It had taken an extra two hours to locate and collect the towed campers, but the amount of time they would save for future trips made it worth it. Blake calculated, with the addition of the travel trailers, only a single extra trip would be required to transport people back to The Dome.
Of course, this method came with its own risks. The brakes on the trailers were not able to function without electricity, and they were far over their cargo carrying capacity. However, he felt it was relatively safe as long as they kept their speed low as there was only one significant grade on their route.
I can’t believe how many people are using the Architect’s Ribbit clone.
For the last twenty minutes, Blake explored the new feature of the Collective. He searched through subRibbit after subRibbit and saw an incredible amount of activity. The most popular posts were almost exclusively from politicians and celebrities, but Blake’s guide seemed to hold its place at the top. It even had its own subRibbit.
Thank God for that. We might actually have a chance.
Blake watched another video from President Warner. The southern man urged people to turn to their local governments for protection. It was a good idea, and if they could quickly form factions, the action would save millions of lives.
I need to make my own videos. I could post them in the regional forums to get people to come to us.
Blake began to search through the publishing features when his driver interrupted him. “Looks like some people need some help.”
Their vehicle began to slow, as did the others in the convoy behind them. Blake minimized the interface and focused on what drew his driver’s attention. Three people stood within the middle of the highway. A woman laid prone on the ground while a man leaned over her. The third person waved his arms widely in hope they would stop.
Odd.
A few hours before, they had driven the same road, and no one was present. For some reason, the event set off alarm bells within Blake’s mind, and he quickly pulsed an Oblate Mind Sense to search for others.
That’s what I thought.
Blake turned to his driver. “Speed up and keep driving. It’s a trap. I’ll be right back. Do not stop.”
The man’s eyes widened as he gripped the wheel tight in his fists and quickly accelerated. Blake opened his door and jumped from the moving vehicle. He easily caught himself and gestured for the rest of the loaded trucks to keep moving. The convoy skirted around the roadblock, and continued down the highway.
Once he was sure no one would stop, he strode over to the bait.
“Please, we need your help!” pleaded the man who waved them down.
Uh huh. I can’t believe it’s starting already.
Ten years ago, in the days after Invasion day, Blake and his family spent their time inside their cheap apartment in Show Low. He had been unaware of the outside world for weeks. Now, he was not sure if the changes he made caused people to be more brazen, or if these same people preyed on others last time as well.
Once the last of his vehicles passed the ambush, at close to thirty miles an hour, he loudly yelled, “Come out of the woods and give up your rifles peacefully.”
Suddenly, the demeanor of those before him changed. They became wary and drew their pistols, while the woman on the ground climbed to her feet. “That’s not how this is gonna go. You’re gonna tell those trucks to turn around, or you’re gonna have a very bad day.”
Do they seriously not recognize me? How can they be this dumb?
“My name is Blake Summers, otherwise known as the Scion of Humanity. You saw my speech to the entire world yesterday. Do you really want to do this?” he asked.
“Shit!” the woman cursed. “He’s supposed to be bulletproof!”
The first man turned his head and spat. “That’s a crock of shit. Here, I’ll prove it to you.”
The man opened fire.
Only a single bullet was released before Blake teleported behind the man, and slapped the side of his head. The shooter was instantly knocked unconscious, while his accomplices screamed.
Blake used another Oblate Mind Sense, and cursed when he sensed the others flee. He immediately activated Alacrity and sprinted after them. A few minutes later, they were disarmed and gathered around their unconscious comrade. The woman continued to cry as she kneeled over the fallen man.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Blake said in a dangerous voice. “I’m going to ban you from my faction towns. I’m also going to take your guns away.” Blake held his hand up to silence their sudden protests. “You are getting a second chance, which is far more than you deserve. If you abuse my leniency and prey on others again, next time I won’t hold back. Do you understand?”
They glared at him unrepentantly, while the woman continued to weep.
This isn’t going to work.
Blake sighed and closed his eyes in regret.
He wanted to be fair and allow them to change their ways. However, the type of person who could prey on others was not a good human being. They would continue to steal from others, and if their targets resisted, kill them.
They might have done so already. Who knows how many houses they’ve invaded?
Blake retrieved his spear from the snap on his waist. Quicker than they could react, he spun in a circle and split four people in half. Then, he finished off the woman and the unconscious man who had fired on him.
Such a waste.
He cleaned their blood off the tip of his spear and dragged their bodies off the road. Once the pavement was clear, he gathered their guns, cast Alacrity and caught up to his trucks in just a few minutes.
