other adventuring team in the APC who’d been pretending not to be listening nodded in agreement.

Landry grunted.  The big man pulled a little music player and speakers out of his pack.  “Look, we can’t get out of this shit either way, and everyone’s armed to the teeth, so let’s bump it.”

“Maybe you should ask the other team in here first,” suggested Brast.

“Yeah, whatever Marine.”  Landry rolled his eyes.  “If we give you some crayons will you shut the fuck up?”

“You are such an asshole, Landry,” sighed Brast.  “Fine, just play the fucking music, but if those guys over there kick your ass, I’m not going ot help you.”  She jerked her thumb at the other team, and one of them, a big guy with a mustache smiled.

Landry chuckled, “Yeah, whatever,” and in a few seconds, vintage rap music flooded the APC.  Jake recognized the song--“X,” by Xzibit.

They all nodded for a while to the music.  Suddenly, Landry looked directly at Main and grinned.  “X just said dick.”

“In the track?”

“Yup.”  The man’s smile grew wider.

“Yeah, I heard that,” said the wind mage.  “Maybe you should let us know when you get one.”

To one side, Brast cackled, slapping her knee and pointing at the fuming Landry.

Jake chuckled.  “You should really give that a rest, Landry.  She’s way too quick witted for you.”

“Whatever Jake,” groused the big man.  “You know, actually, why the hell do we all call you Jake when everyone else in this chickenshit outfit calls each other by last names?”

“I’ve wondered about that too, actually,” said Miller.

Jake shrugged.  “It goes all the way back to when me and Brast were in a different adventuring company.  The team leader had a hard time saying my last name, so she just called me Jake.  It stuck.”

“Seriously, that’s it?”  Landry made a face.  “That’s the lamest story ever.”

Brast said, “It’s true, though.  Even the people in the Company and the military call him Jake.”

“It just happened that way,” said Jake with a shrug.

For the next few minutes, Landry and Main bickered as the music played but nothing else was happening, so Jake decided to meditate.  He settled himself into a more comfortable sitting position and folded his hands in his lap.

Jake had learned cultivation from a mysterious traveler a couple of years before after winning a bet.  The man had likely been a spacial traveler, or s-tee, from another dimension.  After Jake had learned to cultivate, he’d seemed to be well suited for it, but it was hard to grow in power since there was so little natural energy around the earth.  Plus, he always needed to fight the other energies that his body had been riddled with from experimenting with different powers.  Jake had been one of the people who had discovered magic after Purple Rain.  He’d been lucky enough not to actually get wet that day.

As usual, he started off slowly, concentrating on his breathing and slowly circling his energy through his meridians.  Then he drew more power out of his dantian, increasing energy to the cycle around his body, then opening himself, reaching out for yet more energy, drawing it in, purifying it, and adding it to the cycle.

The process was slow, difficult, and could be painful.  Under his breath, Jake began chanting to help focus his mind and body, allowing his spirit to float while he circulated power, widening his meridians and purifying the energy itself.

It felt like he was only at it for a few minutes, but he slowly woke up to someone yelling, “Jake!  Jake!”

He opened his eyes and the entire team was looking at him.  ACDC was playing in the background on Landry’s speakers.  “I think we’re almost there, boss,” said Brast.

“What the hell were you doing? Was that some Asian magic shit?” asked Landry.

“It’s not really Asian,” said Jake as he unfolded himself.  “At least not the energy itself, just like tablet magic is not really Greek.  Most historians believe now that magic was on earth in the distant past, and some dimensional travelers who knew how to cultivate shared their knowledge--actually never mind.  How long have I been out?”

“About an hour,” said Miller.

“Someone just came over the convoy coms to say we’re getting close,” added Brast.  Her last word was interrupted by the sound of gunfire from somewhere in the convo.  Immediately after that came a thunderous explosion, and the APC swerved.

Static crackled through the APC’s speakers and a voice said, “Red alert, red alert.  Convoy under attack.  Dismount and proceed on foot.  Red alert, red alert.  Convoy under attack--”

“Let’s get the fuck out!” shouted Landry, and as soon as the APC had slowed down a bit more, he forced the back doors open.  One of the members of the other team helped him.  As soon as the doors were open, everyone tumbled out.

The APC screeched to a halt behind them, and the drivers jumped out, clambering over to rucks on the outside of the vehicle.  The convoy had been driving on a country road next to fields, and were all scattered now.  One APC was in the middle of the road, and someone was firing a 50 cal machine gun on top of it until a segmented monster burst from the ground, carrying the gurgling soldier down to the other side of the vehicle.

“Oh my God,” whispered Main.  She pointed past all the other confused convoy members at a distant field that was beginning to crumble.  “Look!”

As Jake watched, the hole in the field grew larger and red light erupted out of the hole.  Several powerful monsters climbed out, too.  One of them, something big, demonic, and disturbing, began tearing apart a distant group of soldiers while they all ineffectually fired at it.  Meanwhlie, one of the more powerful adventuring teams had gotten their shit together, and a competent mage loosed a magical attack at the demon.  The blast rocked it back, but then it turned and waggled a finger with a grin.

Next to Jake, a member from the other team that had been in the APC with the Grasshopper Mice, a swarthy man with a mustache, chuckled.  “We were right on top of the fucking thing.  It was just under the ground!”

“Underground?” asked Landry.

“It really is an s-tear,” breathed Brast.  “A big one, or at least, one that is about to happen.  It’s on purpose.  These things are doing it on purpose.”

Now Jake could hear the sound of chanting coming from the direction of the hole in the field, and as he watched, a pitch-black pyramid began slowly emerging from the earth.  A big demon stood at its tip, holding aloft a glowing staff.  A few of the soldiers and adventurers launched weapons or magic at it, but a brilliant crimson shield flashed, protecting the demon mage with the staff.

Miller spat and said, “Demons?  This is fucked.  Remember what happened in Mexico, how a mile and a half wide circle of our planet was replaced with a mile-wide circle of somewhere else, with a big portal in the middle?  Then that alien stuff spread, and Mexico got overrun with vampires?”

“Yeah,” answered Jake.

“I think this is happening here too, and we’re at ground zero.”

Around them, other monsters erupted from the ground, or occasionally flew from the sky.  Adventurers and soldiers fought back, but Jake’s eyes were glued to the pyramid.  Brilliant crimson writing glittered on its sides now, and the clouds overhead had begun roiling.  To one side, Miller’s rifle cracked as he shot at something, and Main screamed in warning before a monster landed nearby.

Jake drew his saber and ducked to one side as it lunged, slashing to score a deep cut in its side.  Then the rest of his team and the other team of adventurers finished it off.  They’d been lucky.  In the distance, the small number of creatures that had climbed out of the field near where the pyramid was rising were biting off and eating legs of soldiers and adventurers alike.

Main gasped, horrified.  “Why are the monsters leaving most of them alive?”

The sky flashed, and Jake heard a booming voice.  “Rejoice, food!” cackled the thing from the top of the pyramid.  “You can witness the magnificence of our lord!”

“This is bad!” screamed Brast.  “They’re not trying to kill us, they’re just keeping us here!”

Blood pounded in Jake’s ears as scarlet light flooded from the pyramid.  He’d always known  the reality that the Company and the military had sent the entire FOB to slow this thing down, not necessarily stop it.  Everyone in the convoy had been expendable.

His last thought on Earth as the light washed over him and filled his world was that everyone was going to die for no reason.  They’d all been too weak and too late to do anything.