Chapter 17
Showdown at the Rest Stop Inn.
Betty slipped out of the back door of her chalet and into the storm. The rain lashed her face as she scanned the area. The poisonous bitch Ja’net was in the last occupied chalet, and Betty could see the life signs in there fading one by one.
That must have been what was wrong with the woman next door when she came back from dinner. Betty had assumed the woman was drunk, but it looked like the changeling had poisoned the food.
2023-07-21 07:01:15 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 43
The City of the Sun III
The interior of the tower was far from welcoming. An imposing entryway flanked by stone knights, complete with the familiar bronze sun symbol on their chests, led into a wide, curved room with a long counter on one wall.
Bert wandered over to it, his eyes caught by some writing carved into the stone countertop.
Confess Your Sins
It was written at regular intervals along the counter, and ink pots waited above each one. Bert p...
2023-07-21 06:53:11 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 16
Hitchhiker II
Betty lay back, her hooves resting on the tub's edge, and enjoyed the warmth as steam rose gently from the bath. The advantage of such a large bath was being able to revert to her true self.
Having a tail sounded cool and different, but really, it was a hassle. You could never sit comfortably, even with the weird gap they had in the seat backs here. And there was no way to be truly comfortable laying on your back.
As she soaked in the tub, ...
2023-07-20 06:35:35 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 15
Hitchhiker I
“You need to be more careful, Bet’ti,” Sa’ra said as she frowned at her.
“I know,” Betty sighed. This woman was starting to get on her nerves. Betty had never been a fan of unsolicited advice. More so when that advice came with a heavy dose of condescension.
“That last town before I met you is a bad place, especially for young men and women.” Sa’ra sighed. “So many young ones go missing there.”
Betty had a sneakin...
2023-07-20 06:34:13 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 14
Bonkers II
Betty dashed from alley to alley, sprinting between backyards and fences as she moved back toward the richer area of town where the two women lived. It was exhilarating. She grinned to herself as she approached the first target. It seemed like that crafting session had taken longer than she planned.
The lights were out everywhere.
Betty stood at the back of the property belonging to the woman with the low, throaty voice. Pale moonlight played ...
2023-07-19 06:28:11 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 13
Bonkers I
This wasn’t a hunt; it was a bloody joke. Or rather, a bloodless joke. The three hooded women had exited the shop, their hoods dropped and stuffed into their handbags. They were… well. Dull. Three nattering middle-aged women, no different than any of the others. If they had been from Earth, they would have been going to brunch and yoga and complaining about their husbands over mimosas.
They walked through the streets with a casual swagger. All th...
2023-07-19 06:27:15 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 42
The City of the Sun II
The steel spike bit deeply into the stone, and the Hudson Express’ treads bit into the roadway as it strained. Groaning noises came from the giant stone pillar holding up the gate, but it refused to fall.
“Bloody hell. This thing just won’t give way!” Bert growled in frustration as he drummed his fingers on the wide dash.
“I know, right?” Wendy said. “It’s almost like they designed it not to.” She giggled.
...
2023-07-19 06:24:39 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 41
The City of the Sun I
Bert was willing to admit he was hiding. He felt no shame in it at all. Anything to avoid the near nuclear war that was Bell and their ‘daughter’ having a discussion.
It looked like a blazing argument to him, but they were both very firm about him merely overreacting.
He winced at a series of loud bangs and crashes.
“Are you going to do anything about that, Boss?” Bud asked nervously.
“I’m open to an...
2023-07-19 06:23:33 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Twelve
An Evolving Situation II
Betty strode away from the camp for the last time. A quick nap and a long shower had left her feeling refreshed and ready. The forest opened before her as she moved away from the field where the bus had landed a few days ago. Following the direction that it had left from was all the guide that she had.
She was planning to keep her eyes open for any sign of roads and paths. She was not picky. She picked her way through the forest fo...
2023-07-18 08:18:55 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Eleven
An Evolving Situation.
Betty stared at the words, the world still frozen and unmoving.
“What the Hell is a class evolution?” She asked.
Class Evolutions are offered at-
First Class - Level 25.
Second Class - Level 50.
Class evolutions allow the Class to change and gain new abilities or specialties.
Proceed?
