TTE C8

Finally getting back in the saddle with this story. Had to set it aside for a bit to finish BS5 on time, but now I not only have time to work on this and BS6 without worrying, I have full go ahead from my publisher for it! Quite happy about that. Oh, and just as a heads up, these are all draft chapters. My editor is alredy making comments about shortening this first bit, so some early content might be cut for the published release. Still, enjoy the full version here and now!

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Ed’s car was actually a slightly older pickup truck with an extended cab and a wide bed. What would normally be a piece of bling to show off how manly the person who owned the truck was had been turned into a mobile reenactment gear storage container. Ed tried to click the buttons on his key fob to unlock the door, but nothing happened. Resorting to the physical key, he pulled open the doors and grabbed two heavy rolling cases. He put those on the ground then went to unlock the cover on top of the truck’s bed. Pulling that back he revealed more heavy cases and a pile of sealed, flexible leather bags.

“Right, that’s mine and Alex’s heavy duty armor, and these,” He grabbed one of the cases and put it next to the first two. “Are some relatively easy to put on sets of gear I have around as extras.” He grabbed two of the sealed bags, then paused in place. Looking back at everyone else, he asked, “What weapons should I pull out? Are we going back in there?”

“Yes, we need to find Miss Stations, if she’s still in there.” Maeve grabbed the clamps holding the closest case closed and popped it open. “Scarlet, you were the last person to see her, where was she last?”

“In her office. That creepy donor and his assistant left and Miss Stations told me I could go home. She said she was going to get a few things done then find you two. I went over to the restoration rooms to use the nice bathroom before I left and then,” She waved her hand through the air in front of her face, “All this shit happened.”

“Okay. If the donor left, and Parker is…” She closed her eyes and swallowed, “Parker’s dead, then the only person who should have been in the building is Miss Stations. We do a quick look for her then start heading toward a safer zone. Roughly…” She oriented her body in the direction the small arrow floating in the corner of her field of view, which she’d forgotten about in the mess of things, and pointed. “That way.”

“That’s into the country.” Amelia commented.

“It was, now anything could be in that direction.”

“Right. That’s going to take awhile to get used to.”

Ed looked at them, then down at his hand. Without saying a word he went around to the driver’s side of his truck and tried to crank it. It sputtered for a moment then idled. He revved the engine a few times and it seemed to be running alright. He rolled down the window and stuck his head out. “It won’t be the most comfortable thing, but if-“ Two loud bangs interrupted him and everyone turned to look at the engine. The hood had two holes punched in it right next to each other and a second later two objects fell to the ground in front of the truck. Ed killed the engine and slowly got out. “Never mind.”

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Chemical reactions act in an unstable manner when Quezeuq Energy is introduced into the reaction. Reactions may be more or less powerful than normal and determining which reactions will react in which ways requires specialist equipment. Until energy levels stabilize and System Programs for retrofitting pre-Integration technology to withstand Quezeuq Energy go online, it is recommended that non-essential chemical reactions be avoided.

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Maeve’s glanced at the box long enough to read the message. “Is that why guns are off limits?”

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The System is not and will not restrict you from the use of firearms. It is merely suggested that they be avoided until it is possible to retrofit them using the aforementioned System Programs when they go online. Bullets may react less explosively than needed to fire the weapon or more explosively, potentially enough to injure the wielder.

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“Guns are out until further notice and we’re going to have to walk to safety. Ed.”

“Yeah?”

“Kit us out for a quick run back into the museum to try and find Miss Stations. Then we come back here and whatever we can carry. Anything we don’t absolutely need and can’t life gets left behind.”

Ed stared sadly at his gear. “This is tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and weapons.”

She stepped in close and grabbed his shoulder. “Money doesn’t matter right now, and it might not for a long time. The most important part about this gear is what it can do for us, which is keep us alive. We literally can’t take it all with us, we have to leave some of it behind.”

Ed’s face scrunched up, as he slowly closed his eyes. He slowly breathed out the rage and helplessness in one long breath. “Okay.” He looked over at Alex. “My man, how are your arms?”

He slowly raised them up and rotated them around. “Decent. Might be a bit of a hassle getting the chestplate on me, but we can get it done and I can help you get yours on.”

“Great. Girls, we’ll get you three armored up, then you can keep watch while us two do the more complicated bits.” He wrenched open the case he’d pulled down from the bed with too much force and almost spilled the contents. “You three haven’t worn heavy armor before so we’re settling for the simpler stuff. It’s still loads better than having nothing and a lot of people got through battles with these on.” He pulled out a thick coat with a long bottom. “These are gambesons. Dumbing it down for time, they’re really thick padded jackets. He tossed it to Scarlet and pulled out the next one.

“These are what regular soldiers wore for armor, right?” Amelia asked.

