philtucker

Chapter 41: Aura Mastery

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 windows. Splatters of drying blood on the sidewalk.

But nobody was out this close to the hive. Even the amateur levelers seemed to know better than to come too close to a demon sign, its horrif...

Chapter 40: The Bear of Wall Street

“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 second. Think, yeah? All those Nemesis 2’s will be there in half an hour’s time.”

But I want to go now, he almost said.

“James, there’s another angle to this,” said Bjø...

Chapter 39: Iron

The 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 background music still played, the AC was on, and everything looked pristine and as it should.

Was this how it would end? A hollowing out of systems as people ceased showing up for work, asking themselve...

Chapter 38: Decisions

An 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 intercept the thousand armed warriors as they trickled back into the Grand Ballroom, rifles and baseball bats and pistols in hand.

James walked through the crowd, forcing himself to acknowledge greeti...

Chapter 37: Black gem

“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.

James wanted to curse, to hesitate, but instead he slid his foot forward, sinking into the inky darkness till he could see nothing at all but felt the edge appear under his boot.

A deep breath and h...

Chapter 36: Crown of Flesh

James 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, aura surging, knowing it was too late, but unwilling to give up on Yadriel without a fight, to lose a member of their new group so soon.

Maybe it was his Arete 50.

Maybe it was just his bein...

Chapter 35: Into the Hive

The 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 plots in both sidewalks, the buildings three stories tall, ground floors boasting salons and liquor stores, restaurants and fenced off stoops leading up to old brownstone entrances.

It was 12:52 ...

Chapter 34: Esprit de corpse

“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 brazen even as she flushed.

“We’re both going to be heading up the Crimson Hydra crew. I’ve been told the smart guys behind this operation have organized us into teams of nine, three teams p...

Chapter 33: Band of Killers

The 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 weren’t the only ones to have noted its helpful proximity to the NYCEM.

Jessica was in her element and guided them through the bustling crowd and into the lobby. It was exactly the kind of place ...

Chapter 32: A speech to give and a war to organize

The 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 moment before proceeding to the next step?”

James stopped. Frowned around the avenue. Weird how things looked almost normal around this downtown core. No demon symbols in immediate sight, the cof...

Chapter 31: Getting our own crew together

James 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 the new space they’d created between them. By the time they reached downtown Brooklyn and the futuristic headquarters of the Emergency Management department, the eastern horizon was brightening, and ...

Interludes

Santa 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 smacking his feet as he descended the steep alleyway that twisted between the brick cobbled-together houses, occasionally getting views of the city spread out along the bay far, far below.

The night w...

Chapter 30: Trust

The 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 Serenity. “They want us to come in for more meetings?”

“A debrief, yes. What you saw the Nemesis 2’s doing…” Mancini trailed off, expression bleak.

Serenity laughed, the sound ja...

Chapter 29: Get Some

James’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, the wind still, all voices absent. The Nemesis 2’s drifted forward in perfect silence, climbing walls or leaping down to the street with little more than a scratchy whisper.

Serenity was muc...

Chapter 28: Sacred Strike

James 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 this. I can’t imagine why. Things have been going so well so far.”

“Those symbols. Nobody’s paid them too much attention because they’ve not been killing anyone, but I don’t like the N...

Chapter 27: Por que no los dos?

Singh 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 reflected moon light. The smell of smoke was thin and pungent in the air, and seven blocks over the sky glowed a dull orange.

James felt light, purified by grief that had been, if not processed, then s...

Chapter 26: Learning to Optimize

The 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 the Nemesis 2’s, which meant most of the military was ready to intercede and help out. Combined firepower meant over 80% of the Nemesis 2’s were killed, though half of the exterminations resulted i...

Chapter 25: The Big Guns

James 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 mayor arrived late, sweeping in with an entourage that fanned out to take chairs or move to the wall as he sat at the head of the table. He looked waxen, his eyes glazed, his hair greasy, his clothing rum...

Chapter 24: Order from Chaos

Nemesis 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 info. Serenity no doubt was doing the same.

“What is it?” asked Mancini.

“An update. Whoever’s in charge doesn’t want us to lose track. 16 days till Nemesis 3.”

“That’s...

Chapter 23: Nemesis 2

They 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 tailgate with bleak eyes, her mouth a thin line, her gun held tight. James knew to respect another’s grief. He skipped the small talk.

Delvecchio kept adjusting his shit. Checking the ammo pockets in...

Chapter 22: Go Time

James 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 Nemesis 2 Released

Dusk was falling. He must have slept almost ten hours.

“Evening,” said Jessica briskly, pausing to drape her blazer over the back of a chair and ...

Chapter 21: Brutal lessons

James 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 and raised it to his lips.

The glass trembled.

He closed his eyes and drank.

Then, with great care, he set the glass in the sink, turned to cross his arms, lean against the counter, an...

Chapter 20: Fourth Wave

The 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 halls of power and an army sergeant ready to follow him into battle.

But sitting down after lunch, he scrolled the news channels with horrified fascination as he took in the ongoing developments. 2022-09-07 20:39:37 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 19: Smitey smite

Serenity 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 rose smoothly to her feet. “Good afternoon, Ms. Serenity. I was assigned -”

“Oh yeah, no I remember. At ease soldier.” She blinked and focused on James. “Hi honey.”

“Serenity?�...

Chapter 18: Avengers

33 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 wretched.

His new powers were making him more resistant to hangovers, apparently.

Silver linings.

Memories came back. Herman’s bar had been packed to the gills. With resupply problems, ...

Chapter 17: The Keys to FAO Schwartz

James 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.

This, on the other hand, felt as comfortable as sitting in one of the legendary tramp chairs that old-time towns had used to humiliate vagrants.

Didn’t help that every few words he was interr...

Chapter 16: A Lot of Important People

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 up on assaulting him. They hung back, sulking, slinking off into the shadows in search of easier prey.

They were suicidally stupid, but eventually a base cunning had taught them to avoid his au...

Chapter 15: Don’t you go dying on me

Serenity 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, and maybe just a little heavier in her hand. She wished she’d had time to fire some practice rounds, just to get a sense of the guns, feel the recoil, make them hers.

But something told her Ma...

Chapter 14: Power

James 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 tried to slow his thoughts, to focus, to get a grip. The Monitor had sent him into some bad headspace, but he needed focus, clarity.

This felt… yeah.

Important.

<...

Chapter 13: Monitor

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 sirens were almost normal. But he could tell things were rising to a fever pitch.

The Third Wave was proving brutal.

There was a decent amount of traffic. Cars stuffed full of belongings, ...