2023-07-18 08:17:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Ten
Snatch and Grab II
You have died…
Betty wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she died. Various faiths had theories and beliefs about the subject. All of them, she was sure, consisted of more than three words and three dots.
She waited for something to happen.
Nothing did.
An age passed as she rested in comfortable silence. It was not what she had imagined. It felt… soothing. In the quiet, her mind turned to...
2023-07-17 08:37:36 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Nine
Snatch and Grab.
Betty slipped out of the water a few hundred feet down from the Docks. A quick Slasher Step moved her deeper into the forest before she crouched down, scanning the area with her Slasher Senses.
Nothing was moving near her. She could dimly hear movement over by the Boat Shed, but that was fine. She was not headed that way. Creeping forward, low and slow, Betty crept through the forest and moved to keep well clear of the Campers’ Cabins as s...
2023-07-17 08:36:23 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 40
Buried, Burned, And Bloody III
The Express trundled through the night, slowly towing the enormous Trailer One. An hour had passed since they first got underway, and their speed had barely increased.
“I wish I could go check on Scruff,” Wendy said as she lay on the dashboard and stared into the night. “Do you think she is okay?”
“I hope so,” Bert said. “We can’t exactly stop and check on her, but the movement should keep t...
2023-07-14 08:00:21 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 39
Buried, Burned, And Bloody II
Bert stood in front of the Waystation and felt the sweat beading on his neck and back. This place honestly terrified him. His mind flashed back to the first time he had seen the rolling grasslands before him. The shapes that had moved in the grass. It had been blind luck that his makeshift staff had hit one. A few seconds more, and they would have surrounded him, and he would have died horribly in the endless waves of g...
2023-07-12 08:41:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 38
Buried, Burned, and Bloody. I
Bell watched Bert nervously. He had been very quiet and withdrawn since they left the new town and its weird cult-like people. He had barely eaten or slept. All he did was sit and stare ahead as the Waystation rolled its slow way across the scrubland.
Even irritating him didn’t seem to get her anywhere. She had seen this kind of thing before, and it scared her. She drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair and tried to decide ...
2023-07-12 08:39:19 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 8
Hide and Seek. II
It was Betty’s Slasher Senses that saved her.
She was jogging lightly toward her mine when she noticed something at the edge of her perception. There was a life sign in the tree up ahead. That was weird; she had never seen a living creature other than the camp counselors since the bus left. Not a bird, squirrel, or whatever they had here.
As she got closer, she noticed something else. There was a set of ho...
2023-07-10 08:39:44 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seven.
Hide and Seek.
Betty crouched behind a boulder and peered at the scene below her. It was pretty amusing. Someone had tried to use one of the Campers’ Cabins to get a little frisky. Too bad they chose the one with the dead bodies in it.
That’ll spoil the mood in a hurry, Betty thought as she grinned.
It seemed like Trashy and Glasses had invited Jock to join them for a bit of fun in the cabin, only to find it occupied.
Sort of.
Trashy ...
2023-07-10 08:37:29 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Six
That’s what Trash Mobs are for. II
“Bleh,” Betty said as she woke up. She really needed to find some toothpaste. She rinsed her mouth out with some water and did her morning stretches, well, afternoon stretches… what time was it anyway? She never carried a watch. Who did these days? “Would have been handy,” Betty grumbled. She resolved to find and figure out a way to tell time. Didn’t they burn down candles in the old days?
That wou...
2023-07-10 08:35:27 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Five
That’s what Trash Mobs are for
Betty followed in the forest as the Trash Mob boy moved through the camp. He left the counselors’ area behind and went into the Cafeteria briefly. Coming back out with a bottle of drink and some weird green chips that tasted like grass to Betty.
He moved on through the campgrounds as she followed behind, waiting for her chance.
She almost grabbed him and dragged him into the campers’ cabins just out of pure impatien...
2023-07-10 08:34:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Four
You made me do this. II
She moved slowly as she went back, eyes peeled for anything of use. A commotion from the counselor’s cabins drew her attention to the area. Betty arrived just in time to see SerialSam getting dragged from his cabin and beaten by the other boys as the girls cheered. A grim smile played on Betty’s face. After a few minutes of this, they backed away. A sniveling and bloody SerialSam crawled away before dashing off into the forest. Betty ga...