After he stashed the weapons and hopped back into the passenger seat of the lead vehicle, the driver asked, “Was it a trap like you thought?”
Blake nodded.
“What did you do?”
“I made sure they won’t do it again.”
For the remainder of the drive, Blake explored the new social media feature of his interface until he felt comfortable with its use. He then recorded a series of videos and posted them to the proximity based forums.
In these videos, he urged people to join his faction. If they did so, they would receive safety, housing, food, and everything else they would need to survive. All he asked in return was for them to pull their own weight and work towards the betterment of the faction.
Blake gave Jessica’s name to those near Payson, and gave his mother's name to the people near Show Low or Pinetop. Afterward, he contacted his two Chancellors and notified them about the coming requests. They promised to schedule rides for those who wished to join.
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In the distance, Blake spotted kids playing in their front yards. Unfortunately, the moment their parents heard Blake’s diesel trucks, they hurriedly corralled their children and hid inside. Every window seemed to have eyes.
He would have liked to stop and invite them to come with him, but he knew they would decline. Until monsters began to roam the Earth, its citizens would remain in denial.
Finally, two hours later, the convoy arrived at The Dome. As they drew near the gate, Blake saw two men in their upper twenties. One was black, while the other was Asian. They leaned against the wall in the shade, and watched as the convoy neared. They attempted to act casual, but Blake could see how their eyes darted back and forth.
Definitely military or cops.
He did not recognize either of the men, so he used Analyze on each.
Jeremy Jackson
Human Level 0
Physical Power - High
Physical Stamina - Average
Physical Resistance - Average
Magic Power - Average
Magic Stamina - Average
Magic Resistance - Average
Jimmy Lee
Human Level 0
Physical Power - High
Physical Stamina - Average
Physical Resistance - Average
Magic Power - Average
Magic Stamina - Average
Magic Resistance - Average
Interesting.
Blake expected to see ‘Average’ listed for every attribute. At level zero, that generally covered the range between a two and an eight. The fact that both had ‘High’ was very telling. It meant they either had the strength of Olympic athletes, or they had already gained enough nano to increase their Physical Power.
They look like they’re in pretty good shape, but not THAT good.
Blake turned to his driver. “Pull in through the gate and park in the field. We need to quickly unload everyone, turn around, and head back to Payson before it gets dark.”
While his driver followed his orders, he messaged the same instructions to everyone within the convoy. On the edge of the field,
Donna and six assistants waited to coordinate. It would be a long day for everyone as they scrambled to find food, housing, and unload their belongings.
Once they parked, Blake stepped out of the truck, waved to his mother, and headed back towards the gate. He wanted to talk with the suspicious men and get a feel for them. After he stepped outside, both Jeremy and Jimmy pushed off the wall and focused intensely on him.
Blake put a smile on his face, extended his hand, and greeted them. “Hello, my name is Blake.”
“Jimmy,” the Asian man shook his hand. He then clasped hands with the black man, who introduced himself as Jeremy.
At least they didn’t try to lie about their names.
“Sorry about having you two wait outside, but you can’t be too careful. Now, what brings you two here?” Blake asked in a friendly manner as he kept the smile on his face.
Jeremy responded. “We were driving to the White Mountains on vacation, when our car died, and the message hit. We decided to hike down the road to Whiteriver. When we got there, we talked to some of the locals. They said you were recruiting for your faction, and they were about to head out. We asked if we could join them, and here we are.”
That almost seems plausible, except for the fact that you’re missing your luggage.
Instead of airing his suspicions, Blake replied, “We’d love to have you. Especially if you’re willing to fight.”
“What’s there to fight,” Jimmy asked.
“Mostly monsters,” Blake replied. “They’re going to start appearing in a day and a half. But, there’s some pretty horrible people out there too. Matter of fact, on the way here, some assholes actually tried to rob us. Can you believe that?”
They shook their heads in commiseration.
“Here, come on inside while we talk,” Blake gestured toward the gate.
“So, if we want to join, do we need to swear an oath or something?” Jeremy asked.
Blake shook his head. “No oaths, just agree to follow the rules and you’re good.”
“What rules?” the black man asked.
“Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. Don’t hurt or kill anyone, don’t steal, don’t scam. The usual. Oh, and combat classes agree to defend the faction if we’re under attack, but that’s pretty obvious. Everyone has to pull their weight.”
“What happens if you break a rule?” Jimmy asked as they entered the town.
“That depends on the rule, and how bad you break it,” Blake replied. “It could be a fine, community service, banishment, or even death.”