“Exactly. This and a helmet was the standard uniform for anyone who couldn’t afford to buy a full set of metal armor. Alex and I also have a set like this, but it goes under the rest of the armor.” He handed Amelia and Maeve one each then started coaching them how to put them on while he grabbed his own. After they had them on and laced up he grabbed two helmets from the bottom of the case. They looked like little domes with a space for the face cut out, a small visor to cover the eyes, and a elongated sloping back. “Sadly, I’ve only got two of these so one of you has to go without. Who’s getting one?”

“Amelia and Scarlet.” Maeve answered instantly. “Scarlet can fight better than I can and Amelia is better at first aid.” She said over her friend’s protests.

Ed looked indecisive as he handed over the two helmets. “I have something that might work?” Jumped up into the bed of the truck to open another case. “I was planning on leaving this behind, because it’s just not as useful in our immediate situation.” He pulled out what looked like a glittery blanket.

Maeve got a closer look as he hopped back down. “Oh, chain mail.”

“Why not use that?” Scarlet asked, “It’s better than thick cloth, right?”

“But it’s heavy as hell in comparison, and we have to walk,” Alex replied.

“What he said. The two of us are used to wearing heavy shit on our bodies all day in the heat and we’re still going to be as tired and sore as can be, none of you are used to having that kind of weight on your body. But that’s the full suit.” He held up a small cloth hood as well as a smaller piece of mail. “The coif is going to be about as heavy as those helmets are and once again, it’s better than nothing.” He helped Maeve put it on then showed the other two how to put on the helmets.

Getting Alex and Ed fully suited up took a lot longer. Individual pieces had to be put on and tied down, including pieces to cover the legs, the arms, the groin, the chest, and the feet. Eventually when they were done two medieval knights were standing there with Ed and Alex’s faces sticking out of the helmets.

“I’ve been to some of your exhibitions and this still looks weird to me.” Maeve muttered.

“Well, it’s helping our asses in some kind of fucked up apocalypse, so I’m glad they’ve got it.” Scarlet muttered back at her. “What weapons are we taking?” She called out to Ed, who was walking around Alex and checking his armor.

“You guys get these.” He grabbed three daggers and held them out to them, handles out.

“These little piddly things?”

“You have no training with any of the weapons I have and these are the ones you’re least likely to hurt yourselves with if we get in a fight. I’m going to be bringing this,” He reached down and grabbed a weapon. “This is a war hammer. A realistic one not the fantasy kind.” He held it up and twisted it tow show off the business end. It looked like a regular hammer, with a thick metal head and a flat end to hit things with. Diverting slightly from a construction hammer, it had a dangerous looking sharp spike on the opposite end, and the handle was a bit longer. “This will be good if we run into any more cannonballs or another empty knight thing.”

Alex armed himself with a sword that looked a lot like the one the empty knight had, making Amelia cringe a little as she looked at him. She took a deep breath and shook herself.

Maeve looked over everyone and nodded. “In and out. See if we can find Miss Stations, then we leave.”

They went back in through the same fire door they’d exited through and quickly headed toward Miss Station’s office. The loud noises of the two sets of armor rattling as they jogged was worrying, but no monsters attacked them as they made their way back through the museum. It took them a few minutes to get to the offices and another few to check them all, calling out quietly for the curator. No one responded, and there was no sign of anyone having left in a hurry.

“Her car was still in the parking lot.” Amelia said after they’d gathered back together. “If she’s not here and she didn’t drive away…”

“She got moved by whatever thing the System was talking about, the people getting separated if they weren’t touching.”

“If she’s not here we can’t do anything for her. We’re leaving.” Maeve started moving toward the exit.

Alex slowed everyone to a stop next to a pair of vending machines near the entrance. “Food and water.” He pulled out his sword and smashed the glass. “We should take as much of this with us as we can.”

They made it back outside without being attacked and sorted through Ed’s weapons and armor. After Alex and Ed decided what was best to take with them they loaded as much as possible into the bags that were the easiest to carry, including the contents of the vending machines. After some quick but careful planning on how to distribute the weight, they began walking, following the direction the arrow pointed them.

They passed through the small cluster of trees that surrounded the museum grounds. After a few minutes of walking Ed, who was in the lead, stumbled to a stop. “What the shit?”

Pulling up next to him, the rest of the group looked down at what he was looking at. A foot in front of them the ground just stopped. What should have been more trees and dirt ended in a jagged cliff with crumbling soil leaking down. A few feet below was bright green grass that spread from the foot of the miniature cliff into the horizon.

“Geography changes.” Amelia whispered. “This is trippy.”

Alex swept his gaze across the view. “It looks like pictures I’ve seen of the northern steppes, around Russia, China, and Mongolia.”.

“It might be those steppes. We could have been transported to Mongolia, Mongolia might have come to us, or both areas might be superimposed together somewhere new.” Maeve stepped forward and tested the ground at the edge. The dirt crumbled, but it was firm enough for her to put her weight on it for a moment as she stepped down. “Look at it while we walk. We’re headed right into it after all. And keep an eye out for monsters.”