2023-07-10 08:32:14 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Three
You made me do this.
The first day after she found her new hidey-hole was pretty bad. That first night of sleep had come with more nightmares than she could count. First, the faces of the two aliens she had killed chased her through the night. They asked her why and called her a murderer and a monster. Worse were the dreams of aliens surrounding Paula, burning and cutting her as the old woman begged for her life and called for Betty to save her.
She spent t...
2023-07-10 08:30:31 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Two
This wasn’t my idea. II
Following the water line as she went, Betty kept thinking about what happened. The… whatever it was, attacked her first. It gave her no choice. A glance over at the water made her freeze. Mirrored in its surface, Betty squinted at the twin suns. Red and yellow, twins. An asteroid field was dimly visible as well. This planet had rings.
And twin suns.
She was really in an alien world.
Shit.
Fuck.
Bollocks.
2023-07-10 08:28:36 +0000 UTC
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Chapter One
This wasn’t my idea.
Betty glared at the fence. How on earth did she end up in this situation? Her family had been nagging at her, that’s how. Apparently, saying you wanted to spend your thirty-fifth birthday alone in a nice hotel room, eating room service, and watching pay-per-view movies was ‘sad’ and a ‘cry for help.’
If she ever found her way down from this mountain, Betty swore they would be the ones crying for help.
Kicking at the rough ...
2023-07-10 08:26:59 +0000 UTC
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Hey everyone,
In the last few weeks, I have been working on a small spin-off novella set in the same universe as The Waystation.
I'm pleased to tell you that it is nearing completion and will be posted soon!
Next week I will release the first half of the book right here on Patreon for everyone, with the second half coming in the next week or so for Patrons only.
It will be posted on RoyalRoad as well but on a slower schedule.
This is just my way of saying t...
2023-07-08 10:18:56 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 37
The Way Back III
With most of the wall completed, the Waystation began to creep forward. It took over an hour to move out of the town completely. The various spikes were moved as needed, maintaining control of the land.
Ultimately, it had taken another full day for Bert to be ready to move the Waystation out of the new town. He had insisted on putting wells in the small parks in each terraced row, ensuring everyone had access to water. He had also rigged up th...
2023-07-07 08:16:42 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 36
The Way Back II
The figure leaped into the air, clearing the walls in a single bound. Their feet slammed down, leaving little craters as they landed.
“Bert J. Hudson! Get your ass out here right now!” The voice called into the night.
Bert growled as he rolled out of bed. He was sure he remembered getting more sleep at some point in time. It seemed a long time since he had woken up without screaming, ...
2023-07-05 07:59:29 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 35
The Way Back I
“There’s a whole world out there,” Bell said in a sing-song voice.
“I like your road,” Bert said, trying to change the subject. He and Bell were once more in the control tower of the Waystation. The expansive circular stone room was lit by the see-through crystal walls that gave a full view in every direction. He drummed his fingers on the armrest, hoping that this ti–.
“There’s a whole WORLD out there,”...
2023-07-05 07:57:53 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 34
Farming, Fighting, and Feelings III
“Six months!” Felicia stormed back and forth in Larry’s Study. “I can’t even talk to them for six months!”
“It is of no importance,” Larry said soothingly, “They are coming. The window would have long passed even without this… complication.” Larry tried very hard to keep a straight face. He had seen the pixie leading his niece around… and would treasure the memory.
2023-07-01 08:19:32 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 33
Farming, Fighting, and Feelings. II
Nadine frowned and watched the Lich King of the City of the Dead walk out into the night.
She was back.
Her Ale House was back too.
Now what?
She turned around, casting a careful eye over the new Waystation. It was almost exactly how she remembered it… except… she could feel it now. The building was alive, and it wanted things. This was a new wrinkle. Nadine was never one to have partne...
2023-07-01 08:18:19 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 32
Farming, Fighting, and Feelings. I
A Banshee’s smile can mean many things, most of which Bert suspected were bad news. As the pixie reluctantly put away her knives, to the visible relief of the fairy whose fingers shook as she put away her own knife.
“I don’t think we have any refreshments,” The Banshee said distractedly, “Maybe I can buy some from you?” She nodded at Bert.
“Uh, sure.” Bert was still reeling from the even...
2023-07-01 08:17:11 +0000 UTC
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