“Death?” Jeremy honed in on the word. “You’ll kill someone for breaking a rule?”
Blake nodded. “You bet your ass we will. I won’t tolerate murder or rape, and I don’t want anyone in my faction that will.”
“Damn right,” Jimmy mumbled in agreement.
Jeremy acknowledged Blake’s reply with a nod and asked, “So, how do we sign up?”
“You two look like fighters. Are you interested in gaining combat classes? If so, we’ll outfit you with some basic gear that’ll keep you alive. We also supply ten mega-nano so you can learn a combat skill.”
“Mega-nano?” Jimmy asked in confusion.
“Ten million nano,” Blake explained as he walked toward their level one armory. It contained all the nano-enhanced rewards not currently in use. “Sorry, I kind of use ‘mega’ and ‘million’ interchangeably.”
“That sounds great,” Jeremy replied. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Just an investment in our faction’s future. Besides, we’ll make far more than ten mega-nano back in taxes.”
“Taxes?” Jimmy grimaced. “I thought for sure that shit was gone.”
Blake laughed. “No, death and taxes are the only constants in the universe. We keep the tax rate steady at ten percent unless there’s an emergency.”
“What do you do with all that nano?” Jeremy asked.
“Pay people to guard the walls, build stuff, upgrade buildings,” Blake shrugged. “The usual.”
Once they reached the armory, Blake opened the door and escorted his two guests inside. “Go ahead and pick out some equipment. This stuff is all level one, so most of it will give you some extra attributes.
“Really?” Jeremy asked in disbelief. “Just like that, you’re going to kit us out? Isn’t this valuable?”
Blake snorted. “It’s just level one. We got tons of this stuff.”
He saw Jimmy slip three rings on his fingers and said, “Don’t bother with more than one ring. The Architect’s an asshole and won’t count the attributes from more than one. You also can’t boost an attribute with two different pieces of gear, so I’d suggest you find some jewelry with each of the three physical stats and wear those.”
Jimmy nodded as he sifted through the items. “Good to know.”
Once they selected a full set of gear, Blake changed ownership of the items, and escorted them back out of the building. “Tomorrow morning, I’m going to head out and start building a new faction town. I could use some guards. Do you think you guys could join me?”
The two men glanced at each other, and then Jeremy nodded.
“Great!” Blake grinned. “I’ll get Kasey to set you up with a place to stay and have him show you around. He’s one of my combat team leaders, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask him.”
“Appreciate it,” Jimmy replied.
Blake contacted Kasey and relayed his request. He warned the native that he did not quite trust the two new members, and asked the team leader to keep an eye on them.
While he waited for the team leader to arrive, he invited Jeremy and Jimmy to his faction. After he handed the two men off to the Native, he waved goodbye and located his mother. When he walked up behind her, she was in the middle of a discussion with one of their new arrivals.
“I’m sorry, but for the next few weeks, no one gets their own room. If you’re by yourself, we’ll make sure your roommate is the same sex, but we just don’t have the space yet.”
The woman sighed in disappointment. “I suppose I don’t have a choice in the matter.”
“Don’t worry,” Blake interrupted. “It’s just for a few weeks. After that, we should have plenty of bunkhouses built. Then, we can start customizing buildings for families, single people, you name it.”
The woman nodded and was escorted away by an assistant. Once she was gone, his mother turned to Blake and embraced him. “Blake, I’m glad you’re back. I saw you talking to the two men I kept outside. So, they’re good? No shady motives?”
“Oh, they’re definitely shady,” Blake corrected her misconception. “If I had to guess, they’re spies from the government.”
“What?!” her jaw dropped in shock. “Then why did you let them in?”
“Because we have nothing to hide,” he explained. “Plus, this way I know who the spies are. We can even feed them fake info if we want to. If I get rid of them, next time they’ll send someone actually good at the job instead of those two.”
Donna frowned.
Blake chuckled. “They were obviously from that group guarding the Ursa portal. The government must have had some people from the military running scenarios for weeks now. My bet is those two earned enough to increase their Physical Power by a few points and didn’t realize I could tell from Analyze.”
“But, what if they cause trouble here while you’re gone?” she asked in concern.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “Tomorrow morning they’re coming with me to start the new expansion. I want to see what kind of people they are. Just because they work for the government doesn’t mean they’re evil. I’m going to ask Major Dominguez and his guys if they want to come too.”
“Won’t they just head back to their unit after you let them out of jail?”
Blake shrugged. “Probably, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.”